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Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you." And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
- Mark 10:46-52
In our previous reading, the disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again." Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask." And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory." But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They said to Him, "We are able." So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared." And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you." And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. My study bible has a somewhat lengthy note on this passage. It tells us that the restoration of sight to the blind was a sign expected to be performed by the Messiah (Isaiah 29:18; 35:4-5), a power God had reserved for Himself (compare to John 9:32). Son of David was a messianic title, showing that Bartimaeus had faith that Jesus was the Christ. It tells us that the Fathers give a spiritual interpretation to this miracle as well. Jericho was a lowlying city which had been associated with sin, so here it can symbolize fallen humanity. Jesus passing through is the image of His Incarnation. As He restores sight to Bartimaeus it parallels the restoration of humanity to glory, to "light" (as in an illumined eye). It says, "Having been made whole by Christ, human nature can now follow Christ on the road to the Kingdom, symbolized by our Lord's subsequent entrance into Jerusalem" -- which begins the next chapter in Mark.
Jesus is now on the road to Jerusalem. He has firmly set His sights forward, toward the Passion, toward the things which He has now forewarned the apostles about three times. We can imagine their feelings as they follow Him toward Jerusalem, His resolution firm. There's a little clue in the reading about this town Jericho and its reputation, connected to the great news that sends the crowds thronging to the road. It tells us that Bartimaeus became enlivened when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth who was coming. Nazareth was also a town with a not-so-great reputation in spiritual terms. (We recall the words of Nathanael, when He was called to meet Jesus in John's Gospel, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46). There is a sense of the presence of the reality of the fallen humanity not only in Jericho, where Jesus goes on His ministry and yet also on the way to Jeusalem and His Passion, and the place where Jesus lived and grew and "was from" -- Nazareth. Everything here has a "humble" beginning, and yet Jesus' mission into the world, His Incarnation, means there is no such thing as a beginning that is "too humble." And there never will be again. It's a subtle and hidden extension of all of the readings of this week and the great emphasis on the type of power that God brings into the world through the Incarnation. Jesus teaches a system of power and authority that is fully based on love, that really requires humility to get right, to fully achieve in the ways that He will show us in Jerusalem and the events to come there. As this journey has been made, throughout the readings of this week (beginning with Monday's -- If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all), Jesus has emphasized over and over again to His disciples that they must be prepared for the kind of greatness that will be asked of them, a greatness that means a willingness to be servant of all, and even -- for those who desire to be first -- to be the slave of all. This He will show them, and us, in Jerusalem. His Passion and Resurrection will be the greatest example of all, of the type of leadership He asks of us and teaches on our behalf. It is a power and authority that is derived of love, of wanted what is truly best "for all" ("for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many"). Jesus has taught, as the summing up of all the Law and the Prophets, the two greatest commandments: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul, and mind, and strength" and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But His life, His Incarnation, teaches us so much of the fullness of what that means, of what His Kingdom is all about, and how we are to live His commandments. Without the Passion and Resurrection our picture is not complete. But what He endeavors to teach His disciples "on the road" is unforgettable. Let's also note another "minor" detail: Bartimaeus throws aside his garment to run to meet Jesus. It's like throwing off the old life and whatever might get in the way of the direct route to Christ. All of this life He teaches us comes by faith, runs on faith -- and we have faith in God who is love. Let us remember when we pray, "Jesus, Son of God, have mercy."
