"What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight"

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

Yesterday we read that Jesus and 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.  Jesus is on His way toward Jerusalem, toward His Passion.  To restore sight to the blind was a sign that was expected to be performed by the Messiah (Isaiah 29:18; 35:4-5), considered a power God had reserved for Himself (compare to John 9:32).  Bartimaeus calls Jesus Son of David, a messianic title, displaying that he has faith that Jesus is the Christ.  My study bible adds a traditional spiritual interpretation to this miracle.  Jericho was a low-lying city that was associated with sin (Luke 10:30; 19:1).  Here it becomes symbolic of fallen humanity.  Jesus passing through Jericho is an image of His Incarnation in the world.  He restores sight to Bartimaeus in an act that parallels restoring humanity to glory -- both are connected with images of light.  Bartimaeus, having been made whole, stands in for a human nature that can now follow Christ on the road to the Kingdom, symbolized by the Lord's later entrance into Jerusalem.

What is it to receive light, to know light, to become as the light?  These questions are important as we think about the story of Bartimaeus.  Images of light and darkness teach us about sight and our own capacity to see.  Jesus often uses such images about blindness and darkness.  For example, He tells says, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"  (Matthew 6:22-23).  The concept comes from the light which enters the eye, enabling vision.  A blind eye was considered to be "dark."  What He is saying is that those whose "eye" of perception is darkened, truly live in an overwhelming darkness that captures all things in its net.  He also uses light as a metaphor for Himself:  "I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life"  (John 8:12), " As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world" (John 9:5), "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believes in me should not abide in darkness" (John 12:46).  Tying in the images of light with truth and salvation and eternal life, He says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).  All of these images give us better insight into the story of Bartimaeus as a spiritual example.  We should note that he even throws aside his garment to run to Christ, symbolically leaving everything else of himself behind.  His faith connects Him with Christ, and restores his sight, as affirmed by Jesus when He says, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  Bartimaeus, having sight, is free to follow the Light on the road to Jerusalem.  He knows where He is going, and whom He needs to follow.  Our sight is similar -- we need to let light in to see properly and well.  We need the reflection of light even to see objects for the truth of what they are.  To cast light on a subject, or to bring it to the light, is to find the truth of it.   All of these metaphors of light apply to Christ.  We need His enlightenment all the time, and in all circumstances.  How will we make decisions?  Against what do we measure our own standards?  How do we find ways to greet our world and to respond to what we see?  Bartimaeus recognizes his Messiah.  He is an example to all of us, even when we cry out in the dark for sight.