Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!

 

 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 hard 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 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 hard 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 comments that the restoration of sight to the blind was a sign which was expected to be performed by the Messiah (Isaiah 29:18; 35:4-5), a power which God had reserved for God alone (compare John 9:32).  Son of David is a messianic title, and his use of this title shows that Bartimaeus had faith that Jesus was the Christ.  There's a spiritual interpretation to this miracle in patristic commentary also.  Jericho was a low-lying city associated with sin (Luke 10:30; 19:1).  Here, Jericho symbolizes fallen humanity.  So, therefore, Christ passing through Jericho becomes an image of His Incarnation in the world.  The Lord restoring sight to Bartimaeus parallels Christ's restoring humanity to glory.  Having been made whole by Christ, my study Bible says, human nature can now follow Christ on the road to the Kingdom, symbolized by our Lord's subsequent entrance into Jerusalem (Mark 11:1-11).  

 

The restoration of sight in many ways parallels the salvation of a soul.  In the restoration of sight to a person, it is said that light is allowed once again to enter the eyes; and indeed, to perceive anything by sight in the world, it is necessary that we are able to take in the reflection of light particles on those objects.  As Christ is the Light (John 1:4-5), so as His followers we need His light in order to receive our spiritual sight, so that we may perceive what truly is and know the way that we are going in life.   Also in St. John's Gospel, after His final entry into Jerusalem, Jesus says in front of the people, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going" (John 12:35).  In this He is clearly referring to Himself as the light, who goes to the Cross, and so will be with them in the flesh yet a little while longer.  In the Creed, we call Christ "Light from Light, true God of true God."  So this metaphor -- seen as icon or image -- of Bartimaeus receiving his sight from Christ in Jericho becomes the powerful image of our salvation.  In some ways, we are all like blind Bartimaeus.  That is, none of us sees with the full sight of God, of Christ.  There are all kinds of things that remain mystical and secret, hidden from us.  But they are things that belong to the kingdom of God, and thus are things for which salvation prepares us, as we may walk toward union with Christ in its fullness.  Therefore, the road of salvation remains for all of us, even the greatest saints, and throughout our lives, for there is always something we don't yet know, can't yet see, for which the road of Christ beckons us forward.  Bartimaeus shows wisdom in his title for Jesus, Son of David, for he perceives that Jesus is the One who can give him his sight.  And once again in the Gospel of St. Mark, we observe that it is this capacity to use our voices and express ourselves, to call out to Christ, that is necessary in salvation -- either by ourselves or by others on our behalf.  For this is prayer; it is pleading.  In freedom, Christ beckons to Bartimaeus and asks, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  And we are given that blessed freedom by God to speak and to ask, to commune with our Creator.   This is also the light:  that Christ wants us to speak with Him, gives us that freedom to do so, and desires to be with us in His Incarnation, and afterward (Matthew 18:20).  For even in the midst of sin and darkness (as symbolized by Jericho), we are with the light, we may feel His presence and know Him and speak to Him and ask of Him.  For His light, even in the darkness, shines for us, no matter where the road may go, even if we're in the midst of those who cannot see (John 1:5).