Our reading this week is from the gospel of Mark:
Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
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Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. (Mark 10:46-52)
Let’s jump right in.
Bartimaeus is a beggar whom Mark places on the road pilgrims took to Jerusalem. Meeting beggars on this road would contrasts a person’s personal piety with any possible commitment to resource-sharing. Today, it would be like passing by someone asking for help on the sidewalk because you were hurrying to get to church.
This story also has social, political, and economic dimensions that are rarely touched on in some sectors of Christianity. Mark’s gospel juxtaposes the story of the rich man in Mark 10 with the story of this beggar. This gospel has presented contrasting stories before. Consider the stories of the woman with the issue of blood and the synagogue leader in Mark 5. Their stories contrast two classes or social locations. And, in the same way that the woman in Mark 5 was “unclean,” the name Bartimaeus also means son of the “unclean.” Mark contrasts class and social location over and over.
There are political meanings as well: Bartimaeus is the first to name Jesus as the Son of David in the gospel of Mark. This title had political meanings tied to liberation and restoration in the time of Jesus.
Bartimaeus contrasts with the rich man in the earlier story, too. Bartimaeus heeds Jesus’ call to “throw his cloak aside.” He would have used this cloak for warmth against the elements, and it is also the cloak he would have spread out to collect alms from passers-by as he sat on the roadside. While the rich man walks away sad because he’s unwilling to give up his many possessions, Bartimaeus throws aside what little he has so he can reach Jesus.
The context around this scene is interesting. We’ll take a look at that, next.
(Read Part 2)
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