Bible Study - Mark 10:46-52 (Keith Howard)

Mark 10:46-52 - Bartimaeus

This story is a bookend to another story in which blindness figures prominently - Mark 8:22-26. In fact blindness is one of the powerful themes which runs through the Gospel of Mark (reread chapters 8, 9 and 10 quickly).
There are some differences to the Bartimaeus story: With Bartimaeus Jesus speaks, earlier he spits!; earlier the crowds bring the blind man, now the crowds try to shut Bartimaeus down; and in this story Bartimaeus ends up as a follower of Jesus.

Big question - who would you like to be in the story: blind man, Jesus or the crowd? More soberly - to whom do you feel the closest affinity: the blind man, Jesus or the crowd? (You won’t have to turn in your answers!)

The scene takes place in Jericho. (This is one of the places we hope to visit as part of the Oak Bay United Church Holy Land Tour next October 2013).
Note the name Bartimaeus calls out - “Son of David.” This is the first time this particular title is used for Jesus in the Gospel. It is significant because here Bartimaeus calls out a name often associated with the coming Messiah, the Saviour who comes from the line of David. This means that he is “recognizing” Jesus as the Messiah, the one who was to bring massive social and political change so that the poor would be fed, the lame healed and the blind given care so they could see. This calling out thus carries a social and political dimension and moves the story from one of person - to - person compassion to social upheaval/change. There are echoes here of the Palm Sunday expectation.

The question Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” carries echoes of his conversation with James and John, who wanted to be seated on his right and left in the new world of the Messiah (Mark 10:35-45). The answer from Bartimaeus comes not out of a position of privilege or access but out of a physical need that, in his time, would have led to exclusion and powerlessness, aka he was a beggar!

In response to the realization that Jesus was calling for him, Bartimaeus throws off his cloak and leaps up. As Lincoln Gallaway observes, “In his act of throwing off his cloak, we see the image of one who leaves his former life behind.” We are accustomed to Thrift Stores, Winners and WalMart and so tend to forget that the cloak, for a poor beggar, represents warmth, possessions and potential security. Do you think there is any significance to the fact that the story mentions his leaving those behind? It remains a powerful image of renunciation and dramatic change that often occurs when people get (too) close to Jesus.

Questions to Ponder

1. The role of the crowd is disquieting in part because, in the original context, listeners to the story - especially the young church - would have seen themselves as part of the crowd that surrounded Jesus, eager for his words. In our time, many of those outside who want to get closer to Jesus see the current form of organized religion as the crowd, the ones who shush them, an obstacle to drawing closer. Have there been instances where you have shared that experience? Have there been times when you have had the opposite experience?
   
2. The naming of Jesus is an important clue in reading Gospel stories. Many names were given him; many of which pass us by because we don’t know the expectations behind the name. What is your favourite name for Jesus? Is that the name you would use to introduce him to others?
   
3. The question Jesus puts to Bartimaeus remains powerful for us as a congregation and for us as disciples. “What do you want me to do for you?” How do you think we are answering that question now as a congregation? If it was only between you and Jesus What is it that you really want Jesus to do for you?