“And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.” Mark 10:46 ESV
Reflection: why does Jesus seem more interested in those cast aside by society?
I was listening to an interview yesterday, of a famous podcaster with a large audience who had come to the conclusion that “everything is a lie”; in the world, that is, other than the Bible. He had been spiritually agnostic before, but curious and interested in all topics of the world around us, from politics, science, societal issues, etc.. But the more he learned, the more he saw the lies of men, to a point of concluding that he didn’t know what to believe anymore. And then he had a spiritual experience, an awakening, being shown what he thought was hell, pure evil, the feeling of loneliness in being separated from God. It was such a strong experience that it totally changed his life. In a way, his eyes were opened, and he ran as fast as he could to God.
There is a little detail in Mark’s writing in the end of chapter 10, that we will stop at for a moment today to think about. It is easy to miss it. Read the focus verse again, and let me ask you: Why didn’t Mark write about what happened in Jericho? Mark writes that Jesus went there, to this important city from old (much history with this city, as you might know). But it looks like nothing of importance happened there, right? At least worthy of Mark writing about it. That is, until Jesus and His disciples were leaving the city and came right outside the city gate. There Mark picks up the story about a “blind” man, sitting there by the roadside, begging for help.
When you read the story, there are things in it that doesn’t make sense, at least right away. First of all, let’s see what he begged for. “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!””Mark 10:47 ESV. Notice that he is not asking for a healing of his blindness. He is asking for mercy. Remember the definition of “mercy” is to not be given what we deserve. Perhaps he knew that he somehow deserved what he got, his blindness? But, was it physically or spiritual blindness? Let’s read on for a bit. “And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.” Mark 10:48-50 ESV. Now, if the man was physically blind, how could he “spring up and come towards Jesus?” Perhaps someone helped him, but it is a curious way to write the actions of a blind person. Which leads us to speculate that perhaps he was more concerned about his spiritual blindness.
“And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.” Mark 10:51-52 ESV. Did you notice what he asked for? Let me “recover” my sight. He had been able to see before, whether this was physical and/or spiritual, but he longed for having sight again. Jesus response to him is another indication that there was a spiritual healing here. “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” There was a faith component here,
I can’t help but think about the podcaster who also received “eyes to see, ears to hear”, coming to this conclusion that only God is truth. We might be reminded here of Jesus conversation with Pilate “Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”“ John 18:37-38a ESV.
So what about us? What do we consider “truth”? What we see on the nightly news? What we read in the newspaper? What about the government? If you have paid attention to the recent hearings in the US Congress about the web of lies that were created during the pandemic, we see the breakdown of institutions from power and money. Do we believe in man, or do we believe in God? Do we trust in the systems of the world, or in God? Do we, as this beggar, long for our eyes to be truly opened?
