Drs. Nick and Leona

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• 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.

(ESV Mark 10:46-52)

• The Person

• The Problem

• The Public

• The Probe

• The Prize

• The Background

•Parallel Scriptures with Mr 10:46-52 are Mt

20:29-34 and Lk 18:35-43

•The story is in the three synoptic gospels

•Mark is the action packed gospel

•Mark also emphasizes the miracles of Jesus

Christ

• The Background

•Our text is the last of Jesus’ healings in the

gospel of Mark

•Mark is the only gospel that identifies the

blind man as Bartimaeus

•Only Mark tells us that Bartimaeus is a

beggar

•Only Mark uses “Rabbi” in our text to refer

to Jesus (10:51)

• The Person

•Bartimaeus the blind man

• Bartimaeus means “son of Timaeus”

• Timaeus comes from “τιμάω” which means to honor, show respect and to recognize

• He was sitting on the roadside to Jericho (new Jericho)

• He was a blind beggar by profession

• This may have been the place where people would be able to find him

• The Problem

•Bartimaeus the blind man

• He was dependent on others

• His family and friends may have been

ashamed of him and his profession

• A desperate situation because there apparently

was no solution to his blindness

• Matthew’s account mentions two blind men (Mt

20:30)

• His companion was another blind man/beggar

• The Public

•The three gospels mention a crowd

• It was the crowd that informed Bartimaeus

that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by

•The crowd yells at him for shouting out

“Son of David, have mercy on me”

•Later he does the same thing all over again

• The Public

•Son of David is a messianic reference (Is

11:1, 10; Jer 23:5–6; Ez 34:23–24)

•Jesus applies this title to himself (Mr 12:35)

• It is the only time that Mark uses this title

(Son of David) which is equivalent to Christ

or anointed (Mr 8:29)

• The Public

•Using the name of King David in public goes contrary to the messianic secret theme in the gospel (Mr 8:30)

•Mark reveals to his audience Jesus as the Christ, his mission and identity

• Jesus had pity on Bartimaeus (Mt 20:34)

•The multitude was following Jesus Christ

•The crowd told Bartimaeus to go to Jesus because he was calling him

• The Probe

•Bartimaeus was desperate and was calling out to Jesus even in a louder tone

•Jesus stops and asks for Bartimaeus to approach him

•Bartimaeus threw off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus

•He responded immediately and was obedient

• The Probe

•Jesus asks Bartimaeus a question: what did

he want Jesus to do for him?

•Bartimaeus replied he wanted to recover his

sight

•Bartimaeus calls him rabbi (10:51)

•Jesus said to him to go his way because his

faith had made him well/saved him

• The Prize

•Σώζω (sōzō)- used 14 times regarding healing and deliverance (Mt 9:21, 22; Mr 3:4; 5:23, 28, 34; 6:56; 10:52; Lk 6:9; 8:36, 48, 50; 17:19; 18:42; Jn 11:12)

•Σώζω (sōzō)- used 20 times referring to spiritual salvation (Mt 1:21; 10:22; 19:25; 24:13, 22; Mr 8:35; 10:26; 13:13, 20; 16:16; Lk 7:50; 8:12; 9:24; 13:23; 18:26; 19:10; Jn 3:17; 5:34; 10:9; 12:47)

• The Prize

•Some translations understand either

physical healing or spiritual salvation

• In this context, it should be understood the

physical healing and being granted sight

due to the immediate recognition of

Bartimaeus recovering his sight

• The Prize

• Instantly, he recovered his sight

•Bartimaeus then followed Jesus

• In the Lukan account, Bartimaeus glorified

God and the crowd, upon seeing what had

happened, praised the Lord (Lk 18:43)

• The Person

• The Problem

• The Public

• The Probe

• The Prize

• Bartimaeus admits his need

• Bartimaeus recognizes that Jesus is the

coming Messiah (Son of David)

• Jesus acknowledges Bartimaeus’ faith

• The combination of faith and

encountering Jesus produces the miracle

• Let’s pray

Drs. Nick and Leona

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