Pentecost 23
Sermon Preached by Reverend Michael Hillier on Sunday, 27 October 2024.
Mark 10.46-52
Jesus is heading south, away from Galilee in the north, to Jerusalem in the south. He and His disciples have made their way south via the Jordan Valley and now reached Jericho. Jerusalem and the Cross await Him. Jerusalem is only a short distance away, about 36 km. It is also a climb of about 1 km as Jericho lies in that deep geological rift that stretches down into central Africa. Jerusalem lies above Jericho and up in Hill Country.
In today’s story, the healing of the blind man, Bartimaeus, I want to focus on four individuals or groups: Jesus, His disciples, the crowd and Bartimaeus. Each can tell us much. Bartimaeus, in particular, plays a crucial role in this narrative, his story serving as a powerful testament to the transformative power of faith.
Let me start with Jesus, for He holds the story together. He is now firmly focused on Jerusalem and knows that He will face death here. He is clear in His mind that He is doing His Father’s will.
He is God’s Son, but He is also human and thus must have felt heightened anxiety for what lay ahead. We can assume this, given the level of distress that He later felt in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night He was arrested about a week later.
It is unclear whether Jesus and His disciples stayed a night or two in Jericho, resting, or passed through. The latter seems more likely, as staying would have been too risky. Jericho was home to some of the 40,000 priests and Levites who served in the Temple in Jerusalem on a rotational basis. Not all could live in Jerusalem; many lived in Jericho when not on duty. They would all have been aware of Jesus, and many would have seen Him as a threat. Therefore, Jericho was not a safe place for Jesus to stay, and the tension and danger in the narrative are hidden but still there.
This story is unique in that, while Jesus is focused on what lies ahead, He suddenly becomes aware of someone’s great need. His entire attention now shifts to Bartimaeus. This incident highlights Jesus’ remarkable ability to balance His mission priorities and the needs of the people He encounters. It is a source of inspiration, showing us how to balance our responsibilities and care for those around us.
As we hear this story, it is about learning to focus on the moment without neglecting our bigger story of life. This is sometimes referred to as the sacrament of the present moment: being present in the moment and giving our attention entirely to the person we are with. For most of us, this will take a lifetime to learn. This emphasis on the importance of being present in the moment makes us feel the need for a sense of mindfulness and focus in our daily lives.
The second group I mentioned was the disciples. There is little to say here as they don’t rate a mention in the story – unless they are the ones Jesus spoke to when He asked Bartimaeus to be called. If that were the case, their place in the story is one of encouragement, for they said to Bartimaeus, ‘Take heart; get up; He is calling you’. Their role as encouragers reminds us of the importance of our own role in encouraging others, making us notice the importance of our actions in uplifting those in need.
In a world where so many people struggle in one way or another, this brief sentence, ‘Take heart; get up; He is calling you’, reminds us that we need to be people of encouragement. We need to stand with others in their time of need. It is not about having the so-called answers, for often there aren’t any. But it is about standing alongside people and, in some way, sharing their burdens. Even though we cannot walk in their shoes, a silent presence can often do wonders.
The third group is the crowd. In this instance, they were the locals here in Jericho, and no doubt, having heard the stories about Jesus, they were curious to see Him. These would have been the ones who sternly told Bartimaeus to keep quiet. We are told they didn’t just tell him but ordered him to stay silent, which had quite the opposite effect and made him shout louder!
We need to be aware that in the gospels, the evangelists always see crowds negatively, for crowds can be fickle. Like the wind, they blow this way and then that way. We only have to remember that Palm Sunday procession when they loudly proclaimed Jesus their king. Less than a week later, probably that same crowd was calling for His death.
Initially, there was little or no support or understanding of Bartimaeus as a blind beggar and his needs. His blindness reduced him to being a beggar and dependent on other people’s generosity.
We need to reflect on life and not let ourselves be swept up in the whims of the crowd through social media and the media itself. We need to think intelligently and with generosity of spirit.
Then, the fourth. Bartimaeus is the hero of this story. Unlike the disciples, who didn’t understand what Jesus was about, we see right from the start that he is a man of faith. He stands in stark contrast with the disciples. Think of James and John, who, just before reaching Jericho, had asked Jesus that they might sit with Him at his right hand and left in glory (10.32-45). Talk about a grab for power! The other disciples were not amused. They probably had similar ambitions, but in saying that, I am, perhaps, doing them a disservice.
Bartimaeus was persistent in calling out to Jesus and wouldn’t be put off. When Jesus responded, he immediately leapt to his feet and went to Him. He knew exactly what he wanted.
The disciples really did not know what they wanted from Jesus. And that question can be asked of you and me: Do you know what you want Jesus to do for you? Do you have that same level of determination? What do you seek from Jesus? These are questions worth pondering in our reflective moments.
Bartimaeus called Jesus ‘Son of David,’ which reveals that he had a very inadequate
understanding of who Jesus was. He mistakenly saw Him in Messianic terms, just like everyone else. But despite this, he understood faith at a profound and immediate level, and he definitely was not going to be put off by the crowd. His theology might have been inadequate, but he understood faith. He got it! He saw it as something about having a personal relationship with Jesus, faith in Him and trust.
There is a nice piece of symbolism in all this: Bartimaeus comes to Jesus asking that his eyes might be opened, and that is precisely what Jesus has been trying to do with His disciples’ eyes: Open them to the truth of who He is.
Bartimaeus was seeking healing, and when Jesus said, ‘Your faith has saved you,’ the early Church would have seen this in a broader context of salvation.
Then there is another thing to notice: Having been healed, Bartimaeus now begins to follow Jesus ‘on the way’ (v.52). This is how the early Christians understood their faith; they were following Jesus ‘on the way’. They recognised their Christian Faith and commitment to Jesus as a journey that would ever deepen. We can assume that Bartimaeus’ heart was filled with gratitude.
Bartimaeus is a model for you and me, a model of someone who both knew what he needed and who wasn’t afraid to set about getting it. He saw this need in terms of trust and having a personal relationship. He is someone for us to emulate.