The Jericho Road
Mark 10:46 (NRSV) "They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside."
Jericho was a city in Judea, not far from the ford across the Jordan just north of the Dead Sea. The journey from Jerusalem to Jericho is about 15 miles. It is an uphill climb to Jerusalem, and the rise is 3,400 feet. Jericho is 846 feet below sea level. It is the lowest city in the world. Jesus went to Jericho a lot. The old song says, "I've got friends in low places." I have a Friend Who is willing to meet me in my low places. Jesus is not afraid of your Jerichos! It would probably take a traveler 8 hours to journey by foot. The journey in the time of Christ was notoriously dangerous because thieves and robbers lurked on every side. Remember the story of the Samaritan who showed mercy to the man who fell among thieves on the road to Jericho?
Jericho had a famous history. It was the first city that Israel conquered when they came into the land of Canaan. They marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days in silence and, on the sixth day, shouted and blew trumpets and the walls fell. Only Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute, had the faith to believe that God was giving Jericho into the hands of Israel, who was saved, she and her household, because they were inside the house with the scarlet thread hanging from the window. It does not matter how your past has defined you when you give yourself to the LORD, His mercy covers it all, and you walk into a new future defined by grace to grow and room to do so! Jesus was a descendant of Rahab, and on this road, he found a hated tax collector named Zacchaeus and invited Himself over to eat. Just as Rahab received the spies, Jesus received Zacchaeus. The spies were looking for; Zacchaeus was looking for Jesus. What do you see in the in-between places of your life?
Life is filled with places where we have to struggle to ascend and other places where it's all downhill. Our text is interesting became Jesus, and his disciples come and go. We are not told what they are in Jericho for, just that they have arrived and left.
"Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside." This man was doing what he was able to do. That is all any of us can do. Life had deprived him of sight, so he was left at the mercy of those around him who could help him.
It was apparent to others that his situation was beyond what he was able to control. Everyone passing by understood, and so Bartimaeus received mercy.
In the Gospel of Mark, groups of people misunderstand Jesus throughout: The scribes and Pharisees, the crowd, and the disciples. It is only individuals who are consistently outsiders from these groups that understand Jesus. The healing of Bartimaeus is the last miracle performed in Mark. The disciples and the crowd are along for the ride and have something to say to Bartimaeus. Their words are "shut up." We should never discourage someone who is trying to get to Jesus.
Voices from the margins sometimes have much to teach us. Sometimes our smug, know-it-all attitude can keep us from experiencing all that God has for us.
Mark 10:47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
He had heard about Jesus, and he believed that what Jesus had done for others, he could do for him. In Mark's Gospel, the miracle just before this one is the healing of a blind man. God is not a respecter of persons but faith. Bartimaeus decided to get Jesus's attention. He shouted! His posture was one of desperation. He recognized opportunity as it was walking by.
The ancient Greeks had a mystical figure called Ceres. Ceres represented opportunity. He had a funny haircut. He was bald on the back of his head and had hair hanging down in his eyes...
He is the only person in the Gospel of Mark to use the title "Son of David" to refer to Jesus. He may have been thinking of Isaiah's prophecy. His request is for mercy.
He does not allow the crowd or the disciples to quieten him. Even if Jesus's people try to shut you down, reach for Him.
Mercy - covenant kindness.
Mark 10:49 Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” 50 So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” 52 Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
Miracles cost us something, but not what we might imagine they cost us. Old commentators said that Bartimaeus's coat may have somehow been symbolic of his social location. It identified him in some way as a person who needed the charity of those around him. Others have suggested that his cloak was what he laid out before himself as he begged so that he could catch everything that was thrown in his direction. Or maybe it was all he had. The Mosaic law warned that if a person put their outer garment up as collateral during the day, it could not be kept throughout the night because it was all they had. There are sometimes moments in our lives when all we have are the clothes on our backs. Other commentators have pointed out that it may be that Bartimaeus just didn't want anything to hinder him from getting to Jesus. He was willing to lay aside everything that may have weighed him down or kept him from moving forward. He threw off everything that may have entangled him and kept him from getting to Jesus. He knew the value of what he couldn't see! Jim Elliot famously said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose!"
There is a contrast here with the rich young ruler who came to Jesus earlier in the chapter. The rich young ruler had only two things, everything, and nothing. Because of his unwillingness to give away all that he had and follow Jesus, he went away sorrowfully.
Bartimaeus's poverty set him up to receive everything. Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). Whatever the cloak symbolized, Bartimaeus was willing to give it up to get to Jesus. Sometimes miracles cost us work in the future. Bartimaeus would no longer be able to sit and beg in order to make it. He would have to get a job, but he did not have that in his mind. Some people experience the paralysis of analysis when they are faced with a miracle moment. There is a time for reflection, but a wise person recognizes the time to act!
Jesus called him. When Jesus calls, it is time to act. Improv works where once one of the actors does his part, the other actor must do his part for the show to go on. In songs where there is antiphonal singing, for the song to move forward each part of the choir, or each singer, must do their part.
