This coming Sunday is the 30th Sunday in lectionary cycle B. The gospel is the story of Bartimaeus, a blind man, who cries out to Jesus for pity. Despite the rebuke of the bystanders, Bartimaeus calls out even more vigorously. And in so doing he encounters Jesus who asks, “What do you want me to do for you?”At first glance it might seem that this is another miracle story in which Jesus reaches out to the marginal. It is indeed a miracle story, in fact it is the final healing miracle in the Gospel of Mark. But it is also an account that is part of a mosaic that Mark has been constructing.

Before we move ahead, let’s recount some of the pericopes that preceded today’s gospel.

• The Gradual Healing of a Blind Man (8:22-26)

In between are predictions of the Passion, Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah, the Transfiguration, the accounts of being “on the way” as the disciples argue about who will great in the kingdom, the rich young man who was unwilling to give up all that he had and follow Jesus, and the Apostles John and James asking for places of honor when Jesus comes into his Kingdom.

• The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus (10:46-52)

It is as though these two healing stories form bookends to this section – yet the stories are slightly different. In the first account we are not given a name for the blind person and are left to assume, given the location of Bethsaida, that the person is Jewish.  In the second account, the names are Hellenistic and we have some room to speculate that Bartimaeus is gentile. His calling out to Jesus as “Son of David” – like the Syro-Phoenician woman – hints at also being Gentile. While there is a good deal of speculation, some scholars propose that there is a missionary paradigm being described. The Gentiles are people “born blind” who suddenly see in the light of Christ. The Jewish folk are people born in the light but have lost their sight; the restoration process will come only in stages. The missionary paradigm is that Jesus’ first mission is to Israel, but the ending mission will be to the whole world.

This week’s gospel  especially serves as a dramatic contrast to the gospels of the two previous Sundays. Two weeks ago we heard the story of the man who had kept all of the commandments from his youth and who had many possessions. This was understood in the 1st century as a sign that he had been blessed by God. But he is not able to part with his possessions. He is not able to follow Jesus “on the way.” In today’s text, we have a man who is blind and a beggar, understood as a sign that he was a “sinner” and not blessed by God (see John 9 for this traditional view and Jesus’ rejection of it). However, the blind-beggar, throws off his cloak (v. 50), perhaps his only possession, and is able to follow Jesus on the way.

Last week we had James and John seeking positions of honor at Jesus’ side when he entered his glory. In our text, we have a man who is sitting by the side of the road (hodos = “way”) crying for mercy (or pity), certainly not a position of honor. In each event we hear Jesus’ words: “What do you want me to do for you?”

Let us remember where we are in Mark’s telling of the Gospel, which I would suggest in this part of the gospel is an extended exploration of not only Christology, but also the challenges of discipleship.

Perhaps first among the challenges of discipleship is seeing clearly the One being followed. The first account of the giving of sight comes after a section in which Jesus has performed miracles (feeding the 4,000) only to have the people request more signs.  At this point Jesus warns them of the “leaven of the Pharisees.”  Yet the apostles still seemed a bit bewildered and failed to understand Jesus’ point.

8:22 When they arrived at Bethsaida, they brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on him and asked, “Do you see anything? 24 Looking up he replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.” 25 Then he laid hands on his eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.

Between the bookend stories of giving sight (making things clear) Mark’s narrative continues with teachings about the true nature of the Messiah and what it means to be a disciple. Slowly, slowly the disciples are beginning to see things distinctly.

Image credit: “Healing the Blind Man” | Václav Mánes | 1832 | National Gallery Prague | PD-US