This coming Sunday is the 30th Sunday. An interesting bit of background come from Dan Clendenin at Journey with Jesus

If “Timaeus” sounds vaguely familiar, you might be channeling your college introduction to philosophy class.  Timaeus is the title of Plato’s most famous dialogue and the name of its narrator.  In the Timaeus and elsewhere, Plato famously contrasts “seeing” the mere physical world while being “blind” to Eternal Truths.

And so Bartimaeus begs Jesus, “Rabbi, I want to see!” Continue reading →

51 Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” 52 Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

This coming Sunday is the 30th Sunday. Jesus replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?”  One might note that either I miscopied v.51, but the astute student will know that I am citing v.36 when James and John ask for the places of honor. In both verses the verb is thelō. Again Mark is drawing our attention to the differences, this time between Bartimaeus and the disciples. Where they ask for glory, power, and prestige, the blind ask for mercy and healing. The blind man’s faith was recognized by the Lord as an affirmation of confident trust in the gracious mercy of God and his power to heal (cf Mark 5:34). The healing was immediate. Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 30th Sunday. Neither the blind man’s social status or the crowds’ rebuke matter to Jesus. It is evident that Bartimaeus has heard about Jesus of Nazareth and that his relentless crying of “Son of David, have pity upon me” reflects a conviction, formed on the basis of what he had heard, that Jesus could restore his sight. Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 30th Sunday. Though Bartimaeus was blind, he understood a great deal about Jesus. There is a division of opinion about the expression “Son of David.” Some scholars hold that it is a generally accepted, polite moniker for a Jew. Others hold that it is a title with Messianic overtones as indicated in documents from the Qumran community. Others take it more literally because in Judaism there was a tradition that Solomon, as David’s son, was specially enabled by God to heal (Josephus Antiquities 8.41–47). There is something compelling, in the shadow of the City of David, to suspect that the Markan Messianic “secret” is becoming unveiled. Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 30th Sunday. These gospel verses are the last healing and miracle in the Gospel of Mark. It is easily passed over as another miracle among many, but the story of Bartimaeus (bar-Timeaeus; lit. Son of Timeaus) is in some ways the most significant since the restoration of sight is the one miracle not recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. There are general promises in Isaiah that promise healing and deliverance (Isaiah 29:1; 32:1-3; 35:1-10) along with specific promises that in the day of the Messiah the blind will have their sight restored (Is 42:18; 61:1-4), but there is no account of sight being restored. (Note: the restoration of sight to Tobit is recorded in a Deuterocanonical book) Continue reading →

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. Continue reading →