Calling Out to God: Mark 10:46-48
Starting something big, like having a relationship with God, takes courage and determination. Don’t get me wrong. With respect to salvation, God did all the work on the cross. But when it comes to meeting God so that we can become more like Christ, we need to do our part.
In Jericho we meet Bartimaeus, who is a blind beggar accustomed to sitting by the roadside. In the ancient world, one of the primary duties of a man was to provide for his family. Depending on when his blindness occurred, Bartimaeus might be married but unable to support the family. If the blindness occurred early in life, he might not have a family of his own at all. In either case, the only way he knows how to feel important is to beg alongside the road for money to support the people around him.
Bartimaeus hears Jesus coming. He immediately calls out for Jesus, the Son of David, to come and have mercy upon Him. The term Son of David, especially when used in this context, was a Messianic term. Bartimaeus is claiming to believe Jesus comes in God’s power. He’s heard was Jesus has done for others and he believes Jesus can do the same for him.
The crowd rebukes Bartimaeus, which is a very interesting detail. Normally the crowd seeks out the lame, crippled, blind, or otherwise disabled as an opportunity to see the spectacle. Here, the crowd quiets Bartimaeus. It could be that they don’t believe Bartimaeus is worth Jesus’ time. It could be Bartimaeus was obnoxiously loud as a beggar in scraping together anything to bring home. It could be that Jesus was teaching and Bartimaeus made it difficult to hear Jesus. We don’t know why the crowd told Bartimaeus to be silent, but they did.
Bartimaeus gives us a lesson in perseverance. He also gives a lesson in proactive behavior. Bartimaeus knows what He wants. He wants an interaction with God’s Messiah. Bartimaeus wants an interaction with someone who can change his life. Bartimaeus goes and gets it. Being blind, he can’t go up to Jesus and force an encounter, so he does everything in his power to get bring the encounter to him. In spite of the crowd, Bartimaeus does what needs to be done.
Putting the example of Bartimaeus in juxtaposition with the teachings of Jesus over the last chapter can lead to difficulties. We’ve heard Jesus lecture on servant-leadership. Yet, here we have Bartimaeus proactively drawing attention to himself. The difference is in their place along the path of discipleship. When talking about servant-leadership, Jesus was teaching people already in a deep relationship with God. Bartimaeus, on the other hand, is trying to start that relationship. Bartimaeus’ commotion isn’t about demonstrating his greatness in God, it’s about coming to God in the first place. Starting something big, like having a relationship with God, takes courage and determination.
