Mark 10:46-52

Mark 10:46-52 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

⁴⁶ Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road [as was his custom]. ⁴⁷ When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say, “Jesus, ^[a]Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸ Many sternly rebuked him, telling him to keep still and be quiet; but he kept on shouting out all the more, “Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, telling him, “Take courage, get up! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ And Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni (my Master), let me regain my sight.” ⁵² Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith [and confident trust in My power] has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Jesus on the road.

Personal insights

Many times we hear this passage referred to as the story of Blind Bartimaeus.  However, if we read through this encounter we see that although he is physically blind he is not spiritually blind.  He might not see Jesus with his eyes in the physical sense but he sees Jesus for who He really is.  He is the Messiah, the Son of David. 

Jesus has many names by which He is referred to which gives us an insight into His character.  What does the name Messiah mean?  The Hebrew word for Messiah is mashiach which means anointed one or chosen one.  In the Greek the name is Christos where we get the English name Christ.  Jesus was anointed by God the Father for a special purpose.  He was to be the Saviour of the world.

When Bartimaeus called out to Jesus he made known who he believed Jesus to be.  Notice his first ask of Jesus was not to have his sight restored specifically but to be given mercy.   He was asking Jesus to be compassionate to him.  Notice the crowd’s reaction to him calling to Jesus.  They told him to be quiet, they were embarrassed by his open display of his needs before Jesus.  It would have been easy for Bartimaeus to be discouraged by the crowd and to be quiet and continue his daily ritual of sitting by the roadside begging but his reaction was different.  He shouts all the more.  His encounter with Jesus was more important than what everyone else thought of him.  Bartimaeus stopped Jesus in His tracks and had a one on one with the Saviour of the world.  Jesus is a personal God.  Despite what was ahead for Jesus He had time for this man on the roadside.  He met Bartimaeus where he was at.  Bartimaeus response was not one of timidity or fearfulness in approaching Jesus but one of courage, enthusiasm and full of expectancy.  Jesus’s words to Bartimaeus was “What do you want me to do for you?”  His response was simple “I want to see”.  Jesus healed Bartimaeus’s sight but it was because of His faith in Jesus.  Bartimaeus believed and trusted in Jesus’s power to heal him and it was instant.  Bartimaeus reaction to this healing was to follow Jesus where He went.  He became a disciple of Jesus.  There was a complete life transformation because of His faith in Jesus.

Many people who read that story have their physical sight, they can read, they can play sports and enjoy the wonders of God’s creation around them.  However, they are blind in the spiritual sense.  They might go to church, read His Word but there is no transformation.  Jesus wants to change us from the inside out.  We might look all put together on the outside but the inside is dark and there is a need for the light of the world to come in and illuminate.

John 8:31-32 says that if we hold to Jesus teaching then we are His disciples and if we know the truth then the truth will set us free.

We can either sit by the roadside begging like Bartimaeus did until he met Jesus  or we can trust in the one who can set us free.  The choice is ours to make.

Mark 10:35-45

Mark 10:35-45 Amplified Bible (AMP)

³⁵ James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” ³⁶ And He replied to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³⁷ They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit [with You], one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory [Your majesty and splendor in Your kingdom].” ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism [of suffering and death] with which I am baptized?” ³⁹ And they replied to Him, “We are able.” Jesus told them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. ⁴⁰ But to sit on My right or left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared [by My Father].”
⁴¹ Hearing this, the [other] ten became indignant with James and John. ⁴² Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their powerful men exercise authority over them [tyrannizing them]. ⁴³ But this is not how it is among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first and most important among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ^[a]ransom for many.”

Personal Insights

This passage of Scripture starts out with a request from Jesus' closest disciples, James and John.  They ask Jesus "We want you to do for us whatever we ask".  We might read this and our initial reaction might be "wow the audacity of these two men" or "who do they think they are?"  However, have a bit of a think back to some of the requests we have made of God recently in our conversations with Him.  "Lord I need you to fix this situation now" or "why does God not answer my prayers regarding .........." or we have a meltdown in front of God because we are not getting what we want.  
James and John didn't understand what they were asking and often times we are no different.  James and John hadn't fully grasped what Jesus was soon going to go through on the cross and the suffering He would experience.  Soon they would understand not only Jesus suffering but also, in time, they would experience personal suffering.  It is a good thing that God does not answer yes to every request we ask of Him.  In His wisdom He knows it would not end well.

James, John and the rest of the disciples  needed a lesson regarding pride and humility.  It was pride that was the downfall of Satan and it's the downfall of many us since.   Pride is described in the Biblical sense of giving ourselves credit for something that God has accomplished.  Pride is essentially the worship of ourselves and that can get messy.  I am sure all of us have tripped over our own pride and have the bruises to prove it.

Jesus has a different way for us to live and that is the path of humility.  Jesus walked that path and has given us a perfect example.  If any of us struggle with a bad attitude then we only need to turn to Philippians 2 to see how to counteract that.  Pray for the same attitude as Christ.

As people of God we are called to a different way.  We are called to a life of humility and not arrogance.  Humility is a heart attitude.  We are new creations if we are in Christ.  (2 Cor 5:17 and Gal 2:20)  We need to understand who we are in Christ and walk in that truth.  When we walk in His ways we experience life with Him and that life is a life of abundance (John 10:10).  Ephesians 3:20 is the verse that we are clinging to this year.  I love the Amplified version of it.

„Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us…”

So what requests are you and I making of God this year? What questions are we asking of Him?  Let us be wise in those moments and take stock of the motives behind them.