A Blind Man Sees “The Way”
Proper 25 B
Oct 21, 2024
Written by Kent McDougal
Introduction
Mark’s gospel organizes Jesus’ ministry geographically in three parts. It begins in Galilee and culminates in Jerusalem. Between these two, Mark describes Jesus’ ministry as he journeys from Galilee to Jerusalem.
Mark opens and closes this “journey” section with stories of Jesus giving sight to blind men, one at Bethsaida and the other today at Jericho. In between these two we are given a portrait of Jesus’ disciples who, while sighted, are consistently blind to the way of the cross.
The Disciples and a Blind Man at Bethsaida
Jesus’ identity and mission are not obvious. Sight does not equal insight. Mark highlights this by juxtaposing two blind men with his disciples who, although catechized by Jesus himself for years, do not perceive him clearly. Clear-eyed discipleship is a gift, a miracle of God’s mercy.
So Bartimaeus is not the first blind man to show up in Mark’s gospel. The other time, in fact the only other time, Jesus gives sight to a blind man is at the very end of his Galilean ministry at Bethsaida (8:22-26).
That healing had a very odd feature. Jesus touched an unnamed blind man at Bethsaida and yet the man’s sight was only partially restored. Mark tells us it’s only when Jesus touched the man a second time that, “...he saw everything clearly.”
Now Mark is always emphasizing Jesus’ great power to heal by saying his miracles are accomplished “immediately.” So what’s up with this odd two-staged miracle of giving someone sight?
A clue is found in Jesus’ questions to his disciples about their insight into his ministry just before he healed this first blind man. He asks them, "Do you not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and fail to see?"
Mark’s story compares the disciples’ inability to see spiritually to a man’s inability to see physically. So when Jesus finally gives sight to the blind man at Bethsaida, we are given hope as readers of the story that disciples of Jesus might one day see him clearly as well.
It also anticipates just how their spiritual sight will come. Like this first blind man, it will not happen without a second touch. Jesus has been revealing himself to his disciples as they follow him in Galilee, taking them aside privately to teach them the mysteries of the kingdom of God.
So right after the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida, Jesus’ ministry in Galilee culminates with Jesus asking his disciples this question “Who do you say that I am?”“What’s your insight into me and my ministry?
And Peter on behalf of all would-be-disciples says, “You are the Messiah!” Here we find the disciples have come to see Jesus as not only the one who brings the kingdom of God, he is in fact the King (the title “messiah” identifies Jesus as Israel’s anticipated anointed king).
Through the touch of Jesus they have come to see who he is - well, sorta! Like the blind man’s physical sight, they have had their spiritual sight restored, but only in some measure. They do not yet see Jesus clearly.
That’s why after Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus immediately tells them not to go around telling anyone. There is a lot more to what it means for him to be the Messiah than they now see. And this is the burden of Mark’s following storyline.
The Ongoing Blindness of Jesus’ Disciples
As they set out from Galilee for the capital city of Jerusalem, Jesus teaches his disciples that God would not be installing him as king in the typical way. The focus of the journey turns almost exclusively to the task of helping his disciples see this.
So three times Jesus tells them of his impending death and resurrection. “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.”
And three times Jesus’ disciples are called to follow this way. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me...If anyone wants to be first, he will be last of all and servant of all... even the Son of Man did not come to be served…”
And three times Mark portrays the disciples as utterly blind to this way of the cross. First, Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes him. Then they are caught debating who among them is the greatest. And finally they are exposed as jockeying for the top positions in Jesus’ kingdom.
As Messiah, Jesus seeks to give his life away; his disciples use him to secure theirs. For Jesus, messiahship means service, but his followers use it to serve themselves. The one who would be consumed for the life of the world is followed by those who consume to live.
This description of 1st century disciples could just as easily be a description of 21stcentury disciples. The American church needs to have her blindness to the way of the cross healed. Assuming we are not a part of a martyr-church, we secure our status as non-martyrs.
Blind to the way of the cross, we have assumed a smooth fit between the ways of God’s Kingdom and the ways of the world. Blind to the cross, we use Jesus primarily to secure our lives rather than give them away. Blind to the cross, Jesus becomes a means to our ends.
And so despite Jesus' patient instruction regarding his Messiahship, his disciples both now and then, lack “spiritual” insight into its central feature. We see but we do not see things clearly - our sight does not equal insight.
And now Jerusalem is just around the corner where Jesus will be revealed as the king of the world through death and resurrection. And yet there seems to be very little hope Jesus’ disciples will have eyes to see the profound cosmic events on the horizon.
Will they, will we, ever be able to join Job this morning and confess, “My ears have heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I retract and repent in dust and ashes”? (Job 42:5-6)
The Disciples and a Blind Man at Jericho
Significantly, the last story Mark tells us before Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem is today’s text in which he gives sight to the only other blind man in Mark’s gospel, the beggar Bartimaeus, “Son of Honor.”
And like the account of the first blind man, the story of blind Bartimaus is crafted by Mark to make further connections between his situation and the spiritual blindness of Jesus’ disciples.
For example, notice that after Jesus calls Bartimaeus and he throws off his cloak and comes to him, the first thing Jesus does is ask him this question, “What do you want me to do for you?”
As the late Yogi Berra said, this is "deja vu all over again." Remember our passage right before this we read last week? Jesus asked James and John this exact question, “What do you want me to do for you?”
In this way Mark invites us to compare Bartimaus’ “prayer request” to that of James’ & John’s. James and John respond blindly with a request for honor in Jesus’ kingdom. But this blind begging Son of Honor humbly implores Jesus’ mercy saying, "My Rabbi, I want to see again."
Note a further connection between Bartimaus and Jesus’ disciples. Mark begins this story describing Bartimaeus as one who is “by the way.” This “way” is “The way of the Lord” that has now in Mark’s Gospel also become the way of the cross.
Mark concludes the story saying Bartimaus followed Jesus “in the way.” Bartimaus has become a disciple of Jesus in the way of the cross. This is precisely what Jesus’ twelve cannot or will not see.
So this is a miracle story about a blind man receiving his sight but, even more, it is a story about the miracle of discipleship. If disciples in any century ever come to see Jesus clearly, it will take a miracle of God’s grace and mercy. But if that’s true, is there anything we can do?
Jesus has already warned his status seeking disciples that unless they become like a child (a person of no status) they will not enter the kingdom of God. Now today he points us to Bar-timaus and in so many words says, “If you don’t become like a blind beggar you will never see.”
So there is something we can do. We can acknowledge our blindness and we can beg. We can join Bartimaeus and cry out, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" "Kourie Eliason - Lord, have mercy!" "Rabbi, I want to see again!"
After his death & resurrection the Lord will meet his disciples back where they started, in Galilee. He will touch them a 2nd time and they will see clearly. And we too have hope, for the risen Lord is still afoot in our world touching the eyes of disciples who do not yet see clearly.
Conclusion: “Your Faith Has Saved You”
Bartimaus persisted in his cry for help, even in the face of opposition. And in the end Jesus said to him "Go, your faith has saved/healed you." So let us join him and persistently cry out in confidence that the crucified-risen Lord will hear our cry; that he will not pass us by.
Let us cry out to him begging him to restore our sight and put us “in the Way.” Let us join Bartimaeus and trust Christ's love and power to save us. For the God of Israel is a God of mercy for the helpless. Son of David, have mercy on us! So we are emboldened to humbly pray, “Open our eyes Lord, we want to see Jesus…”