Thursday: “What Do You Want Me to Do for You?”
Daily Lesson for Thursday 22nd of August 2024
Read Mark 10:46-52. How did Bartimaeus react to Jesus’ passing by?
Up to this point in the Gospel of Mark, with few exceptions, Jesus has been telling people to keep quiet about His miracles and about who He is. In this account, as He is leaving Jericho, a blind man begging on the side of the road, upon hearing that it is Jesus of Nazareth, begins to shout, “ ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ ” (Mark 10:47, NKJV). In keeping with the revelation/secrecy motif of the book, the crowd takes on the role of those calling for silence as they unsuccessfully try to quiet the noisy beggar.
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But Bartimaeus is undeterred and shouts even louder, “ ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ ” (Mark 10:48, NKJV). His words are both a confession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah and confidence that He can heal him. The title “Son of David” in Jesus’ day had two concepts connected with it—the restoration of a king to Israel’s throne (compare with Isaiah 11:1-16; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Jeremiah 33:15; Ezekiel 34:23-24; Ezekiel 37:24; Micah 5:2-4; Zechariah 3:8; and Zechariah 6:12), and that this personage would be a healer and exorcist.
Jesus stops and tells them to call the blind man. Significantly, the blind man throws off his cloak as he comes to Jesus. Blind people in Jesus’ day were at the bottom of society, along with widows and orphans. These were individuals below subsistence level and in real peril. The cloak would be the man’s security. Leaving it behind meant he had faith that Jesus would heal him.
Jesus does not disappoint. Indeed, whoever comes to Him for help in the Gospels always receives it. Jesus asks the same question He asked James and John in Mark 10:36, “ ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ ” (Mark 10:51, NKJV). Without hesitation, the blind man asks to receive his sight, which Jesus immediately restores. The blind man follows Him on the road.
This story is the close of the discipleship section in Mark, serving as a bookend with the other story of healing a blind man in Mark 8:22-26. The two stories illustrate how discipleship is about seeing the world with new eyes, sometimes not clearly at first but always following Jesus in the way He leads.
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In what ways have you at times cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”? What happened, and what did you learn from this experience? |
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I love the miracles of Jesus for they reveal a Savior who is deeply concerned with the physical and spiritual well-being of His people.
Bartimaeus hears that Jesus is passing by and he is not about to be deneied from having an audience with Him. He is tired of living in the dark, begging for handouts. The people around him try to calm him down, but he won't be silenced. With friends like that, who needs enemies. He cries all the louder, "Jesus, Son of David have mercy on me". Hopefully we don't hinder someone from receiving a touch from the "Master's Hand", but instead take them to Jesus. Do you need a touch of mercy from Jesus today? I know that I do. Cry out to Jesus and He will come running to you.
Can you just imagine being blind and the first face that you see is the face of Jesus? That would be glory!
Maybe we need a fresh touch from Jesus to see how lovely He is. It's easy over time to develop spiritual cataracts that prevent us from seeing Jesus as He truly is.
Open my eyes Jesus, that I might see you more clearly and follow you more nearly. "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me"!
About a dozen years ago I had a retinal detachment in my left eye. As a result of all the treatment on that eye, I developed cataracts and had to have the lens replaced. It is an amazing process and the marvel for me was the surgery was very quick and the next day I was walking around without an eye patch, My grandmother had a lens replacement in the 1960s and had to lie with her head on a sand pillow for 6 weeks. I noticed as soon as I had access to vision in both my eyes, that the vision in my treated eye was much bluer than it was in my other eye, which was notably yellowish. I mentioned it to my vitreo-retinal surgeon on the followup visit, and he explained that as we grow older, the lens yellows and we don't notice it because we do not have a comparison. He also pointed out that if you lined up all of Van Gogh's artworks in chronological order you would notice a distinct yellowing occurring over his lifetime.
With my eyesight I notice the difference and can easily switch from yellow to blueish simply be closing one eye or the other.
Jesus healed Bartimaeus's sight and changed the colour of his world. Not only that, he changed his life forever. As Mark records:
Jesus has promised to heal our spiritual sight; read the Laodicean Message. Don't be surprised if we get more colour into our lives if we follow his advice. Some of us have grown old in the message and have not seen our spiritual landscape yellowing with age. We may be in more need of spiritual cataract surgery than we realise.
Maurice,
Welcome back. Your insightful response always color our world. Thanking God for eyesalve and for spiritual sight and insight.
Good to have you back, Maurice – thank you for pointing out the deeper meaning of what Jesus meant when He said: ”Go thy way; they faith hath made thee whole.” He did not say: ‘I made you whole’, He pointed out that faith is needed to make one whole.
It does not matter whether we are in need of physical healing, as we, first and foremost, are in need of spiritual healing which is provided to us through faith. All who were healed confessed that they believe. The Holy Spirit is willing and able to do the ‘cataract surgery’ for all who request it. 🙂
Christ had a valid question. Of course I would ask for my sight back if I were blind. Just by giving him what he wanted Christ opened his spiritual blindness also. Would not we go a way saying I have got to tell somebody, I just have to tell somebody, Incentivised by Christ miricle the now made to see blind man became a witness of Christ love and mission.
While I was reading the first part of verse 48 of the lesson I was appalled at the people following Jesus warning Bartimaeus to be quiet instead of leading him to Jesus in the first place. I pray the Lord opens my eyes to those around me who are crying out for Jesus and a willingness to tell them how much He loves and wants them.
There is no surprise that people would tell the blind man to be quiet. Of course, the people likely didn’t intend harm; they may have thought they were maintaining order or respecting Jesus' journey. However, their actions inadvertently attempted to stifle Bartimaeus' expression of faith. This teaches us that even well-meaning voices can hinder our spiritual progress. We must remain resolute in our faith, not allowing others' opinions or societal expectations to silence our cries for divine help. True discipleship involves persistently seeking Jesus, regardless of opposition, and trusting that He hears and responds to our needs, just as He did for Bartimaeus. Faith often requires courageous persistence.
Lord, it is because of You that we move, live and have our whole being!
Lord open my spiritual eyes that I may see clearly what You want me to see..Amen.
I'm going for an ultrasound scan tomorrow,I hope I get to see my baby doing well .
The story of blind Bartimaeus is synonymous with the story of the disciples forbidding children to come to Jesus. What makes Bartimaeus story so profound is that He kept shouting, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.”; and Jesus’ question, “What can I do for you.” The key lesson here is that we should not let anyone stop us from seeking Jesus and our salvation. We should also endeavor to be precise when Jesus is knocking at the door of our hearts and asking us, “What can I do for you.”