NL 232: Bartimaeus Healed

image: Sculpture "Jesus healing blind Bartimaeus" by Johann Heinrich Stöver, photo by Marion Halft / CC BY-SA (wikimedia)

Mark 10:32-51

Initial Thoughts

  • Excellent lecture by Grace Imathiu  at the 2013 Festival of Homiletics, she used this text as an example of interactive preaching and preaching prep- you can probably find the audio online- we’ll include some thoughts below

  • Bookend of healing- give “sight” to the blind- should be tied to Mark 8:22-26 the healing at Bethsaida

Bible Study

  • v. 32-34 On the road to Jerusalem, those following were both amazed and afraid. Then he takes 12 aside and again predicts his death and Resurrection, which will culminate in a clash with chief priests in Jerusalem.

    • Rolf Jacobsen: What if we stopped calling this the prediction, and instead called it an announcement, or a mission statement. 

    • In other words, Jesus’ very mission is understood to be one of sacrifice and service. From the start, It is not about triumphalism. It is immediately after this teaching the James on John “call shotgun.”

  • The Story

    • James and John’s Request:

      • After this teaching about impending death, James and John approach Jesus and ask, “We want you to do whatever we ask.”

      • Seriously strange request.

      • Interesting to note that in Matthew, it is their mother that asks this question.

    • Jesus’ Response:

      • You don’t know what you’re asking

      • I am going to suffer a great deal, I don’t think this is the joyride you’re expecting.

    • J and J: Yes we can.

    • Jesus’ Second Response:

      • You’re right.

      • Shotgun is not mine to grant. There is someone else driving this car.

    • Other 10 get mad

      • Their anger demonstrates they are no better. They’re mad at James and John for trying to finagle a better place. They still think of the ‘better place’ in the traditional way.

      • They’re probably just mad that they didn’t think of it first.

    • Jesus Third Response:

      • Leadership is different now.

      • Power in the Kingdom of God is not defined in the way it always has been. Power is not about control and coercion. Instead, it is about service.

  • Interpretation

    • “James and John have fully embraced the wonder and power of Jesus. But they seek to turn his promise and power to their own advantage. In doing so, they show how badly they have misconstrued his intentions. In one of his most remarkable utterances, Jesus reverses field and redefines the largeness of the gospel.” (Charles Cousar, Texts for Preaching, Year B, p. 549)

      • Reverses common understanding of what power is.

      • Redefines the patronage system, turning it on its head.

      • Continues the themes from last week, especially how it ended.

    • James and John do not lack ambition. It is not their ambition that Jesus has a problem with. He redirects their ambition to match the Kingdom, as opposed to their own glory.

      • He never says “no.” He simply warns them that honor and glory only comes through service and sacrifice. 

      • “Maybe the greater sin in the seminary and the church is not misplaced ambition but complacency and lack of ambition altogether. Where ambition exists, it can be redirected and purified. But where it is entirely absent, mediocrity takes hold, the status quo hardens, and professors and committees debate endlessly about methodology and procedure. Yes, it is too easy to demonize James and John; their act of stepping forward matters more to Jesus than their immediate reasons for doing so.” Stephen Chapman, Christian Century, Oct 17, 2006)

    • NRSV: Ransom vs CEB: Liberate

      • “At the same time, Jesus' mention of a "ransom" indicates that his death will be more than just an inspiring example or a martyr's tragic protest against an unjust system. The word in question (in Greek,lytron) indicates that his death does something; it secures a release. This verse often sparks lively debates, and it has a history of, in my opinion, being misunderstood by those who take the notion of a "ransom" to mean a specific type of payment. In those readings, Jesus' death is transactional, a payment made to satisfy the penalties accrued by human sin or to repay something owed to God. “

      • Jesus’ mission is “to serve and to give his life to liberate many people”

  • Bookends - Between Mark 8:22-26 and Mark 10:46-52 (the two stories of healing) there are many stories of “spiritual blindness”: 

    • Peter doesn’t see what it means for Jesus to be the Messiah, 

    • Peter James and John don’t see the importance of the Transfiguration and want to stay on the mountain, 

    • the disciples cannot see the importance of prayer in healing the boy w the unclean spirit, 

    • they do not see that to be greatest is to be least,

    •  they do not see the importance of the little children and 

    • they don’t see that we need to be served

  • Jericho - a pit stop on Jesus’ preaching tour. Jericho is so uneventful that the moment Jesus arrives he leaves again.

    • The focus is not Jericho - oldest city in the world, city where the Israelites entered the promised land, city of Joshua, city of Rahab, city of Herod’s winter palace, city where the Romans were very present - despite all of the political, historical and theological high points of Jericho, in the end what isn’t what matters

    • What matters? A blind man on the side of the road

  • Bartimaeus

    • Marginalized of the marginalized - blind (strike 1), beggar (strike 2), Bar-Timaeus lit. son of the defiled/unclean (strike 3)

    • “Son of David” -  Political declaration - dangerous declaration - heralds Jesus as the Messiah and heir to the throne of David

      • Bartimaeus sees what the other cannot - like the demons he knows that God has arrived and will act

      • By virtue of being the Son of David- Jesus should care for Bartimaeus

    • They urge Bartimaeus to be quiet

      • What he is saying is dangerous & seditious (Mark is written in the midst or right after the Jewish Revolt was quashed by Rome) - “be quiet or we will all get killed”

      • Bartimaeus is not worthy to call out to Jesus (like the children)

      • Similar to the mainline churches who urged King to tone down his rhetoric

    • Discontent

      • He is not willing to remain by the side of the road

      • He is unwilling to accept the situation and demands that God act

      • He approaches Jesus naked- all pretensions and clothing removed- literally bared before God

    • Once healed- Bartimaeus follow Jesus

      • He has been transformed not just from blind to sight, but from a “road sitter to a Jesus follower”

      • He has courage to leave Jericho

Thoughts and Questions

  • What is the place for ambition in the Church? Can ambition be pointed in the right direction? Is mediocrity a recipe for disaster?

  • When new people come into our church, are we honest about what they’re getting into? If the church is simply a place to come and feel good, meet friends, and be encouraged for the rest of the week, then there is really no need for a warning (and no need for a church). Is the church doing anything that would get us crucified? Is the church taking any chances? Is there a prophetic voice, a move for justice? 

  • If Jesus’ prediction of his death and resurrection isn’t a prediction, but instead a mission statement. What does that mean?

    • He’s redefining messiah.

    • He’s redefining power, greatness, and honor.

    • He’s redefining God, and God’s mission in the world.

  • What are our spiritual blind spots? Where do we need to have our sight restored?

  • How often do we overlook the important moments of life in favor of what we think should be important? eg: The brief encounter before church, The person we bump into at the grocery store, the gas station clerk on the way to church. Life happens in the “pit stops” and sometimes the most inconvenient interruption can be transformative and life changing.

  • Are we willing to leave Jericho? The relative safety and security of the status quo for the unknown trials, betrayal, persecutions and agony of Jerusalem? Jericho is bad (but at least it is known), Jericho is bad but it gives us a paycheck at the end of each month.

    • Sometimes it is very difficult to leave a known bad situation for an unknown calling

  • Are we willing to speak out against untenable situations (rampant gun violence and school shootings)?

Year 2Eric FistlerMarkComment