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.

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?