JESUS MEETS BARTIMAEUS ON THE JERUSALEM-JERICHO ROAD

MARK 10:46–52

Several months after the Feast of Dedication, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. The Temple leaders were so threatened by this miracle that they sought to arrest Jesus. So he took his disciples to the village of Ephraim until the initial threat had passed (John 11:1–57). We next find Jesus and his disciples coming into Jericho on their way to Jerusalem for Passover. It was then that Jesus had an important encounter with the blind man Bartimaeus.

Mark is not the only Gospel writer to recount the meeting between Jesus and Bartimaeus on the Jerusalem-Jericho road. But Mark clearly had a special interest in this exchange, not so much because of what Jesus did but because of what Bartimaeus said. To be sure, this was yet another compassionate miracle performed by Jesus, and it offers Mark’s readers something unique as well. We will see what that contribution is and why it finds new meaning on the road that links Jericho with Jerusalem.

Blind man requesting donations.

View looking west from the Jericho road toward the Cypros fortress. It was on the Jericho road that Jesus met blind Bartimaeus.

Both Jesus and Bartimaeus made use of this road, but for very different reasons. Jesus left Jericho with Jerusalem as his destination. This trip took him through some of the most rugged and hostile terrain in the Promised Land, but even though it was difficult to travel, the Roman road was the most accessible way through the Judean Wilderness.22 Bartimaeus came to this roadway for a different reason—not to travel but to beg. Bartimaeus lived on the margins of society and relied on the charity of others. His need stands in striking contrast to the lavish wealth of Jericho in the first century.23 Thus Jesus and Bartimaeus both came to the Roman road, but for very different reasons.

As the two met, the exchange that occurred between them was significant. Bartimaeus pleaded for help and received it. He had hoped to receive a contribution that might make a minor change; instead he received a gift that revolutionized his life—Jesus restored his sight. What is also striking is what Bartimaeus gave to Jesus by addressing him as the Son of David. This was a very important detail. Not only did Bartimaeus shout this title, but he shouted it repeatedly (Mark 10:46–48). The title is important because it links Jesus to the messianic prophecies of Scripture such as Isaiah’s: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him. . . . He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears” (Isa. 11:1–3; see also Jer. 23:5–6; Ezek. 34:23–24). In this repeated phrase, Bartimaeus reminds us where Jesus was heading (Mark 10:32–34). Jesus, the King of Kings, was on his way to Jerusalem to rightfully claim David’s throne. So it was on the road out of Jericho leading to Jerusalem that Bartimaeus addressed Jesus with a title that proclaimed his purpose for going to Jerusalem.

Jericho road (view looking east). Jesus and his disciples took this road up to Jerusalem after leaving Jericho.