Reasoning Through the Bible
Taking a cue from Paul, Reasoning Through the Bible is an expository style walk through the Scriptures that tells you what the Bible says. Reviewing both Old and New Testament books, as well as topical subjects, we methodically teach verse by verse, even phrase by phrase.
We have completed many books of the Bible and offer free lesson plans for teachers. If you want to browse our entire library by book or topic, see our website www.ReasoningThroughTheBible.com.
We primarily do expository teaching but also include a good bit of theology and apologetics. Just like Paul on Mars Hill, Christianity must address both the ancient truths and the questions of the people today. Join Glenn and Steve every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as they reason with you through the Bible.
Reasoning Through the Bible
S38 || What Do You Really Want? || Mark 10:46-52 || Session 38 || Verse by Verse Bible Study
The story of blind Bartimaeus offers one of the most powerful metaphors for spiritual transformation in the Gospels. When a blind beggar on the roadside hears Jesus is passing by, he recognizes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and refuses to remain silent, even as the crowd attempts to quiet him. His persistent cry—"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"—reveals remarkable spiritual insight from a man who physically couldn't see.
The question Jesus asks—"What do you want me to do for you?"—mirrors the exact question he asked James and John earlier in the chapter. Their response revealed selfish ambition for power and status, while Bartimaeus simply wanted sight. This profound contrast challenges us: when Jesus asks us the same question today, are we seeking worldly success or spiritual vision?
Though Jesus tells the newly-sighted man to "go," Bartimaeus chooses instead to "follow him on the road"—the ultimate picture of discipleship born from genuine transformation. His story reminds us that spiritual blindness affects us all, regardless of social status, and that Jesus stands ready to heal those who persistently call out to him.
Whether you've walked with Jesus for decades or are just beginning to explore faith, this episode will challenge you to examine what you might need to leave behind to fully follow Christ.
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May God Bless you!! - Glenn and Steve
There's an old Christian hymn that says Once I was lost, but now I'm found. Once I was blind, but now I see that hymn. Part of the lyrics there talk about being blind and now we see came from these passages in the Gospels where Jesus heals blind people. And that's what we're going to see today in Mark, chapter 10. Jesus is going to return the sight to blind Bartimaeus. Hi, my name's Glenn and I'm here with Steve and we are Reasoning Through the Bible.
Speaker 1:Today we are, as I said, in Mark, chapter 10, starting in verse 46. Jesus is traveling. He's still on the go. He's been on the go, really, really, for the whole gospel since Mark, chapter 8, when he got his disciples to realize who he is. Who do you say that I am? They respond you are the Christ. After that point he changed his message. Before that he was talking about the kingdom and now he's talking about the cross.
Speaker 1:The entire last half of Mark is headed towards the cross. Jesus told them that if they want to follow him, they must take up their cross, which means to die to self. Then, in chapter 8, verse 37, what will a man give in exchange for his soul? So Jesus is getting them to realize more of these spiritual things that are going to come into play at the death and resurrection. Chapter 9 was the Mount of Transfiguration. He cast a demon out of a boy, predicted his own death and resurrection. We are most recently here in chapter 10, where he had a message on marriage and divorce and talked a lot about money and wealth. Message on marriage and divorce and talked a lot about money and wealth. Here Jesus is again traveling and he's going to meet a blind man, so we're going to see what happens here with this interaction. Steve, can you read Mark chapter 10 from verse 46 to 52?
Speaker 2:Then they came to Jericho and as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples, in a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more. Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stopped and said call him here. So they called the blind man, saying to him take courage, stand up, he's calling for you. Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus and, answering him, jesus said what do you want me to do for you? Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus and, answering him, jesus said what do you want me to do for you? And the blind man said to him Rabboni, I want to regain my sight. And Jesus said to him Go, your faith has made you well. Immediately, he regained his sight and began following him on the road.
Speaker 1:So again, jesus is on the go. He's traveling in and towards the town of Jericho and he encounters this blind man, steve. What would have been the social status of a blind man in those days?
Speaker 2:He would have been low in the strata of the social classes because, being blind, there's a lot of things that he wouldn't have been able to do to earn a living, and it says he was a beggar. That was what he primarily did. Is he relied on other people to be giving him money for his sustenance?
Speaker 1:And apparently he's begging on the side of the main roadway, which is where people would be traveling in between Jericho and Jerusalem. He's there begging. The text says he's just sitting and he's just sitting and Jesus happens to walk by and of course, nothing is by chance in the Scriptures. This is another divine appointment. What would have happened if Bartimaeus would have been silent? Here he hears that Jesus is going by and he calls out to him. He didn't have to, he could have just sat there and let Jesus walk by. What would have happened to Bartimaeus if he would have just let Jesus walk?
Speaker 2:by. In other places it depicts people trying to just get close to Jesus to touch the hem of his cloak. In this case, we see Bartimaeus crying out, but while he's crying out, the crowd around him are trying to keep him quiet. So I think to answer your question would be if he just kept silent and didn't say anything at all, the crowd would have been around him and not even had him to a place where he could even touch Jesus, and of course he was blind, so he wouldn't necessarily have known exactly when Jesus was coming by. Ultimately, though, if he would have kept quiet, he probably would not have gotten healed.
Speaker 1:There's times in our lives today when opportunity is before us, and that's what was happening here with Bartimaeus. Opportunity was before him. He had the opportunity to cry out to Jesus. If he would have been silent and let Jesus walk by, he would have lost the opportunity. Now, today, jesus is not in a physical place on earth, so we can approach him at any time. But I firmly believe there's opportunities in our lives where we can accept Christ because the Holy Spirit's pulling us or we're in a circumstance where the distractions are not there or God has cut through all of the defenses that we put up and we have opportunities. We have a window of opportunity where we could call out to Christ and get a response, and if we miss that window of opportunity, we might not get another chance. We might not feel the Holy Spirit pulling us Just like Bartimaeus. We need to take advantage. When Jesus is before us, when Jesus is walking by us today in a figurative sense, we need to call out to him.
Speaker 1:In verse 47, he heard that it was Jesus walking by and he began to cry out Son of David, have mercy on me. And the next verse 48,. Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, so they were trying to get him to shut up. They're saying sternly, saying quiet, you're bothering the master. He calls out, all the more when he hears it's Jesus With that. What lesson can we have from Bartimaeus? They had a crowd telling him be quiet, don't call out, don't go for this religious stuff. Just sit here and stay at where you were, hope that life gets better, but don't go calling for Jesus. What happens today when we find ourselves in a situation like Bartimaeus? What can we learn from his?
Speaker 2:persistence. Well, one thing that we can pick up is from the crowd. If we're in the crowd perspective, we shouldn't be trying to silence somebody that's reaching out to Jesus. We should be encouraging them to reach out to Jesus. The other thing is is that from Bartimaeus' perspective, if you're reaching out to Jesus, don't listen to the. You are reaching out because you have a conviction from the Holy Spirit and you need to heed that conviction and reach out. Whenever you reach out, jesus will answer and your life will be changed, for sure.
Speaker 1:Blind Bartimaeus was a poor beggar. He had no money or he wouldn't have been begging. So he was the lowest man on the totem pole, the lowest of the social status. He had people around him telling him to be quiet, don't call out for Christ, don't call to Jesus. He could have gotten discouraged. It would have been very easy for him to be discouraged at that point. But he doesn't.
Speaker 1:He says he called out all the more for Jesus. So that's how we should be. We should not let the people around us get us discouraged. We should call out for Christ and reach out to Him, because he really is our only hope. And if we call out to Him he will hear us and he will answer and he will help us. And he is really our only hope. And in Him we have encouragement. In Him we have a potential to be something he wants us to be, something great. And if we're left to ourselves, all we're going to be is a poor, blind beggar on the side of the road. Without Him we really have no hope. But with Him we have all these wonderful opportunities.
Speaker 1:I mean, how would Bartimaeus' life be changed? He can see now. There's a world of opportunities open to him, now that his eyes are open. It was all because of his persistence. He saw this window of opportunity and he called out to Christ. Now the other lesson I think we can learn here, steve people were walking by Bartimaeus every day and not noticing him, where he was just part of the background. He was part of the scenery and they walked by every day and didn't notice him. The disciples here there's no indication they took notice of him until he was calling out for Jesus. Are there people today that we walk by every day and don't notice and we don't notice them and we don't notice their needs? Remember a few chapters back.
Speaker 2:There were four friends that took their crippled friend and brought him to Jesus, and they went to a great extent to do that. Jesus was in a house. They couldn't get in through the door, so they took their friend on this stretcher to the top, dug a hole through the roof and then lowered their friend down. It's the exact opposite of what we see here. Apparently, bartimaeus doesn't have any friends around, and if they are, they're part of this crowd that's telling him to be quiet and not disturb the master as he walks by. We should heed and be like those friends that went the extra mile to take their friend to Jesus, get him there in front of Jesus any way possible, versus the crowd that we see here trying to silence Bartimaeus. Be a friend that is constantly trying to get your friends in front of Jesus rather than not saying anything at all to them about Jesus.
Speaker 1:All around us are people that are low on the social status. All around us we have people that are in need and sometimes they don't show it. I mean, people go to church every Sunday and we put on our Sunday clothes and we put on our Sunday mask and we hide our needs. When people say how you doing, we say fine, and we're really not. Really, we need to look around us and try to be aware of those around us that are in need, and try to be aware of those around us that are in need and to see them and put our hand on their shoulder and say, well, I want to pray for you and I want to give you a word of encouragement and ultimately like to introduce you to my friend, jesus.
Speaker 1:I think if we are to notice the people around us that are like Bartimaeus, then the world would be a slightly better place. That will do some of the greatest work for the kingdom of Christ is to reach out to those in need. We see that all around us today. Then, in verse 47, bartimaeus calls out to Jesus. What name did he call?
Speaker 2:Jesus. He's calling him the son of David, which is a title for the kingship, because David was the greatest king that the nation of Israel had. They were prophets that told about the lineage of David was going to be ruling over the restored kingdom of Israel. Him saying son of David was a direct reflection that he's looking at him as being the king, the king is here.
Speaker 1:Back in the Old Testament, in 2 Samuel, chapter 7, god approaches King David and makes a covenant with him. It's an everlasting covenant. It was a unilateral promise by God telling David that one of his descendants would be king over Israel forever. So people were always looking for the son of David, not just a descendant of David, but the son of David. When he calls Jesus the son of David here, then he's recognizing this is the one. This is not just some descendant of David's tribe, no, no, this is the promised one. So we have here this blind beggar. It was on the side of the road, couldn't read, because he couldn't see. Yet he knew. He knew enough to know that Jesus was the son of David. So he recognizes the great, profound fact the son of David is here. We're going to see in the next chapter, chapter 11, the triumphal entry, the promise of David's kingship comes up again. These people were accepting Jesus as the Messiah, the coming one, the one who'll be the king. That's what we see. So a kingdom needs a king and by accepting the king to be Jesus, then that's making something very profound when they're calling him son of David.
Speaker 1:This is not just a throwaway line, as we've seen, steve, throughout these stories in Mark. There's all these stories really easy to understand on a simple level. He's just telling the story of healing this blind man. Easy to understand on a simple level. He's just telling the story of healing this blind man. But all of these stories in Mark have a spiritual significance. What is the spiritual significance of someone being blind and then Jesus healing them? What kind of spiritual application can we have with that in our day?
Speaker 2:Remember when we went through Colossians, one of the ways that Paul described the lost person to a saved person was that went from darkness into light, and he described that Jesus came, took us and lifted us up and brought us out, carried us out from the darkness into the light.
Speaker 2:So with the blind person, they're in the dark and whenever Jesus heals them, then they can see, they're in the light. So I think it's the same thing from a spiritual standpoint of what's described in other parts of the epistle we're lost, we're in darkness, the world is really a dark place and jesus provides the light. We have salvation of eternal life. We have salvation from death. Death is no longer a bother to us because when we die, our soul will be going present with jesus and then at some point we will be reunited with a glorified body. Death no longer has a hold over us, and that is something that brings us into the light. No longer are we in darkness, living in darkness, but we're living in the light, living in the expectation and the hope of Jesus Christ's return and the glorification of our bodies.
Speaker 1:Blindness, still today in our language, represents not understanding something. If we speak of someone saying, oh, they're blind to the facts or they're still in the dark, then what we're meaning is that they don't understand, they're not realizing the truth. So that's the symbolism here is that blindness represents not understanding God's Word, not understanding God, unable to see God, being lost and separated from God. The scriptures speak of blindness as being a picture of the lost state of a person. 2 Corinthians 4.4 says that God of this world has blinded people, and so blindness represents being separated from God. And when Jesus calls Bartimaeus, then that's a symbol of what's going on with our salvation. We are like the poor, blind beggar on the side of the road. We have no hope and we're unable to see and unable to understand God's Word. We have this window of opportunity and Jesus calls out to us and says come here. Bartimaeus could have said oh well, I'm just a blind beggar, or there's no hope for me, or see you later. Jesus Don't want to bother you, I've got more important things to beg for here. He could have done that, but no, what does he do? He gets up and goes to Christ and he gets healed and his whole life's changed. That's the picture of our salvation.
Speaker 1:The other thing I find interesting here Steve the blind man recognized who Jesus was. But the Pharisees, whose physical eyes could see, they were blind to the truth of Jesus. So we have these wonderful pictures here in the Gospels. The religious leaders could not see, could not understand. The multitude recognizes Jesus at the triumphal entry. But at this point the Pharisees, the Jewish leaders, were really the blind ones. And blind Bartimaeus he is healed by Jesus were really the blind ones. And blind Bartimaeus, he is healed by Jesus. Then again, in verse 48, many were sternly telling him to be quiet. People today will sometimes try to get us to be quiet. All you're interested in is that religious stuff. Can't you leave that? Well, no, we really can't, because my life's been changed. Now Jesus calls out to him. Bartimaeus is persistent, he keeps calling and they say no, no, be quiet, no, no, all the more he called out. Then Jesus says bring him here. And in verse 50, what did Bartimaeus do when Jesus called?
Speaker 2:him. He throws off his cloak and he jumps up and goes directly to Jesus. Now, it's curious that he throws off his cloak. He's blind. How is he going to be able to find his cloak? I think that this is an act of faith that he is going to get healed. Jesus is reaching out to him because he has heard him. I think he's confident that he's going to be healed by Jesus. Once he's healed, he's going to be able to see and he's going to be able to go back and find his cloak that he had thrown off.
Speaker 1:To a penniless beggar. Your cloak's probably the most valuable thing you own. It's probably the only cloak he had. To throw it behind and leave it behind and to run towards Jesus shows that he's leaving something behind. He was more concerned with Jesus than he was his cloak. He was more concerned with the possibility of meeting Jesus than he was whatever was in his old life. Again, this is probably his most valuable possession and he's willing to leave it behind to go meet Jesus.
Speaker 1:And the lesson for us is, of course, very clear. When Jesus calls us, we have some old things from our old life. How much of that am I going to try to hang on to and say, well, wait a minute, jesus, I got to bring my old life up to you when I meet you. No, we need to leave all that old stuff behind. Because what is the scripture? Paul? Our righteousness it says, all our righteousness are like filthy rags Isaiah 64, 6. And so the picture in the scriptures is that our righteousness is like filthy clothes. We need to leave that behind.
Speaker 1:He's going to give us a new set of clothes. He's going to give us a new cloak. He's going to give us a new set of clothes. He's going to give us a new cloak. He's going to heal blind Bartimaeus. It won't be called blind Bartimaeus, he's going to be called seeing Bartimaeus and he'll have a new life, a new career, a new lookout on life and he'll be able to do a lot of things. He wants to leave that old thing behind. Leave the old cloak behind, leave the old worldly things behind, because what we're going to find is that he's got a new life now, again, this is probably his most valuable possession and he's willing to leave it behind. What am I going to try to hold on to and still try to go to Jesus? No, I need to leave those old worldly things behind, steve. I just think these whole things are just wonderful. In verse 51, what is Jesus' question?
Speaker 2:He asks him what do you want me to do for you? So he's directly asking him what is it you'd like to see? Now he's a blind beggar. Beggars mainly ask for money, but Bartimaeus is not going to ask for money.
Speaker 1:Earlier in this same chapter, james and John came up to Jesus and Jesus asked the same question in verse 36, what would you have me do for you? And then here, bartimaeus approaches Jesus and Jesus asked the same question what would you have me do for you? Now, it's interesting whenever you see something repeated in the Scriptures, there's a reason. So when Jesus asked James and John, what do you have me do for you? What was their answer? Oh, we want to be first in the kingdom and sit at your right and your left and make a lot of money and live in a palace and have all this wealth. What does Bartimaeus say? I want to see my sight so I can see you.
Speaker 1:James and John got asked the same question that Bartimaeus got asked. James and John gave a sinful answer. It was a fleshly answer that was just focused on their own worldly, fleshly things. Bartimaeus wanted to be able to see. He wanted to be able to understand God. He wanted to be able to see Jesus. That's the picture.
Speaker 1:Is that we should not be like James and John. Jesus today stands before us and we should not be like the sinful answers and say I want to be glorified, I want to be the highest spot in the church or the biggest speaker on the circuit, or I want to have glorified, I want to be the highest spot in the church or the biggest speaker on the circuit, or I want to have the biggest audience. That was what James and John's answer was. When Jesus comes up to us, our answer ought to be Lord, I just want to see you, I want to see more of your word, I want to understand more about the word of God, and if I have that, then that'll be enough. These lessons here in Mark is just so deep and so profound.
Speaker 2:Jesus says your faith has made you well. Bartimaeus, asking for his sight is something that the same thing for us whenever we came to the realization of who Jesus is and the promises of what he can deliver. There are some that say faith is a work and that by expressing our faith, then we have something to do with our salvation. This story here does not show that faith is a work and there's no indication that Bartimaeus has anything to do with receiving his sight. It's all dependent on Jesus Christ. So the same thing, I think, with our salvation. It's all dependent on Jesus Christ and the promises that he made. When we express our faith, we're expressing our firm belief in the promises that he has made to us.
Speaker 2:Another thing, Glenn, I find interesting is that Bartimaeus is named here. With all of these other healings, for the most part the people are unnamed, but for some reason Mark has named Bartimaeus. Maybe it's an indication that Bartimaeus went on to be a person that evangelized in the area and spoke about Jesus. I don't know, that's something of a speculation, but I think it's for the people that are in the time frame that Mark is writing here is a name that he has put out there. I think it's another indication that this isn't somebody that wrote something two or 300 years later. What purpose would there have been to give an actual name of a person if it would have been so far down the line of history to write something like this?
Speaker 1:In this passage, jesus calls for Bartimaeus. He leaves his old cloak behind, leaves his old worldly things behind. He goes to Jesus. Jesus says in verse 51, what do you want me to do for you? The blind man said to him Rabboni, which is a term of endearment, a closeness. I want to regain my sight. And in verse 52, jesus said to him go, your faith has made you well. Now. I find it interesting here, steve. What does he tell him to do? He tells him to go, go your way. Then, at the middle of that same verse, what does Bartimaeus actually do?
Speaker 2:He says he regained his sight and he began to follow him on the road.
Speaker 1:We contrast that with the rich young ruler that we saw earlier, who was wealthy.
Speaker 1:What did Jesus say? Saw earlier who was wealthy. What did Jesus say Leave your old stuff behind, give it away to the poor and follow me. Well, here we have a man that did not have any worldly goods. What does Jesus tell him to do? He leaves the old stuff behind as it was, and Jesus says to go. And he comes. Jesus says go your way. And he actually followed Jesus. So we have the polar opposite of the rich young ruler. This man was on the lowest spot of the totem pole. The rich young ruler was high on the social ladder. The rich young ruler was attached to his old stuff. He wanted to keep it. The blind beggar, he didn't care about his worldly possessions. And the rich young ruler Jesus says follow me. And he doesn't. And blind Bartimaeus Jesus tells him go and he follows. So these wonderful stories and it's obvious which one we should be like. We have these things that we think are important and we really need to be willing to give those up and follow Jesus. That, to me, is the lesson of blind Bartimaeus.
Speaker 2:It is a wonderful story that's here, and once again we find these little vignettes that Mark is giving to us, that we can get so, so much spiritual information out of.
Speaker 1:And in the last verse he tells him go, your faith has made you well and he gained his sight and began following Jesus. This is an allusion to salvation. Our faith makes us well. It makes us well from the problem of sin, which is our problem. We are blind to godly things because of our sin. Notice Jesus says your faith, your faith, it was Bartimaeus' faith, not some other person's faith or gift of faith. It was faith that Bartimaeus had. So, really, the question for everybody today is the same as in verse 49. The disciples tell blind Bartimaeus take courage, stand up. He's calling for you. That's my message today to all of our listeners Stand up, take courage. The master is calling you and our question is will we respond?
Speaker 2:We thank you so much for listening to us at Reasoning Through the Bible. You can find out more resources at our website, reasoningthroughthebiblecom. We ask that you also send us a message of what you're getting out of these sessions. You can send that to info at reasoningthroughthebiblecom. We hope that you join us again next time as we start into chapter 11 in the triumphal entry of Jesus. Thank you so much for watching and listening. May God bless you.
