sermonoats: Bartimaeus

Sunday, October 24, 2021

Bartimaeus

The first passage we translated from Greek in seminary was this one. And the imperative, urgent nature of the request of the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, was apparent, once you saw it in the Greek.

“Lord, that I might see again!” is an accurate translation. He wasn’t deferential, he was in a hurry.

And he discarded everything to follow Jesus. Without being asked.

Jesus is turning toward Jerusalem. His disciples have trudged in his path all the way from north of the Sea of Galilee. Down the Jordan River they have trod, until they have arrived at the foot of the long climb, from the ancient well-town of Jericho on up to Jerusalem.

And here at this turning point, sitting by the side of the road, is a would-be sighted man. All around him people pegged him as a beggar, blind, consigned to the rubbish heap of life.

But he did not accept that. That was not his fate. That is not what God called him to be. That is not what God made him. God made him his own child, beloved, and a miracle.

A miracle, we know, of restored sight, but also a miracle of forgiveness, grace, and healing.

He did not hesitate. He did not quit. He did what he was not supposed to do. He cried out. And revealed the truth about the one passing by, whom he, son of Timaeus, was first to address as son of David.

What does the son of Timaeus have to do with the son of David? What do they share?

Life - the gift of life - and the redemption of body and soul in the light of the kingdom’s dawning.

For the dawn is upon them, just beyond night; just beyond the darkness of Calvary, Easter comes.

And they are ready, first for the one, and then for the other. The unimaginable other.

Perhaps it is easier to see if you have once been blind. But now, you see.

***

It's a simple story, there's a lot left out. We don't know why he was blind. There have been speculations that his father was blind so that he'd always been a beggar.

But what he asked Jesus, is simple and direct. Rabbi - master, teacher, Lord - that I might see, again, that my sight might be restored. Probably, then, not born blind. Now, in this story there's no speculation, either that he deserved it, that God was punishing him, that he was a bad person, or that he got what he deserved. There is none of that.

In fact, the other morning, I heard the second chapter of the Book of Tobit, where a good man, doing a good thing, is made blind. And God is the one who heals him: who releases him from the captivity of his blindness. Who saves him.

Save: that's the word that is used in Greek, for how Jesus explains what happens to the man he heals is, literally, saved: Your faith has saved you. It’s a word Mark uses a lot. It means salvation, health, liberation. Your faith has healed you, released you, saved you, from the bondage, not of sin, but of this blindness, this affliction.

And so this story is part of the story of God's glory revealed, not because someone is bad or wrong, or being punished. None of those assumptions are made here.

In other stories, Jesus asked the crowd, Why do you think this man has this condition? Why do you think he's lying there? They're trying to guess, they're trying to say it's because he did something bad. And God is punishing him.

And no, Jesus says, no.

This is an occasion when God is going to show His glory. That leaves a lot of questions unanswered, but it does tell you what is going on here is not punitive. It's not the end of a penal sentence.

This is compassion. This is faith. Jesus is there to proclaim what God is doing. What is God doing through faith for Bartimaeus.

Bartimaeus, the blind man, gets it. He knows what is really going on. He may not be able to see, but he knows who Jesus is. Son of David, Have mercy on me, Son of David, that is, Messiah - and savior, redeemer, liberator.

He knows who he's talking to, he knows what he's asking, and he will not be stopped. At first people are telling him to just keep quiet, but he will not. Once Jesus calls him, once he is recognized, then they say, Take heart, take heart. He is calling you.

And so then Bartimaeus casts aside his cloak, just throws it to the winds. Maybe, maybe it's true, maybe somebody picked it up for him and brought it along because the journey from Jericho to Jerusalem is long, and the night is cold, and it may not be a friendly place, when he arrives, maybe somebody did that for him, we don't know; we don't know a lot of things.

We do know that he called out to Jesus, that he called out to have his sight restored and we know that Jesus called out to him. And then he followed Jesus. All the way.

The words for crying out - as Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus - and to have one’s sight restored, then I might see again - in ancient Greek those two words, anaboaó, anablepsō, are right next to each other in the dictionary. And those two words are right next to each other in this story. He cried out, and his sight was restored. And then he followed.

ἀναβοάω (anaboaó)

ἀναβλέψω (anablepsō)

Something else to note about Bartimaeus. He didn’t have any social status. Because he was blind, because he was a beggar, he was on the outside of society. Now, having his sight restored, as it would be for any one healed by Jesus, could restore him to his place in society. But that is not what he wanted, as it turns out. He wanted more and better: he wanted to follow Jesus. And that is what he did.

You know sometimes I wonder if someone has come to church out of social aspirations. Sometimes I wonder if I had. Rather than to follow Jesus or to hear the good news or to learn how to act upon it. Sometimes I wonder. And I know that sometimes it is the only place I can be.

You have the words of life, Lord; where else can we go?

Bartimaeus seems to feel that way. Where else is there to go, when you can follow Jesus?

***

https://youtu.be/IN05jVNBs64

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