Read Mark 10:46-52 in your Bible.
As you are reading, ask the questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how as well as any repeated words or phrases. We’ll go through these together. Look for a verse(s) that stand out to you the most. The one that grabs your attention.
Now let’s go through these questions together.
Who? Who is speaking, who is being mentioned?
Jesus, disciples, a crowd, blind Bartimaeus
When?
Continuation from the previous verses. Keep on going.
Where?
Out side Jericho as Jesus and the disciples were leaving.
What? What is happening in these verses?
Short version, Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem, but when he arrived in Jericho, a blind man named Bartimaeus called out to Jesus to have mercy on him.
Why? Why is this being mentioned? Why is this/will be happening?
Mark is telling us this story to continue to show us who Jesus was. In this situation, Mark is telling us how merciful Jesus was toward this blind man
How does this happen/take place?
We see that Jesus is merciful because he stops to find out what it was that the man wanted, and then he heals him.
Repeated words or phrases?
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me, blind, sight are all the repeated words and phrases
Before we continue any further, what verse(s) stood out to you?
My verse is 51. I love it in the NLT where Bartimaeus says, “I want to see.”
What does this mean?
This is another passage of scriptures where Jesus heals someone from and illness/disease, in this case a blind man. Because of the man’s faith, Jesus heals him. We can see the man’s faith throughout these verses. He was determined and persistent for Jesus to hear him, and he did not stop crying out even when the people around him told him to be quiet.
What does this mean to me?
There are a couple of things that stood out to me in these verse. First, it is Bartimaeus’ overall faith and perseverance even when others told him to be quiet. He did not let them silence him from calling out to Jesus. In fact, Bartimaeus called out even louder. This is a good lesson even for us to learn from. That as we peruse after God, many will tell us to be quiet and sit down, but we have to keep going no matter what. But this isn’t the main thing that jumped out at me but notable
Overall, these verses are about how merciful Jesus is and Bartimaeus’ faith. In the past episodes we have talked about the times that Jesus has healed someone because of their faith and determination. Honestly, I thought I would be talking about that even here. I won’t dwell on this too much more, but just know that our faith is vital in our walk with the Lord.
What really jumped out at me this time was in verse 51 when Bartimaeus says, “I want to see.” All he wanted was to see. He didn’t want money or a hand out. He wanted to see. Even thought I am not blind in the natural, sometimes I can be blinded in the spiritual. Suddenly, I found that this was my prayer too, with a twist, “Jesus, I want to see.” I want to see with spiritual eyes the way he sees things, those things that I cannot see. It’s amazing what we can see in the scriptures when something just pops out in these verses. Here I thought I would be talking about faith again but no it’s bigger than that. It’s wanting to see what God sees.
What verse spoke out to you and what is God trying to show you through it? Write it out in your journal. Then say a prayer and have a conversation with God about it.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you are so good and so merciful even when we don’t deserve your mercy. Thank you for your grace and mercy. Like Bartimaeus, I want to see. I want to see with your perspective and with your understanding. Help me to see spiritually what I cannot otherwise see. In Jesus name, I pray.
Candy McKee 