My grandfather, after whom I am named, was one of those colorful characters that had a way with words. He had several odd phrases that he would use whenever he got a chance. The one that mortified my poor grandmother was when he would tell one of his grandchildren that he was going to fart in their ear and make a wizard out of them. (I will neither confirm nor deny whether that phrase has often been repeated in my house.) Another one of his favorite phrases was “you have a dark brown stink about you.” He said it to people who he suspected might be embellishing a story or fabricating a lie. I called my dad to see if he could remember some of grandpa’s odd phrases and though he reminded me of several more we both agreed some of grandpa’s phrases shouldn’t be spoken from a pulpit. The reason I was reminiscing over my grandfather’s odd phrases this last week was because when I was studying our gospel lesson one of my grandfather’s odd phrases popped into my mind. The phrase is, “I see”, said the blind man.
I never really understood what my grandfather meant when he said this particularly odd phrase. I did a quick internet search on the phrase and discovered I am in good company. It seems there is a lot of confusion about the meaning of this phrase. Some understand it as a sarcastic statement of foolishness, others as a profound statement of enlightenment. I have trouble believing the guy who threatened to turn his grandchildren into wizard by farting in their ears used this phrase as a profound statement of enlightenment, but you never know. I could never figure out how a blind man could see but maybe my grandfather was wiser than I gave him credit for. I say that because in our gospel lesson from Mark 10:46-52 we meet a blind man who saw better than most.
The blind man’s name was Bartimaeus. People called him that because he was the son of Timaeus. I’m just going to call him Bart. How long Bart had been blind and what caused his blindness we do not know. We actually don’t know that much about Bart at all. This is the only place in scripture he is mentioned. However, it is not hard for us to imagine how difficult his life as a blind man must have been in this culture. There were no books translated into braille to educate him, no seeing eye dogs to guide him, no civil service to support him. What is worse, it was commonly assumed in this culture that blindness was a result of a specific sin either on the part of the blind person or their parents. (You will recall Jesus’ own disciple once asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”[1].) The stigma associated with blindness almost invariably left one a beggar.
Begging is exactly what Bart was doing when “46… Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd” passed by. Mark tells us, “47 When he (Bart) heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Bart must have inquired about the cause of the commotion that was passing him by. Someone in the crowd must have told Bart that a crowd of Passover pilgrims were following Jesus of Nazareth to Jerusalem. That’s how many people identified Jesus. They saw him as the miracle working teacher from Nazareth. To them Jesus was a celebrity of sorts, which is why the crowd following Him to Jerusalem was so large.
Though he was blind, Bart saw something different when he “looked” at Jesus. Bart saw Jesus. Now Jesus was a common name among the Jews. It was the same as the Old Testament name Joshua. The name means “God (Jehovah) saves”. Many boys were named “God saves” but Bart could see that this name described who Jesus is (God) and what Jesus came to do (save). I say this because Bart does not associate Jesus with Nazareth, as most people did. Rather, he associates Jesus with King David. Bart calls Jesus the Son of David. Now, there are 17 verses that describe Jesus as the “Son of David” in the Bible, but Bart is the first one to use it in Mark’s gospel. Everyone who calls Jesus the Son of David identifies Jesus as the promised offspring of David who’s throne the prophet Samuel said would be “established forever”[2]. In other words, Bart calls Jesus the “Son of David” because Bart sees Jesus as the promised Messiah who was sent to crush the serpent’s head. In fact, Bart saw Jesus so clearly that in verse 51 he calls Him “Rabbi”. Rabbi is an honorary title for a teacher of the Jewish scriptures. It implies a close personal relationship between teacher and student. Early on that first Easter morning Mary, with tears of joy streaming down her face, clung to the feet of her resurrected Rabbi. Twice Bart calls Jesus the Son of David indicating that he recognized Jesus as Israel’s Messiah. But when Bart is face to face with Jesus, he calls Him “Rabbi” indicating that he recognized Jesus as his own person savior from sin.
For a blind man, Bart could see Jesus better than most, sometimes I fear better than you and me. There are so many things fighting for our attention. Family, career, hobbies, and interests, these are all beautiful blessing from God. But sometimes we become so focused on these beautiful blessings that we develop tunnel vision. We can get so focused on raising happy healthy children that we become blind to our responsibility to also teach them about Jesus. We can get so focused on having a successful career that we become blind to our own spiritual need to pause for a moment and sit at the feet of Jesus. We can get so focused on the fun our hobbies and interests provide that we become blind to the needs of our faith that is slowly, almost imperceptibly losing sight of Jesus.
Bart saw Jesus better than anyone else and I can’t help but wonder if that was because Bart saw Jesus before he could see anything else. There is no doubt being a blind man was a hardship for Bart. But it was a hardship God used to help Bart see Jesus. Isn’t it possible God uses hardships in the same way for you and me? Our second reading from the book of Revelation sure seems to suggest that is how God uses hardships. There we read the ruler of God’s creation said, “those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.[3]”
The front page of our bulletin is full of people enduring hardships. Surgeries, freak accidents, health issues and complications, fill the front page of our bulletin. And the front page of our bulletin is only a fraction of the hardships that the saints of Messiah endure. There are many more hardship the saints of Messiah, for various reason, choose to keep private. What I am saying is, at one time or another, every single one of us endures a hardship. None of us like the hardships we are allowed to suffer any more than Bart liked being blind. But very often God uses these hardships to help us better see Jesus.
Possibly because of his hardship, Bart could see Jesus better than most. But more importantly Jesus could see Bart. Jesus saw Bart begging on the roadside long before Bart was born. Jesus saw that Bart was a lost and condemned creature, yet Jesus loved Bart. That is why Jesus was on that road. Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem; He was on His way to accomplish the work of the God who saves, the promised Messiah, and Bart’s personal savior from sin. And by the way, Jesus wasn’t just going to Jerusalem for Bart. He also went there for you. Jesus saw you before you were born, and He sees you when you are in the midst of your hardships. Jesus sees that you too were a lost and condemned creature, yet Jesus loves you. That’s why Jesus was on that road. Jesus went to Jerusalem for you too.
Though he was a blind man, Bart could see Jesus better than most, that is why it is somewhat surprising to read in verse 51, “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. (Bart) The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”” I assume on a very basic level Bart wanted to see for the same reason you and I enjoy seeing. But I think there is more to it than that. I think Bart wanted to see so that he could better do what he was created to do, what we were all created to do, I think Bart wanted to see so that he could better follow Jesus. I say that because in verse 52 when Jesus tells Bart “Go. Your faith has healed you”, Bart doesn’t go. Instead, Mark tells us “Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.”
By nature, every single one of us was blind in unbelief. But The holy Spirit has opened our eyes through the waters of Baptism and the preaching of the gospel. Yes, when necessary, The Holy Spirit uses hardships to help us better focus on Jesus. Because of the work of the Holy Spirit, we see Jesus as the God who saves, the world’s promised Messiah, and our own personal savior from sin. With eyes of faith, we see Jesus as clearly as blind Bart saw Jesus. When you see Jesus, the Son of David, your Rabbi the last thing you want to do is go, rather, you want to follow.
When Jesus and his disciples, together with the large crowd of Passover Pilgrims continued on the way to Jerusalem, Bart followed them. Think about what Bart saw as he followed them. Bart saw Jesus, the Son of David, his Rabbi nailed to a cross as the atoning sacrifice for all his sins. Three days later Bart saw Jesus, the Son of David, his Rabbi risen from the dead as an assurance of his salvation. If he stuck around long enough, and I kind of feel a guy like Bart would, then he would also see Jesus, the Son of David, his Rabbi victoriously ascend into heaven. Then finally when his days on this earth came to an end Bart saw Jesus, the Son of David, his Rabbi standing at the pearly gates to welcome him into heaven. That, my friends, is what Bart saw when he followed Jesus. While you may not be able to see that with your eyes, you do see it; by the grace of God, you see what the blind man saw.
I see said the blind man and by the grace of God so do we. Amen.
[1] John 9:2
[2] 2 Samuel 7:12-16
[3] Revelation 3:19