Episode 527 The Healing of Bartimaeus (Mark 10:32-52)

This week BibleWorm reads Mark 10:32-52, the last of Jesus’s three predictions of his suffering and death that began back in Mark 8. Once again, we see that the disciples have not quite understood, as James and John respond by asking Jesus to sit at his right and left hand when he comes in his glory. We talk about Jesus’s invitation to James and John to drink his cup and receive his baptism, indicating that they—and all followers of Jesus—must be willing to share in his suffering, becoming slave and servant of all. We also discuss the story of blind Bartimaeus, who asks for mercy and receives his sight. Unlike the disciples, who have been jostling for first place, Bartimaeus becomes a model for Christians, falling in place behind Jesus on the way. What else could he do—and what else should Christians do— but live his life in gratitude for the mercy Jesus showed him?