Bartimaeus

Biblical Account

Bartimaeus appears in the Gospel of Mark 10:46-52. As Jesus and his disciples were on their way up to Jerusalem and were leaving Jericho, "blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus" sat by the highway side begging. The prefix bar- means "son" in Aramaic, so the name Bartimaeus means "son of Timaeus," a meaning that Mark's Gospel itself spells out.

When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth passing by, he cried out, "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me." Many rebuked him and told him to hold his peace, but he cried out all the more. When Jesus called him, he cast away his garment, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus asked, "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?" and he answered, "Lord, that I might receive my sight." Jesus said, "Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole," and immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way.

The same event is recorded in Matthew 20:29-34 and Luke 18:35-43, though neither Gospel gives the blind man's name. Matthew records that there were two blind men, and Luke places the event as Jesus drew near to Jericho.

Significance Within Scripture

In Mark's Gospel this story is the last healing account, placed immediately before the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. The title "son of David," with which Bartimaeus addressed Jesus, is understood to refer to the Messiah who was to come from the royal line of David. The scene is therefore read as a disclosure of Jesus' messiahship just before he enters Jerusalem.

Interpreters also frequently note a contrast with the preceding passage (Mark 10:35-45), in which James and John sought places of glory. Jesus puts to Bartimaeus the same question he had asked them ("What would ye that I should do for you?"). The blind man asked for sight, and once he could see, he followed Jesus "in the way." For this reason many commentators regard him as a model of discipleship, that is, of a life spent following Jesus. Some interpreters also see this account, together with the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida at the end of Mark 8, as bracketing a section that deals with the disciples' spiritual blindness.

Interpretation and Debated Points

Explanations differ regarding the discrepancies among the three Gospels: whether there was one blind man or two, and whether the event occurred as Jesus was entering or leaving Jericho. Harmonizing interpretations propose several possibilities:

• The event took place between old Jericho and the new Jericho of the Herodian period.
• Mark and Luke mention only the better known of the two men.

Other scholars, by contrast, regard the differences as the result of each Gospel writer editing his sources differently. The question is treated as one instance of the Synoptic Problem.

Scholars have also offered explanations for why the name of the person healed has been preserved, which is unusual in healing accounts. Some suggest that Bartimaeus was a figure known to the early church. His casting away of his garment is often explained as a decisive act of abandoning his only possession, which he would have spread out while begging. This, however, is an interpretation; the text does not state it directly. Scripture records nothing of Bartimaeus's later life.

In the Korean Church

The story of Bartimaeus is a frequently used text in preaching in Korean churches. It is chiefly treated under themes such as the following:

• Earnest prayer that persists despite the discouragement of others
• The decision to cast away his garment
• The question "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?"

In sermons emphasizing fervent prayer that cries out to God, it is sometimes cited in connection with tongsung kido (praying aloud together). In Sunday school it is widely taught as the story of a man healed through faith.