Mark 10:46-52

⁴⁶ Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.

⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸ Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹ So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”

⁵⁰ And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.

⁵¹ So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”

⁵² Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

Also found in Matthew 20:29-34 and Luke 18:35-43.

As in an earlier case, Matthew describes two victims while Mark and Luke write about only one. The second and third gospels single out the more vocal of the pair. The miracle was apparently performed as Jesus left the city though He first [passed] the men when He approached the city (Luke 18:35). — Thomas, page 170.

One of my commentaries pointed out that Matthew was an eyewitness to this healing and so remembered the second man. Mark and Luke were not eyewitnesses, and so only related (and were perhaps only told of) the man who cried out. That makes sense to me. Others suggest that one man was healed as Jesus entered the city and another as He left. That doesn’t seem likely. A third theory suggests that the men were begging along the road as Jesus entered the city but didn’t cry out until He passed on the way out. That also strikes me as a possible explanation.

Bartimaeus calls Jesus “Son of David” because Jesus was now on Judaean soil. At Jerusalem all the Jews thought of David as their father, and of Messiah as the Son of David in a special sense. The Greek construction indicates that Bartimaeus kept on crying out to Jesus. The imperative is aorist, speaking of the fact that Bartimaeus asked the Jesus heal him at once. — Wuest, page 213.

warned (v.48) = rebuked, censured severely

called (v.49) = calling out loud in an audible voice that can be heard at a distance

rose (v.50) = leapt up, sprang up

garment (v.50) = large, upper garment common in the middle east, so large that a man would sometimes sleep in it.

Rabboni (v.51) = my Master, a term of reverent respect

receive (v.51) = recover. The blind man had probably been able to see at one time. Injuries to the eyes, caused by flying ash, were common the area, affecting as much as 50% of the men.

made you well (v.52) — The word is used either of physical healing or of spiritual salvation. The perfect tense speaks of a permanent cure.

After he was healed, Bartimaeus joined the crowd.