All the disciples, represented by the two sons of thunder, needed the healing of their blindness. Near Jericho they met a blind beggar, Bartimaeus. Mark 10:47 says, “And hearing that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and to say, Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet. But he cried out even more, saying, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v. 48).
Then Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” In spite of the rebuking of many, the Slave-Savior charged them to call the pitiful blind beggar. This again expressed His humanity in His pity toward miserable people. Bartimaeus then threw away his garment, leaped up, and came to Jesus (v. 50).
The Lord Jesus then said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” (v. 51). What open love toward the needy one! This love expressed the Slave-Savior’s humanity to an unimaginable extent.
The blind man said to the Lord, “Rabboni, that I may recover my sight!” The Lord said to him, “Go, your faith has healed you” (v. 52). Immediately Bartimaeus recovered his sight and followed the Lord.
If we carefully read 10:35-52, we shall see that the two sons of thunder were one with the blind beggar. Our basis for saying this is that the Lord asked the same question both of James and John and of Bartimaeus: “What do you want Me to do for you?” (vv. 36, 51). In the Lord’s understanding, the two sons of thunder were the same as the poor beggar. However, there was a significant difference: James and John begged in a wrong way, but Bartimaeus begged in a right way. James and John asked to sit on the Lord’s right and left, but Bartimaeus asked to receive his sight.
We believe that, in spiritual significance, the healing of the blindness of Bartimaeus was also a healing of the blindness of James, John, and the other disciples. The Lord did not give them a position at His right and left, but He certainly was willing to heal their blindness. He knew that He had come to be the light of the world. Therefore, He was willing to give sight to the blind.
Mark 10:50, speaking of blind Bartimaeus, says, “And throwing away his garment, he leaped up and came to Jesus.” A person throwing away his garment signifies that this one does not care for position. A garment or uniform signifies position. For example, a uniform worn by a policeman or a nurse signifies position. When a policeman is off duty, he will lay aside his uniform. Bartimaeus did not care for any position. His only desire was to have sight. Therefore, when he heard that Jesus called him, he immediately cast aside his garment and went to the Lord to receive sight.
In principle, all of us in the church life need to throw away our “garments.” If you regard the eldership as a position, you need to throw away the garment of the eldership. Likewise, those who want to be leaders in the service groups should cast away the garment of leadership. We should throw away all the garments of position and care only to receive spiritual sight. Like Bartimaeus, we all need sight.
We may say that the Lord Jesus died so that those who believe in Him may receive their sight. By dying with Him we pass out of our blindness and into the Lord’s resurrection. Then in resurrection we receive our sight.
The healing at the end of chapter ten is the last miracle of healing recorded in the Gospel of Mark. The final miracle of healing was the healing of blindness. I am very grateful to the Lord that He has fully healed my blindness. Hallelujah, I have received my sight! I do not care for any “garment,” for any position.
After the healing of blindness in Mark 10, the Lord’s followers were ready to enter into His death. By entering with Him into death, they would also be able to enter into His resurrection.
We need to be impressed with the fact that the Lord Jesus was not the only one who would pass through death in order to be in resurrection and ascension. All of His followers would go with Him into death in order to enter into His resurrection and ascension. In chapter sixteen of Mark we have a glorious scene in which all the Lord’s followers enter into His ascension through His death and resurrection. By the end of chapter ten, the disciples were qualified and prepared to go through death and resurrection so that they could be with the Lord in His ascension.
In your spiritual experience have you come to the end of chapter ten? Have you received a final healing, the healing of your blindness? Praise the Lord that we can say that our blindness has been healed! Hallelujah, we have no more blindness, darkness, sin, and death! Now we are ready to go with the Slave-Savior into death, through His resurrection, and into His ascension.