Proper 25; Pentecost 24
Preaching
Preaching Mark's Gospel
A Narrative Approach
We come now to the end of Part One of Mark's Gospel. Part One goes from chapters 1-10 of Mark. This section of the Gospel centers on Jesus, Sower of the Word, alive in ministry and "on the way" to Jerusalem. Part Two of Mark's Gospel is chapters 11-16. These chapters take place in Jerusalem. The plot synopsis of these chapters is the Parable of the Tenants in Mark 12:1-11. This is the story of the "beloved son" sent by the owner of the vineyard and killed by the wicked tenants.
The last section of Part One is Mark 8:22„10:52. The prelude to this section is the ongoing blindness and deafness of the disciples. "Do you have eyes, and fail to see?" Jesus asks his disciples (Mark 8:18). The disciples have been insiders to Jesus' ministry from the beginning, but they still fail to see. They are blind.
The blindness of the disciples sets the stage for the last section of Part One of Mark's story. The disciples „ the insiders „ do not see. Human eyes, it appears, cannot see the meaning and destiny of the figure of Jesus in their midst. God will have to open blind eyes to enable humans to see what is there to be seen. This section of Mark's Gospel, therefore, begins and ends with the story of the healing of a blind man. Jesus opened the eyes of a blind man in Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26). This section of the Gospel closes with today's text of the healing of a blind man in Jericho. In between these stories lie Jesus' three "passion/resurrection" predictions, which the disciples did not understand at all. Jesus talks about cross and they insistently think of glory, their glory! Their eyes are not open to see.
The message of the structure of this section is that only God can open our eyes to grasp the nature and destiny of Jesus Christ. This week's text is about such "eye opening" work. It takes place in Jericho, just down the road from Jesus' destination: Jerusalem. As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples a great multitude was with him. A blind man by the name of Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside as the triumphal procession to Jerusalem passed him by. When the blind man heard that it was Jesus who was passing him by "...he began to shout out and say, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' No one could stop him from shouting out. Finally, Jesus heard the shouts and attended the needs of the blind man. Bartimaeus ran to Jesus. 'What do you want me to do for you?' Jesus asked. 'My teacher, let me see again,' he said. And Jesus said to him, 'Go; your faith has made you well.' Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way."
A word needs to be said here about the cry of Bartimaeus to Jesus, naming him as "Son of David." Jack Dean Kingsbury puts the matter well:
Because Jesus has not heretofore appeared in Mark's story as the Son of David, this pericope plays a pivotal role in conveying to the reader Mark's sense of this title. To begin with, Mark affirms with it that Jesus is indeed of the lineage of David. Unlike Matthew and Luke, Mark has no genealogy that links Jesus with the line of David ƒ it appears that it is exactly the Davidic descent of Jesus which is being attested to when Bartimaeus addresses "Jesus of Nazareth" as "Son of David ƒ ."1
Part Two of Mark's Gospel which begins in Mark 11:1 will emphasize this "Son of David" theme. The entry into Jerusalem, for example, is loaded with messianic images. The confession of Bartimaeus, therefore, prepares us for a shift in emphasis in Mark's storytelling as we move into Part Two of the Gospel.
Some commentators believe that in this climactic story of Part One of his Gospel Mark portrays Bartimaeus as a kind of model of the Christian life. The Bartimaeus story is truly a story of what happens when God in Jesus Christ opens blind eyes. Here is what happens when Jesus' word falls on good soil! If that is so, we see that the Christian life begins with persistent pleading. "Jesus, have mercy on me!" That is the prayer of good-soil people. We come to Jesus in our need and in confession. Jesus does not turn Bartimaeus, Jesus does not turn sinners, Jesus does not turn us away when we come to him pleading for mercy. "Go," Jesus says, "your faith has made you well." "Go and your eyes will be opened. Go and you will see me truly." And so we follow Jesus on the way. Bartimaeus, by the way, is the first person in Mark's telling of the story who follows Jesus after Jesus acts on his behalf. With eyes wide open we, too, are ready to follow Jesus to Jerusalem. With eyes wide open we are ready to take up the cross and follow the Crucified One.
Homiletical Directions
If we choose to treat this text in its narrative connections we will treat it as the end of this very important section of Mark's Gospel (8:22„10:52). The matter before us is that of human blindness in the light of Jesus' self-revelation. Story One will set up this section of Mark's Gospel by rehearsing the difficulties of sight in the lives of the disciples as they move through the opening chapters, climaxing in 8:17-22.
Story Two can set the context of today's story in Mark 8:22„10:52. This is a section that is boundaried by stories of the healing of the blind. In the middle of these stories we have Jesus' "passion/resurrection" predictions to which the disciples constantly reply with hopes of glory. They still fail to see!
Story Three: enter Bartimaeus. He sees! Jesus opens his eyes. He is a man of faith. Faith is clearly defined in this story as "coming to Jesus for mercy!" Therein lies our hope for opened eyes. If the disciples didn't grasp the nature of the Sower, then what is to assure us that we will do any better than the disciples? Our best posture is the posture of faith that pleads and receives. Good soil is receptive soil! Let the seed fall on us, Jesus. Open our eyes. With eyes opened we will follow you on the way!
A sermon with these three stories might well end in prayer. The prayer we pray should put us in the shoes of Bartimaeus. We come to our prayer, that is, blind and pleading. We pray that we might be receptive soil. We pray that Jesus may open our eyes. We pray for the strength to follow on the way of the cross. The assurance of our prayer is that Jesus came to open blind eyes. Jesus opened the eyes of Bartimaeus. Jesus will open our eyes as well. Go! Your faith has made you well!
____________
1. Jack Dean Kingsbury, The Christology of Mark's Gospel (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983), p. 106.
The last section of Part One is Mark 8:22„10:52. The prelude to this section is the ongoing blindness and deafness of the disciples. "Do you have eyes, and fail to see?" Jesus asks his disciples (Mark 8:18). The disciples have been insiders to Jesus' ministry from the beginning, but they still fail to see. They are blind.
The blindness of the disciples sets the stage for the last section of Part One of Mark's story. The disciples „ the insiders „ do not see. Human eyes, it appears, cannot see the meaning and destiny of the figure of Jesus in their midst. God will have to open blind eyes to enable humans to see what is there to be seen. This section of Mark's Gospel, therefore, begins and ends with the story of the healing of a blind man. Jesus opened the eyes of a blind man in Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26). This section of the Gospel closes with today's text of the healing of a blind man in Jericho. In between these stories lie Jesus' three "passion/resurrection" predictions, which the disciples did not understand at all. Jesus talks about cross and they insistently think of glory, their glory! Their eyes are not open to see.
The message of the structure of this section is that only God can open our eyes to grasp the nature and destiny of Jesus Christ. This week's text is about such "eye opening" work. It takes place in Jericho, just down the road from Jesus' destination: Jerusalem. As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples a great multitude was with him. A blind man by the name of Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside as the triumphal procession to Jerusalem passed him by. When the blind man heard that it was Jesus who was passing him by "...he began to shout out and say, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' No one could stop him from shouting out. Finally, Jesus heard the shouts and attended the needs of the blind man. Bartimaeus ran to Jesus. 'What do you want me to do for you?' Jesus asked. 'My teacher, let me see again,' he said. And Jesus said to him, 'Go; your faith has made you well.' Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way."
A word needs to be said here about the cry of Bartimaeus to Jesus, naming him as "Son of David." Jack Dean Kingsbury puts the matter well:
Because Jesus has not heretofore appeared in Mark's story as the Son of David, this pericope plays a pivotal role in conveying to the reader Mark's sense of this title. To begin with, Mark affirms with it that Jesus is indeed of the lineage of David. Unlike Matthew and Luke, Mark has no genealogy that links Jesus with the line of David ƒ it appears that it is exactly the Davidic descent of Jesus which is being attested to when Bartimaeus addresses "Jesus of Nazareth" as "Son of David ƒ ."1
Part Two of Mark's Gospel which begins in Mark 11:1 will emphasize this "Son of David" theme. The entry into Jerusalem, for example, is loaded with messianic images. The confession of Bartimaeus, therefore, prepares us for a shift in emphasis in Mark's storytelling as we move into Part Two of the Gospel.
Some commentators believe that in this climactic story of Part One of his Gospel Mark portrays Bartimaeus as a kind of model of the Christian life. The Bartimaeus story is truly a story of what happens when God in Jesus Christ opens blind eyes. Here is what happens when Jesus' word falls on good soil! If that is so, we see that the Christian life begins with persistent pleading. "Jesus, have mercy on me!" That is the prayer of good-soil people. We come to Jesus in our need and in confession. Jesus does not turn Bartimaeus, Jesus does not turn sinners, Jesus does not turn us away when we come to him pleading for mercy. "Go," Jesus says, "your faith has made you well." "Go and your eyes will be opened. Go and you will see me truly." And so we follow Jesus on the way. Bartimaeus, by the way, is the first person in Mark's telling of the story who follows Jesus after Jesus acts on his behalf. With eyes wide open we, too, are ready to follow Jesus to Jerusalem. With eyes wide open we are ready to take up the cross and follow the Crucified One.
Homiletical Directions
If we choose to treat this text in its narrative connections we will treat it as the end of this very important section of Mark's Gospel (8:22„10:52). The matter before us is that of human blindness in the light of Jesus' self-revelation. Story One will set up this section of Mark's Gospel by rehearsing the difficulties of sight in the lives of the disciples as they move through the opening chapters, climaxing in 8:17-22.
Story Two can set the context of today's story in Mark 8:22„10:52. This is a section that is boundaried by stories of the healing of the blind. In the middle of these stories we have Jesus' "passion/resurrection" predictions to which the disciples constantly reply with hopes of glory. They still fail to see!
Story Three: enter Bartimaeus. He sees! Jesus opens his eyes. He is a man of faith. Faith is clearly defined in this story as "coming to Jesus for mercy!" Therein lies our hope for opened eyes. If the disciples didn't grasp the nature of the Sower, then what is to assure us that we will do any better than the disciples? Our best posture is the posture of faith that pleads and receives. Good soil is receptive soil! Let the seed fall on us, Jesus. Open our eyes. With eyes opened we will follow you on the way!
A sermon with these three stories might well end in prayer. The prayer we pray should put us in the shoes of Bartimaeus. We come to our prayer, that is, blind and pleading. We pray that we might be receptive soil. We pray that Jesus may open our eyes. We pray for the strength to follow on the way of the cross. The assurance of our prayer is that Jesus came to open blind eyes. Jesus opened the eyes of Bartimaeus. Jesus will open our eyes as well. Go! Your faith has made you well!
____________
1. Jack Dean Kingsbury, The Christology of Mark's Gospel (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983), p. 106.
