The Gospel of Mark provides us with a series of encounters with Jesus.  The stories of the rich young ruler, the disciples, and blind Bartimaeus demonstrate different responses to Christ, and it is often easy for us to see ourselves in the various characters.  While I have often looked at these stories from Mark 10 individually, when viewed together they reveal a progressive development to how we might respond to Jesus.  We might conceptualize each encounter as a stage that we must navigate when confronted with the reality of Jesus. Let us begin with the story of the man we know as the “rich young ruler.”   

¹⁷ And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰ And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” ²¹ And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²² Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. ²³ And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” ²⁸ Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” ²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Mark 10.23-31 ESV)

The man is referred to simply as “rich” in Mark’s gospel, while Matthew tells us he was young, and Luke tells us he was a ruler of some sort. The man’s story reveals the first stage of response to Jesus, a failure to respond because something else has captured our attention and devotion. The man recognizes on some level the truth of who Jesus is, as he refers to Him as “good teacher.”  Nevertheless, the man insists on maintaining control. “What must I do to be saved?”, he asks. Just prior to this encounter Jesus has stated explicitly that the kingdom is not something we obtain through work or merit but rather is given to us as a gift. ^“Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Mark 10:15 ESV) Despite the man’s strident self-reliance, even though the man loves his wealth more than Jesus, Jesus loves him.  In fact, this is the one place in the gospel where it is stated explicitly that Jesus loved someone. Jesus loves even those of us who can’t get out of our own way.  Jesus calls us to divest ourselves of identities built on worldly things- relationships, popularity, power, wealth, beauty.  The challenge that Jesus issues to the man attacks him where he is most vulnerable, his love of wealth. “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” These five imperatives fall like hammer blows, “go, sell, give, come, follow.” 

Jesus is asking him to surrender his identity.  Augustine once wrote, “One who gives up both what one owns, and what one desires to own, gives up the whole world.”  When all is said and done, the man finds the surrendering of his world too high of a price. This is the only story in Mark where a person responds to Jesus not by following, but by going away. We remain forever trapped in this first stage of responding, or failing to respond, to Jesus when we continue to insist on obtaining the kingdom on our terms rather than receiving it as the gracious gift from God that it is. As we continue on in Mark 10, we wonder, will the disciples demonstrate a better way?   

³² Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again, He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, ³³ saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴ And they will mock Him and spit on Him and flog Him and kill Him; and three days later He will rise from the dead.”

³⁵ James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to Jesus, saying to Him, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” ³⁶ And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³⁷ They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” ³⁹ They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. ⁴⁰ But to sit on My right or on My left is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹ Hearing this, the other ten began to feel indignant with James and John. ⁴² Calling them to Himself, Jesus *said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them; and their people in high position exercise authority over them. ⁴³ But it is not this way among you; rather, whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant; ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first among you shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:32-45)

The second stage shows some development.  After all, the disciples do leave their homes, their careers, their families, to follow Jesus.  Nevertheless, as they follow Jesus on the way, it becomes clear that to a certain extent they are in it because of what they think Jesus can do for them. Unlike the rich man we just saw, they understand that the kingdom is a gift to be received.  In this way their response is superior. However, they want to receive it on their terms.  To put it bluntly, they desire the salvation that the kingdom brings but reject the sanctification that it requires. Jesus understood very well the road which he was taking. He makes a series of statements that will be fulfilled later in Mark’s gospel:     

• He reveals that the “Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes.” We read later, “And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together.” (Mark 14:53)
• He also states, “and they will condemn him to death.” Sure enough, that is exactly what happens later, “’You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?”’ And they all condemned him as deserving death.” (Mark 14:64)
• After condemning Him, they will “deliver him over to the Gentiles.” By this point we should not be surprised when later we discover, “And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council.  And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate.” (Mark 15:1)
• Jesus predicts “they will mock him and spit on him.” Later on, Mark tells us, “And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him.” (Mark 15:19)
• They final humiliation is that they will “flog him and kill him.” After earlier stating that Pilate had Jesus beaten, or flogged, Mark 15 reads, “And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take.” (Mark 15:24)
• Jesus notes that his journey will end in triumph when he states, “And after three days he will rise.” The women discover the truth of this prediction at the end of the gospel. “And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He has risen; he is not here.  See the place where they laid him.’” (Mark 16:5-6)
•  

Jesus reveals the road that He is on quite clearly.  Though, despite being willing to follow Him, the disciples cannot grasp that this is the way of salvation.  They view salvation as the end that they desire, not the journey that Jesus makes to Jerusalem. Thinking that the pending arrival of Jerusalem will culminate in earthly glory, James and John are quick to ask for places of honor. The other disciples, frustrated that the brothers have stolen a march on them, get angry. Because they are still thinking according to their own wisdom, they envision that being at Jesus’ right and left hand will bring power, wealth, and prestige.  When asked if they can drink the cup Jesus will drink, they respond “we are able.” Notice something about their response.  We are able.  Though unlike the rich man they have followed Jesus, they still understand themselves to be doing so in their own power and on their own terms. 

We will see in Mark 14 that it is a very different cup that Jesus will drink from the one James and John envision.  “And he said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.  Remove this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will.’” (Mark 14:36) Far from being able, when Jesus begins to drink the cup of God’s wrath in our stead, we read simply, “And they all left him and fled.” (Mark 14:50) The process of seeing Jesus walk that road, alone, was a formative one for the disciples.  Their failure in that moment, coupled with their repentance and the reception of the Holy Spirit, would transform their understanding of what it means to follow Jesus, and the redemptive possibilities found in suffering.  Peter, one of the ones who fled would go on to write these words, “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (I Peter 4:13) James would eventually drink the cup and share the baptism of Christ’s suffering.  We read in Acts, “About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.  He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.” (Acts 12:1-3) John is widely believed to be the only apostle to not be martyred, but he too suffered in his own way.

He writes in the book of Revelation, “I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” (Revelation 1:9) The disciples come to the realization that salvation is not solely a gift received from Jesus, a place of honor at his right and left, but is also an invitation to follow Him. Perhaps for James and John it didn’t really hit home until they saw the criminals, crucified with Jesus on his right and left side. The second stage of responding to Jesus is often a long, drawn-out process because it lasts as long as it takes for us to realize that following Jesus means following Him on His terms, going where His leads, and sharing His fate.  This brings us to the third stage, which is embodied not by one of the Twelve, but by a man who could not even see.      

      ⁴⁶ Then they *came to Jericho. And later, as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a beggar who was blind named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. ⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸ Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹ And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So, they *called the man who was blind, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰ And throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ And replying to him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the man who was blind said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” ⁵² And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road. (Mark 10:46-52)

The third stage of following Jesus is simply asking Him for mercy. Interestingly, Bar-Timaeus is the only “minor” figure named in Mark’s gospel, other than Jairus. Perhaps the son of Timai is known in the later church, and that’s why he is mentioned here by name. Perhaps he had told this story himself and was well known for his testimony concerning Christ and the mercy he had shown him. One thing we know is that Bartimaeus recognized Jesus for who He truly is.  He refers to Jesus as “Son of David.” Referring to Jesus this way brings to our minds an episode from a millennium earlier, when David himself was entering into Jerusalem. We read in II Samuel, “And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, ‘you will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off’- thinking ‘David cannot come in here.’  Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.  And David said on that day, ‘whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack ‘the lame and the blind,’ who are hated by David’s soul.’ There it is said, ‘The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.” (II Samuel 5:6-8) Jesus’ arrival in the proximity of Jerusalem (Jericho was very close) is greater than that of David, because rather than defeating the “blind and the lame” Jesus restores them according to the promises made through the prophet Isaiah, “Say to those who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God He will come and save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.” (Isaiah 34:4-5) Rather than removing the blind, Jesus removes blindness itself. Rather than removing sinners, Jesus removes sin itself.   

There is much that we learn from Bartimaeus, the example of the third stage of following Jesus.  First, he knows he needs Jesus’ help. Second, he persistently calls for Jesus’ help and will not be silenced. Third, he asks for mercy, knowing Jesus’ owes him nothing. Compare Bartimaeus to James and John who come to Jesus with demands. Fourth, he recognizes the truth about Jesus, that he is the Son of David, the Messiah. Fifth, he literally jumps at the chance to come to Jesus. Sixth, he asks plainly and directly for what he wants, with his faith in Jesus and His willingness to show mercy. Finally, he is not satisfied with this one gift, but rather follows Jesus, who is Himself the ultimate gift.

Where are you on the journey of faith? What stage do you find yourself in? Do you recognize, like the rich man, the truth of who Jesus is, but find yourself unwilling to part with the things of this world? Have you left things behind, like the disciples, to follow Jesus, but still expect Him to work according to your agenda?  Or, like Bartimaeus, have you reached the place where you simply cry out to Jesus for mercy, recognizing in Him the fulfillment of God’s promises, discovering the joy that comes from following on the way with Him?

      Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.

          

                       -Justin Simmons lives in Glenmora, Louisiana and preaches for the Glenmora Church of Christ.