(Image courtesy of http://www.bible-history.com/)
Beggars were normally found at places where many people had to pass: at entrances to temples, at gateways to walled cities. Jericho was a walled city. There were two routes for travelers between Galilee and Jerusalem. One followed the spine of the central north-south mountain range and passed through Samaria. Jesus had taken this route before, and had had both positive and negative reception by the Samaritans. On this trip, however, he took the easterly route down the Jordan valley to Jericho and then up the slopes westward to Jerusalem. Today's passage and tomorrow's deal with incidents at Jericho.
The blind beggar's name, given to us by Mark, was Bar-Timaeus, which in Aramaic means "son of Timaeus". Although the RSV omits the name, considering it to be merely the Aramaic words, then translated by Mark as "son of Timaeus" in the following gloss, research into naming practices among Palestinian Jews in Jesus' day has shown that it was fairly common for a man to have his patronym ("son of X") as his usual name. Mark was therefore really giving us the name by which the beggar was called, and then (in Greek translation) identifying him as Timaeus ' son. In Arabic-speaking Middle Eastern societies today the common practice is the opposite: a father often is called by the name of his eldest son: Abu Tariq "father of Tariq".
Richard Bauckham, in his book Jesus and the Eye-witnesses (2006), has made a good case that named individuals in the gospel accounts occurring in only one recorded incident were most likely identified by name, because they had survived in the Christian community as living sources (eye-witnesses) of the event being described. It is therefore very probable that Bar-timaeus became a member of the earliest Christian community after the Resurrection, and that he was a primary source for this account.
Bar-timaeus was sitting by the roadside near the entrance to Jericho when he heard the hubbub of the crowd accompanying Jesus approach. Inquiring who this popular person was that was passing by, he was told it was Jesus of Nazareth. By this time, which was relatively late in his three-year public ministry, Jesus was well-known and had a largely popular and favorable reputation, foremost of which was his ability to heal any affliction.
Luke and Matthew agree on the wording of what Bar-timaeus called out to Jesus: "Jesus, son of David! Have mercy on me!" Mark only omits "son of David". Now, it is true that "son of David" might have royal, and messianic overtones, implying that Bar-timaeus believed Jesus was the promised Davidic King and Messiah. But on analogy with the rules governing the use of the "father of Tariq" type name in Middle Eastern society today, only those who are relatives or on intimate terms with the person (or who wish to be) use this form of address. It is possible that Bar-timaeus called Jesus bar David because he wanted Jesus to view him as an intimate friend or relative, and thus "have mercy" on him. Of course, this parallel may not go very far, since David was Jesus' remote ancestor, not his real parent. But in support of the theory, it is interesting that, after bystanders sought to silence Bar-timaeus, he cried out more insistently and desperately "Son of David! Have mercy on me!" omitting the name Jesus entirely. His appeal was based on what "Son of David" meant to him. By addressing Jesus this way, he hoped desperately to receive his mercy.
In any event, the actual gospel text does not say that Bar-timaeus directly requested healing, only "mercy". Since in the Greek of Jesus' day gifts to beggars were called "mercy" (ἐλεημοσύνη), his request could have been answered with a small gift of money. But in Jesus' vocabulary "mercy" meant much more. It meant healing—both of body and of soul.
Jesus stopped and commanded his disciples to bring Bar-timaeus to him. When the beggar arrived, Jesus asked him "What do you want me to do for you?" and open-ended offer of "mercy". Ask little, receive little. Ask much, receive much! Understanding this, Bar-timaeus asked much of Jesus: "Let me receive my sight." Jesus' answered, "Receive your sight. Your faith has made you well."
The miracle was instantaneous: immediately the man could see. And immediately also he began to "follow" Jesus, that is, he became a disciple. This fits the understanding mentioned above that Bar-timaeus is named in this story (only in Mark, however), because he had become a believer and continued in the early Church as a living source for this story.
In fact, although the blind were among the classes exempt according to Jewish law (M. Hag. i 1) from the obligation to travel to Jerusalem for the major festivals (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles), now that this man's sight was restored he was obligated to go. And since Jesus and his entourage were at this point on their way to Jerusalem for Passover, it is likely that the previously blind beggar actually joined their party and thus quite literally "followed" (or "accompanied"; Greek ἠκολούθει αὐτῷ) Jesus!
There is a sense in which you and I, once we believe and become disciples of Jesus, become living sources for what the Resurrected, Living Jesus has done to make us spiritually whole. Others who see how our lives have changed for the better can also testify to this. But it is we ourselves who are the primary sources. Sometimes it is not only the Scripture that God uses to lead a seeking person to take the step of becoming a disciple. Sometimes God also uses the testimony of one of us, telling how we were, and how we came to believe, and how Jesus changed us. I'm sure Bar-timaeus never grew tired of telling his story. I know I never lose the deep sense of gratitude to Jesus for how he reached out to me as a confused freshman at Princeton University in 1956. I pray only that my life and yours will match well with the stories we can tell. Bar-timaeus never went blind again; he continued to see. The change was permanent and plain for all to see. The drastic changes in our lives should also be permanent and plain for all to see.
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