Loving God, sometimes we are confused like the disciples and sometimes we see you clearly like Bartimaeus.  Help us to grow in our understanding and in your love, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

           All the way through the gospel of Mark, the disciples just don’t get it.  Three different times, Jesus tells them what awaits him in Jerusalem.  And three different times, the disciples either misunderstand or totally ignore what Jesus has just said.  Today we heard the third of these predictions, which is more detailed than any of the others:

See, 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; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again (Mk. 10:33-34).

         James and John hear this, and their response is pretty much just to change the subject.  While Jesus is pointing to his own suffering and death, they are focused on places of honour beside Jesus in his glory.  Not only do they not know what they are asking, but they have totally misunderstood the nature of the kingdom of God.  It is God who lifts up the lowly, and the reserved seats are not by request.  In fact, the ones who end up on Jesus’ right and left are thieves who are crucified right along with him.  If James and John only knew!

         Thus, once again, Jesus tries to teach them what it means to be a participant in the reign of God.  They are not to lord it over one another, but to serve one another.  In fact, it is those who humble themselves who will be exalted.  For, Jesus himself came “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:45).  It seems that the disciples, in spite of having been with Jesus for several years, still do not quite grasp who he is and what it means to follow him.

         Oddly enough, the one person in today’s gospel who sees Jesus clearly is actually blind.  His name is Bartimaeus, and he is sitting by the roadside begging when he hears that Jesus is coming.  He starts to shout out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mk. 10:47).  We are not told whether it is the disciples or the crowd that tell him to be quiet, but the attitude is similar to how the disciples spoke to the people who brought their children to Jesus.  Many, in fact, tell him to be quiet, somehow believing that Jesus would not want to be bothered by a blind man who is pleading for mercy.

         Bartimaeus, however, will not be shushed.  By using “Son of David” he identifies Jesus as Messiah, and he firmly believes that Jesus can heal him.  And so, he shouts until he gets Jesus’ attention.  He asks Jesus to restore his eyesight, and Jesus obliges him.  “Go; your faith has made you well” (Mk. 10:52).  And this time, Bartimaeus is allowed to follow Jesus “on the way.”

         One has to wonder how clearly we see Jesus and understand what it means to follow him.  After all, throughout the past 2000 years there have been some Christians who don’t quite “get” what Jesus is all about, and some who have seen him clearly and trusted him for healing.  Perhaps some of us have even had both experiences.

         Today happens to be International Women’s Day – a good time to take note of the role of women in Jesus’ ministry.  There is abundant evidence in the Scriptures that Jesus treated women with far greater respect than his society did, and it is Mary Magdalene who is first sent out to proclaim the good news as the apostle to the apostles.  Some of Jesus’ earliest disciples followed Jesus’ lead in this respect, and even up until the seventh and eighth centuries there is evidence of female priests and bishops in the church – particularly in Celtic Christianity.

         However, at various points in history, actions were taken to prevent women from serving in leadership roles.  It seems that in this respect, many Christians were no longer able to see how Jesus had lifted up men and women as equal partners in the gospel.

         Another thing about Jesus that we might not “get” sometimes is why his ministry had to involve suffering and death.  At our last confirmation class on Shrove Tuesday we made crosses out of puzzle pieces and talked about how the cross really is a puzzle to some people.  It was a puzzle to the disciples as well.

         What kind of a Messiah would allow himself to be crucified?  What kind of a God would allow his Son to be crucified?  And how could people treat the Son of God so badly?  The disciples didn’t understand any of this until after Jesus’ death and resurrection.  And some of us might still find it hard to understand.

         Various explanations are given in other parts of the Scriptures.  The letter to the Hebrews talks about how Jesus was made perfect through his suffering.  It also talks about how Jesus can sympathize with all those who suffer or face temptation because he has been through it himself.  Other passages talk about how Jesus endured both the weight and the fury of human sinfulness, thus breaking its power.  “By his bruises we are healed” (Is. 53:5).  The only one who was ever sinless took our sins upon himself and nailed them to the cross.

         Today’s gospel mentions how Jesus came to serve “and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:45).  A ransom sets people free.  A ransom releases people from bondage.  Just as Bartimaeus is set free in order to follow Jesus, so we have been set free from the power of sin and the fear of death.  Because of Jesus, we belong to God.  May the Holy Spirit grant us ever clearer vision, helping us to see the love of Jesus and follow him on the way.  Amen.

Lent 2 (NL 2)                                    Mark 10:32-52

March 8, 2020

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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