"Rabbi, I want to see"

Jesus is walking along the road, a blind man lies at the side of the road calling to Jesus for help, Jesus heals him. It's easy to skim the story in Mark 10 as a standard story in one of the many miracle stories in the gospels. But could we be missing something...

Immediately before the story of Bartimaeus' healing (10:46-52), we have a story about 2 of the disciples, James and John (10:35-45). They approach Jesus with a request. 

It is helpful to know that the gospel of Mark can be broken into 3 movements, the first of which is Jesus' ministry in Galilee, chapters 1-10. It begins with Jesus' baptism, the calling of his first disciples and numerous miracles. The 12 men called to be Jesus' disciples have witnessed and participated in Jesus' ministry. They have seen the Kingdom of God, through the returning of sight to the blind, the feeding of the hungry, and the restoration of dignity to those who had been oppressed and dehumanised. In Jesus, God is making all things new. These 12 men have front row seats to the Kingdom of God, breaking-in before their very eyes. And Jesus is inviting them to join in.

So perhaps they're going to ask what's next? Maybe they've seen a group of people who have been oppressed and outcast, and they want to know what the Kingdom looks like for them? Or they want to be taught some more about what God's Kingdom looks like in Israel? 

Their request: "let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."

The other 10 disciples weren't best pleased. Why? It could be that they were disgusted at the selfishness of James and John. It's probably just as reasonable to believe that they were just annoyed that they got their first. 

It is then that we have the story of blind Bartimaeus, lying on the side of the road crying out to Jesus. 

Jesus: "What do you want me to do for you?" 

Bartimaeus: "Rabbi, I want to see."

Jesus: "Go, your faith has healed you."

Could it be that Mark's story of Bartimaeus is related to the previous story? That he's gently nudging at something? Actually, maybe it's not all that subtle at all. 

We need our eyes opened. 

The Kingdom of God is unfolding before their very eyes. They've been invited to join Jesus in the Kingdom work of redemption and restoration. And they're still caught up in their own struggle for power and selfish gain. 

Sound familiar? We've been called as citizens of the Kingdom of God.
Too often we're busy building our own. 

Let us refuse to become numb to the Good News,

may we never become satisfied with serving ourselves,

and may our cry always be "Rabbi, I want to see".