Mark probably included this incident in his Gospel because it illustrates how Jesus would open the spiritual eyes of His disciples that were still shut (cf. 8:22-26). This is the last healing miracle that Mark recorded.
"This second account of the blind being healed (see 8:22-26 for the first account) concludes this central section of Mark (8:27-10:52) and serves as bookends' of this section. Recorded as they were and where they were may be suggestive of the trouble the spiritually blind disciples were having in grasping the need for the death of Christ and the need for faithfulness in taking a stand for Christ in the midst of opposition.
"This passage is the only place in Mark where someone called Jesus Son of David.' That Jesus accepted this title and healed the man is evidence that He affirmed the truth that He is indeed the Messiah."266
10:46 Jericho stood about five miles west of the Jordan River and six miles north of the Dead Sea.
Scholars have attempted to harmonize this account with the other two in the Synoptics. A few believe that the accounts represent three separate events. Some believe there were two healings, one as Jesus entered Jericho (Luke 18:35) and another as He left Jericho (Matt. 20:29; Mark 10:46). Still others believe there was only one healing, and it happened somewhere between old Jericho and new Jericho that Herod the Great had built one mile southwest of the old city.267I prefer this view since the three accounts are quite similar. Another view is that the beggars approached Jesus as He entered the city but He healed them as He departed from it. The various descriptions of what happened argue against this theory.
Mark was the only evangelist to record the more prominent of the two beggars' names. This is in harmony with his interest in individuals and detail.
10:47-48 The two descriptions of Jesus in these verses reveal the faith of Bartimaeus. The crowds simply described Jesus as "the Nazarene."Bartimaeus had obviously heard about Jesus and had concluded that He was the Messiah. "Son of David"is a messianic title (cf. 12:35-37; 2 Sam. 7:8-16; Isa. 11:1, 10; Jer. 23:5-6; Ezek. 34:23-24). Even though Bartimaeus lacked physical sight he saw more clearly who Jesus was then the multitudes who could see. His cry for mercy from Jesus expressed the attitude of trust, humility, and dependence that Jesus had been teaching His disciples to maintain.
10:49-50 Jesus responded again to the faith of a believer. Bartimaeus' response verified his belief that Jesus could help him. Mark's details stress Jesus' compassion and the beggar's conviction.
10:51-52 Jesus' question allowed Bartimaeus to articulate his faith and made personal contact with him. "Rabboni"is an emphatic personal form of "rabbi"meaning "my lord and master"(cf. John 20:16). Jesus healed him instantly with a word attributing his healing to his faith. His faith was its means, not its cause. The Greek word translated "made well"or "healed"is sesoken, meaning "saved."
"What was happening in the man's body was really, we may presume (ver. 47, 48), but the outward picture of what had happened in his soul."268
"The second stage in the progressive disclosure of Jesus' identity [to the reader] centers on his Davidic sonship (10:46-11:11; 12:35-37). . .269
"What is noteworthy in this scene is that Bartimaeus, a person of great faith, appeals to Jesus as the Son of David. By granting Bartimaeus his request for sight, Jesus in effect accepts for himself the title Son of David. Moreover, he also shows how he fulfills the end-time expectations associated with David. He does so not by donning the helmet of a warrior king but by using his authority to heal and in this way to save."270
Bartimaeus responded appropriately and began following Jesus.
This incident sets the stage for the climax of Mark's story. Jesus had finished His journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. Some people, like Bartimaeus, were believing on and following Jesus. Others, like the religious leaders, did not believe. Conflict in Jerusalem was inevitable.
"Bartimaeus pictured discipleship clearly. He recognized his inability, trusted Jesus as the One to give him God's gracious mercy, and when he could see' clearly he began to follow Jesus."271
