Bartimaeus

This analysis of the plot and the narrative point of view in Mark 10,46- 52 sheds some light on the function of this episode in relation to the characterization of Jesus and of the disciples in Mark. Bartimaeus appears as a model of both confessing Jesus as Messiah and following him on the way to the cross. The narrator describes in detail Bartimaeus’ behavior, but it is Jesus who approves of it and implicitly accepts the blind man’s actions and words as a correct manifestation of faith in him.

‘The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus’, as Mk. 10.46-52 is often called, has been taken over and restated with various changes in Lk. 18.35-43. This paper views Luke’s modification of the account in terms of παράφρασις (‘paraphrase’), a progymnasmatic exercise in which the writer changed the form of expression while keeping the thoughts. It is argued that Luke’s παράφρασις of Mark’s account enhances characterization of three characters— Jesus, the λαός (‘people’), and the ‘blind man’—by creating a favorable portrait of each of them over against some respective inferior counterpart.

La perícopa de la curación/vocación del ciego “hijo de Timeo” por aquel a quién él llama “Hijo de David” constituye un punto climático de la trama narrativa del Evangelio según Marcos. Es un relato de carácter eminentemente discipular que desarrolla la forma literaria de milagro y de vocación. Como relato de milagro propone un contraste entre la ceguera y la incomprensión discipular que se ha incrementado a lo largo de la “sección del camino” (Mc 8,27–10,45) y no ha podido ser sanada. Como relato de vocación expresa el paradigma discipular del seguimiento incondicional del Señor a lo largo del camino hacia la cruz, que contrasta con la resistencia de los discípulos a asumir lo que implica dicho camino.//
The pericope of the healing/vocation of the blind “son of Timaeus” by
the one he calls “son of David” becomes a climatic point of the narrative plot of Mark’s Golpel. It is clearly a discipular account which develops the literary form of miracle and vocation. As an account of miracle, the text proposes a contrast between the blindness and the discipular
misunderstanding that has been growing along the “section of the path” (Mk 8:27–10,45) and which has not been healed. As an account of vocation, the text reveals the discipular paradigm of the unconditional
following of the Lord along the way toward the cross, in contrast with the disciples’s resistance to accept the implications of following the way.

The healing of blind Bar-Timaeus (Βαρ-Τιμαῖος), in Mark 10, may appear to be one of the simplest and least spectacular of Jesus’ miracles, but beneath the surface of this brief periscope is a key reoccurring theme of Jesus’ ministry and Greco-Roman culture. Providing hospitality to travelers/beggars (Xenia - ξενία), and the related concept of gods, angels and/or heroes arriving disguised as travelers or beggars (Theoxenia - θεοξενία), are frequent themes in the Bible (in both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures), as well as in Greco-Roman myth and culture.

Bar-Timaeus may be more than a blind beggar. His “hidden identity” may be that of a Greco-Roman philosopher who has chosen a beggar’s life. And his deepest desire may not be the restoration of physical sight, but obtaining spiritual enlightenment that only Jesus, the Son of David (Υἱὲ Δαυὶδ) can give.

Bar-Timaeus’ healing, in Mark’s gospel, is also a pivotal point for Jesus revealing his “hidden identity,” what some have termed the “messianic secret.” Earlier in his ministry, Jesus instructed those he healed to not “tell this to anyone” (Mark 1:44). When demons begin to announce Jesus’ hidden identity as “Son of God,” Jesus commands them to be silent and “gave them strict orders not to tell others about him” (Mark 3:11-12). Mark 1:34 says, “(Jesus) cast out many demons, but he would not allow the demons to speak because they knew he was the Messiah.” When speaking to the Twelve, Jesus told them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God. But to those on the outside everything is given in parables” (Mark 4:11). Later, when Jesus asked his closest disciples, “‘Who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah.’ Jesus warned them they should tell no one about him” (Mark 8:29-30).

When Jesus encounters Bar-Timaeus, however, Jesus no longer seeks to conceal his “hidden identity.” When Bar-Timaeus calls him “the Son of David,” synonymous with Messiah, Jesus does not command him to be silent; and several hours later, when Jesus nears Jerusalem, he rides into the city in a symbolic manner that proclaims his “hidden identity” to anyone familiar with the scriptural prophesies about the Messiah, the anointed King of Israel.

The emergence of disability-related research in the New Testament has flourished in recent years. However, there is still much more to do. While there has been a considerable amount of work done on the texts, much of it has been focused on Luke-Acts, the Gospel of John, or Paul's writings. This paper looks to broaden that scope by looking at the Gospel of Mark, specifically Mark 10:46-52, the story of Bartimaeus. This is one of the key sections of Mark's gospel, and signals a shift in the narrative. By having Bartimaeus be the one who truly realizes the identity of Jesus, Mark is empowering Bartimaeus in interesting and curious ways. In order to fully understand how this works, the paper looks at the history of scholarship surrounding the pericope, paying particular attention to how it has been understood in light of disability studies. I also reference ancient sources, both Jewish and Greco-Roman, as precursors for understanding how the larger culture viewed blindness at the time, and used blindness as a metaphor within literary works. I also look at the pericope through the social model of disability, by delving into the cultural and social assumptions that could be inferred by Mark's intended audience. By doing so, the paper sheds some light on how disability studies can be used to help understand the Gospel of Mark within its own cultural assumptions of disability. I also look at possible reasons why Mark has chosen the disabled to be the ones "in the know" about the Messianic secret, and how Jesus himself complicates modern understandings of disability by "normalizing" Bartimaeus through healing. By doing so, it provides some insight into how Mark might have understood disability within the narrative framework of the gospel, and help illuminate how to approach Mark's gospel from the perspective of disability studies.