Divine healing - Mark 10:46-52
This is the last story from Jesus' journey to Jerusalem which began at 8:31. This demonstration of divine healing is a strong contrast with the rest of the section which emphasized Jesus' role as the suffering Messiah, the great demands of discipleship, and the failure of the disciples to understand the character of their calling.
Bartimaeus - Mark 10:46
Jericho was a city about 16 miles northeast of Jerusalem. The large crowd was at least partly due to the growing number of pilgrims who were traveling to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover.
Son of Timaeus is the translation of the Aramaic name
Bartimaeus.
The Nazarene - Mark 10:47
The Nazarene means
the one from Nazareth.
Son of David - Mark 10:48
The
blind man kept on
crying out in spite of attempts to silence him. He called Jesus
son of
David. This title appears only here in the Gospel of Mark as Jesus is approaching the royal city of Jerusalem. It stresses Jesus' royal messiahship. Mark closed this section which emphasized Jesus' suffering by focusing on the fact that he was the Messiah. Jesus' terrible, suffering death could not be allowed to obscure the fact that he was indeed the Messiah.
Humble servanthood - Mark 10:52
Jesus responded to the
faith of a man that most people regarded as a nuisance who should be silenced. Jesus
healed him. Even though Jesus had his own future in Jerusalem on his mind, he demonstrated that he came to serve the neediest people in society. Again he modeled humble servanthood. The word that is translated
healed is also often translated
saved.
Ministry in Jerusalem - Mark 11:1–13:37
The Messiah's Ministry in Jerusalem. In this section it became more and more clear that Jesus was the Messiah. At the same time, it became more and more clear that his messianic path was leading to his death on the cross.
The Messiah Moves toward the Cross. - Mark 11:1-12:44
Jesus' anger with sin, his frustration with unbelief, and his commitment to his role as the suffering Messiah were all more boldly presented by Mark at this stage in the Gospel.
The Messiah Comes to the Holy Place.- Mark 11:1-26
The first thing Mark reported that Jesus did when he entered Jerusalem was to visit the
temple (11:11). The temple was the Holy Place, the place where God promised to dwell with His people. Jesus said nothing, but everything else in this section grew out of that visit.
As they approached Jerusalem - Mark 11:1
Jesus approached Jerusalem from the east. They passed through the village of
Bethany about two miles outside of Jerusalem. They then came through
Bethpage, another smaller village near the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives was a ridge that ran just east of Jerusalem and was about 100 feet higher than the city. Its height provided some great views of the city, especially of the temple in Jesus' day. It got its name from the many olive groves on the mount.
Find a colt. - Mark 11:2-6
Jesus sent them to find a
colt to fulfill the prophecy of Zech. 9:9. (Matt. 21:2 also mentions a donkey tied with the colt.) Jesus may have known that the colt would be available through supernatural insight. The reaction of the people in verse 6 makes it more likely that he had made prior arrangements.
Garments and branches - Mark 11:8-10
The people spread their
garments and
branches on the road in front of Jesus. It was a reminder of the royal treatment of Old Testament kings (2 Kgs. 9:13). The crowd shouting out the words of Ps. 118:25, 26 reinforced the picture of Jesus as the messianic son of David coming into his city.
Hosanna is the Greek translation of the Hebrew that means
save us. There is a mild irony in the scene as Jesus allows the crowd to proclaim his messianic identity even though the people have shown no sign of understanding that he is the suffering messiah of Isaiah and not a militaristic political messiah.
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