Church Fathers Commentary Mark 10:46-52

"And they come to Jericho: and as he went out from Jericho, with his disciples and a great multitude, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the way side. And when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And many rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried out the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and said, Call ye him. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good cheer: rise, he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, sprang up, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered him, and said, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? And the blind man said unto him, Rabboni, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And straightway he received his sight, and followed him in the way." — Mark 10:46-52 (ASV)

St. Jerome: The name of the city corresponds to our Lord’s approaching Passion, for it is said, And they came to Jericho. Jericho means “moon” or “anathema,” and the failing of Christ’s flesh is the preparation for the heavenly Jerusalem.

The passage continues: And as He went out of Jericho with His disciples, and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the wayside begging.

The Venerable Bede: Matthew says that there were two blind men sitting by the wayside who cried to the Lord and received their sight. Luke, however, relates that one blind man was enlightened by Him with a similar sequence of events as He was going into Jericho. No wise person would suppose that the Evangelists contradicted one another, but rather that one wrote more fully what another left out.

We must therefore understand that one of them was more prominent, which is apparent from the fact that Mark recorded his name and his father's name.

St. Augustine of Hippo: This is why Mark chose to relate his case alone: because his healing gained the miracle a fame that was as illustrious as his affliction was widely known. But although Luke relates a miracle performed in the same way, we must still understand that a similar miracle was performed for another blind man, following a similar pattern.¹

The passage continues: And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, you Son of David, have mercy on me.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: The blind man calls the Lord the Son of David, hearing how the passing crowd praised Him and feeling certain that the expectation of the prophets was fulfilled.²

It continues: And many charged him that he should hold his peace.

Origen of Alexandria, in Matt. tom. xvi, 13ⁱ: It is as if he said: Those who were first to believe rebuked him when he cried, “You Son of David,” telling him to be quiet and to stop calling Jesus by a contemptible name, when he should have said, “Son of God, have pity on me.” He, however, did not stop. Therefore, the text continues: But he cried out all the more, You Son of David, have mercy on me. And the Lord heard his cry, for it continues: And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called.

But notice that the blind man of whom Luke speaks is inferior to this one. For Jesus neither called him nor ordered him to be called, but commanded him to be brought, as if he were unable to come by himself. This blind man, however, is called to Him by our Lord's command.

Therefore, the text continues: And they call the blind man, saying to him, Be of good comfort, rise, He is calling you. But he, casting away his garment, comes to Him. It continues: And he casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.

Perhaps the blind man's garment signifies the veil of blindness and poverty that surrounded him, which he cast away to come to Jesus. And the Lord questions him as he approaches.

Therefore, it continues: And Jesus answered and said to him, What do you want me to do for you?

The Venerable Bede: Could He who was able to restore sight be ignorant of what the blind man wanted? His reason for asking, then, is so that a prayer might be made to Him. He asks the question to stir the blind man's heart to pray.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, He asks so that people would not think that what He granted the man was not what he wanted. For it was His practice to make the good disposition of those who were to be healed known to everyone, and then to apply the remedy. He did this to stir up others to emulation and to show that the one to be cured was worthy to receive the grace.³

The passage continues: The blind man said to Him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

The Venerable Bede: For the blind man considers every gift inferior to light, because whatever a blind man may possess, he cannot see what he possesses without light.

Pseudo-Jerome: But Jesus, seeing his ready will, rewards him with the fulfillment of his desire.

Origen of Alexandria: Again, it is more worthy to say “Rabboni”—or, as it is in other places, “Master”—than to say “Son of David.” Therefore, He gave him health not when he said, “Son of David,” but when he said, “Rabboni.”

Therefore, it continues: And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has made you whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him on the way.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The blind man's spirit is grateful, for when he was healed, he did not leave Jesus but followed Him.

The Venerable Bede: In a mystical sense, however, Jericho, which means “the moon,” points to the waning of our fleeting race. The Lord restored sight to the blind man when drawing near to Jericho because, by coming in the flesh and drawing near to His Passion, He brought many to the faith. For it was not in the first years of His Incarnation, but in the few years before He suffered, that He revealed the mystery of the Word to the world.

Pseudo-Jerome: But the partial blindness brought upon the Jews (Romans 11:25) will in the end be enlightened when He sends the Prophet Elijah to them.

The Venerable Bede: Now, in that He restored sight to one man on approaching Jericho and to two on leaving it, He intimated that before His Passion He preached only to one nation, the Jews. But after His Resurrection and Ascension, through His Apostles, He opened the mysteries of both His Divinity and His Humanity to Jews and Gentiles.

Mark, in writing that one man received his sight, refers to the salvation of the Gentiles, so that the symbol might align with the salvation of those he instructed in the faith. Matthew, however, who wrote his Gospel to the faithful among the Jews—and because it was also to reach the Gentiles—fittingly says that two received their sight, to teach us that the grace of faith belongs to both peoples.

Therefore, as the Lord was departing from Jericho with His disciples and a great crowd, the blind man was sitting and begging by the wayside. This signifies that when the Lord ascended into heaven, and many of the faithful followed Him—indeed, when all the elect from the beginning of the world entered the gate of heaven with Himⁱ—the Gentile people immediately began to have hope for their own enlightenment. For now it sits begging by the wayside, because it has not yet entered upon and reached the path of truth.

Pseudo-Jerome: The people of the Jews also, because they kept the Scriptures but did not fulfill them, beg and starve by the wayside. But he cries out, “Son of David, have mercy on me,” because the Jewish people are enlightened by the merits of the Prophets. Many rebuke him to be quiet; that is, sins and devils restrain the cry of the poor. And he cried out all the more, because when the battle grows great, hands are to be lifted up with a cry to the Rock of help, who is Jesus of Nazareth.

The Venerable Bede: Again, the Gentile people, having heard of the fame of Christ's name, sought to become partakers of Him. But many spoke against Him—first the Jews, and then also the Gentiles—lest the world that was to be enlightened should call upon Christ. The fury of His attackers, however, could not deprive of salvation those who were predestined for life.

He heard the blind man's cry as He was passing but stood still when He restored his sight. This is because He pitied him through His Humanity, while He drove away the darkness from our minds by the power of His Divinity. For in that Jesus was born and suffered for our sakes, He, as it were, “passed by,” because this action is temporal. But when God is said to “stand,” it means that, Himself unchanging, He sets in order all changeable things.

The Lord calls the blind man who cries to Him when He sends the word of faith to the Gentile people through preachers. And they call on the blind man to be of good cheer, to rise, and to come to the Lord, when, by preaching to the simple, they bid them to have hope of salvation, to rise from the laziness of vice, and to prepare themselves for a life of virtue.

Again, he who throws aside the bonds of the world and with an unencumbered pace hurries to the Giver of eternal light is like the one who throws away his garment and leaps.

Pseudo-Jerome: Again, the Jewish people come leaping, stripped of the old man, like a hart [red stag, male deer] leaping on the mountains. That is, laying aside laziness, they meditate on the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles on high, and raise themselves to the heights of holiness. How consistent, also, is the order of salvation! First, we hear through the Prophets; then, we cry aloud in faith; next, we are called by the Apostles; we rise up through penitence; we are stripped of our old garment by baptism; and by our choice, we are questioned. Again, the blind man, when asked, requests that he might see the will of the Lord.

The Venerable Bede: Therefore, let us also imitate him. Let us not seek riches, earthly goods, or honors from the Lord, but rather that Light which we alone can see with the Angels. The way to this Light is faith, which is why Christ answers the blind man, Your faith has made you whole. But he who does what his understanding tells him is good is the one who sees and follows. For he follows Jesus who understands and carries out what is good, who imitates Him who had no desire to prosper in this world and who bore reproach and derision. And because we have fallen from inward joy through delight in the things of the body, He shows us what bitter feelings the return to that joy will cost us.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Furthermore, it says that he followed the Lord “on the way,” that is, in this life. This is because, after this life, all are excluded who do not follow Him here by carrying out His commandments.

Pseudo-Jerome: Or, this is the way of which He said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. This is the narrow way that leads to the heights of Jerusalem and Bethany, to the Mount of Olives, which is the mount of light and consolation.

1. de Con. Evan., ii, 65
2. Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.
3. Hom. in Matt., 56