New Testament · Gospel

Mark 10:46

The Servant King

Next, they came to Jericho. And as Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho with a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road. Mark 10:46 · Berean Standard Bible

What It Means

Mark 10:46, in plain English

As Jesus and His disciples left Jericho with a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus was sitting beside the road. He was about to have the most important encounter of his life.

Why it's here

This is the last healing before Jesus enters Jerusalem. The blind man who can 'see' who Jesus is stands in contrast to the seeing disciples who remain spiritually blind.

Who's speaking

Mark introduces us to Bartimaeus by name — a detail that shows this man mattered.

Where it sits in the story

Sitting on the roadside, blind and begging — that was Bartimaeus's whole world. Until the day Jesus walked by. Everything was about to change.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

The Bartimaeus narrative introduces specific details — his name, his father's name (Timaeus), his location beside the road in Jericho — giving this healing a historical particularity unusual in Mark's Gospel.

Language and setting

Jericho is the last stop before Jerusalem, making Bartimaeus the last healing before the Passion. His story provides a contrast to the blind disciples and the rich man who walked away.

Voice

Mark sets the scene with precise narrative detail.

Significance

On the outskirts of Jericho, the last city before Jerusalem, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus sits by the road. His name is remembered — Mark's way of honoring a man who became a disciple.

In context

Mark 10:44–48

44and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all.

45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

46Next, they came to Jericho. And as Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho with a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road.

47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48Many people admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Read all of Mark 10 — Jesus redefines greatness. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve — and to give His life as a ransom.

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