This week’s readings are all from Mark chapters 8-9. Each day’s segments of the readings will be posted on this site during the week.
Today's Reading:
Now when the other ten heard this, they became angry with James and John. Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. But it is not this way among you. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
They came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many scolded him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up! He is calling you.” He threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied, “Rabbi, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has healed you.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the road. (Mark 10.41–52 NET)
Once again Jesus has to explain the upside-down nature of the Kingdom of God to his disciples. Then, with the healing of Bartimaeus, the chapter ends with the last healing miracle in the Gospel of Mark and marks the beginning of the Jerusalem and final section of the Gospel.
Geographically, the ascent to Jerusalem begins immediately to the west of Jericho. This ascent is a winding, 14-20 mile climb from 860 feet below sea level to 2700 feet above sea level (at the top of the Mount of Olives) along the 'Jericho road'. There were three pilgrimage festivals: Pesach/Passover in the early Spring, Shavuot/Weeks/Pentecost in the late spring, and Sukkot/Booths in the Fall. Traditionally, those 'going up to Jerusalem' during these festivals would sing the Psalms of Ascent on their journey (Psalms 120-134).
Click on images below to see larger maps of the ascent from Jericho:
Thank you Jimmy for the pictorial input…what strikes me is at both ends of the trek to Jerusalem is first the Jordon Valley…geologically speaking it looks like the Dead Sea may have flooded the entire valley…second is how argues the journey was with desert and the hilly terrain…and last is that Jerusalem was a mountainous town 🤔🤔🤔🤗👍🐮
Ah yes…it was underwater
At the beginning of the Cenozoic, through the Paleocene and Eocene, similar deposition to the Cretaceous took place, including bituminous limestone and marl. Rifting began in the Oligocene, forming the Jordan Rift Valley. The resulting depression was probably occupied by a sequence of lakes or shallow marine environments.
From the Miocene through the Pliocene, a marine environment that may have been a branch of the Mediterranean reached the Red Sea through the Rift Valley, reaching basalt flows in Djebel ed Drouz. Up to four kilometers of evaporites formed into the early Pleistocene.[4]
Thank you Wikipedia
@okiebull13 Jeff, yes, Jerusalem, for that area, is considered a "mountain" area. However, it's more of an ascent from the Jordan Rift to the hill country of Judea. This is a hill country with deep ravines and valleys through which wadis (creeks and rivers) run down to the rift area. It's not like mountains in Colorado. Most of the journey up to Jerusalem from Jericho is through the Judean wilderness (which is more desert) to the Judean (and Benjamite) hill country, which moves into more fertile areas of terraced farming and shepherding.
@okiebull13 Here is a video shared by SatelliteBibleAtlas (seems like the video was actually made by a church group) that shows a bit about the ascent to Jerusalem from Jericho. I don't necessarily agree with all the biblical interpretation in the video (I didn't watch it closely), but the drone and other footage shows a bit of what the terrain looks like:
The Mount of Olives actually stands above the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. You look down on it from the top of the Mount of Olives as you come over its top from the east. Bethany and Bethpage are on the east side of the Mount of Olives, and the Garden of Gethsemene is on the west side facing the Old City across the Kidron Valley.
Any idea who Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus was? It’s not very often that one of the people healed is specifically named. Usually it’s “the lame man” or “the blind man”.
Any idea who Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus was? It’s not very often that one of the people healed is specifically named. Usually it’s “the lame man” or “the blind man”.
Mallary, great question! The Gospel of Mark only names two people related to healings: Bartimaeus and Jairus. Unfortunately, we really don't know anything else about either of them. It is possible that since his name is given that he would have been known by Mark's audience or generally within the early church, but his identity beyond this passage is lost to us. His name is only given in Mark's Gospel. The parallel passages in Matthew and Luke do not include his name, and Matthew adds a second blind man.