THROW THE CLOAK

Steven Thomas 

There is a moment when you are at the edge of something and everything is in place and the only thing left to do is to take the last step. Nothing left to be prepared or planned, all that’s left is to go. 

Today we will be looking at the story of blind Bartimaeus in the Gospel of Mark. A man who had a moment where he was on the edge and what he did when everything was on the line. 

Mark 10:46-52 (ESV)

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

46And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. [1]

The Gospel of Mark can be broken down into 3 main parts. Chapters 1-8 are set in Galilee and everyone is amazed by Jesus and the works He is doing, and they are asking who is this? Chapters 8-10 where we find the story of Bartimaeus we are looking at today show us that the disciples are struggling to understand what it means for Jesus to be the Messiah. Then the last part of this Gospel chapters 11-16 show us how Jesus becomes the Messianic King. Throughout this entire book Jesus proclaims the good news that the Kingdom of God has come near and for people to repent and believe.

Mark 10:46 (ESV)

46And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.

Luke and Matthews Gospels record this same story. In Luke it says as he approached Jericho. Matthew records as he was leaving Jericho the same as what we read here in Mark.

How can those be the same accounts?

The Old Testament city Jericho sits two miles north of the New Testament site and was abandoned by Jesus’s era.[1] New Testament Jericho occupies a location about two kilometers south of the Old Testament ruins.[2]

This geographical separation matters for understanding the Gospel accounts. The blind man’s healing occurred between these two Jericho sites one Gospel places it near the New Testament city while another locates it near the Old Testament ruins.[2] The New Testament version emerged during the post-exile period[1], while the Old Testament city had long since been abandoned.

The New Testament Jericho was fundamentally different in character. Herod the Great favored this location as a retreat from Jerusalem’s pressures, transforming it into a garden city with an amphitheater, hippodrome, gymnasium, parks, gardens, pools, villas, a fortress, and an elaborate palace complex.[1] Despite minimal rainfall, the city thrived as an oasis thanks to water from springs at the western hills’ base, fertile soil, a mild winter climate, and strategic positioning.[1] The region was celebrated for sycamore and balsam trees, with the balsam particularly prized for medicinal and perfume applications.[1]

[1] William F. Cook III, “Jericho in Jesus’s Day,” in Ultimate Guide to the Holy Land, Ultimate Guide Series (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2022), 339–340.
[2] David S. Dockery, ed., Holman Bible Handbook (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1992), 74.

It was here that Herod the Great died[2]

As we look at this passage before we get to what Jesus does, think about what a day in Bartimaeus’s life looked like. Not the morning that Jesus came but any old day. He wakes up in complete darkness and that’s it. He has his spot that will be beg from a pretty good spot situated along a well traveled path. He knows the road around him by sound, he can hear the whole city moving. And he waits, not for a miracle. He waits for the small mercies from those passing by a coin, some food, something to help him through the day. This is his life.

Then the crowds start to rumble and he hears “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by”

Hoping for something hurts when it keeps going unanswered 

Mark 10:47 (ESV)

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

Son of David is a Messianic title, in the Gospel of Mark no one has said this out loud yet. The first person to announce publicly who Jesus really is, is the man who cannot see. Bartimaeus can not see but he sees clearer than everyone around him who Jesus is.

Cry Out All the More 

Mark 10:48 (ESV)

48And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

The crowd’s job seems to be the same one it is today, to manage the expectations of broken people. To just quiet them down keep the peace and keep things moving.

Are there people in your life that you don’t want to see saved, because all you want to do is rebuke them?

Jesus doesn’t say rebuke them, He says CALL THEM!

Bartimaeus didn’t let the crowd silence him, he cried for Jesus all the more.

Jesus stopped for the one who cried out for Him.

Jesus Stopped 

Mark 10:49 (ESV)

49And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.”

Jesus stops for the people the crowd has already decided don’t matter. He stops for the ones the world has discarded and wants to keep silent.

Throw the Cloak 

Mark 10:50 (ESV)

50And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.

Bartimaeus was still blind when he throws his cloak.

In the ancient world, a beggar’s cloak was everything. It was his bedding, the only protection he had against the cold at night. It was his begging mat, spread on the ground to catch whatever coins people dropped as they passed. The Mosaic law required that even a cloak given as collateral had to be returned by nightfall, because it was all a poor man had. The cloak was his entire survival system.

Exodus 22:26–27 (ESV)

26If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 27for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

Deuteronomy 24:12–13 (ESV)

12And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge. 13You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before the LORD your God.

You do not throw the cloak when you feel ready. Bartimaeus was still blind.

You throw it because the one who called your name is worth the risk of empty hands.

Mark 10:51 (ESV)

51And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”

Jesus still asks. Even after Bartimaeus has thrown everything, jumped up and came to call, Jesus still asks.

“What do you want me to do for you?”

Bartimaeus gives one of the most direct answers.

“Rabbi, let me recover my sight”

Follow Him on the Way 

Mark 10:52 (ESV)

52And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

Bartimaeus followed Jesus on the way. The way that leads to Jerusalem. To the triumphal entry of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Practical Steps for this Week 

1. Name it and Leave it here 
2. Tell one person before next Sunday 

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Mk 10:46–52.

[2] H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., St. Mark, vol. 2, The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909), 66.