22 April 2024
This is about the two stories spanning Luke 18:35-19:10. As Bailey notes, they belong together. The blind man is oppressed, and Zacchaeus is an oppressor; Jesus has mercy on both.
Bailey offers another elaborate rhetorical analysis of the story of the blind man, but what I see is frankly a Hebrew drama, a brief scene with the blind man as the center of action. There are three parts in the play: the blind man, the crowd, and Jesus. There is some back and forth between the man and the crowd, and then between the man and Jesus.
It felt awkward reading his commentary. A critical aspect to the story is that Jesus had a substantial entourage with Him, some gathered along the way. This is His last trip into Jerusalem, and a lot of His kin have come along. When this passage opens, He is between the ancient site of Jericho and the recently built version (Herod's villa taken over by Roman officials and extended) by the same name, farther up the road toward Jerusalem. The crowd was a mixture of those who were committed to seeing Him crowned as Messiah and King when He got there, plus a bunch of locals. Would Jesus do something provocative to the Roman officers here?
Bailey offers an interesting story of how villages would treat royalty in the Middle East, but it's frankly not pertinent. More to the point is how the blind beggar escalates his call for attention by using the rare title "Son of David." It meant the man was proclaiming Jesus as rightful King of Israel. When he finally is brought before Him, he calls Him "Lord". This means he is proclaiming his allegiance and loyalty.
Bailey notes that beggars were treated as doing folks a favor, giving them a chance to do some charity, as required by the Law of Moses. When someone gave them a donation, they often stood and crowed about what a wonderful saint the donor is and calls out with an extended blessing on them, their family, etc. He didn't ask Jesus for a donation. Instead, he asked Jesus for something that would have destroyed his one source of income, while leaving him with the same lack of training and skills. But he was determined to see Jesus.
His faith was the key, of course. Jesus granted his request, knowing how much it would upset the man's life. But the beggar was willing to face that, and began to praise God (the real source), not the human donor. He joined the crowd celebrating Jesus and provoked them to raucous praise, as well.
Bailey doesn't mention the parallel passage in Matthew that tells us it was two blind men, and one of them was named Bartimaeus.
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