NOTES for Mar 10:46-52

Bartimaeus wants to see. Often people who ask for something are afraid of it at the same time, because then they will have to change their familiar way of life, and that always creates problems. If Bartimaeus receives his sight, he will have to stop begging, start looking for work, and generally take responsibility for himself and those around him. But he is ready for this: he not only cries out to Christ, but goes to Him, throwing off his outer garment, perhaps his only valuable possession. Bartimaeus risks being unable to find it again if he does not receive his sight, yet he is ready to cast aside everything valuable in order to ask for the one thing that matters most. He goes to Jesus and, once he can see, remains with Him. How often the “outer garment” to which we cling—different for each of us—prevents us from going to Jesus and receiving true sight from Him...