4. On receiving sight and following Jesus (10:46-52)

Blind Bartimaeus’s faith, persistence, and recognition of Jesus' significance provide the foci for this important story of discipleship. At the outset he is sitting by the roadside (Gk. hodon), but in the end he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road (hodo). This is a clear portrait of the healing power of the merciful King, but this story also functions as a parable of discipleship: To be healed from spiritual blindness is to grasp the true identity of Jesus and join him on the way to the Cross. (On 10:1-52, see Via in bibliography.)