What to take from this passage? That we need to pray and not give up? True. That we need to ignore the crowd? Also true. That there is a time to not be silent, and accept the shame of being needy? True again.
That being blind was worse in those days, and Bartimaeus was in poverty? Yes, And the speculation that this makes Christ a progressive, because he healed, or a Tory, because he did not provide a living, are unwise speculations.
I am taking something else from this. We are blindfolded into a polite dependency.
And 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. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And 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.” And 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. (Mark 10:46-52 ESV)
What do I mean? Well, firstly, our perceptions are always flawed: we cannot see everything. On Wednesday I was doing a rural clinic, which one has to be flown to, and the pilot used her instruments during the flight as much as her eyes, because there was fog everywhere.
But the elite of this day wants us silenced. Aaron Clarey has put this plainly.
What SJW's, leftists, socialists, and other vermin of society are used to is a tired, old, and worn out tactic of silencing somebody they disagree with or threatens to expose them for the parasites they are by accusing them of an "ism" (racism, sexism, ageism, etc.), which in turn then threatens that individual's career and thus livelihood. Mozilla firing Brendan Eich, Dr. Palmer's shooting of Cecil, doxxing and SWATing, even I've had people try to tell my clients I wrote "mean racist things." Though dishonest, cowardly and tiresome, this tactic works and is highly effective. In threatening and holding hostage an individual's career and reputation, they also threaten that individual, his life, and his family. Alas, they can essentially shut down any social or political commentary from the productive classes, leaving only leftist, SJW and politically approved socialist thought in the public forum.
Now those politely approved thoughts do not contain the gospel. And many have much to lose. For the apparatus of the state is against us: social workers will remove our children, or (just as bad) threaten to take our children if our wives remain married to us or members of a church which preaches homophobia and oppression, which is how they perceive the gospel.
But this is blowing back. Clarey was writing about Roosh, who the offended petunias of Montreal tried to ban from giving a lecture, then harassed him afterwards. You cannot shame Roosh, or Aaron. They work for themselves. They have no kids. They make their living by being unapproved and impolite: by saying truth. In part — Aaron is good on economics and liberty, and Roosh at telling you how to be attractive to the female sex, but that is not all of life — but that part is offensive.
The current over reach is freeing. One thinks, well, the kids are almost grown, the marriage blew up years ago, and the only motivating things at work are the people I help and research I do. Ornery old bastards with tenure can be rude, this blogger included.
And the young men have worked out that the corporations geld. They would prefer their balls and spine. So they are becoming loud. They are yelling. They want their sight back.
Which the elite fear, for their claims of wisdom and riches will be seen to be the naked lies they are. Perhaps there will a realisation that we need to live another way, repent, and turn again to Christ, who can heal us.
When you read the Gospels and understand the cultural context you have to admire Christ because he took all the sniping and turned it back on his critics. This forced them to reveal their cold hearts. You could say the scribes wanted him dead because they couldn’t win any theological arguments. The more I study the Gospels the more impressive Christ’s management of people and circumstances becomes. I expect that but it doesn’t take away the wonder of it.
Something else that strikes me throughout the bible is that some people saw something that was invisible to others. An example is Nicodemus who, at personal risk, sneaked in and asked a question. He didn’t get the answer and gets a ticking off because he didn’t. He’s present again when Christ is taken down from the cross. Clearly he saw something that the other scribes etc… did not Others were not as connected but its comforting today that nothing has changed. being part of the crowd is not always the best place to be.