One of my favorite ways to engage with scripture, particularly the narrative portions, is to contemplate the people in the stories. It is fun and enriching to examine the possibilities of their lives and consider how their unique circumstances and perspectives enhance my understanding of the passage.
The gospels are an especially rich trove of personalities. Across four accounts of Jesus’s earthly ministry, we meet hundreds of people. In most of these meetings, we don’t learn names. Instead, we encounter a demon-possessed boy, a blind man, a paralytic, a Pharisee, a widow, and so forth. A few others, such as Peter, James, and John, we get to know pretty well.
Sometimes, the gospel writers give us the names of people who are involved in a prominent event (such as Lazarus and Nicodemus) or are well-known public figures (including Pilate and Caiaphas).
In even rarer instances we meet people who are named, but might only make a brief appearance in a passage or two. One such person is Bartimaeus, the blind beggar from Jericho.
Meeting Bartimaeus
Bartimaeus’ encounter with Jesus appears in all three synoptic gospels (Matthew 20:29-34, Mark 10:46-52, and Luke 18:35-43), but only Mark tells us his name.
Almost every healing account in scripture involves an unnamed beneficiary. At times, we learn the unnamed person’s relationship to a more prominent person (such as Peter’s mother-in-law or Jairus’ daughter). In a way, Mark’s decision to identify Bartimaeus is consistent with this convention, referring to the blind man only according to his patronym, son of Timaeus, which he conveniently spells out for his culturally Greek audience.
Mark’s decision to name the blind beggar isn’t the only difference across the three accounts of his story. Matthew indicates that Jesus healed two blind beggars together in Jericho. And Luke tells us that the healing happened as they entered Jericho, rather than as they were leaving.
Various commentators have undertaken to reconcile these non-doctrinal differences and we have no need to reexamine their work here. I bring this point up only because these differences forced me to make some decisions while writing Coin and Dagger.
Casting Bartimaeus
I knew going into the novel that I wanted to include Jesus’s visit to Jericho, which sets up his return to Jerusalem and the Triumphal Entry. Jesus’ interaction with Bartimaeus is the only specific event that Matthew and Mark record from Jericho. Luke alone records a second event in Jericho; the redemption of Zacchaeus the tax collector.
Luke’s account of Zacchaeus informed my choice to place Jesus’ encounter with Bartimaeus at his arrival in Jericho, rather than his departure. Doing so opened up an opportunity to add some backstory for Bartimaeus in a way that moved the needle for my dual protagonists, Simon and Matthew.
In fiction, minor characters are only useful if they serve the story told through the protagonist(s). By observing the righting of wrongs between Zacchaeus and Bartimaeus, Matthew and Simon gained fresh insight into their own relationship with each other that cemented their prior decision to work together. Moreover, it elevated their relationship beyond their previous truce. This was the moment when the two became friends.
Scripting Bartimaeus
Bartimaeus received his sight in a crowded place, among dozens (likely hundreds) of witnesses. Surely, Zacchaeus would have witnessed the miracle. If not, he would have heard a first-hand account. Likewise, Bartimaeus undoubtedly would have known who Zacchaeus was. After all, Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector, overseeing the tax operations not only of Jericho but also of the villages and outlying towns in its purview.
If there had been any direct history between these two men, their mutual encounters with Jesus would have forced a moment of reckoning. To Zacchaeus, Bartimaeus represented an opportunity to make good on his promise to repay past harms. In Coin and Dagger, I portrayed this by having Zacchaeus return to Bartimaeus what he had previously extorted from Timaeus.
Understanding Bartimaeus
One aspect of Bartimaeus that required no artistic license on my part was his choice to follow Jesus to Jerusalem. All three accounts agree on this point. In the interest of “show don’t tell,” it became necessary to include Bartimaeus in some later scenes to illustrate his choice to follow Jesus.
As a result, Bartimaeus might stand out to readers as the closest thing to comic relief as can be found in Coin and Dagger. This may seem a little out of place, but it was one way of imagining what Bartimaeus’s personality could have been like and how he might have responded to being given his sight. (Bartimaeus’ levity also serves to soften Simon’s sharp edges as Jesus’ arrest draws near.)
Let’s consider the clues the gospel writers give us about Bartimaeus’ demeanor and thinking. We don’t know from the gospel account whether Bartimaeus was blind from birth or had lost his sight at some later point. Whether he had ever seen before or not, one thing is clear from all three gospel accounts; he wanted to see:
“What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord, I want to see,” he replied. – Luke 18:41 (NIV)
Bartimaeus was persistent in calling out to Jesus for mercy. He would not be silenced:
Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” – Mark 10:48 (NIV)
It made sense that he would be equally persistent in celebrating the gift of sight that he had received.
Portraying Bartimaeus
Because Bartimaeus is not a POV character in Coin and Dagger, I had few opportunities to show how he might respond to some of the events that followed. To the protagonists, particularly Matthew, the restoration of Bartimaeus’ family wealth was a more poignant moment than the restoration of his sight. After all, the disciples had witnessed and even participated in countless healings.
Yet, for Bartimaeus, reclaiming and operating his land would have to wait. He was compelled to follow Jesus. Was it gratitude that drove Bartimaeus to join the trip to Jerusalem? Or perhaps a desire to see more? Maybe he recognized the magnitude of the Son of David, whom he had hoped for and who had answered him.
I like to imagine that all of these thoughts motivated Bartimaeus.
Bartimaeus responds to receiving his sight with immediate praise. Let’s consider also that when Bartimaeus receives his sight, the first thing he sees is Jesus, full of compassion and mercy. There could be no better sight for him to open his eyes to!
In Coin and Dagger, Bartimaeus is excited to see the temple (perhaps for the first time?) and maybe more so to see what Jesus would do next. On the road to Jerusalem, when Simon reacts out loud to the sight of a massive crowd, Bartimaeus breaks into new praise all over, not because of the size of the crowd, but simply because he is blessed to be able to see them!
The Persistence of Persistence
Every time Bartimaeus remarks on what his eyes take in, he celebrates the one who gave him his sight with praise and thanksgiving. This seemed a fitting role for Bartimaeus in the story. Why? Because of the persistent hope that Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us about.
He persisted in waiting for his prayers to be answered, and he persisted just as fervently telling others that his prayers had been answered. Whether we are still waiting for an answer to prayer, or celebrating an answer received, we all can learn something about the persistence of both hope and gratitude from Bartimaeus.
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