Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, February 25, 2024
by Madison Johnston, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: Jesus teaches us to lead through service and with a focus on the present.
Twice in this passage, the same question pops up: “What is it you want me to do for you?” The first time we hear it, Jesus is telling his disciples about his mission on earth—prophesying to them about his impending death and resurrection (and, simultaneously, about his identity as the Son of Man). Their immediate response is to let him know that they want something from him in his rising. So, Jesus’s question could very well be genuine: “What is it you want me to do for you?”
The second time we hear it, though, things feel different. Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, hears that Jesus is nearby and shouts out to greet him. He is the one speaking to Jesus’s mission here. Unlike the disciples, he appears to have internalized exactly who Jesus is. And, again, unlike the disciples, Bartimaeus doesn’t preface his request to Jesus. He tells Jesus right away what he wants—mercy—and he seems to be talking in an immediate sense instead of anticipating Jesus’s resurrection.
Why would Jesus ask Bartimaeus the same thing he asked his disciples: “What is it you want me to do for you?” He already knows what Bartimaeus wants, so his motivation must be rhetorical. There are a few explanations, but perhaps the most helpful this morning is that Jesus asks Bartimaeus what he wants to set an example and drive home a point for everyone who was with him in that moment: “I am here to serve you. Right here. Right now.”
The disciples are thinking about glory—power—as something they can call dibs on since they are the ones following Jesus in his ministry. Ironically, that mindset proves that they aren’t really following him at all. If they were, they would hear Jesus’s message: “I am here to serve you. Right here. Right now.” And they would understand that true glory—true power—lies in serving others the very same way.
In this short passage, Jesus prophesies, teaches and heals. He embodies the very kind of servant leadership to which he calls his followers. And he does it with a focus on the present instead of just the future. God’s grace isn’t something we can put on layaway; God’s love isn’t something we can stockpile for future use. The true glory of God comes to life in the service we extend to our families. Our friends. Our neighbors. Our coworkers. Our enemies, even. Jesus isn’t a God of “Do as I say and not as I do.” Jesus leads by example and teaches us to serve—to meet the needs around us right here and right now.
