Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

THE QUESTION OF JESUS' SELF-UNDERSTANDING §15.3
retellings of the later Evangelists. But even so, a constant element in the tradition
is Jesus' approach to or entry into Jerusalem on an ass. And since pilgrims would
normally enter on foot, Jesus' choice (as it would appear) to ride an ass must
have been intended as a statement of some significance — presumably as another
enacted parable, for those who had ears to hear. 135 That some, of the disciples at
least, caught an echo of Zech. 9.9 would hardly be surprising. 136 And we should
recall that the entry was followed shortly by the more dramatic symbolic act in
the Temple. But the core tradition leaves it unclear as to what Jesus' fuller inten-
tions were at this point and whether his enacted parable was meant to be instruc-
tive or merely provocative.
f. The Healing of the Blind Man
As with the question about David's son (§15.3b), it is impossible to ignore the
episode narrated in Mark 10.46-52 pars. The key element for us is that the blind
beggar (Bartimaeus, according to Mark) repeatedly called on Jesus as 'son of
David' (Mark 10.47-48 pars.).
Matt. 20.29-34 Mark 10.46-52 Luke 18.35-43
29 As they were leaving
Jericho, a large crowd followed
him. 30 There were two blind
men sitting by the
roadside. When they heard
that Jesus was
passing by,
they shouted, 'Lord, have
mercy on us. Son of David!' 31
The crowd
sternly ordered them to be quiet;
but they shouted all the
more, 'Lord, have mercy on us,
Son of David!' 32 Jesus stood
and
called them,
saying,
46 They came to Jericho. As
he and his disciples and a large
crowd were leaving Jericho.
Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a
blind beggar, was sitting by the
roadside. 47 When he heard
that it was
Jesus of Nazareth, he began to
shout and say, 'Jesus, Son of
David, have mercy on me!' 48
Many
sternly ordered him to be quiet,
but he shouted even more
loudly, 'Son of David, have
mercy on me!' 49 Jesus
stood and said, 'Call him here'.
And they called the blind man,
saying to him, 'Take heart; get
up, he is calling you'. 50 So
35 As he approached Jeri
a blind man was sitting by the
roadside begging. 36 When he
heard a crowd going by, he
asked what was happening. 37
They told him, 'Jesus of
Nazareth is passing by'. 38
Then he called out, 'Jesus, Son
of David, have mercy on me!'
39 Those who were in front
sternly ordered him to be quiet;
but he shouted even more
loudly, 'Son of David, have
mercy on me!' 40 Jesus stood
still and ordered the man to be
brought to him;
135. The point is stressed by Harvey, Jesus 121-29.
136. See also Tan, Zion Traditions 138-48. C. A. Evans, 'Jesus and Zechariah's Messianic
Hope', in Chilton and Evans, Authenticating the Activities of Jesus 373-88, draws attention
to the number of allusions to Zechariah in Jesus' final week in Jerusalem (particularly Zech.
9.9; 13.7; 14.20-21; see also below, chapter 17 n. 73) and suggests that 'the theology of the
prophet Zechariah may have informed Jesus' understanding of his mission to Jerusalem' (386).
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