Mark 10:52

And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And straightway he received his sight, and followed him in the way.

Thy faith hath made thee whole ... may also be translated, "Thy faith hath saved thee" (see the English Revised Version (1885) margin). From this, Turlington concluded that "the story is not only historical but a parable."[49]

Cranfield concluded that Bartimaeus became a disciple of Jesus and supposed that fact to underlie the fact of his name being remembered. This would also explain why Mark mentioned only one of the two blind men actually healed, as indicated in Matthew; Mark gave an account of the one who became a disciple.

The use of this narrative as an example of how men are saved from sin is seen in: (1) the condition is a figure of sin; (2) the blind man believed in Jesus as the Messiah; (3) he cried out to the Lord for mercy; (4) he persisted in spite of the rebukes of many; (5) he answered Jesus' call; (6) he cast aside all hindrances (the garment); (7) he pleaded for mercy; (8) he was saved; (8) he followed Jesus.

This is the last healing reported in Mark; and this tenth chapter which is viewed as a condensed narrative of the entire Judean and Perean ministry of the Son of God is thus concluded.

Significantly, no other part of God's word any more effectively portrays Jesus as God among men, the Dayspring from on high, than does this. The great passage in Mark 10:45, especially, is one of tremendous import; and we conclude this chapter by another reference to that declaration of Jesus as the "ransom for many," words which, according to Bruce, "echo the portrayal of the Servant who makes himself an offering for sin, thus making many righteous (Isaiah 53:10f)."[50]

[49] Henry E. Turlington, op. cit., p. 354.

[50] F. F. Bruce, The Message of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972), p. 21.