I have met people who need to be asked.

What I mean is, I have talked with people who–on the surface–appear to be unhappy with their lives and who are asking for help. But, sometimes, when you get beneath the surface, they are quite comfortable with their discomfort. They don’t really want to change, or be changed, or grow, or be different; they just want a bit of comfort or pity or perhaps a martyr’s badge for living the life they are living. They don’t really want life to be different because they have become so accustomed to the life they are living . . . even if the life they are living doesn’t seem to be all that great. And, so, they need to be asked: What do you really want?

I think this must be part of the reason that Jesus asked what seems to be an obvious question to an obviously a needed person. Jesus wasn’t being funny; he wasn’t ignoring the man’s need. He really wanted the man to explain what he wanted. Jesus wanted the man to “own” what he was asking.

Jesus was travelling on his way to Jerusalem; he is approaching the city, knowing the outcome that awaits him. He has been speaking with his disciples about what it will mean for them to participate with him in his kind of life. It will be costly, challenging, wonderful, scary, life-affirming, life-risking.

And on the way, he passes a blind man (as recorded in Mark 10:46-52). And it is in the passing that a strange exchange takes place. The man is calling out. Jesus–the teacher, the healer, the deliverer, the wonder-worker–is passing by. The blind man calls to him. And, when the two come close, Jesus asks the man: “What do you want me to do for you?”

Isn’t it obvious?! I mean no disrespect, but can’t Jesus see what the blind man needs or wants?

I am sure Jesus has a pretty good sense of what Bartimaeus (the blind man) wanted. But Jesus asked him anyway. Because (I think) Jesus wanted the blind man to say what he wanted and to admit he wanted to be changed.

That’s where the rub is. That is where the risk comes in. That is what holds some people back.

Jesus is here. He is present. He is here to serve and to love and to minister and to change those who come in contact with him. But, some people don’t want to be changed. (Like the religious leaders who would rather argue with Jesus than give in to what he was teaching!)

So, Jesus asked the blind man what he wanted. Bartimaeus spoke up plainly: “Teacher, I want to see!” That would mean his life as a beggar would change. He would have to think about work and a new way of getting around and he might begin caring for others who had, before, cared for him, and . . . well, to put it simply, to have Jesus change him would mean a whole lot more than seeing!

Crippled by unforgiveness. Do we really want Jesus to change our hearts to extend love? Blinded by jealousy or envy. Are we open for Jesus to transform us so that we genuinely want others to excel?

Angry and bitter, hostile and controlling, unhappy and discouraged. We come to Jesus and grumble about life and how unfair things are and how we don’t like what is going on and how we feel. And Jesus asks, in all seriousness, “What do you want me to do for you?” He asks because he is here to heal and help and deliver and love and transform and change and rescue. And he waits for us to answer . . . for us to admit what the real need is and whether we really want him to change us or not.

Because if Jesus speaks the word, extends his hand, touches that spot in our heart, bestows specific healing grace, life is going to change! All of the old excuses for not doing life the way he intends will vanish and all our rationalizations over why we just can’t live the way he calls us to will disappear. And we will be whole, healthy, and free to step more fully into that life he wants for us.

So, he asks: What do you want me to do for you? Do you really want to be different? What are you asking?