Bible Strands
Mark 10:47
When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Bartimaeus, a blind beggar sitting beside the road, speaks to Jesus and His disciples as they depart Jericho with a large crowd. He initiates the address after recognizing Jesus’ identity.
The words — ἀκοὐσας (akousas) means “having heard,” indicating the beggar’s immediate response to the crowd’s identification of Jesus. ἤρξατο (ērxato) translates to “he began,” marking the start of his vocal petition.
The thread — The cry “have mercy on me, Son of David” recurs in Matthew 9:27 and Matthew 15:22, where other seekers address Jesus with the same messianic plea. Mark 1:24 parallels the recognition of Jesus’ identity, though with a different tone.
Why it lands — The text records a direct request for mercy directed at a recognized figure, followed by persistent vocalization against crowd pressure. It requires the reader to note the explicit link between hearing Jesus’ identity and acting on that knowledge.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
Cross-references
- Mark 1:24 “What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
- Matthew 9:27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
- Matthew 15:22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”
- Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”
- Matthew 26:71 When Peter had gone out to the gateway, another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
- Luke 18:36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.
- Acts 13:22 After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’
- John 7:41 Others declared, “This is the Christ.” But still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee?
- John 7:52 “Aren’t you also from Galilee?” they replied. “Look into it, and you will see that no prophet comes out of Galilee.”
- John 19:19 Pilate also had a notice posted on the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.