The question in the title of this article does not come from me but from Jesus. What do you want Jesus to do for you? In a recent conversation with a dear friend who is navigating some struggles in life, I pointed her to this question that Jesus once asked a blind man. Allow me to familiarize you with the original narrative as well as how I considered what my answer to this question might be. Perhaps. it will stimulate your own journey of answering this important question.
In this story in Mark 10, Jesus is walking down the road with his disciples, and they pass a blind beggar named Bartimaeus. The man is calling out to Jesus for help, but Jesus doesn’t seem to notice him. The crowd tells the blind man to be quiet and leave Jesus alone. They seem to believe this blind man is not important enough to bother an important rabbi like Jesus. Jesus must have discerned in his spirit what was happening, so he stopped and called for someone to bring the blind man to him. Jesus then asked this blind man, who is clearly in great need, a very strange question. He asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
At first glance, the answer to this question seems to be extremely obvious. It makes me think, “Really, Jesus? What do you think the man wants? He’s blind, for heaven’s sake! You know that!” Bartimaeus gives Jesus a simple, straightforward answer to his question. “I want to see.”
What would my answer be if Jesus directly asked me, “What do you want me to do for you?” This is a huge question, coming from Jesus. When contemplating my possible answers to this question (things I pray for), they seem small and trivial. What do I want Jesus to do for me? What do you want Jesus to do for you? Here are a few of my personal reflections:
- Nothing. You’ve done enough for me already because he has. But if Jesus asked, I should say something, right? But on the other hand, shouldn’t I be happy and fulfilled just resting in His presence? Shouldn’t that be enough? Yes, but we all have need, as did Bartimaeus.
- Perhaps my answer should be the same as Bartimaeus: “I want to see.” I want to see Jesus’ plan for my life, what he has for me to do, who he wants me to reach, and where he wants me to serve. I want to see his face and to see other people as Jesus sees them. I want to see.
- Why would Jesus ask what I want him to do for me? He has already given me his love, mercy, forgiveness, grace, and his Spirit. Shouldn’t I be asking him what I can do to express my love and gratitude to him for all the things he has done for me?
- If Jesus asked me, “What do you want me to do for you?,” I feel like I need to sort through my prayer list and weed out all the non-essentials. I should weed out all the things I can (or should) do for myself. If the King of Kings grants me a request, I should probably make it something big . . . something that I have no hope of accomplishing on my own . . . something so big that it can only be accomplished by God. Something like a blind man asking for sight. Bartimaeus could have asked for a job, a good meal, a bed, or a friend. These are all good and necessary things, but they are fairly easy asks when compared to his actual request. Bartimaeus asked for the impossible. A blind man asked to be able to see. Do I have the courage to ask Jesus for (what seems to me) the impossible?
- Asking for something that seems impossible to me doesn’t mean it is in God’s will for me. God uses the pain and all the “bad” situations in our lives to refine us, teach us, mature us, and conform us to his character. Would I intentionally ask for Jesus to eliminate a situation that will lead to good or contribute positively to my own (or someone else’s) spiritual formation? Probably not, but we don’t always see the outcomes. We might ask Jesus for things like the transformation and healing of a young woman who is being trafficked, or for the physical healing of a friend who is battling cancer or mental and emotional struggles. We might ask Jesus to strengthen marriages, for joy in difficult circumstances; for close friends and a mutually beneficial community, or for wisdom and discernment. These are all good things.
In considering possible answers to this question, let’s step back and look at a verse just prior to Jesus’ conversation with Bartimaeus. In the final verse before this encounter with Bartimaeus, Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus came to serve. He didn’t come to serve us coffee and biscotti or other niceties of life, but to give his very life as a ransom. How can anyone give more than that? The very next words out of Jesus’ mouth, after this statement of serving and giving, is Jesus’ question to Bartimaeus: “What do you want me to do for you?”
Jesus asked the question, but Bartimaeus had to give Jesus an answer. If Bartimaeus had not answered the question the way he did, or if he had doubted Jesus’ ability to give him sight, would Jesus have granted him the ability to see? Why do you think Jesus asked this question? To test the faith of Bartimaeus? To see if he had the courage and faith to ask for what he truly needed and wanted?
After Bartimaeus answered the question honestly, Jesus responded. “Instantly the man could see” (Mark 10:52 NLT). If Bartimaeus had asked Jesus for money or a job, I’m sure he would have answered the man’s request. After all, Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted. Asking Jesus for a job or a meal required less faith from Bartimaeus, and Jesus would have responded with what he asked for. Bartimaeus might have enjoyed a decent meal, the ability to provide for himself, or greater self-worth as a productive member of society who didn’t need to beg. But he would still have been blind. His deepest need would have gone unmet.
What is it that you need? What is it that only Jesus can provide? What is it that requires great faith for you to even have the courage to ask for?
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.