A lesson in faith

 

Sunday morning one of our pastors preached an encouraging message from Mark 10:46-52 on blind Bartimaeus. In May of this year I did a series on The Kingdom Principle of Faith; since the Lord told Bartimaeus, Thy faith hath made thee whole, I thought about this kingdom principle and the lesson in faith we find in this passage.

46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.
47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth – How do we get faith? Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom 10:17) Bartimaeus heard the excited crowd, he heard that it was Jesus coming his way, and he no doubt had heard of the great things Jesus had been doing. Why, in ch 8 he had healed another blind man. True, it was way up north in Bethsaida, but by the time Jesus got down to Jericho, I’m pretty sure news of that had made its way down south.

Jesus, Son of David – based on what he had heard about Jesus, he believed him to be the Son of David, the promised Messiah.

Have mercy on me – he believes Jesus is the Messiah, the One who has authority to have mercy on him, has been commissioned to have mercy on him, the One who has the power to have mercy on him. Have mercy on me is a very general prayer request. We’ll come back to this.

48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Son of David, have mercy on me. 

Many charged him that he should hold his peace – When we tell people that we are asking God for great things, there are many who try to silence us, try to dissuade us. This is a real battle. Here I am believing God for great mercy and those around me are shushing me. And this man is in need of great grace – he has nothing, needs everything!

But he cried the more – What faith! The multitude is shushing him, “You’re a nobody, man, don’t bother this important person”; “You’re just a blind beggar, you’re not worthy of his attention”; “You’re blind! Your problem is too big, nothing can be done for you”. But he wasn’t deterred, Jesus, I need you! have mercy on me! He had persevering faith.

49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. 

Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called - He was going to pray until something happened. And it did! As long as Jesus is passing by, I will see no mercy. But, when I have faith I get his attention.

50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.
51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? – In v 47 he cried, Have mercy on me and I said that was a very general request. He needed everything. This is the way the Lord works, he draws us out until we have a specific request. We say, Help me; he says, What exactly do you want me to do? This is true for me personally, as well as for those I am praying for, whether individuals or groups. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought (Rom 8:26) Prayer often takes time. Here in Mark 10, he prayed in verses 46, 47, 48, 49. Oftentimes we find ourselves praying longer than four verses. Don’t quit, keep praying and waiting on the Lord. The Holy Spirit will help us refine our request from Have mercy on me to I ask thee for this specific thing.

The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight – The Lord has drawn him out and here it is, “I want to receive my sight.” The Lord is pleased when our prayer requests are specific.

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

Go thy way; thy faith hath me thee whole – this is amazing! He believed Jesus was the One who could help him; by that faith he asked for help; he persevered in faith and prayer; he presented a specific request. and it was a huge request – My sight!!!

Immediately he received his sight – this is a miracle!

(Hath made thee whole – this is a whole other post!)

And followed Jesus in the way – Mary pointed this out to me as we were talking about this at home. This is the full picture of faith: He believed Jesus was the Messiah, the One who came with mercy and blessings; he asked for mercy; he kept on asking until he got His attention; he asked for a specific blessing; upon receiving the mercy he asked for, he became a follower of Jesus. Truly a lesson in faith!