Jesus said to Bartimaeus, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.
Mark 10:46-52
This is a true story of a beggar who gains a new name ‘Man of Faith’ by Jesus. This man of faith does not fit today’s picture of what we call a man of God. Bartimaeus is not a preacher, nor a minister nor what we might call today a Christian. He is a blind beggar. Yet, our Holy Lord Jesus calls Him a man of faith!
Faith is no respecter of persons. To have Great Faith does not require one to be of a certain class nor having walked with God for long time nor having read the Bible many times and prayed every day. Even with the little knowledge you have, faith is about simply believing in what God said with all your heart - no doubt, no questioning. In Mark 5, a woman who only Just heard about Jesus but believed was called a woman of faith! And here, Bartimaeus who have never seen Jesus but only heard about Him is called a man of faith! It is not how much you have read the Bible, it is not how much you have prayed, it is not how long you have been saved but the measure of faith is to believe with ALL YOUR HEART even with the little knowledge you have of Him. Faith believes and only believes (Mark 5:36). Bartimaeus is a man who has known suffering first hand. For many years, he’s not free to do what many other people can do, he is at the mercy of what people give him and where people take him. He could not go where others could go. He could not do what others could do. He is a man who suffered a lot and endured a lot. Even with that suffering, we see that he is not angry at God, He is not pointing the finger at God but He is a man who cries out to God.
That Cry from Your Heart, Do Not Let It Die
When he heard that Jesus was passing by, Bartimaeus does not have means to get to Jesus but even with the little he has, He uses it. Bartimaeus has a voice; he has a cry from the heart. Everyone of you, you have something with you right now to use to get God’s attention! He began to not just call upon Jesus but he began to cry. God will never ignore the cry of your heart. But we have become so familiar with God that even though we want it, as we pray, we look for a cry and we cannot find it. The cry of your heart is so important, don’t let it die. The cry of your heart is a genuine prayer, God will never ignore it, “And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God.” Exodus 2:23 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27
So Bartimaeus cried out to God, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Mark 10:47-48 The suffering he had gone through brought him closer to God. The suffering he went through gave him that cry. Even for us today, the sufferings we endure for His name’s sake are not here to destroy us but if we bear them well and endure to the end – it will give us a cry. Let the suffering you go through be like a tool you put to good use. Let them bring you closer to God and not further. There are those people, many of whom you know, who decided to go further from God because of the trials they have gone through. They had trials but instead of running to God for comfort, they blamed God. They got angry with God. Beloved saints, NEVER BE ANGRY AT GOD, NEVER BLAME HIM. He is not the author of any misery in our lives, but even the trials we go through, He knows them and He stands strong with us 100% to fight against the evil one – He fights harder for us than we do for for ourselves, so let that bind us together with Him.
True Faith Is Unstoppable
Those around him tried to stop him from crying out to God. They probably said, ‘you are too loud; your are just insignificant, you are just a blind poor man – do not make noise.' They did everything to discourage him, to stop him from crying out but Bartimaeus would not let them, he was determined. Through suffering He came to know the man of sorrow, the one who is acquainted with our griefs and He cried out to God the more. The more they tried to stop him, the more deeply and loudly He cried out to God.
Because he did not get discouraged nor give up but chose to trust Him who is the only deliverer and the only savior, the only one who can do the impossible and open blind eyes, He received what he prayed for. Jesus who was on an important mission stopped everything and stopped for Him.
Your faith will cause God to stop for you and to ask you, “what can I do for you?” Bartimaeus was a happy man when that opportunity was given to him. He told Jesus the desire of His heart and it was granted to him on the spot. And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.
What Gives You Great Faith?
In the previous article we saw that a. Knowing God will give you great faith
b. The suffering you go through, bear them, when endured to the very end, will also give you great faith.
