Faith has made you well

Have you ever read a story that was packed with a lot of content if just a small amount of words and pages? Today’s passage is one of those that you could read many times and find there are so many lessons contained in this passage. Overall, there is one theme I will focus on and that is the words Jesus spoke to Bartimaeus.

Trouble in the text

So a little background on this passage helps to set the context. Jericho is an ancient city the valley where you find the Jordan river which links up to the sea of Galilee or today, Lake Tiberias, Lake Gennesaret, and Lake Kinneret. This city of Jericho is the place where when you leave, you start the ascent to climb up into the mountains where Jerusalem is. Jesus is heading to Jerusalem and people recognize this and want to be part of this. Perhaps they expected him to overthrow the Roman government there. Perhaps they expected him to reform the religious rulers there. At any rate, Jesus is heading to Jerusalem when he passed through Jericho.

Bartimaeus is a blind beggar sitting on the roadside. Perhaps he heard the commotion of Jesus coming through. Maybe he knew of the reputation of Jesus and the powerful miracles he performed. Perhaps he wanted to go be part of a new kingdom that Jesus was thought to be going to Jerusalem to start. Perhaps, he was tired of being a blind beggar and wanted to be able to see. We don’t know exactly why he was blind nor what his motivation was. What we do know is that Bartimaeus was a blind beggar.

When Bartimaeus called out to Jesus, but many in the crowd told him to be quiet. The blind beggar who had no hope in his current lot of life was being told to be quiet and let Jesus go by unbothered by him. Perhaps these people questioned his intention. Perhaps these people didn’t want Jesus delayed by some lowly blind beggar. At any rate, Bartimaeus was a blind beggar and told not to bother Jesus that day. Yet Jesus was his only hope.

Trouble today

In some ways, many people today live in a life where they feel stuck and no ability to change any of their circumstances. Have you heard or read about any people like this? Do you have friends or family or maybe even you personally ever been stuck in life like that. Have you ever been told not to bother someone with your problems? These words might sound familiar.

Life is not always fair nor is everyone given the same opportunities and circumstances in life. Just like Bartimaeus, there are many things in this life that are beyond our control. Can the blind person do anything about being blind? Can the child born into poverty do anything to change that fact? Bartimaeus was a blind beggar who depended on other’s generosity or pity to get by. Many people today are also stuck in this situation.

How easy is it today to behave in the same way as the people who told Bartimaeus to be quiet and not bother Jesus? In some ways, we can make judgmental assumptions about people and disregard them. In other ways, you look the other way to ignore people because it is just them creating their drama themselves. At any rate, while in the story we dismiss this crowd for being so rude to Bartimaeus but if we look closer at ourselves, it is easy to see we likely have done the same to others

We need Jesus to help shape our hearts. We need Jesus to help with circumstances beyond our control.

Grace in the text

Bartimaeus persists in calling out to Jesus and Jesus hears him and calls him to him. Jesus hears the cry of poor Bartimaeus. Jesus calls Bartimaeus to him to ask him what he wants. Jesus does not agree with the crowd. Jesus wants to acknowledge Bartimaeus despite the many others telling him to not bother Jesus. Jesus hears his cry for mercy over the loud voices of the crowd. Jesus calls him. Bartimaeus tells Jesus he wants to see again.

Jesus does not lay hands on him or place mud in his eyes or do anything to the blind beggar. No, instead Jesus says “Go, your faith has made you well.” Jesus saw his faith in crying out and persisting in calling out to Jesus because his hope and faith was in Jesus alone. The blind beggar had faith that Jesus could help him. He had faith that Jesus would hear him. He had faith that Jesus would call him forward if he persisted. Jesus answered his request by showing him that it was his faith that made him well.

The blind beggar’s faith in Jesus made him well. We have seen this faith demonstrated in many stories. In the centurion’s story, Jesus didn’t have to go to his home to lay hands on his servant but placed his faith in Jesus. The gentile woman whose son was tormented by an evil spirit placed her faith that Jesus could heal her son. Here too Jesus told her that faith demonstrated was rewarded because her son was freed now. Jesus didn’t do anything to any of the people who had afflictions or blindness. He told them that their faith is what made them well and faith demonstrated was proven good, that is by faith, their requests were answered as they believed possible.

Grace in the world

We have to same challenge here and the same opportunity here. How is our faith holding up? Do we believe these circumstances beyond our control are in the hands of God? If so, this is faith. Jesus told the disciples that if they had faith, then the mountains in front of them could be cast into the sea. These circumstances beyond our abilities and possibility can also be placed in God’s hands.

While this may sound silly to you, it is something I have learned the lesson of faith well in. When I first became a local licensed pastor and was assigned to Asbury, I had to complete and education requirement as part of my training. This meant I either could pursue course of study which is 20 college level classes for a certification or pursue a masters of divinity degree which would also meet the education requirement. I was given a year to start this process but I found myself wavering back and forth between the two options. The first option was the practical one that was within the realm of possibility and feasible for where I am in life. The second option was not reasonable nor was it financially possible. I wrestled with this choice over a year.

After a year I met with the District Committee of Ordained Ministry and was asked this question again. I explained to them that I had wrestled hard with this and could not see the possibility of seminary because of so many obstacles. One of the board members said something to me that struck a chord. He said, I hear what you are saying and I just want to offer something to you. He said, I too had a family at the time I had to make that choice. He too also had a full time job. He too also had a part time church appointment. And yet, here he was today on the other side of that impossibility with his degree. It was surreal in the sense that the physical examination I had to go through with a conference doctor, he had asked me the same question about which path I was pursuing, and in the same response to my logical answer that it was not possible, he said, here I am today, doctorate in hand and I too had a family and a job at the same time I had to go through school full time.

In short, two witnesses now had shared their testimony with me how faith carried them through the impossible path. I am here today also sharing my testimony that faith got me through those years of school. I too am now on the other side of that mountain and can share that faith truly does carry you through so many impossible circumstances and paths.

Whether you too faith an impossible path ahead of you or whether you are in the middle of that journey today, be encourage by Jesus’ words to Bartimaeus that faith is what made him well. Faith indeed is what makes you well spiritually, mentally, and physically. While I want to be sensitive to the fact that prayers are not always answered in the way we ask. Giving it up and placing faith in God to handle the situation, this is the faith required of you. It is not the outcome that determines whether you have faith or not, it is the choice of placing your hope and belief in God.