Mark 10:48 But many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
Blind Bartimaeus, cast out by his family and left to beg on the streets, cried out for mercy when he heard Jesus was nearby. Many people in the crowd told him to be quiet, but the more they told him to hush, the louder he cried out! He could not see Jesus, but he knew He was his only hope for healing. Therefore, despite those telling him to keep quiet, he hollered out, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
Would Jesus have noticed him in the crowd if he hadn’t cried out? We don’t know. Perhaps He would have and perhaps not but Bartimaeus was not willing to take that chance. The Bible doesn’t say it, but I would imagine he got up off the ground and starting calling out for Jesus to see him. Bartimaeus had heard about Jesus the Messiah and he had the Faith to believe Jesus could heal him.
Being a blind beggar, Bartimaeus took the chance of being beaten up or even killed by the people around him. After all, he was a worthless nobody in their society, but he didn’t care because he was already at rock bottom. You couldn’t get much lower than a blind man, rejected by your family and left to sit on the street and beg.
Faith. That’s all Bartimaeus had, and his Faith brought him Hope. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) Faith results in hope. Without Faith, there is no hope. People who say they are hopeless have no Faith.
I have capitalized the "F" in the word “Faith” because I am referring to the certain Faith in Jesus. Not just any “faith” will do. All people have faith in something. Faith is what you trust in. Bartimaeus had given up having faith in his family. Nor did he have faith in the people around him. He did, however, have Faith (with a capital F) in Jesus and as we will see tomorrow, that’s all the Faith he needed.
Who or what do you have faith in? Is your faith in your spouse, family, doctors, employers, bankers, teachers, or something else? If you find yourself without hope, your faith is misplaced. Faith is the substance of Hope. It is the evidence of things you cannot see. Bartimaeus could not see Jesus, but he still had Faith and he knew he had to cry out to the ONLY One who could help him. How about you? Who are you crying out to?
Faith in Jesus will……..turn the tide
Hopeful due to Faith! Doreen
