Mark 10 vs 46-49
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.
And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.
And 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.
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.
Beware Of The Crowd
Today we are looking at a part of the story of Bartimeus, a blind man who wanted healing from the great miracle worker Jesus Christ. Bartimeus had no doubt heard about the healing power of Jesus.
So when He heard that Jesus was passing by, He cried out “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me”.
The crowd following Jesus tried to shut Bartimeus down; possibly with discouraging words like: Jesus have no time for .you, shut up etc. But he cried the more, such that Jesus asked him to be called.
At that point the same crowd, now trying to be friendly called him “...cheer up, Jesus is calling you...”
This crowd would have robbed Bartimeus of his miracle if he had listened to them.
The crowd till today stand in the way of some through discouraging words, ungodly advice, and mockery.
To the crowd; holiness is foolishness, gentleness is stupidity and patiently waiting in prayer is a waste of time.
But they are quick to congratulate you and be a part of your joy/success when God does reward your patience, trust, gentleness and service.
Beloved, beware of the crowd!
Many have allowed the crowd to influence even their salvation and they decide to be a member of a church because of the population of the church.
The way of God is not that of 'majority carry the vote'; otherwise He would not have destroyed the world in the days of Noah when only 8 souls were saved.
For what if some do not believe, will their unbelief make the word of God of no effect? certainly not.
If all men are liars, God will remain True. Stay and stick with God, do not be discouraged by the crowd or try to follow the multitude against God's will.
What Do You Want God To Do For You?
The above question is one that every man with Faith in God will want to be asked. The opportunity we see in Jesus asking Bartimeus: “....What will you that I should do to you?"
Let us learn a few lessons in asking and receiving from God, as seen in the above text.
Bartimeus believed that Jesus could heal him; that is why he cried to Jesus". Son of David, have mercy on me”. Even when the crowd tried to shout him down as we studied yesterday, he cried out the more.
We also should believe and recognise God as our greatest provider and the source of all good things.
We must also put our faith into action by asking him in prayer: Even though God knows our entire request, yet He still wants us to ask. Jesus knows what Bartimeus wanted, yet He asked him
We must never allow time and crowd to discourage us; we must pray and ask till our joys are filled.
Bartimeus in coming to Jesus cast away his garment that tends to be a hindrance.
We must also cast away our garment of sin, which is an obstacle to our prayer being answered. David said “... if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me ...”
Immediately after Bartimeus was healed, he followed Jesus in the way. We should also decide to follow Jesus in this one way.
Beloved, let us apply this Bible principle in our requests from God.