{A sermon I preached at a Healing Service when I was the Leader of the Healing Ministry at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney from 1988 to 2006.}

 Jesus is about to go on from  Jericho to Jerusalem and to suffer rejection, crucifixion and then to be raised from the dead.  

But he meets a man who shows many of the elements of faith that are so important for those who would reach out to the Lord for healing.  The fact that Mark actually records his name as Bartimaeus, shows that he must have been well-known in the early church when Mark wrote his gospel.  

The story ends with Jesus saying to Bartimaeus, “Go your way, your faith has healed you.”

What can we learn about the elements of faith as we see them expressed in Bartimaeus?  His faith was seen in the following ways:-

1.  What he called Jesus.  “Son of David.”

Many people were suggesting Jesus might be the long-promised Messiah. Bartimaeus might have heard of the healing miracles of Jesus. 

•  the blind had been made to see,
• the lame to walk, 
• and the deaf to hear.  

Messiah would do those things to fulfil many of the Old Testament prophecies.

Now someone called Jesus was doing precisely those things, and Bartimaeus may have recognized Jesus as this Messiah.

As we reach out for our own healing, it’s vitally important that we recognise Jesus for who He is, as 

• the Son of God, 
• the King of Kings, 
• the Lord of Lords.  

He has the authority and the power to heal through His body the Church. “His touch has still its ancient power,” as we often sing.  We need to recognise, as He said of Himself, that He has the willingness and the ability to heal.

2. His humility. This was seen in his approach.

He didn’t challenge Jesus to meet this need based on his status in the community, (for he wouldn’t have had much), nor on the basis of his contribution to society (for he may have made little as a beggar). 

• Nor did he insist that he had every right to be healed, because he was a fellow human like the rest of humanity. 
• Nor did he try emotional blackmail, “If you really loved me, you would.” 
• Nor did he insist on his rights as a disadvantaged person in a militant minority group. 

No! He realized that he had nothing to offer to Jesus other than his blindness, and all he could do was to humbly ask that Jesus might be merciful to him.

As you and I reach out to the Lord for healing or blessing, we can do so only on the basis of God’s mercy. It’s an act of His grace when He meets our need; it’s not something that we have earned or deserved.

• All we can say beforehand is, “Have mercy on us.”  
• All we can say after we receive our blessing, is “Thank You for Your mercy and grace poured out on me.”
• We can ask confidently on the basis of His mercy and love,  never arrogantly because we might think that He owes it to us.

3. His persistence in wanting to receive blessing.

When he knew Jesus was there, he began to make his presence known by shouting out to Him. In fact he kept it up until the crowd rebuked him and told him to shut up.

But even that didn’t keep him quiet. In fact Mark records that he kept on crying out more and more, “Son of David, have mercy on me.”

The crowd around Bartimaeus could have said, “He’s not likely to notice you. He’s got more important people to deal with, more important things to do than to spend time on you.”

We may have those around us who discourage us when we reach out for blessing or healing.

But if we’re desperate enough, we’ll make the effort to keep on reaching out to Him.

And we’re encouraged by the fact that when the woman with the flow of blood touched Jesus in the midst of the jostling crowd, He was able to recognize the soft touch of faith in the midst of so many jostles, bumps and touches, and meet her need.

4. His willingness to cast aside his security to obey the word of Jesus.  

Think of the security that his outer garment was to him.

It kept the blazing sun off him. It kept him warm in the cool of the day and night. He probably spread it out on the ground at his feet when he begged, to catch the coins thrown in pity to him.  His whole future was in many ways wrapped up in that garment. To cast it aside as a blind man, was sheer stupidity in the midst of a crowd where it could be stolen, trampled on, or torn into shreds.  But nothing was going to hinder Bartimaeus from coming to the Lord for a blessing.

How willing are we to obey the word of the Lord to us. How willing are we to step out in faith to claim the promises of God in His word.  Or does our security matter more than the blessing God wants to bring to us as we step out in faith?

5. His enthusiastic response to the invitation of Jesus to come to Him.  

Mark says, “He sprang up, and came to Jesus.” That’s called walking by faith, not by sight. He leaves his security behind and begins to walk by faith to receive the blessing he believes is coming. Jesus said of such people, “Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe.”

He was being asked to do what he had never seen done before.  He may have heard about Jesus’ miracles and healings, but he had never personally witnessed them.  Nevertheless, he believed in the power of Christ to heal him.

What a contrast when you realise that the scribes and Pharisees had seen with their own eyes some of Jesus’ miracles, but still wouldn’t believe.

6. His specific request.  

Jesus’ question to him, may have seemed strange in the circumstances.  “What do you want me to do for you?” Here standing before him was a blind man, a beggar.  Surely it was obvious what was needed. He needed to receive his sight so that he could live a normal independent life.

Why did Jesus ask?  Because He wants us to know in our own minds what we really want.

There have been those who have asked for healing, but who have admitted afterwards that deep down they didn’t really want to be healed.  They confessed that while they were ill, they had other people looking after them. Their illness was a form of manipulation, as they received attention. Or it was a means of escaping their responsibilities.  To be healed would have meant having to cope by themselves again.  It was more convenient, less stressful, to be a recipient rather than a giver in relationships.

Bartimaeus’ priorities were in order.  His receiving his sight would open the door to so much more.  So he was honest in requesting, “Master, let me receive my sight.”

What is it you really want Jesus to do for you?  You may say, “Oh, it’s only a little thing.” But God may be wanting to do so much more than you’re asking for.  He is the God who says in His word in Eph 3:20, “By the power at work in us, He is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think.” Why limit Him in what He wants to do for you?

7. His willingness to act on God’s promise.

Jesus said to Bartimaeus, “Go your way.” It was a risk to walk away from Jesus. He’d taken all the effort to get there in the first place. If he walked away still blind, he could have been mocked and ridiculed for thinking that anything could be done for him.  He could have stayed close to Jesus, and become angry and resentful that his healing hadn’t come immediately.  He could have said, “I’m not going till I can see.” But as he obeyed that word to go, he was healed.  It required a step of faith to experience in his body what he believed was possible from the Lord.

That’s one of the reasons why we encourage people in Healing services to indicate that they want prayer for healing or blessing, by raising their hand.  It’s a step of faith.

Then when people come to pray with you, they may repeat the question of Jesus, “What do you want the Lord to do for you?”

If you say, “I want my leg to be healed so that I can break the world sprint record for 100 metres”, they may say gently, “We’d love to pray that your leg gets healed and we will.

But we’ve got a little bit of a problem praying that you’ll break the world sprint record. God may not want that for you. How would you be able to cope with all the sporting goods companies hassling you to wear their clothes. And what would your grandchildren think if you’re always going to be out training, and not be home to spend time with them and love them. Let’s just pray that God will wonderfully heal your leg and equip you to do the things He wants you to do.” 

Or someone else may ask, “I’m lonely. Would you pray that I might be led to the person of God’s choice for me in marriage. I only want God’s choice.  His name is Harry.”

Those who pray with you, will say, “Of course we’ll pray that you may be led to the person of God’s choice for you. But we can’t confine it to Harry. You’ve got to be open to receive God’s best for you, and it mightn’t be Harry.”

8. His willingness to identify with Jesus from that point on. 

“He kept on following Him on the way.” i.e., he became a disciple, a follower, as he literally followed Jesus, no doubt to go on to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God for his wonderful healing.

True wholeness comes from getting right with God through Jesus Christ and serving Him for the rest of our lives. A request that some of us might need to make is this, “I came to ask prayer for a physical ailment. But now I see that I really want the Lord to come into my heart to be my Saviour and the Lord of every part of my life.  Would you help me with such a prayer?  And then would you pray for that physical ailment to be healed?”

I repeat the words I said many months ago, that we ask the Lord to heal us, not just for our own sake that we might do our will. Rather we ask Him to heal us for His sake, so that we will know the wonderful privilege and joy of doing His will for us.

In the quiet moments that follow, ask the Lord to clarify in your own thinking, the answer you will give to the question, “What do you want the Lord to do for you?”  And then as you receive prayer, trust Him to bring it to pass according to His timetable, whether now, or in the days ahead. 

Blog No.558 posted on Tuesday 08 October 2024.