From the Pulpit: One of my favorite Bible characters ...

If you read the Bible, you will be shocked to see how badly some of the people in it behave. I have often said the Bible is not a book full of heroes of faith, but the true story of truly sinful people who badly need the grace and forgiveness of God. That is why the sign language words for the Bible is literally a “Jesus book.” From beginning to end, it is the about the incredible love of God, who sent His Son into this rotten world to breathe our stale air, suffer and die in our place, and give us hope and salvation. 

When you read the Bible, you will be disappointed to read how people can trample the grace of God underfoot. You will also be encouraged to see how God continues to be patient and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in mercy. You will also encounter some people that are like stained glass windows, ones through whom the grace of God shines more brightly. One such character is Blind Bartimaeus. You can read the account of how Jesus healed him in Mark10: 46-52, and Luke 18:35-43. What I love about Bartimaeus is that when he was told to stop causing a disturbance by calling out to Jesus as he passed by, he just shouted all the louder, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus heard him and stopped and healed him. 

What can we learn from blind Bartimaeus? This story is not there to teach us we get what we want if we shout louder, as some would say it teaches. No, it teaches us to ask God for His biggest gift, mercy. Jesus won’t heal all earthly afflictions this side of heaven, but he delights to show mercy to his children. Two forces still tell us to shut up and not ask God for mercy, like the crowd told Bartimaeus to be quiet. Those two things are our conscience and the devil.

Here’s the good news: Jesus is bigger than both of these forces. When your conscience tries to tell you that you have committed a sin too big for God to forgive, don’t listen to it. 1 John 3:19-20 tells us, “This then is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” He knows, and forgives. And God is greater than the devil also. 1 John 38 says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” No matter how much the devil accuses us, Jesus says, “It is finished, I paid for that sin, too!” So, don’t let your conscience or the devil keep you away from worship or God’s Word. Take a clue from the blind man who could see who Jesus was better than people with perfect eyesight, and pray all the louder, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And He will!