30th Mar 26 | 13:54
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Luke 18 35-43 THE FAITH OF BARTIMAEUS 04 The spark of faith became a flame
📖 Luke 18:35-43
03Nov2020 - *The spark of faith became a flame* - _Luke 18:35-43_ - THE FAITH OF BARTIMAEUS 4 – Bible reading: _Jeremiah 23:5-6_
_Luke 18:39 Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"_
We understood that if Bartimaeus, who was blind and was a beggar, was familiar with the Old Testament prophesies of the Messiah, then we can be certain that the entire Jewish crowd there, knew their Old Testament too.
Bartimaeus knew that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, the Son of David, and he was not going to let the Christ pass by without encountering Him. The spark of faith was lit in the heart of Bartimaeus.
Let us look at a few more prophecies of Jesus being the Son of David.
_Jeremiah 23:5-6 “Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise *to David a Branch of righteousness*; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. (6) In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS._
_Jeremiah 33:15-16 ‘In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up *to David A Branch of righteousness*; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. (16) In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.'_
So, when we come to the New Testament and to the gospels, we see that the crowds were quite well informed of the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. _Matthew 12:23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"_
On the day of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, we see that the crowds were announcing that Jesus was the Son of David.
_Matthew 21:9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna to the *Son of David*! 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!"
The religious leaders, understandably, for their own selfish reasons, were quite upset that the crowds and even the children, were crying out and announcing the Jesus was the Son of David.
_Matthew 21:15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant_
The crowd, that day, had the opportunity to express the same faith in Jesus as the Son of David, as Bartimaeus did. They should have been so glad for Bartimaeus. They should have encouraged him and they should have provided Bartimaeus with space and the needed help to reach Jesus.
Instead, the crowd was warning Bartimaeus not to shout. The word ‘warning’ appears in all the three renderings of the synoptic gospels, of this incident. This crowd was actively working against the expression of faith that was happening in the heart of Bartimaeus. Isn’t that miserable?
Bartimaeus was not to be discouraged or dissuaded by this caustic crowd. He, instead of being smothered by the negativity all around him, actually became even more belligerent in his faith in Jesus, the Son of David.
The spark of faith in Bartimaeus had turned into a flame.
Friends, the spark of faith must be constantly stoked into a flame of faith, in us, however, and whatever may be our circumstances. Let us not blame our surroundings for the temperature of our faith in Jesus. Let us expect pessimism around us but let that not be an excuse.
In the midst of all the despondency let us be those whose flame of faith in Jesus is burning bright.
*Thought to ponder*
```What is the temperature reading of your faith in Jesus, today?```