"Your Faith Has Made You Well"

And Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well.' And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. (Mark 10:52 ESV)

In Mark’s gospel, he recounts the restoration of vision to the blind man Bartimaeus in Jericho. Bartimaeus could not have witnessed a single miracle, although he had likely heard of Jesus; yet, he had faith that Christ would heal him. In cases where someone takes action, touches Christ, and asks for healing, even without witnessing the end result, Christ notes that it is their faith that has healed them. Why?

Bartimaeus was born blind, but he, like us, was also spiritually blind. However, at some point, Bartimaeus came to believe that Christ could heal him, and he was given the grace to have faith. Jesus asked Him, “What do you want me to do for you?” and Bartimaeus said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” (v 51) He asked Christ to have mercy on him and asked for his vision. Bartimaeus did not ask “can you,” or “Is it possible”, just “I want to see.”

When we are outside of Christ, we are spiritually blind. At some point, like Bartimaeus, we hear about Jesus. With God’s grace, at some point, we are given faith in Christ. We cannot get faith on our own. In most cases, when we ask for our healing, also like Bartimaeus, we do not ask “Can you,” or “Is it possible,” no, we tell Christ we want to be saved, in some cases we beg Him to save us from ourselves. He does, and it is our faith through grace that is the key to our salvation. Christ knows our hearts and knows we believe. We are no longer spiritually blind; we are aware of our sin and our need for a savior.

We should all remember we were once spiritually blind. We could not see the sin around us. We could not see our own sin. We walked in this world controlled by the enemy, the blind following the blind. In our free gift of salvation, Christ restores us. He cleanses us in His shed blood. We, once condemned, are made righteous, justified before God. We can have a real personal relationship with God, and Christ, our Savior, lives in us forever. Why? Not because of us but because God loves us. He knew us before time, wrote our names in His Book of Life, and while we were still sinners, spiritually blind, He died for us on the cross that we might have everlasting life through His sacrifice.

Do you know Christ, or are you blinded by your sin and the sin of the world around you? Has anyone told you about Jesus, or did you just start to wonder on your own? Is there something missing in your life that leaves you empty and hopeless? You have now been told about our Lord Jesus Christ, who restores the sick, including those with any infection, and also heals our sinful nature. You have now heard how it is impossible for you to save yourself. And you now know why Jesus sacrificed Himself on that cross. He did it for you. Ask Christ into your heart, tell Him you want to see again, see a life that he leads you in, that you have faith in, that you are loved in, and tell Him you repent of your sins. Your faith can heal you and Gd can restore you, just as He did for Bartimaeus. Seek Christ now, we do not know if the next breath will come, only God does.

Grace and Peace.

If you have questions about salvation through the finished work of Christ, reach out to us here at In Messiah. We can direct you to the Bible verses that reveal salvation by grace through faith in the risen Son of God, Jesus Christ.