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Articles
Courageous Faith
The fame of Jesus had spread far and wide throughout His ministry. Jesus began His preaching in the area surrounding the Sea of Galilee and the headquarters of His earthly ministry was Capernaum (Mark 1:14). This central hub of Jesus’ ministry would serve as the background for many of His miracles and groundbreaking teaching. The people continually responded to Jesus’ teaching with awe and wonder, because He taught with such authority. Jesus’ fame was not extinguished by His adversaries, but rather continued to spread throughout the areas surrounding Galilee and all of Judea. Mark records that a great multitude of people followed Jesus from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, Tyre and Sidon, etc. (3:7-8). In the midst of all of these people and great multitudes, there are a few individuals who stand out above the rest for their courageous faith.
When Jesus was making His way to the home of Jairus, Mark introduced a woman into his narrative and her inclusion gives hope to all those who have lost their hope in this world. The woman is never given a name, but rather we are told that she had endured much from the hands of physicians and exhausted her resources. This woman had lost all hope, but then she heard about a man from Nazareth who was currently visiting her city. The woman was deliberate with her actions and did exactly as she had planned, but she was not prepared for the end result. When Jesus felt the power exit, He asked – “Who touched My garments?” This would have been the moment for her to run away and never turn back, but rather she courageously fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. Jesus responded to her faith and said – “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction” (Mark 5:25-34). This woman had not experienced peace for the previous twelve years, but by the power of Jesus she was made complete and had found hope once again!
When Jesus was touring the northern cities of Tyre and Sidon, He came into contact with another woman (Mark 7:24-30). This woman is also unnamed, but we are told that she is a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race, and that she had a daughter who had an unclean spirit. The Syrophoenician woman’s request of Jesus would have been ground breaking in their day. She was a Gentile and He was a Jew. She was a woman and He was a man, but neither of these kept her from seeking release for her daughter. Neither of these kept her from expressing her faith in the power of the One who she had heard about and whose name was Jesus. Her courageous faith was rewarded and Jesus cast the demon from her daughter.
When Jesus was making His way toward Jerusalem, He traveled through the city of Jericho and met a blind beggar named Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52). We are not given the length of time that Bartimaeus had been blind, nor the cause of his blindness, but we are once again faced with a tremendous display of courageous faith. Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene who was traveling through Jericho and he immediately began to cry out – “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The crowds surrounding Bartimaeus began to sternly tell him to be quiet, but he would not be silenced. Instead, he persistently cried out – “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” When Jesus heard the man’s voice, He called Bartimaeus to Himself, and asked him – “What do you want Me to do for you?” Bartimaeus did not ask for earthly riches, great houses, bounty of food, but rather he asked for his sight to be restored. Bartimaeus’ courageous faith was rewarded by Jesus – “God; your faith has made you well.”
In the midst of all of the people and great multitudes who followed Jesus, these individuals stand out because of their courageous faith. The first woman had exhausted with the earthly physicians, but what she needed all along was the divine physician. As Jesus said to the Pharisees – “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). The second woman did not allow her ethnicity to keep her from seeking Jesus. If only we had a similar heart in broadcasting the gospel to all who are willing to hear and obey. Finally, the faith of Bartimaeus may be the most personal in its application. It would be easy to allow peer pressure to determine our faithfulness toward to God, but this would not resemble the faith of Bartimaeus. He would not be diverted from his goal of being healed by Jesus, and neither should we allow anyone to keep us from drawing closer to God in our daily lives. May God bless us with hearts filled with courageous faith that will follow Him no matter the cost!
