ODJ: ignoring discouraging words

September 7, 2015 

READ: Mark 10:46-52 

“Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v.48).

Many people are familiar with the book Gone with the Wind, and even more have seen the movie that was filmed in 1939 starring famous Hollywood actor Clark Gable. But what many people don’t realise is that the novel written by Margaret Mitchell was rejected 38 times by publishers before finally being accepted. It went on to sell 30 million copies. What if Margaret Mitchell had given up after her 38th rejection, as most of us probably would have done?

Bartimaeus, the blind man in Mark 10, faced a similar situation. He had been rebuked and rejected by the crowd—not because he had done anything wrong or because of his sin, but merely because those around him were annoyed by his presence and his clamour (v.48). They wanted him to be silent.

A distraction to the crowd, they gave him a rebuke, but not in the godly sense. Their words were pure discouragement. They were negative. Bartimaeus must have recognised the nature of their criticism, because he ignored it and continued to cry out to Jesus, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” He finally attracted Jesus’ attention and received healing at the work of His hands (v.52).

—Peter Chin

365-day-plan: Luke 21:1-24