Human beings live on memories and unfortunately, we will always be remembered for our mistakes and shortcomings. Human beings are liable to fail and err, and God is willing to forgive all who wholeheartedly repent.
Proverbs 28:13 – He who covers up his transgressions will never prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
When we recognize our mistakes and shortcomings, and ask God for forgiveness, and let go of the old practices, God assures us that we will attain mercy.
Many people live in depression or ashamed for their past, because often those around us do not recognize us for what we did or do good, but for our faults, mistakes or sins.
The Bible shows us that regardless of our mistakes and shortcomings, Jesus is with open arms to receive us when we are willing to leave the practice of sin.
Before I start talking about illustrious people who have been recognized for their mistakes and failures, I would like to start by asking a question and for you to think about it.
When we talk about Rahab what is the first thing that comes to mind? Possibly many responded to Rahab the prostitute.
Two spies left and arrived at the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and there they spent the night. The news reached the king of Jericho, and the king was told that some Israelites had come at night to spy out the land.” The king of Jericho sends an order to Rahab to bring out the men who entered her house, as they were spying out all the land”. Understand that Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replies: “Yes, the men were here, but I didn’t know where they were from. They left the city at nightfall, almost time to close the gates. I don’t know where they went. If you chase them, you are likely to catch up.”
Joshua 2:1-5 – And Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent two men out of Shittim to spy out, saying, Go and recognize the land and Jericho. So they went and entered the house of a harlot woman, whose name was Rahab, and they slept there.
Then news was brought to the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, men of the children of Israel have come here this night to spy out the land.
So he sent the king of Jericho to say to Rahab, Take away the men who came to you and entered your house, because they came to spy out all the land.
But that woman took the two men, and hid them, and said, It is true that men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
And it came to pass, the door having been shut, it being dark, that those men went out; I don’t know where those men went; go after them quickly, for you will overtake them.
Understand that at this time Rahab enters history, because at that time Rahab was giving those men deliverance and finally giving deliverance to her family.
Joshua 2:9-18 – And he said unto men, I know that the LORD hath given you this land, and that the dread of you is upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint before you.
For we have heard that the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, Sihon and Og, which were beyond the Jordan, whom you destroyed.
What he heard, has fainted our heart, and in no one else is there any courage because of your presence; for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.
Now therefore, swear unto me, I pray thee of the Lord, that as I have shown mercy to you, ye shall also show mercy unto my father’s house, and give me a sure sign,ye shall
Thatpreserve with life my father and mother, as well as my brothers and sisters, with everything they have and that you will save our lives from death.
Then those men answered him, Our life will answer for yours, even to the death, if you do not denounce this business of ours, and it will be, therefore, that, when the Lord gives us this land, we will use with you mercy and faithfulness.
She then made them descend by rope through the window, for her house was on the wall of the city, and she dwelt on the wall.
And he said unto them, Go ye into the mount, lest perhaps your persecutors find you, and hide yourselves there three days, until the persecutors return, and afterward go your way.
And those men said to him: We shall be released from this oath which you made us swear.
Behold, when we enter the land, thou shalt tie this cord of scarlet thread to the window through which thou hast let us down; and thou shalt gather thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, into the house with thee.
Rahab asks Livramento for her and her family, but remember that question and the answer above?
When we talk about Rahab what is the first thing that comes to mind? Possibly many responded to Rahab the prostitute.
Rahab leaves the book of Joshua and will directly have her name honored and written in the gallery of the Heroes of the Faith.
Hebrews 11:31 – Rahab the harlot did not perish with the unbelievers, receiving the spies in peace.
Rahab was now in the gallery of the Heroes of the Faith, which is infinitely more honorable than the life she led. Rahab was a sinful woman, living in a pagan environment, but she believed in the God of Israel, as the true and only God of heaven and earth. She abandoned the idolatry that Canaan experienced and is now united by faith with Israel and God and has also become an ancestor of the Messiah.
Matthew 1:5,6 – And Salmon begat Boaz from Rahab; and Boaz begat Obed from Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat king David; and king David begat Solomon from the wife of Uriah.
Rahab’s salvation illustrates the fact that even in view of the judgment as was the case at that time, God accepts anyone “who in any nation fears him and does what is right.”
Now we notice that when Jesus enters Jericho, there was a man there who was this head of the tax collectors, a very rich man who was a tax collector, his name was Zacchaeus.
The Bible will say that Zacchaeus was a man of small stature, that upon learning that Jesus had passed through that region, Zacchaeus then climbs a fig tree just to see who Jesus was. Zacchaeus just wanted to see who Jesus was, but Jesus wanted to make his home in Zacchaeus’ life.
Luke 19:2-5 – And behold, there was a man there named Zacchaeus; and this was a chief of the publicans, and he was rich.
And he tried to see who Jesus was, and he couldn’t, because of the crowd, because he was small in stature.
And running ahead, he climbed a wild fig tree to see him; because it had to pass that way.
And when Jesus came to that place, looking up, he saw him and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today it is fitting for me to rest at your house.
Here we see the central basis of our study which is to understand that many times we will always be remembered for our failures, but never for our capabilities. Those who were with Jesus and heard the master say that he would be Zacchaeus’ guest simply pointed to Zacchaeus as a sinner.
Luke 19:7 – And seeing all this, they murmured, saying that he had come in to be a guest of a sinful man.
But the encounter that is generated between Jesus and Zacchaeus, makes that from that moment on Zacchaeus was no longer the same, beginning to speak and act differently.
Luke 19:8,9 – And Zacchaeus rose up and said to the Lord, Lord, behold, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone in any thing, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day salvation has come to this house, for this also is a son of Abraham.
Note that for the crowd, Zacchaeus would always be the tax collector and sinner, but for Jesus, that tax collector, he was called by name, because he was most precious to the Lord Jesus. That tax collector just wanted to see Jesus pass, but Jesus always has something more for those who want to meet him, Jesus wanted to make a home in the life of Zacchaeus.
The Bible also tells us that there was a man who was blind and begged by the wayside. In society’s eyes, he was just another anonymous person, as he lived begging and in society’s eyes he could contribute to nothing. The Bible reports that one day this man then heard something different and sought to know what was going on. We understand that what he heard that day, at that moment, was not common, because where Jesus goes, nothing is the same.
We can conjecture that someone stopped and told that man that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by and wherever He passed, the sick were healed, the paralyzed walked, the blind saw and the dumb spoke. The Bible reports that this man then begins to cry out aloud, “Jesus son of David have mercy on me.”
The crowd told him to be quiet, so that he wouldn’t bother the master, because the crowd thought that this man was of no value to the master. The one named Bartimaeus was able to understand that at that moment, he was the one who needed the miracle, and that that opportunity might not be repeated again.
Bartimaeus cried out insistently and the Lord Jesus turned to him, and Jesus asked what do you want me to do for you? Jesus knew what Bartimaeus needed, but Jesus wanted to hear his needs from Bartimaeus. See the great teaching, because we are the ones who need the miracle, and by no means do we care what the crowd says, what matters is that we take advantage of the opportunity to be with the owner of the miracle. For this reason, even though man remembers you for your faults, know that God remembers you for your abilities and qualities.
Rahab the prostitute was remembered in the gallery of the Heroes of the Faith, Zacchaeus the tax collector received Jesus in his house as his guest, the blind man from Jericho saw much more than the crowd saw with their physical eyes, for that man even without sight Bartimaeus had faith, and believed that Jesus Christ could change his story.
We concluded that it doesn’t matter how you are remembered by men so far, but what matters is how you will be remembered from here on, so lift your head, raise your hands to the heavens and let God write a new story for you, for you it is extremely important to God. Man may remember you for your faults, for your mistakes, but God looks at you for who you are in his presence, that is, a precious vessel.
May we be like the blind man of Jericho, who did not listen to what the crowd was saying, but gave rise to his faith that was infinitely greater than the voices that echoed from the crowd.
