Signs of the Supernatural: Part One Miracles complicate theology. We will be looking at the 30 or so that are listed in the Gospels, but they cause more questions for me than answers. Why so many? Why so few? Why any at all? Jesus even seems to display what I would call a strange ambivalence toward many of them. He would warn people not to tell anyone. He would express that through faith others could do them. Sometimes they would flow from Him seemingly without effort, yet at other times He is worn out from the process, or on rare occasions His power is blocked by a lack of faith. Truly we experience some of the same now don't we? Some prayers get answered and miracles still happen, and at other times all night prayer vigils fail to produce a miracle and loved ones don't get better.
Early on in His ministry, Jesus is bombarded by people primarily due to the miracles. Mark says that it got to a point where Jesus could no longer openly go into villages, but skirted the outer lying areas and stayed in deserted places. Yet still the crowds - diseased, dying, possessed, and hurting found him. (Mk 1:45)
First, we must remember that the miracles were not the central theme of Jesus message, they were in fact signs - signs of just who Jesus was as predicted by the Old Testament writers and prophets. When John the Baptist was languishing in the prison of the despot - Herod, John sends his disciples to make sure that Jesus really is the one. Jesus tells those disciples of John to consider the miracles as proof, evidently the only sign Jesus thought they needed. I have often wondered when John's disciples reported back the news of the miracles as proof, if John wondered why Jesus wasn't helping him. Yes, the dead were being raised, the lame were walking, the blind were seeing and the diseased were cleansed and delivered, but the forerunner to it all would not be delivered from the hands of Herod.
The purpose of this series will be to look at the individual accounts of the miracles and determine what we can take from them for today. I'm not going to get lost in the some of the theological debate about miracles then and now, however I do welcome any questions you may have. The goal is that God will use this series to expand our understanding of what Jesus was showing (signs) and teaching through the ministry of His miracles.
Signs of the Supernatural - Part Two The Easier Miracle
Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26
Not long after healing the man with Leprosy, Jesus sails back to what the Gospel writers begin to call "home." It is Capernaum, where as we have learned an evil spirit was exorcised in the synagogue, the mother of Peter healed of fever, several healed at the sunset of a Sabbath's day, and much teaching has taken place. As Jesus comes home He is met by a crowd that is eager to hear His authoritative words. Luke says that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law have come from every village of Galilee along with many from Judea and Jerusalem.
The news of the Miracle-Worker has spread beyond the slopping meadows and high bluffs of Galilee. They are all sitting there being taught, hanging on words that drip with the wisdom of God, and truth so deep and profound.
The disturbance happens slowly. There is some rustling sounds from up on the roof, first soft as though birds were gathering then louder. Dust begins to shower them. Some blow it out of their eyes. Others wipe it from their heads. Straw and thatch now fall and the Teacher halts the sermon. They all crane their necks to get a view of just what is coming through the roof.
Earlier a group of men had brought their paralyzed friend to the house where Jesus was speaking. The crowd was too much for them to enter, so four of the men volunteered to take their friend up on the roof and enter from there. Their love and devotion for their friend appears to have no bounds. First, to even do such a thing, then second, to go to the trouble of hoisting the man on the mat to the roof and then dig through the layers of the ceiling, not to mention to interrupt the Miracle Man while He was teaching. This is great devotion.
As I read the Gospel accounts, I am struck by not only their devotion, but their determination. The whole thing doesn't appear to be a whim. We could easily deduce that these men knew that Jesus would heal their friend. Perhaps one of them had been healed previously. Perhaps one of them was the man possessed by a demon who was now demon-free. Maybe one or more were in the crowd at sunset who went home cured of something, a leg restored, an eye unveiled, an ear unstopped... No matter the barrier, they will not be stopped in delivering their friend to the Master.
Cordage is fashioned around the mat to secure the man who feels nothing. Slowly he is lowered into the assembly, every eye on him. The four friends look on from above through the hole they have dug. The rest of the group stand outside looking up on the roof awaiting a report. The mat finally comes to rest in the very middle of the room, right in front of Jesus. The crowd is hushed except for some low whispers.
Jesus sees their faith (Lk. 5:20, Mk. 2:5, Mt. 9:2), He says, "Son, be of great cheer! Your sins are forgiven." It seems Jesus is rather enjoying the disturbance, for great faith always thrills Him. But, His words have stepped out of line to the ears of the learned teachers of the Law. Blasphemy is now on the lips about the room once mere thoughts giving way to looks and whispers. Jesus knows this.
He says, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?" The tone changes from the thrill of the faith of others to the confrontation with the Pharisees. "Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk.'?"
The question sinks in upon the crowd. No one offers an answer. A man lays paralyzed caught in the middle, I wonder what he is thinking? Four friends watch from above wondering what will happen next. The scene is frozen after the question everyone waiting to see what happens next. Jesus turns his attention back to the man on the mat. The man is powerless. He is dependent on others for every nuance of life. That is about to change.
"I tell you, get up, take your mat, and go on home."
Luke says that immediately the man gets up as feeling and sensation arouse in a body previously limp. There is no need for physical therapy, he is completely restored, so he gathers his mat, the sign of the old life, and goes on his way praising God.
This creates quite a conundrum for the Pharisees. Even though Jesus has uttered blasphemy to their learned ears, He has backed up His words with signs of who He is. Nicodemus gives us a sample of what those were thinking that day who saw the man grab his mat and go. In John's Gospel as Nicodemus sneaks at night to see Jesus he says to Him, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with Him.:" (Jn. 3:2b)
In spite of the power of the signs, many will never get it. Some will ascribe His power to sorcery. In that sentiment we understand the question Jesus posed much better. Which is easier? Yes, healing the man on the mat. Why, because forgiveness of sin requires an act of acceptance on the part of the sinner. Untethered belief in Him who has the authority to forgive is required. God always draws a line there, doesn't He. He loves everyone enough to never cross that line. His love is never forced - it is Satan who pushes acceptance at the end of an AK-47. To forgive the sins of mankind and then go through what the Son would endure to pay for those sins and erase them like footprints on the sand after a huge wave, is the far greater miracle. It is why He came. And, with this miracle we see the first signs of who He is and why He came.
Faith of the Centurion
Luke 7:1-10, Matthew 8:5-13
Again Jesus was on His way back to Capernaum or home base when he is confronted with representatives of a man of the high rank of Centurion (in charge of 100 men). As you read the two accounts, don't get hung up on the fact that Luke says Jesus talked to representatives of the Centurion and Matthew reports Him talking with the Centurion. In the first century, to speak with a representative or "shaliah" in the Aramaic, was to speak to the person himself.
Commentaries seem to want to explain that the Centurion was a member of Herod's army and not an actual Roman, citing the willingness of the Jewish elders to come and speak to Jesus. It is hard for me to draw the line between Herod and Rome. They were both on the same side, both ruthless, cruel, and seen as an enemy by most in Israel. This Centurion, however, had endeared himself to the Jews for he built the synagogue in Capernaum. Luke says they pleaded earnestly with Jesus to help the Centurion and heal his slave. How rare it must have been for a Centurion to care enough about his slave to help him. This is not lost on Jesus, so He agrees to go see the Centurion.
As they near the home the Centurion sends out his representatives and they speak as though the Centurion is speaking with Christ.
Luke writes it this way, "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not consider myself worthy to come to you. But, just say the word and my servant will be healed."
Jesus hails his faith with a proclamation, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith." This was a stinging rebuke of His own countrymen and certainly the town of His youth, Nazareth, where He was rejected by those who had known Him all His life. He continues, and gives those in hearing a glimpse of the New Covenant - not just with the people of Israel, but with peoples from the east and the west who will sit and dine at the banquet table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in Kingdom of heaven. Jesus is exuberant over the faith He has found.
He tells the representatives, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And, a slave in the house of a Centurion is healed from afar.
When the great Russian author, Fyodor Dostoevsky said that faith does not spring from the miracle, but the miracle from faith, must have had the friends of the paralytic and the Centurion in mind.
Let me ask you a question: What friend can you exercise that faith toward today? What close friend, co-worker, family member, boss, employee, church member, or whoever, needs a friend with faith? Are you willing to ride out on their behalf? Dig a hole in the roof? Believe "it will be as you believed it would"? This world and everyone in it needs to see faith right now. A stock market that churns up and down seemingly on the whim of the latest news, a country devastated by disaster, a society addicted to themselves, another land where unrest pushes out peace, missionaries on a foreign field facing Nazareth-like rejection, a church with empty seats, a hospital full of suffering, on and on it goes... Only great faith can stand in the face of such and believe. Be a believer!
Something to Believe In
John 4:46-54
Jesus had taken His show on the road. He had gone to Jerusalem for Passover, and back through Samaria, where hundreds began to believe in Him. Again, He came to Cana and was welcomed by the masses. His words, miracles, love, truth and grace have been on display and the people of Galilee are responding en mass. This could be the One who will deliver the nation back to a place it had under the leadership of David. Mention of the "Kingdom of God," had such connotation.
On this day John says that a Royal Official came to see Jesus while He was in Cana. Different than the Centurion, this man doesn't send emissaries or speak of his unworthiness. There is no sign that any group of Jewish elders came to Jesus on his behalf. He also doesn't have a slave sick back in Capernaum, but his own son. Very much like the Centurion, this man is a leader of others - most likely in Herod's government, but he could have been a Roman official.
The Official is at the end of his rope. John says he comes to Jesus begging and pleading for Jesus to heal his son, who is at death's door. So much had happened, some many healed, and the Miracle-worker's exploits were on the lips of the whole town of Capernaum, so when the son grew ill, the dad went in search of the One who could do something about it. Maybe he had heard what Jesus did for the Centurion - another gentile not of the Jews - perhaps he would do the same for him.
The response of Jesus is more curt. Jesus tells him, 'Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe." Again the official pleads that Jesus may come before the boy dies. Can you hear the desperation in his voice. There is little time. Jesus finally replies, "You may go, your son will live." John says the man took Jesus at His word. Stop.
The man came to Jesus in hopes that Jesus could do something about his son. Jesus greeted him coolly, but he did not give up, and as soon as Jesus gave the word - he accepted it. Belief was growing inside the father. As he goes home several of his servants ride out to meet him with great news - the fever had left the son. The Official wants to know the official time, and it was the hour he spoke with Jesus. The result was that he and his entire household believed.
This miracle is one of the few instances where belief sprouted and sprang from the miracle. For the first time, we begin to feel Jesus being uneasy with all the miracles and signs. The main purpose of the signs was to show people His authority and slowly reveal just who He was, but the circus of miracles begins to be the show everyone wants to see. Before long as the teachers of the Law begin to request signs, Jesus will say, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign!" (Matt. 12:39) They were looking for the show, not interested in loving the person being healed, exorcized, or restored.
No so with the Royal Official from Capernaum. That day in Cana he found something he could believe in. A Man who gave His word and healed the official's son from miles away. The miracle was just as much in love for the son as it was the father, for the official (and his entire family) would come to believe in the Miracle-worker. I've always wondered what became of the Centurion and the Official. How did they react when the news of the exploits in Jerusalem got back to them in Galilee. Jesus had died and rose from the grave. Were they in the company of the 500 that saw Him at once that Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 15? We don't know any of these things. But, we do know that faith in Jesus can erupt both before (Centurion) and after (Royal Official) the miracle. No matter where you are today, He is someone you can believe in.
Death's Sting?
Luke 7:11-17
One tough part of a preacher's job is speaking at funerals. What to say? How to say it? Whether to attempt any humor? How much preaching to do and how much consoling? It can get very complicated. Though Jesus preached throughout the countryside, not once did He conduct a funeral. If Jesus would have had a business card, there would have been a caveat printed on the card:
Sorry, I don't do funerals.
Sure, there were occasions - three of them to be exact. Each time Jesus was confronted with death, He did the same thing - He overturned death. The raising of the dead was not without precedent, both Elijah and Elisha had conquered death (1 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 4), Elisha even foiled death in a pot. Today's scripture chronicles the first instance of Jesus overturning death.
Nine miles from Nazareth, visible on the norther slope of the hill of Moreh at the north end of the plain of Jezreel, is the small village of Nain. Interestingly, if you wound your way around the hill of Moreh to the west you would come to another small village called Shunem, which is the where Elisha raised a son from the dead for a mother that had shown him hospitality. This great historical event was common knowledge in this region.
The time was not long after the healing of the Centurion's slave and there is a great many people traveling with Jesus including the disciples. As they approached the gate of the town they came to halt as a funeral procession was in the process of taking a dead person out of the city. Turns out the deceased was the only son of a widow. Don't let that fact slide by without realizing that widow's in the 1st century had it hard, especially hard if they had no sons to care for them. Since the son was her only son, she was now all alone without any means to provide for herself. The future held no hope for anything but struggle.
Luke writes that when Jesus saw the widow, His heart went out to her, he was filled with compassion, he was moved greatly with emotion. However you translate it - the heart of Jesus breaks for the widow's loss and uncertain future. She is crying. Jesus asks her to stop, then he moves toward the coffin being carried by men. They all stop. The scene is packed with those in the procession of death and the Savior - all watching. I imagine no one is saying a word. Only the soft sobs of a mother can be heard over the distant bark of a shepherd's dog. Coffins of the day were open air coffins not closed as we think of in our day. Risking ritual uncleanness, (Num. 19:16) Jesus touches the coffin and commands:
"Young man, I say to you, get up!"
Both Elisha and Elijah had to cry out to the LORD and do several ritualistic acts to raise the dead in their day, but Jesus merely says, "get up", and Luke says the boy raises up and begins to talk. I've always wanted to know what he talked about, but all we know is that a widow got her son back - and her hope for the future.
Rightly so, the crowd is filled with awe and praise for God. They take the sign as Jesus being like Elisha and Elijah - a great prophet has been sent. They recognize that God has sent this man called Jesus to help them and they are overjoyed. People would begin to say that Jesus was Elijah appearing again, this miracle in part fed that rumor.
A modern day adage is that death and taxes are the only two guarantees in life. Paul said the last enemy to be destroyed was death (1 Cor. 15:26). He would go on to write that death had been swallowed up in great victory (15:54) and he would quote Hosea 13:14 with the great questions - "Where oh death is your victory? Where oh death is your sting?" (v.55). Jesus came to defeat the final enemy, and offer those who believe life.
So, when it comes to death and taxes, mark one off the list. Oh, sit tight, Jesus will deal with taxes soon enough.
Just Like Us, Not Like us
Scripture - various
The miracles that displayed command over nature are some of the most stunning. A raging storm comes to halt with three words (Matt. 8:23-27). The laws of matter are turned upside down as Jesus walks buoyantly on top of the waves of yet another raging storm in the third watch of the night (Jn. 6:19-21) - Peter even joins Him for a spell on the waves (Mt. 14:29-30). A fig tree withers when no fruit is found on it's limbs (Mk. 11:12-14; 20-25). Jesus "hides" Himself from the crowds (several places in John) - where one minute He is there and the next we can only deduce that He vanishes. These are the sort of miracles that suggest to those in the 1st century and the 21st, that Jesus is unlike us. After going through the storm miracles in great detail in one of our previous devotions (In the Face of the Storm), instead let us examine these miracles in understanding the Incarnation.
The mystery of the Incarnation is that Jesus was 100% man and 100% God. How can two things be 100% of anything? If the truth be known, most Christians have an easier time with the pendulum swinging more toward God than man, interestingly this is opposite of the 1st century, where God being a man was basically blasphemy. With the first miracle over nature being the calming of the storm we see this in the reaction of the disciples, as a strange mix of terror and amazement begs them to ask, "What kind of MAN is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!" They would have to see much more before beginning to understand who He was. Ultimately, the one that doubted the most, Thomas, makes the strongest statement for His divinity in the Gospels. With his hands on the scars and wounds he proclaims, "My Lord, and My God!" (Jn. 20:28).
Sometimes we see in scripture what we want to see - Jesus being God - in control, all powerful, striding across planet earth more God than man. To prove my point consider the miracles listed in the first paragraph.
In the calming of the storm, Jesus is asleep on a cushion in the stern of the boat, so worn out from the day that a raging storm doesn't wake Him (Mk. 4:38). As Jesus comes walking on the water, He has just spent most of the night languishing in prayer alone on a mountain after a day where He attempted to find solitude after the news of the loss of John the Baptist, only to be confronted with one of the largest crowds of His ministry. Each time in John where He vanishes, He is about to be stoned not for His miracles and not for being God, but being a man claiming to be God - "Before Abraham, I AM." This is a clear and undeniable statement of divinity, and the crowd reached down for stones (Jn. 8:58-59). Before the fig tree ever withers from the power of God, Jesus is simply hungry (Mt. 21:18). There is nothing more human than to hunger. In each case you don't have to look that hard to find the 100% man right along with the 100% God.
Martin Luther said we need to draw Jesus deep into the flesh, so very true. We really need to understand that He took on flesh and became a man, tempted (human) without sin (God), frustrated with the actions of others (human), loving the unlovable (God), sweating profusely torn by the cup He must bear (human), relenting to the will of the Father always doing the right thing (God). I could fill the whole page, but Walter Wink says it best, "If Jesus had never lived, we would have never been able to invent Him."
The Creator, the One in whom all things were created, the maker of rain Himself, got rained upon. The One who hung the sun in the heavens felt the heat against His skin. The One who fashioned the dirt got dirty. The One who brings the harvest and blesses the fields with grain, felt that pangs of hunger. The miracles sometimes pull us away from the fact that He became flesh - if we're not careful we can become like many in the crowd of Jesus' day that followed Him only to see the miracles. He is much more profound than that.
Signs of the Supernatural: Part Three An Unlikely Missionary
Mark 5:1-17; Luke 826-37; Matthew 8:28-34
(Matthew's account says there are two, Luke and Mark only mention one. This would not be uncommon especially if one were more possessed or the leader of the two. Unlike reporting in our day, the first century writers didn't get hung up on details such as these - the essence of the story was always more important.)
They lived in the tombs. Being close to death seemed to suit them. This arrangement was evidently okay with the towns people, for they had arrested them many times only to see how that chain and iron could not contain them. Tormented as parasites on a host, the demons lived inside these two men and no man was strong enough to subdue them, so if they hung out in the tombs day and night, that was better than the village streets. But, you could hear their demented cry - calling out at any hour from the tombs, wailing, crying, and screaming. God forbid you ever saw them. They wore no clothes and were lacerated from head to toe from cutting themselves with stones. If you asked anyone, they would say that death would be a better life for these men.
Then one day out the blue the Galilean Miracle-worker arrives by boat to this region of the Garesenes characterized by 10 free cities of high Greek culture called the Decapolis. Near the tombs there are pig farmers who see Jesus and His group land. To their astonishment the men with evil spirits come running from the tombs. As in the first encounter with a demon-possessed man, these demons also know exactly who Jesus is. They are cowardly, as they request Jesus not to torture them, for Jesus has already commanded that they come out of the men. Then Jesus asks a question, "Who are you?"
They call themselves Legion for they are many. A Roman Legion consisted of 6,000 men, and there are at least 2,000 in these men. If you don't think the spiritual enemies that oppose God are many, think again. As John pulls back the veil of time and reveals to us through heavy symbolism an uncertain time when Satan falls, he takes 1/3 of the angels with him ( Rev. 12:4). Furthermore, since the angels of heaven are more numerous than can be counted (Heb. 12:22), 1/3 of too numerous to count, is still numerous.
The demons plead with Jesus to be cast into the pigs that are rooting along the hill nearby. Jesus consents to this and something wildly amazing happens. A herd of pigs around 2,000 in number suddenly break for the lake in a mad dash. The farmers can do nothing to stop them, the pigs are frantically running into the water one after another drowning until they are all dead and floating adrift as quiet returns to the hillside. The pig farmers have just lost everything and they go and tell the village. Demons come to destroy, the plan here was just sped up and death came quickly for the pigs. Legion knew exactly what they were doing with the pigs. They knew this would create a major problem for those who lived in this area and that they would ask Jesus to leave. So, they destroyed 2,000 pigs and the livelihood of several farmers in order to get Jesus out of their area. It was what they had to do, for the demons do not die with the pigs, no - they live on to fight another day, but their day is coming when they will forever be bound and set apart with their own kind far away from anything good.
The town's people come out by the tombs and the lake to find the men who in the past they could not bind or control in their right minds - dressed and sane. They can see the herd of pigs still floating dead in the water and they know that something powerful has happened with the coming of the Miracle-worker they had heard about, but until now had not seen. Since Satan knows that fear is a place he can reign, he does so in the hearts of the villagers. They respond to what they see by being afraid. They can't explain it, and in many ways they don't want to have to, so they simply ask Jesus and His followers to load up and go some place else. Jesus, never one to force Himself upon anyone, does as they ask.
One of the two men now free from possession, possibly the leader, approaches Jesus as He is getting into the boat. He begs to be allowed to go with Him on His journeys.
Jesus tells him, "Go on home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you." Instead of telling the man to be quiet about what happened, which was the normal practice, Jesus tells him to spread the word. And with that, the boat shoves off and the wild-man now sane watches as the boat sails away, pigs still floating nearby. Overcome by the scene and what Jesus has done for him the man goes on his way and begins to tell everyone he meets in the Decapolis what Jesus has done. People are amazed because everyone knew of this crazy man which no one could subdue. He now has a testimony, a purpose, a mission. He becomes a most unlikely missionary.
Friends, the miracle here is very clear that no matter what you've gotten into or what has gotten into you, Jesus can erase the past a give great purpose to your life. His power is not limited by the forces of evil, culture, society, science or philosophy. There is a roaring beast going about looking to devour and destroy, greater is the Master Miracle-work from Galilee by way of heaven. The people of the Decapolis saw and heard first hand of His power. That power is still available to the open heart today. Let Him reign in you today and everyday void of fear.
Healing at the House of Grace
John 5:1-15
In Jerusalem near the Sheep gate there was a pool, actually two pools, repudiated to have healing powers. By tradition, the water would bubble on occasion and this was said to be the angels of heaven dipping their wings into the pool. It was known by the name, Bethesda, which means house of mercy or grace. During the early first century the lame, the blind, the paralyzed, those who were sick, dying, or thought they were, flocked to these pools. Can you see the scene? It would look as though an entire hospital where all the patients would be crowded around the fountains out front gazing at the water waiting for the signs of bubbles and stirring. When the signs of what they were looking for happened, it would have been the reverse effect of shouting "shark" at the beach. Instead of everyone running out of the water, they would all be running into the water. It would have been a frenzied every-man-for-himself effort to get in the water. The crowd would suggest that on occasion people where healed or at least claimed healing. Then again, if all it was was a belief - that could have been power enough without an ounce of evidence. When you are sick, dying, or think you are - you will go to great lengths to restore your health. That goes for the 21st century same as the 1st.
On this day, Jesus is making his way through the crowd of the crippled anonymously. This is a rarity for Him as His exploits in Jerusalem have not led to all out pandemonium yet. He is used to being like the pool, crowded around wanting healing. Jesus could have healed the whole lot of them, but that is not the case. I am certain he was moved with compassion, because that was His nature. However, in this instance of miracle, Jesus selects one person - he is lying on a mat near the pool, a victim of a weakened state of fragility that has lasted 38 years (almost as long as it took to build the temple).
Jesus says, "Do you want to get well?" I'm sure that would be akin to asking a child if he/she would like a toy. (Having four boys, I can tell you the answer is always, yes)
The weakened man has no clue who he is talking with, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." The tradition also asserted that the first in would be the one to get healed, which added to the desperation to get in fast as possible. This man has never been first...until now.
I'm puzzled over why Jesus decides to heal this man, only one in a sea of diseased, crippled and lame, but that is the case. It is one of the few miracles in which faith was in no way required. The weakened man didn't even know who he was talking with, as later he would attest when the Jewish authorities questioned him. This proves for us that Jesus can even over come a lack of faith - as He will do after this event when an honest man asks Jesus to help him overcome his lack of faith (Mark 9:24).
"Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." Jesus words are a command and immediately the man is healed of 38 years of infirmity - gone as though washing away dust from the body. He is restored to a health he either barely remembers or has never had. This healing happened on the Sabbath and by carrying his mat the man is guilty of an overzealous interpretation of the law. The man says to the Jewish authorities that he carried his mat because the man who healed him from a 38 year sentence of sickness said so. I'd say that grants Jesus some authority.
Some time later, Jesus found the man now healed and revealed himself to him saying, "See, you are well again, stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." Jesus always encountered people right where they were knowing their hearts completely. He would say about a blind man that his condition was not caused by sin, and here He seems to suggest sin may have been the cause. Regardless, there is something this man is doing, some sin that has captivated him to where he is in danger of "something worse." The wages of sin is death - complete separation from God. It doesn't get worse than that. As with the paralytic who was let down through the roof, Jesus may have healed people of their physical aliments, but the mission was for the restoration, deliverance, and redemption of the soul. Even if you find yourself in a long weakened condition of infirmity, if your soul is redeemed by Jesus, then "something worse" can never happen to you.
Lawful Healing
Matt. 12:9-14, Mark 3:1-6, Luke 6:6-11
Today's miracle finds Jesus back in the synagogue. Jesus was teaching as was His custom in the synagogue. Meanwhile there were eyes watching closely. At this time a contingent of Pharisees are viewing Jesus as a threat to the status quo. He has great power and they they don't refute that, matter of fact at this meeting in the synagogue they are waiting to see if He will heal on the Sabbath. It is not a question of "can He?", but "will He?"
As Jesus is teaching, they ask, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" In the audience there is a man with a shriveled hand that is of no use to him. Jesus asks the man to come forward and he stands in front of the assembly, every eye on him, the question still lingering.
Jesus says, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into the pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep? I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or destroy it?" There is but a blanket of silence that answers this question. Jesus looks them in the eye, and it is clear the tables have been turned. There is no specific law regarding healing on the Sabbath, only work on the Sabbath. They all know that the law on healing is in the oral tradition of some 613 laws that were added to scripture. It states that if a man's life is not in danger, then helping him is to be put off till the next day. Jesus phrases His question differently. "Is it lawful to do good or evil," strikes a different chord, meaning if you can help somebody and decide not to - you are guilty of a decision not to do good and "not good" is evil even if to a lesser degree. Regardless, the opposing Pharisees are caught with only one answer. They don't give it, and Jesus (after looking them in eye) doesn't wait. Mark says that Jesus was angry and deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts.
"Stretch out your hand." It is a simple command and the man does so as an awestruck crowd views a miracle of healing and doing good on the Sabbath. Luke says the opposing Pharisees are furious and their discussions intensify concerning what to do with this man called Jesus. Mark says they are so frustrated that they go even to the Herodians, those Jews who would align with Rome and Herod (which was in contrast to their own political views), and together they begin to plot against Jesus.
Jesus is dangerous. He has power. He has words of such wisdom that He can't be cornered or baited into accusation. And, perhaps most important and frightening to the authorities, Jesus has fans... thousands upon thousands who follow Him hanging on every word, walking on legs that once were lame, speaking with mouths that were once shut, seeing with eyes that were once dark, and working with hands that were once shriveled up and useless.
Like all of us today, those Pharisees in the first century had to make a choice. Is this Jesus worthy of following or not. It is a heart question centered on whether you want life the way you want it or the way Jesus offers. I pray today that if you are reading this and choosing your own path, you'll reconsider. Jesus was upset with the stubborn heart in the 1st century, and I think He is in the 21st as well.
Repent and relent - then let the life planned for you become alive in the reality of following the Galilean Miracle-worker. You'll be glad you did. I am.
Touched or be Touched
Mark 5:22-43; Luke 8:40-56; Matt. 9:18-26
For 12 years one woman bled. For 12 years one girl lived. The events of one day will forever link the two together to where one story can't be told without the other.
The woman had been bleeding for 12 years and she had gone to see all the doctors she could find, but they couldn't heal her. Her wealth has been spent attempting to find someone who can help her, but Mark says her condition continued to deteriorate. Her suffering is two pronged. First, she suffers from the pain of physically losing blood. Fatigue is her constant companion and has been for 12 long years. Second, she suffers from the social stigma of bleeding (probably a menstrual condition according to most scholars), and this is viewed as being ceremonial unclean (see Lev. 15:25-33). Part of the Law is that no one can come in contact with the woman for they too are subject to being unclean. She is shunned, considered cursed, and in constant discomfort. But, the Galilean Miracle-worker is said to be coming back from across the lake. "If I can just touch His robe," she thinks.
The 12 year old girl is the daughter of a very important man. His name is Jarius and he is a synagogue ruler. Jarius knows of this man named Jesus from Nazareth. He has heard of His great powers and authoritative words, and He has heard of His neglect of the Sabbath traditions from the Pharisees. Jarius is a man who would be more inclined to side with the Pharisees than the common folk of the day. But, his little girl is a death's door. She is dying and the flute players and mourners have been hired. His precious little girl is about dead and there is nothing Jarius, the powerful ruler of the synagogue, can do to stop it. But, Jesus is close by, what if...but how will it look for a powerful ruler of the synagogue to be going to the man so many of his friends are opposing? One look at his daughter's lifeless body and Jarius forgets what others will think, he just wants his little girl back, and something tells him that Jesus can more than help. Jarius finds Jesus and falls at his feet, a ruler humbled, and pleads with great earnest, "My daughter is dying. Please come and put Your hands on her so she will be healed and live."
Jesus is moved to help the man and immediately He and the disciples follow Jarius, but the crowd is pressing in and making passage nearly impossible. People have flocked from everywhere. Hands are reaching out... Mouths are shouting... One hand finds a tassel on His robe, it is the bleeding woman. She feels power enter her body, and Jesus feels power leave His by the conduit of her faith.
Jesus stops, "Who touched me?"
"Everybody is touching you," reply the followers. The crowd falls silent, everyone is looking at everyone else wondering what has just happened. Then a woman known for bleeding, who has spent all her money, falls at the feet of Jesus and trembling with fear she makes her confession. She had touched His robe, but more she was instantly healed.
Jesus addresses her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be free from your suffering." And, a 12 year sentence of physical, emotional, relational, and societal suffering is ended just from believing and touching a tassel on His robe. Instantly, bad news arrives - the daughter of Jarius is now dead. The father breaks down no doubt his tears wet the soil by the sea, but Jesus says to Him, "Don't be afraid, just believe." Jesus then turns and points to Peter, the rock, and the two son's of thunder - James and John. He takes these three with him and instructs the others to stay behind. When they arrive at the house of Jarius the commotion is rampant. The flutes of morning are playing loudly, people are wailing and crying. Jesus stops them and proclaims that the little girl is just asleep, not dead. Though there are real mourners there, some are hired and they literally laugh out loud. They have no clue that death is merely sleep to the Master. He has already raised a widow's son, have they not heard?
Jesus puts them all out of the house and proceeds to the room where the body is. In the presence of James, John, Peter, Jarius, and his wife, Jesus takes her hand and commands the little girl to rise. Her bluish color changes to pink as blood is oxygenated again by her drawing breath and beating heart. She gets up and begins walking around as normal as any 12 year old girl. He warns Jarius not to tell anyone and to give the girl food, this is no aberration - she has been restored to life.
Whether you are reaching out to Jesus or He is reaching out to you today, there is great power in faith either way. Hear His words to Jarius as though He is speaking to you, "Don't be afraid, just believe." Or, put on the faith of the bleeding woman believing that Jesus is that near and touch the hem of His robe. A woman once wrote to me, 'I want to believe He is that near." He is. Touch or be touched, it is a two way street with the Master, and both streets lead to a life of peace and freedom in Him.
Never Seen Before
Matt. 9:27-34
I've always wondered if Jarius became a believer after his daughter was raised. A part of me believes how could he not, but then the circles of influence in which he worked were now loaded with people actively plotting to kill the Galilean Miracle-worker. None of the Gospel writers tell us how Jarius, his wife, or daughter turn out, we are left to wonder until the completed age of the kingdom ushers us into eternity.
As Jesus walked away from the home of Jarius, two blind men trail along behind shouting, "Have mercy on us Son of David!" Son of David was a clear reference to the Messiah, they could have easily been saying, 'Have mercy on us Messiah, savior of Israel, restorer of the throne of David!" After all, a true Son of David in the minds of the average Jewish commoner meant death to Rome, a new Davidic Kingdom, and silver once again as common as pebbles along the road. When Jesus would announce the Kingdom of God is at hand, this is the sort of kingdom nearly every Jewish person had in mind and was waiting to be delivered. This was not what God had in mind with His Son.
Jesus didn't address the blind men right away. Matthew says that he proceeded until he came to another house and went inside. The blind men were persistent, they didn't just turn back or go home, the continued the pursuit of the Son of David following Him inside.
"Do you believe that I am able to do this?' Jesus asked them. "Yes, Lord," they replied. Then just as Jesus had touched a dead girl and made her alive, He touched the eyes of the two men and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you." Then shape, color, and contours flood the minds of two men that had only seen darkness before. They could see.
Jesus, full of all seriousness, looks them in their eyes that can now see and says sternly, "See that no one knows about this." I'm sure they nodded and replied with words intent on obeying this request, but what has happened to them can not be kept quiet. I'm sure people wanted to know what happened, how were they cured of blindness, etc. They either can't or don't keep quiet. Matthew says the two men went out and spread the news all over the area - practically everyone knew.
While the two non-blind men were walking out of the house were Jesus was staying , before their sandals even found Galilean dust, in walked a man possessed by a demon that rendered him speechless. This man did not walk of his own accord, but was brought by others. Demons were no match for Jesus, and the man is healed.
In the span of one afternoon, a lady bleeding for over 12 years is healed, a dead girl rises, two blind men have their vision restored, and a mute possessed by a demon can talk.
Someone in the crowd says, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel." Amen. Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, and the prophets - all considered, can't hold a candle to what is going on with the Galilean Miracle-worker. The miracles are called signs for a very good reason, for they point to His identity. Much had been written about the Son of David, the Messiah, the Savior by the prophets. As powerful as the signs are, as certain as the power is, many come to another conclusion about Jesus. They don't view Him as ushering a new Davidic kingdom, they see him as a clear and present danger to the current kingdom. And, they're not ready for the change. As the crowd acknowledges that nothing like Jesus has ever been seen in Israel, the Pharisees answer this proclamation by saying that the power of Jesus is by none other than the prince of demons.
This is why Jesus would be so stern with warnings about telling others. He knew some and eventually many, would not get it, and a trip to Calvary's hill was a destination He could not avoid. However, there was no need to rush to that point - no, there was work to be done, a harvest to be considered, more signs to be performed, demons to be driven out, and teaching to be told.
Signs of the Supernatural: Part Four The Source
Matt. 12:22, Luke 11:17-22
At the height of the popularity of Jesus, those who opposed Him began to question the source of His supernatural power. If you think about it - they were in a great quandary. 1) Rome was still in power - evidently this Messiah wasn't going to change that. 2) Droves of people are being healed - His power is irrefutable. 3) Jesus appears to have no real allegiance to the oral tradition, an abomination to the Pharisees. 4) Jesus has made some friends in high places - Jarius, Nicodemus, a Roman Centurian, and a high ranking official to name a few. 5) Jesus constantly perplexes the Pharisees with His wisdom. Though they try to trap Him, the table always gets turned on them. 6) His popularity is spreading beyond Galilee.
Quite simply, something has to be done, a card played that will change the public view of the Man they call Jesus of Nazareth. If not, then those in power are in real danger of losing power - and self preservation is really their only goal. Contrast that with Jesus - yes, self preservation is not on any of His lists of importance, eternal preservation is.
In today's miracle, we find possibly the most afflicted single soul yet. A group of people brought this man to Jesus. Again, notice this small detail that is repeated quite often - others (unmentioned as to their identity) care enough about a soul to bring them to Jesus. This man was blind, mute, and demon-possessed. He can't see, speak, and his body is under the influence of a demon. Jesus heals him and the man is immediately sane, begins to talk, and can see again. He is completely restored to health. "Could this really be the 'Son of David?'" murmured an astonished crowd. They start to consider the reality of Jesus as Messiah, for there has been nothing like this in all of the history of Israel.
The Pharisees have discussed the topic and have a plan. Earlier they had bantered among themselves over the source of the power of Jesus, now they play the card, now they make it public, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons." They must have felt smug with pride in their well crafted answer to dissuade any thought of Jesus being a Son of David. Instead they prescribed Him to be a son of Satan. The source of the power of Jesus they say, is evil.
The statement really is ridiculous to consider. Jesus had showered love, mercy, and grace on people without any self-seeking motives. Jesus answers their ascertain by exposing the logical error of their thinking. Nations, kingdoms, states, and the courts of kings don't battle themselves. Satan doesn't drive out Satan anymore than Rome attempts to destroy Rome or Herod seeks to overthrow himself. The house of cards crashes before the wisdom of the Galilean Miracle-worker.
So they ask for a sign from heaven. They want to see the miraculous and then they'll believe. What have they been watching, you want to ask. Jesus will not "perform" on command a sign for these who oppose Him. "A wicked and adulterous generation,' He calls them. He then tells them of a sign to look for - the sign of Jonah. For three Jewish accounts of a day, the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth as Jonah was in the fish. It will be His most astonishing, outstanding, enduring, miracle - the death, burial, and resurrection for the souls of man. He will be the source for complete atonement, no more sacrifices to be made, no more rules fashioned as chains, no more captivity in sin.
On the darkest day of all history when the Savior died, God was never more in control of the outcome in spite of how things appeared. As the future leaders of the cause cowered behind locked doors, the plan was still in place, victory was only hours away. On our darkest days we would all do well to remember this great truth - that the source of the power of Jesus is still at work in this world and resides within those who believe. Draw on the power of the Spirit and live a life unhinged to the bondage of sin, unhindered by the barriers of the enemy, and in-line with the plan of the Father. There is no greater source.
A Chicken in Every Pot
(the feeding of the 4,000 and 5,000 - Matt. 14:15-21,15:32-38; Mark 6:35-44, 8:1-9; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:6-13)
During President Herbert Hoover's 1928 campaign he had several slogans - "A Vote for Prosperity," "Lest we Forget," and "Who but Hoover," are a few that no one long remembered. One slogan, which in fact was a paid newspaper ad that he never approved, has stood the test of time. According to the Hoover Presidential Library the ad read toward the end as follows regarding the exploits of President Hoover:
"...reduced hours, and increased earning capacity, silenced discontent, put the proverbial 'chicken in every pot', and car in every backyard, to boot."
A "chicken in every pot" was heard by all - it strikes a nerve that is rooted in the judgement of Adam after the fall. The origins of the statement trace back to King Henry the IV of France who in the seventeenth century was reported to have wished for a chicken in every pot for his peasants.
After the fall the ground had been cursed because of the sin of Adam. God told Adam that through painful toil he would work the ground for his food, and by the sweat of his brow he would eat (Gen. 3:17-19). Food hasn't truly been free since (you can get free food or not pay, but someone has worked or paid for it for you)... except the manna that fell from heaven, and two episodes where Jesus creates food from very little and feeds thousands.
Consider that one of the first things Jesus does after His baptism is to fast for 40 days and meet Satan in the Judean wilderness. In His weakened state, Satan asks Him to make bread from stones striking at the heart of the hunger and reversing a judgement of the fall. Jesus didn't capitulate then...so why does He feed thousands from food that amounts to a small lunch later?
I find it interesting that the feeding of the 4,000 gets so little credit. Mention only by Mark and Matthew, the 4,000 stands in the long shadow of the feeding of the 5,000, which is the only miracle that finds the pages of all four Gospels. They are similar episodes as the sick, lame, blind, and possessed flock to Jesus. In the feeding of the 4,000 for three days they came and were healed and heard the Master - some staying the entire time without food, hence the need for the miracle. In the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus had just received the news that John the Baptist had been beheaded while the disciples were on mission. Jesus withdrew to remote place, but people flocked to where He was. In both cases, Jesus has compassion on the crowds. He heals. He restores. And, then He creates food. Why? Because, He had compassion on them. He loved them. In one case, many had been listening for three days (think about that next time you check your watch if the pastor gets a little bit long and your stomach is growling for food). And, with the 5,000 they were in a remote place, even if Jesus had dismissed them at such a late hour many would have gone without food.
This is the high water mark of His popularity. After the feeding of the 5,000 it is a short time until the "Bread of Life Discourse" and the desertion of many followers (Jn. 6:25-71). The miracles diminish as well. Mass healings are almost non-existent, He begins to travel more in the South and less in Galilee, He seems to withdraw from the limelight, eventually setting His face toward Jerusalem and the reason He came.
In the future there will no longer be any curse (Rev. 22:3a), and the tree of life will be with us again. It will bear 12 crops of fruit each month and the leaves of it's branches will heal the nations as it literally spans the width of the river of life pouring from the throne of God. No longer will we toil with a cursed earth, or eat by the sweat of our brow. There may not be a chicken in every pot, but choice fruit that lasts forever will be served daily.
Great Faith
Matt. 15:21-28; Mk. 7:24-30
After the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus was met in the morning upon His return by a huge crowd of people. The sick, the lame, the dying, and possessed all came and all were healed. This episode along with the feeding of the 4,000 will mark some of the last recorded mass healings in the Gospels. John says in effect that many in that crowd on the morning of His return were some of the same people that had been fed the afternoon before. They are looking for another free meal, and when Jesus offers His flesh and blood they turn away in droves. So do many of His disciples.
This period in the ministry of Jesus is marked by fewer public appearances. He withdraws and searches for remote places. The sharp pain of losing the forerunner John the Baptist is there, as is the reality that Herod has now turned his attention to Jesus. The Pharisees are plotting all the more to kill him, and His brothers don't believe in him - even thinking He is mad (see Mark 3:21 and John 7:3-5). Jesus is a marked man in every sense of the word. Both Matthew and Mark record a journey north to the region beyond Mount Hermon, to Sidon and Tyre. Mark says that upon His arrival, Jesus enters a house doing everything He could so that no one would know who He was or His whereabouts. However, nearby lived a Syrohenician Greek Canaanite mother with a daughter possessed.
We don't know how she found out where or even who Jesus was, but she does, and it is crystal clear that this mother is absolutely sure that the Miracle-worker from Galilee can save her daughter. It is one of the most unique encounters of any miracle in the New Testament.
The lady must have come running in the house desperate, for she cries out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon possession." Her background is full of pagan belief. They didn't doubt the presence of demons and in some cases worshiped them as they did many other spiritual entities they called gods. In this case, the mother is placing all that belief aside and coming to the One she has heard so much about even up in her land of the north. She even refers to Jesus as 'Son of David' a clear and undeniable reference to the Jewish Messianic idea.
As she makes her presence known, Jesus does something we don't like. He ignores her - Matthew says that Jesus doesn't say a word. Not to be dissuaded, she continues to cry out for help. Finally, the disciples can handle no more of this and go to Jesus, "Master, send her away, she just keeps on crying out after us." Notice that they didn't say, "Lord, help this lady, please!" No, they want her sent away, after all - she is not one of them.
Jesus then says, "I was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel." The implication is clear - she was not born in the right place to be helped. Maybe He was testing her, maybe not, we can't be sure, nor could she.
In response the mother moves closer, she falls on her knees before the Miracle-worker and pleads, "Lord, Please help me!"
The disciples must have rolled their eyes, why doesn't Jesus just send this pagan away, they must have thought. Jesus then gives a biting rebuke, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." Under his breath, Peter must have said, "You tell her, Lord," surely this pagan mother will leave now.
She has been ignored, rejected by her nationality, and insulted being associated with dogs, but this lady will not give up. She will not relent. "Yes Lord," she says, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Do you see her there on her knees, crying, begging, pleading, before Jesus? Her humility is palpable, her persistence is noteworthy, and love for her daughter evident beyond denial. She readily accepts being called a dog, because her faith in who she kneels before and her great love for her daughter will not allow her to leave.
Jesus proclaims, "Woman, you have great faith!" Don't miss the exclamation point. Great faith always thrills Jesus. Strange that two of the greatest examples of faith came from gentiles like this mother and the Roman Centurion. "For such a reply, your request is granted, you may go, the demon has left your daughter."
Mission accomplished.
Tell me friends, how does your faith measure up to that of the pagan mother? Would you endure the barriers she faced and keep believing as she did? How many prayer requests have you stopped bringing before the King - no longer believing He will answer in some way? I hope you find encouragement today from this incredible mother.
I think Jesus had this mother in mind when he told a parable about a persistent widow much later (Luke 18:1-8). The point of that lesson according to Luke was to 1) always pray and 2) never give up (Luke 18:1). That sounds like a solid plan of action.
Faith + Prayer =
Mark 9:14-29; Matt. 17:14-21; Luke 9:37-45
Peter had made his great confession that Jesus of Nazareth was none other than the Anointed One, the Christ, the expected Jewish Messiah. Then came the mount of Transfiguration, where Jesus revealed the image of His heavenly self to His inner three - James, John, and Peter. Many of the lists of the miracles have the Transfiguration listed, but this brief glimpse at the deity of Christ is far less of a miracle than His descent into humanity. Sure, it was a sign of who He was, but more I believe it was a specific lesson to those three disciples. They were the only ones invited as was the case at the raising of the daughter of Jarius, and will be the case as Jesus needs to pray in the garden the night of His arrest.
The next day after the glorious revealing, Jesus, James, Peter, and John descend the mountain to discover a commotion among the crowd. The teachers of the Law were there with the remaining disciples arguing about something. When the crowd sees Jesus they all come running over, and Jesus asks what is the argument all about. A man steps forward, falls to the ground on his knees and tells Jesus of the spirit that is afflicting his son. The boy has constant seizures, which cause all manner of problems. Sometimes he falls into water, sometimes fire, and sometimes to the ground foaming from the mouth. He gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid, which is never a good thing if you're in the water. The other disciples had attempted to drive out this evil spirit to no avail. They failed and I'm sure the teachers of the Law and the rest of the brood of vipers knew exactly why this was the case.
Jesus replies with biting words, "Oh, unbelieving generation, how long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." Commentaries offer differing views on who Jesus was talking about - was it that entire generation of the Jews, the boy's father, or the disciples? Yes, all the above. Just how many times had Jesus addressed the disciples with the words, "Oh, ye of little faith..." Faith, after all, is the one gigantic requirement of Christ. He doesn't have us keep the Law, go through rituals, checklists, adhere to the oral tradition, burn offerings for sacrifice, or the like, but He does require belief. Salvation is by grace through faith, Paul would write securing the matter solidly into doctrine (Eph. 2:9). The writer of Hebrews would even say that the only way to please God - is faith (Heb. 11:6). On this day, Jesus is looking for faith, and He is not finding much, hence the rebuke.
They bring the boy to Jesus and immediately he goes into convulsions and seizures flopping about on the ground like a fish out of water with foam flying from his mouth. Jesus turns to the boy's father and asks, "How long has he been like this?"
From childhood is the answer, and then the request, "If you CAN do anything, take pity on us and help us."
"If you can?" Jesus replies. "Everything is possible for him who believes (faith)."
Mark says that the father of the boy answers immediately, "I do believe! Help me overcome my unbelief!" Man, you've got to respect the honesty of this father. In truth, unbelief attacks all believers. The enemy confronts us with whispers of skepticism and shouts at us with science and reason. Oh, to be as honest this man in prayer to God would be a good thing, and by the way, He knows your heart anyway - if you are struggling with doubt, guess what? Yes, He already knows. Take the example of this father and confess it before the Lord in prayer.
Jesus heals the boy.
The story, however, is far from finished. The disciples crowd around Jesus and ask, "Lord, why couldn't we drive out that spirit?" The answer from Jesus comes in two parts as you harmonize the Gospels. Matthew focuses on faith, and Mark on prayer. Jesus tells them that faith can move mountains, and some things can only be done through prayer. To complete the formula then that is the title of this devotion:
Faith + Prayer = Power and Clarity
It is faith in Christ that empowers every Christian to accomplish the things they are called to do, and it is prayer that evokes the God of heaven to action in answered prayer, and where we remain centered in his will. Faith without prayer could cause you to move the wrong mountain. Prayer without faith is like an engine with no fuel. Prayer can help overcome your unbelief, faith can draw you away from yourself, the whispers, and shouts, and toward the One through whom all things are possible (Phil. 4:13).
Jesus is looking for faith in this generation same as long ago and every generation since. I pray we all grow in faith by constant prayer. It is the formula for living as Christ intended.
Taxation
Matt. 17:24-27
Death and taxes are the two guarantees of life according to the old adage. As we've studied, Jesus raised the dead and through His resurrection dispelled the sting of death. But, what about taxes?
Certainly taxes are a major debate in our society today spawning a new political faction based on a little party they had in Boston over taxes that set a course for revolution. Everyone has an opinion, some more than one!
In the first century the folks were taxed to death. You had the Roman Empire to support, so they got their cut, you had Herod in all his palaces as a puppet king - he got his cut, and you had unscrupulous tax collectors who would skim off the top for their own pockets. Oh, and don't worry about what Rome thought of that, the Romans could care less as long as they got there allotment. Basically, everything that moved was taxed. Loads, animals, roads, produce, people, hides, and there was a temple tax. Although the Gospels don't speak to how Jesus paid taxes as He traveled, we can easily assume He did pay. There were people with wealth that traveled with Him providing money, and Judas was the treasurer, a thief according to John, and Philip, we believe, was the administrator. Who else but Philip could have sized up the situation of the feeding of the 5,000 and give an answer on the spot of the money it would take to feed what he saw.
The scene for today's miracle finds the group returning to home base - Capernaum. There had been a lot of travel to distant places lately, and I'm sure there was some relief in being in a familiar place. Upon their arrival home, tax collectors approached Peter and asked him if Jesus paid the temple tax of two drachma, about two days wages. The tax was applied from Old Testament Law (Ex. 30:11-16) where all males over 20 years of age were to pay a half shekel as an offering for atonement for the use of service to the tent of meeting. In the 1st century the tax was used for the maintenance of the temple, thus the more common name - the temple tax. Peter didn't hesitate in his answer, Jesus pays the tax, he says.
When Peter goes into the house, Jesus already knows what has been talked about and he wants to share some wisdom with Peter, the ever volatile leader of the 12. He asks Peter if the sons of the kings of the earth are required to pay a tax to their father or is the tax collected from others. Peter knew the princes of the world were exempt from tax, no - the burden of bearing the expenses of the kingdoms of earth has always fallen on the backs of the common folk. Jesus would assert the sons of kings are exempt and in effect, "So are we, but..."
An English teacher once told me that when you see the conjunction "but" in a sentence, pay attention to what comes next, which always trumps what came first. Jesus says, "...but so we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. The first fish you catch will have a four drachma coin in its mouth. Take it, and give it to them for my tax and yours."
We often want a Jesus that will offend, so did the common folk of the 1st century. They were ready for a revolution and they wanted Jesus to be the revolutionary, but that wasn't why He came. Paul would command us to submit to the authority of government and be exemplary citizens (Rom. 13:1-3). Jesus told Pilate that he would have no power if that power had not been granted from above (Jn. 19:11).
So, Peter would go fishing and catch tax money. In many ways it was as if Jesus was saying - I'll watch out for you, you just do what is right.
A life-long friend of mine just wrote an excellent article on Matt. 10:16...
"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." It was a lesson Peter had to learn, for he was the guy to draw his sword and fight, just ask Malchus (Jn. 18:10). We would rather be as shrewd as snakes and as fierce as lions. Instead, we must be good citizens - shrewd and discerning, but as loving as a dove. Evangelism, telling the "good story" (Gospel) requires this Christ-like command.
For more on Matt. 10:16 see:
www.russellmckinney.com
Look for the blog on "Wise as Serpents, Harmless as Doves.
Signs of the Supernatural: Part 5 Lesser Miracles
Mark 7:31-37; 8:22-26, Luke 13:10-17; 14:1-6
In writing this series I wasn't sure to be exhaustive in my reference to the miracles, present them in order as best we know, or only focus on a few. Some miracles seem more profound than other miracles, some continue to make the same point, and some just seem to be lesser miracles. I hate that description as I write it, but in an effort to be exhaustive, I come to an impasse where the story of four people, who may get lost in the mix, must be told.
On the way out of Tyre after the healing of the Canaanite mother Jesus went northeast of Galilee into the region of the ten great cities known as the Decapolis. As in Tyre and Sidon, people there knew of His exploits and a group travels out to meet Jesus bringing a man who was deaf and could hardly say a word. Mark says they begged Jesus to place His hands on the man. Jesus removes the man from the crowd and takes him to a private place. Once out of the lime light Jesus spits and touches his tongue, and puts His fingers in the man's ears. Then, looking up to heaven Jesus says, "Be opened," and the man is healed of his condition. As was often the case Jesus asks the people to be quiet about what happened, and as was often the case - they did not or could not. People were again amazed and astonished.
Not long after the feeding of the 4,000, Jesus came to Bethsaida near the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee, and the people there brought a man who was blind to Jesus. The actions were the same as with the deaf man: they begged and pleaded for Jesus to touch the man and make him well. Much like the deaf man, Jesus takes him away from the crowd. Leading him by the hand Jesus leaves the village. When they were thoroughly removed from the village Jesus again spat, this time on the mans eyes. He places His hands on him and the miracle is only partially successful. The man can see things, but they are distorted. People are elongated like some fun house mirror appearing to the man as trees. Jesus repeats the process and the man's sight is restored to perfection. Jesus then instructs the man not to go back into the village. We have no idea if he did, didn't, or whatever happened next.
Luke shares a story of a woman who had been crippled for 18 long years. She was bent over at the waist and there was no way she could straighten her body. Jesus encounters her in an unnamed synagogue somewhere on the road to some place else. It is a Sabbath day and the critics of Jesus are watching His every move. Jesus sees the woman and recognizes her condition as an entrapment of a spirit. Instead of initially touching as He had done with the blind man and the deaf man, Jesus proclaims her free of her infirmity. Then placing His hands on her, not outside of town, not away from the crowd, but right in the midst of the Sabbath church-going people for all to see, she immediately straightens for the first time in 18 years and praises God. The tired argument of healing (see previous devotions where this was misconstrued as work) on the Sabbath ensues. Again the failed logic of the opposition is exposed before the truth and grace of Christ. Luke says they are humiliated, but the common church- going people rejoice.
Not long after the healing of the crippled woman, Jesus was invited to the home of one of the opposition. Not just anyone, the host was a very prominent Pharisee. Luke notes that Jesus was being very carefully watched by the those at the meal - Pharisees and experts of the Law. Jesus notices that a man suffering from retaining body fluid, called dropsy, is in front of Him. Was he planted? The bait dangling from the hook? The opposition watching the line for any signs? The scene definitely has that feel. Jesus asks if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath. This is old territory, they had been humiliated in answer to this question before, so they just sit there and say nothing. Luke says Jesus literally took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. Jesus again explains grace and truth when it came to healing on the Sabbath, and Luke says the opposition had nothing to say. They just sit there indignant, hardened, and refusing to believe.
There is nothing less about these miracles. They are just as dramatic as any of the others. For a woman who had known only the oppression of an evil spirit that contorted her body making life miserable, she was restored to health as joints loosened, ligaments elasticized, and muscle tissue relaxed. This miracle was not less to her. For a man who couldn't hear or hardly speak, who could not have dialog with another human being, he is given this ability. No more hand gesturing, trying to read lips, or frustration in communication. Ear drums are opened and words form perfectly. His miracle was not less to him. For a man carrying the burden of extra fluid in the tissues and cavities of his body, he is drained of the excess. The fluid leaves his body and he can breath without struggle, eat without discomfort, and live moving about without the excess baggage. His miracle is not less to him. And, finally a man blind who could only see darkness is healed of his blindness. Light penetrates his eyes and is not distorted any longer. Being able to see is in no way less to him.
These four remind me that the miracle of Jesus in a person's life is never less. You may not have a grace story like Paul, a road to Damascus moment, or a come to Jesus moment like Thomas, but the miracle is no less to you. What has He done for you? The answer my friends is your very own miracle.
9 Men Out
Luke 17:11-19
Jesus rarely went around the bad neighborhood. When traveling to and from Galilee we have more evidence He went through Samaria than went around it, and going around it was the common practice of the day. I can hear the disciples, "Oh no, here we go through Samaria again." It was James and John after all who would want to bring fire down from heaven and destroy a village in Samaria (Lk. 9:54). James and John are probably ready to ask again.
Luke says they were just on the border between Samaria and Galilee when ten lepers called out from a distance. They were told by society - do not come close, you are unclean, you are cursed, so don't make anyone else unclean. To be a leper in the first century categorized you as something less than human (see previous devotion on healing the leper). From afar they called out in a loud voice, "Jesus! Master! Have pity on us!"
Jesus turns and looks and sees the rag tag, sore covered, bleeding, diseased group. They were together the ten, maybe they had heard Jesus was around and banded together or maybe they communed together. Their condition brought them together for no one else would come near. "Unclean! Unclean!", they would announce to warn the surrounding travelers. There is no indication that Jesus came near, from a distance He tells them to go show themselves to the priest. He doesn't heal them right there, and they can't even get in to see the priest unless they are healed, so they leave and go on their way. Along the way the sores must have started drying up, wretched skin became clear again, hands had feeling as nerves are supernaturally repaired. "As they went, they were cleansed."
Sometime later only one returns. The group of ten thrown together by the sharing of their disease are now separated. Each has gone their own way - mainly because they can. No longer are they trapped only to be with their own kind. The one who returns does so praising God (loudly). He comes before Jesus and literally throws himself down before the feet of Jesus thanking Him. Luke makes the point that the former leper was a Samaritan.
Jesus asks where the others are, but no answer is recorded. It sounds more rhetorical than inquiring, for Jesus knows the answer, but makes the larger point. The one is the only one thankful and praising God. Then Jesus says, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." All were cleansed - "katharizo - to make clean in a Levitical sense." Only one was made well - "sozo - to be rescued from peril or destruction." The latter is the greater miracle, because the spiritual recognition of who Jesus was had saved his soul - the rest were only cleansed or rescued from their temporary peril as awful as it was. It was his faith that brought him back to Jesus, to search and find Him, to leave the others, and to find the One who had the power to overcome his circumstances. The leper saw the sign, felt the cleansing, and then understood by faith who Jesus was. This faith brought him rejoicing and thankful before the Master, who pronounced him "sozo." Jesus still makes those of faith "sozo."
Sign of Sin
John chapter 9
The man had never seen color. He never gazed upon the green of spring, the shimmering blue water of the sea, the adobe desert, or the brilliance of gold and marble that made up the temple. He never knew shape. He knew by feel the way a nose rested on the face, a tassel hung on a robe, leaves clung to a branch, or the way a cup held wine. Society didn't take care for those who couldn't take care of themselves in the first century. They were left to their own devices. This man was a beggar pleading with folks he heard pass by for whatever they could spare. The prominent teachers of the day would say that the infirm, crippled, blind, and lame were that way because of sin. They believed that even in the womb the unborn could sin, so every birth defect was the result of unborn sin, or even worse the sin of the parents. Whatever the case, those who had to resort to begging where examples of sin, signs of sin, and they were shunned, save a few who would toss a coin their way or give them something to eat.
Jesus and the group happened upon this man somewhere, we aren't told where. One of the disciples asked (probably Simon Peter), "Teacher, who sinned? This man or his parents that he is born blind?" The question is not an open ended question, it is multiple choice: 1) him or 2) parents.
Jesus has a "write-in" answer, "Neither, this man nor his parents sin caused this, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." Now Jesus may have only been talking about this man, but the response seems to cover much more ground. Could it be then that all who encounter misfortune are merely great examples of faith and dependence upon God waiting to happen? The truth is that some of the most faithful people you'll ever meet are folks in the worst circumstances. In our own lives when misfortune befalls us, we are quick to hit our knees and discover renewed dependence upon God.
Jesus then spits upon the ground and makes mud. He puts the mud on the beggar's eyes and instructs him to go to the pool of Siloam and wash. The man does as instructed and goes home seeing. Can you imagine the world coming to life for the first time for him.
Again, Jesus heals on the Sabbath and the authorities bring the formerly blind man in for questioning. What ensues is a witch-hunt that goes from inquiring about how the man was cured of blindness, to questioning his parents, to eventually casting the man out of the synagogue. The man cured of blindness one day is excommunicated the next.
Jesus hears that they have thrown the man out, and seeks him. Upon finding the man, Jesus asks him if he believes, so again he is being questioned. The questions are still centered on belief in Jesus, but this time excommunication is not the sentence. The man born blind, who never saw who healed him, professes faith in Christ and worships Him. (Son of Man was a messianic term, but by worshiping Christ the man is viewing Him as God.) The result of this round of questioning is eternal inclusion; eternal salvation.
Jesus did not come into the world to judge, but to save. However, as He tells some Pharisees it is for judgment that He has come, for the eternal destiny of all rests on the answer to the question, "Do you believe?"
The Pharisees and even the disciples with their question of "Who sinned...", were looking for a sign of sin, but Jesus gave a sign of salvation. Some could see it, others could not. Some were blind, but came to see Him and the signs as clear indication of who He was, others who should have been most prepared to accept Him by His signs now end up spiritually blind. In the end, judgment hinges upon your answer. As C.S. Lewis wrote, there is no middle ground - Jesus either is who He said He is, or he is insane and/or evil.
Who do you say He is? Eternity hangs in the balance.
Seeing and Following
Matt. 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43
The two men just sat along the road and begged toward the darkness. Both blind, they had no means to support themselves, and the busy Wadi Qelt 17 miles from Jerusalem could produce. They were situated with Jericho down the road and up the road about one mile apart. One Jericho was the old ancient city, which lay in ruin, forever a marker of God's victory through Joshua. It would be excavated in the 1900's, and probably looked very much the same in the day of Jesus. Archeologists would be dumfounded to report that Jericho's walls had fallen outward not inward. City walls do not fall outward. However, when God knocks down walls, well, they fall as He pleases.
The new Jericho stood high above the ashes and rubble of the ancient Jericho. Herod had spared no expense in building what became a winter palace. His son Archelaus designed and built most of the city, and it lacked for nothing. In grand Hellenistic tradition there was a palace, a theater, Hippodrome, and fortress. It was expertly laid out and at almost 1,000 feet below sea level along the Jordan valley, Jericho was a delightful climate. The two blind men, one called Bartimaeus, called the area home along the road between the the old and the new. They were about to encounter a different sort of traveler.
The first sign that something big was happening was the crowd. They couldn't see it, but they could hear it. Hundreds of foot falls along the road. Something big was passing by, so they asked what was happening. Someone in the crowd responded, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." I imagine their hearts leaping in their throats. It is clear from what the blind beggars do next that they know of Jesus. Perhaps they had heard all the stories from the passers by over the last couple years, or been told by family who would pay a rare visit to them out on the road. Either way, Bartimaeus believes Jesus to be the Messiah, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
"Shhhhh...", rebukes the leading edge of the crowd to hush the common beggars. Not dissuaded, the beggars shout all the louder. Jesus stops and requests they be called over. The tune of the crowd changes immediately, "Cheer up! On your feet! Jesus is calling you!"
Could you imagine their joy? Mark says that Bartimaeus threw off his cloak and leaped to his feet. Matthew reports that the other man goes with him to see Jesus. Jesus asks them what they want Him to do for them. I'm not sure that was for the crowd's benefit or what, for certainly being healed of blindness was the want.
"Lord," they answered, "We want our sight."
"Jesus replied, "Go, your faith has healed you." Instantaneously, their sight was restored.
Restoring the sight to the blind is the most repeated miracle we find in the Gospels. Bringing light to a dark world was a huge part of His coming. Of all our senses, sight is usually the most cherished, and Isaiah prophesied that healing blindness would be a sign of the Messiah (Isaiah 29:18,35:5 and 42:7).
We don't know what became of the man born blind in John 9. We know he professed Christ. We do know what Bartimaeus and his friend do. After being healed and seeing, they in turn begin to follow Jesus. They leave their forlorn spot along the road between the new and the old, and follow a different sort of king. You see, something new was going on with Jesus as well. A new covenant to fulfill the old. The road the beggars now walked upon was a road that eventually led back to the Father, reconciled by His righteousness, Atoned by His coming sacrifice, victorious in His resurrection...
The signs were many, and many missed the signs, but two blind beggars didn't miss what was happening. They may well have been counted among the 120 in the upper room that met and voted for the replacement of Judas.
Tipping the Scales
John 10:40-11:50
It was just like old times. Jesus and His followers had left the Jerusalem area and went back to where it all started in the wilderness across the Jordan where John the Baptist was baptizing in the beginning. There was not threat of stoning, no real opposition at all, just many who came and believed. It was as though they had gone back in time before the feeding of the 5,000 and for a short time is was popular in that place to be a follower of Jesus. As it turns out, the time is fleeting.
One day Jesus receives word that his dear friend Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, was very sick. They lived in Bethany which was less than two miles from Jerusalem just beyond the Mount of Olives on the road to Jericho. Jesus knows that Lazarus is so deathly ill he has already died, so he waits for two days and then announces the news that they are all going back to Judea. The disciples are dismayed. They explain that they had just fled Judea where the Jews had tried to stone Him. Why go back? Jesus finally tells them of the death of Lazarus and a prelude to what is to come when Jesus will "wake" him from his death. Thomas, the pessimist more than the doubter, greets this news with, "Let us also go, that we may die as well." It is with these words ringing in their ears that Jesus and His followers head back to Judea.
Martha has been scanning the road for signs of Jesus. It has been four days since Lazarus had died now laying in a tomb wrapped in grave cloth. She had sent word. Why did Jesus not come? She knew very well of His love for them, nothing made sense. Many people have come to support the family in mourning, and someone tells Martha that they see Jesus coming on the road. Martha drops everything and sprints out of the house to Jesus. Her words are somewhat stern to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Martha believed this, but Jesus asks her to believe something even more outlandish - that he will live again. She mistakes this statement as alluding to the resurrection. Then Mary arrives with a throng of people all mourning the loss of Lazarus. When Jesus sees Mary and the others, He is deeply moved in spirit and troubled greatly. After asking where Lazarus has been placed, Jesus weeps with His friends. Don't let that pass, Jesus knew what was about to happen, He was going to give a living breathing brother back to his family, but Christ is moved to tears as He sees those who mourn are moved to tears. Jesus is a Lord who will cry with you.
Jesus is led to a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. He instructs them to take the stone away. Martha protests this as Lazarus has been in the tomb four days, his body has started the decaying process and the stench will be unbearable. There is spiritual significance to the four days as well, for the Jews believed that the soul of the departed hung about the body for three days after death. By the fourth day, the soul had departed the body for eternity. In their minds Lazarus was as gone as Abraham.
Finally, the stone is removed. I'm certain many went for their noses to guard against the odor as Jesus prays, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent Me." At the conclusion of the prayer, in a loud voice Jesus calls Lazarus by name out of his entombment. Then in sheer astonishment a dumbfounded crowd looks on as a solitary figure wrapped in grave linen ambles out of the cave. No one knows what to do. Jesus literally has to tell them to unwrap the man and free him from his grave clothing.
This is an irrefutable sign. After four days in the tomb decaying tissue is now back to life, and many people come to understand and believe that Jesus is the Messiah. This sign spikes a popularity unrivaled by any other sign. The feeding of the 5,000 did the same, but that happened in Galilee far away from the holy city of Jerusalem. This miracle happens just over the hill and as Passover approaches the belief in Jesus as the Messiah takes off at a fever pitch.
The Jewish authorities quickly convene to combat this latest development. They will do whatever possible to make sure that the Jewish way of life, culture, laws, traditions, and Old Covenant beliefs do not meet an end. They know the danger of a rouge Messiah, there had been others, and Rome will not be opposed. So, they plot again to kill not only Jesus, but Lazarus as well. Unknowingly, Lazarus walks out of his grave a marked man for death. This sign tips the scales, the authorities are unified both Sadducee and Pharisee in eliminating Jesus. They wring their hands as the crowds adore Him upon His arrival for Passover week. It appeared to them that the whole kosmos now believes in Jesus. They will do whatever possible to make certain that the shouts of "Hosanna!" will soon become, "Crucify!"
Signs of the Supernatural: Part Six A Fruitless Curse
Matt. 21:19-22; Mark 11:20-24
It was early in the morning as Jesus made the walk back to Jerusalem from Bethany. Jesus being hungry saw a fig tree along the way and approached it as it was full of leaves. However, when Jesus searched over the branches He found no fruit. This angers Jesus and He says, "May you never bear fruit again!" Matthew says the tree immediately withers.
Skeptics often point out two problems with this miracle. 1) Mark says plainly that figs weren't in season, and 2) when did the disciples see the withered tree. Matthew says it withered immediately and Mark says the disciples didn't see it till the next morning.
First, you have to know something about fig trees to solve the first riddle. The time of year of Passover is always spring. Near the end of March and beginning of April a smaller edible product is produced on fig trees called taqsh in the Arabic. This fruit is much smaller, about the size of an almond, and they are a harbinger of the larger fruit to come. The taqsh grows as small knobs on the branches until they fully ripen and fall. A fully leaf-filled tree with no taqsh in the spring means no figs toward summer. The second issue is easily understood once you realize the disciples didn't see the fig tree wither. Perhaps they heard the curse of the tree from a distance and saw the withering the next day. Matthew doesn't specifically say when they see it, only that they do see it. These apparent contradictions are explainable. Don't let any discomfort with the reporting conceal the truth this miracle has to share to us.
At first glance you have to ask, why on earth would Jesus curse the fig tree? Dare I say, it almost seems like a childish reaction to the cookie jar being empty. Since Jesus is all powerful why didn't he bless the tree with miraculous fruit instead of cursing it never to be fruitful? The lesson of faith could still be taught couldn't it? There are several reasons.
In a symbolic way the tree reflects the nation of Israel, and this is the week the nation will reject the Savior Messiah. The nation chosen by God to be a blessing to all nations through Christ, the fruit offered as atonement for our sins, is simply a tree laden with leaves that looks good, but doesn't offer anything beyond the looks. They had the Law, and as great as it was it merely pointed to a Savior like the leaves indicate fruit. Perhaps the greatest Pharisee that Israel ever created said it best in his letter to the Romans, "For what the Law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering..." (Rom. 8:3)
Now bring the symbolism to our current time. Hypocrisy is at the top of almost every survey you will read that asks non-Christians why they don't attend church. When Jesus saw the tree it looked like the real deal. When non-believers see a church-goer some may look like the real deal. Some dress up nice, belt out the songs, say amen during the sermon, pray in their Sunday-school class, and have a knowledge of the Bible. However, the non-believer then sees the church-goer on Monday night at the strip club, at the ball game cursing an ump, at work letting anger overcome them, cheating on their spouse, giving in to discord, hatred, jealously, selfish ambition, envy, etc. I'm not talking about a once in a blue moon occurrence of weakness, but an ongoing lifestyle of disobedience. Their limbs are full of leaves but there is no love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
The final lesson from the miracle is a lesson of belief and faith. Jesus would say it starts in the heart where by the way the Spirit of God resides in the Christian. There in the heart where God's sovereign will and our obedience collide, we are given notions that we will either embrace in full belief or struggle to believe. Jesus made a point to say that if faith is fully embraced and God's will is completely believed in, then nothing is impossible. Truly, mountains will be moved.
So, when Jesus cursed the fruitless fig tree, He was just making sure than no future travelers would be deceived. He stripped the tree of the illusion so the passing-by world could transparently see, that it was no source of fruit. Eventually the counterfeit Christian is exposed as well, sometimes in this life, but definitely on the Great Day of the Lord. Now would be good time to search your own branches. Does Jesus see any fruit?
The Last Healing
Matt. 26:51; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:50; John 18:10
The scene is intense. Basically an army armed to the hilt has shown up to arrest the Galilean Miracle-Worker in a grove of olive trees. Facing the mob are the rag-tag disciples and Jesus, who is betrayed by a kiss from one of His own. Several of the disciples have procured swords, and on the hip of Simon Peter there is a short sword. He is more than ready to use it, after all he professed to Jesus he would die for Him earlier in the evening. Jesus had responded to Peter's bravado with a prophesy of denial. In Peter's mind he is determined that that will not happen tonight as he grips the sword and makes ready.
When Jesus identifies Himself as Jesus of Nazareth with the divine proclamation, "I am He," the army falls to the ground from a supernatural force. Perhaps their numbers and arms have truly been well advised. As they seize Jesus, Simon Peter pulls his sword from a sheath and aims for the head of the servant of the high priest, Malchus. Being a fisherman and not a soldier the aim is poor. The ear of the servant of the high priest is severed, but his head is still attached. Jesus rebukes Peter then touches the bloody mass where the ear of Malchus used to be. When His hand moves away, the ear is restored, Jesus is taken away, and the followers flee the scene. Swords are forgotten.
As a servant to the high priest, Malchus would have been privy to all the Jesus discussions. I wonder what he thought at that moment when the Miracle-Worker touched him and healed his severed ear? You must admit that he would appear to be a likely candidate for a future believer. The crucifixion of Jesus is very public (Paul would testify in Acts that "it didn't happen in a corner"), and Malchus would have known the details. He would have also heard the strange reports of a risen Christ. He may have even been there when the guards were paid off and told to tell others that the disciples had stolen the body. He had two good ears to hear all of this, but an exhaustive search of early church history reveals no sign of a St. Malchus. He appears on the pages of His-story in a 15 second flash, and is never mentioned (that I can find) again. A Roman Soldier will say, "Surely this is the Son of God." A common thief will believe as he dies on a cross. And, the Pharisee of all Pharisees will have an encounter on a northern road, and go on to travel the empire for the sake of Christ.
The truth is we don't know what happened to Malchus. He may have been numbered in the altar call of Peter's first sermon as 3,000 profess belief. Only a few of the first believers are recorded in the Bible and not many more in early church history. There names are lost to the ages. However, their names aren't lost to the Man who was arrested in the garden. So, it could be that the name of Malchus adorns the pages of the book of life. I'd like to think so as a result of the last healing of the Miracle-Worker.
This last healing sign seems to get lost, only Luke records the physical healing, only John mentions the name of the injured or the swinger of the sword. In my mind it is just one more powerful message of the absolute love of Christ. On that night where He had prayed earlier drenched in sweat as blood feeling the weight of His calling, and as He is being taken captive, deserted by His followers, only hours from an excruciating torture...the Messiah takes a brief moment to love the slave of the high priest - the slave from the camp of the opposition.
We can research all the signs and discover great theological truths, this one is no different. At the heart of all the healing signs is God's love for His greatest creation who were fashioned in His own image - us. That a perfect God, holy and righteous beyond reproach could love us, is the greatest miracle of them all.
Nice Catch
John 21:1-11
Peter was ready to go fishing. He was ready for a fall-back plan, and he knew what to expect with a net in his hands.
"I'm going out to fish," he said.
"We'll go with you," chimed in James, John, Thomas, Nathanael, and two more.
It had been a short time since the night Peter wielded his sword. In spite of his most determined effort, Peter denied his Lord around the fires of the courtyard. Shame and disgust has mounted upon his heart, and he just wants to find something to do, something comfortable and easy. He grabs his net and with six of his closest companions, they toil on the water all night fishing. And, all night, every time they raise the net out of the water it is empty. However, they don't quit.
As early morning breaks there is a Stranger on the shore. He calls out to the exhausted fishermen, "Friends, have you caught any fish!"
"No," they reply.
The Stranger offers some advice. "Then throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." This must have been frustrating. I'm certain that most if not all the disciples in the boat thought, "What does this guy know? We've been out here all night. I am sure we covered that little stretch on the right side of the boat." Probably not acting out of a sense of obedience, but most likely to prove the Stranger wrong, the seven disciples toss the net on the right side of the boat. The net settles down into the water and at the right moment the fishermen begin to tug the net back up, and to their sheer amazement - they feel a great weight in the net. It is absolutely full of fish.
John immediately knows what is going on. This has all happened before. A futile night of fishing had ended in the same manner a few years back, and John knows who is on the beach. He strains his eyes to compensate for the 100 yard distance, but there is no need to confirm by sight, "It is the Lord!"
Immediately Peter lets go of the net, puts on his outer garment, and dives into the sea of Galilee - swimming for the shore for all he is worth. He arrives as the others row in towing the net full of fish. There is Jesus, fire started, bread baking, and fish roasting. Breakfast is ready. He asks them to bring some of the fish, and it is Peter who goes and gets the net full of 153 fish. It doesn't tear.
This last miracle recorded in John speaks to who God has created us to be. Peter was no longer a fisherman, but a fisher of men regardless of his failures. When he reverted back to his old profession, he found no comfort, no ease, no peace, and no results. Jesus would prove to him again with the same sign he did before, basically stating that He controls the results - Peter (and us) must merely follow His will for our lives. For even when they got to shore, Jesus already had fish on the fire. Jesus has created us all specifically for a calling, and gifted us with various gifts that compliment that calling - to go in His name and witness to those who don't know Him, those who only can see a stranger on the beach. Some are called to go around the world. Others are called to go to work and be beacon of light there, or down the street, across the tracks downtown, or to places where the hurting, desperate, hopeless, sick, elderly, motherless, fatherless, or guilt ridden may be found. It could be a group of boys on a baseball field, a team of girls on the soccer field, tiny babies in a church nursery, a group of high school youth needing a mentor, etc. Many are the needs and various is the calling. He once said the fields are white with harvest...they still are... grab your net and come on.
Purpose
When we began this survey of the miracles called signs, we asked some difficult questions about them. Why so many? Why so few? Why any at all? Why did many get healed, but not John the Baptist? What was the purpose of the miracles? What was he trying to teach from across the ages about them?
As we have studied each account I know we can't answer all these questions. I did tend to get lost in them. By the third week, I too started to feel somewhat ambivalent. I can understand why the bible of Thomas Jefferson that is on display at the Smithsonian has the miracles marked out: they make Jesus much more dangerous than his teachings, which weren't that docile either. The miracles point to a power that is beyond our realm, they confront us with the unexplained. In our world since science and reason have taken hold (Jefferson was victim to this as well) we aren't comfortable with things we can't explain. If you can't put it in a formula or explain it with reason, then our world gets really uncomfortable with the topic. C.S. Lewis noted in God in the Dock, that some of the miracles of Jesus don't contradict science, but speed up things, "Some of the miracles do locally what God does universally. God creates the vine, teaches it to draw up water by its roots and, with the aid of the sun, to turn that water into a juice which will ferment and take on certain qualities. Thus every year from Noah's time till ours, God turns water into wine." Likewise, natural antibodies and antigens heal our bodies every day, albeit at a much slower less sensational manner than what Jesus did. This is funny to me, we look desperately for an explanation - as though any of these suffice, and over look the true meaning of the signs. Hold on to that thought...
One thing that I learned in writing this devotional series was that Jesus did not do miracles on command. He turned down every request to dazzle. It appears that the first intention with most of the miracles narrowed to the person involved, and was less about the crowd. Though He turned down the circus request my math tells me that miracles happened all the time, there wasn't too few. For example we found about 36 miracles in our survey of the Gospels. The ministry of Jesus happened for about three years after baptism by John until He ascended. This equates to one recorded miracle per month and several were mass healings. Not to mention - scripture is clear that not all were recorded. The sunset healing involved all the sick, possessed, and diseased in Capernaum (Luke 4:40). The morning after the feeding of the 5,000 as Jesus lands on shore, people bring folks from that entire region, some on mats, to meet Him. They followed Him into towns and villages and even those who touched his robe came away healed. This would have been thousands (Mark 6:53-56). Before the Sermon on the Plain there is a power radiating from Jesus that healed those who could merely touch Him. Luke says this crowd was diverse, from Sidon and Tyre in the north to all of Judea in the south. The number of healed is not given (Luke 6:17-19). Matthew records that at the feeding of the 4,000, great crowds came to him bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others and He healed them (Matt. 15:30-31). It was John who said that all the books of the world did not have the capacity to hold the exploits of the three year mission of Jesus (John 21:25).
Jesus would do more in three years than most lifetimes. He would act in miracles, and not all could be explained away even by sped up science. His power over death struck a chord with all and points to a time when death did not exist in Eden and a time in the future where death is dead. Lazarus was raised and the whole world went after Jesus, therefore positioning Him for passion week. Lazarus was a marked man for death and is one of the few people on earth who have ever had to die twice. Most all of the signs point to the time before and the time to come as Jesus turned back this fallen world and all the curses of sickness, disease and possession. It proves a point that God is no more thrilled with the situation than we are, and He sent the Solution for those who will accept Him. In my view Jurgen Moltmann hits the nail on the head when he says in his book, The Way of Jesus Christ, "Jesus' healings are not supernatural miracles in a natural world. They are the only truly 'natural' things in a world that is unnatural, demonized, and wounded." Amen.
In closing, the aged Apostle John summed it up best when he wrote his Gospel years after the others. At the conclusion of the telling of Jesus appearing to Thomas, John reflects on all the miraculous signs he had seen and why he and others had seen them:
"Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name."
You see, the miracles point to more than a rabbi, more than a great speaker, more than a philosopher, more than an earthly king, more than a man with great power... The miracles pull us into the realm I mentioned earlier, and force us to consider the incarnation - God in the flesh, the Messiah, the one Micah said whose origin was from the days of eternity (Micah 5:2). There is only one word that makes the whole mission have any meaning. That word is LOVE. God so loved...He sent..., and the signs were proof.
This series of devotions on the signs of the supernatural power of Jesus Christ is dedicated to the memory of Cleveland Blount. One day Cleveland wound up in the turning lane to our church and as parking attendants motioned him on in, he supposed that he was being guided to our church. How true that turned out to be! He eventually found his way to my life group that I teach, and proceeded to profoundly impact our lives with his faith. Cleveland passed away suddenly during the writing of this series. We will sorely miss him, but how he blessed us will live on.
-Malcolm Woody