Are we right, or are we right beside the pool?
The 6th Chronological healing recorded in the Gospels marks the beginning of the 2nd year of Jesus’ ministry. Healing #6 is what my NIV study Bible calls “The Healing at the Pool.” John’s Gospel is the only of the 4 to record it. John only recorded a few of the healing that Jesus performed so we better queue in.
John 5:1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "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."
8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."
11 But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' "
12 So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?"
13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Just a quick note of interest: you may have noticed that there is no verse 4. I almost always use the NIV; it’s just easier to read and it’s rumored to be better translated from the original text. The NIV left verse 4 out because it’s translators felt that verse 4 was inserted by a later copyist to explain why people waited by the pool. Most other versions do go with verse 4, well except for the Message which didn’t really break up any of the verses by a numeral indicator. One commentator on this subject stated that “verses 3 and 7 could not be properly understood without verse 4. Also, at the excavation site of the pool of Bethesda, archaeologists found a faded fresco on the wall depicting an angel and water.” Anyway enough wasting time; let’s get to the meat of the story.
In this story we have 3 types of people, you decide which group you fall into. The first group is those in need of healing (i.e., the sick). Second we have the rule enforcers; they are right in what they say but they’re missing the real issue. Third we have the one who has phenomenal poolside manners. We’ll look at all 3.
The 1st Group: The Sick
John 5:3 said a great number of disabled people hung out at this pool. The AMP Bible put it this way: “In these lay a great number of sick folk--some blind, some crippled, and some paralyzed (shriveled up)--waiting for the bubbling up of the water.” You can say this pool was a hospital of sorts. All of these people were poolside waiting desperately for their healing. In Verse 5 we find the main subject of this story. We don’t know how old the man was at this time of the story, but we do know that he was sick for 38 years. Again, the AMP Bible says in verse 5 that this guy “had suffered with a deep-seated and lingering disorder for thirty-eight years.” How do you properly and Christian-ly say: That Sucks! Thirty-eight years is a long time to be in that condition. Do you realize that this guy had been sick longer than Jesus had been alive? Jesus was probably 31 by now. I am sure this sick guy tried everything to get well and this pool was his last hope. This pool was either people’s shortcut or last hope to health. Because of the way verse 7 reads, I believe it was this guy’s last hope. He’s desperately miserable.
We’ll leave that group right there; on to the next.
The 2nd Group: The Rule Enforcers
We don’t know how long he, the sick guy, had been poolside by the time of his healing but from reading into this story I think it’s safe to assume that the rule enforcers had no idea how long either. As a matter of fact, I don’t believe they knew who he was. Here, let’s read verse 10: “and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, ‘It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.’” If they knew this guy and his prior condition then they would have cared less about the law and rejoiced at the fact that he was even able to carry the mat while walking around. I don’t think the rule enforcers ever hung out poolside. It’s not like the pool was far away from where they were at. The guy just got his legs back under him; he would not have got far from the pool. What they were saying was not wrong, the guy was carrying around his mat on the Sabbath; but maybe, just maybe if they opened their eyes they would have noticed the miracle walking before them. They, the rule enforcers, were so worried about the rules that they forgot about visiting the sick, the hospital.
We’re done with that group.
The 3rd Group: The Healer
Now, look at who was poolside. John 5:6; using the AMP again: “When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well?]” Jesus had to be poolside to see this guy. On top of that, Jesus knew that he had been sick for a long time. I bet this was not the first time for Jesus to be poolside. At this time Jesus would have been about 31 or32. I wonder how many times on the way to these Jewish festivals Jesus passed by this pool. Luke 2:39 states that Jesus’ parents moved to Nazareth, but in Luke 2:42 it picks up the story of Jesus at the age of 12. If Jesus made the trip from Nazareth to Jerusalem just once every year from the age 12 until He was 31 then that would have been 20 trips. Nazareth was to the North of Jerusalem and the pool of Bethesda was a little to the north of the temple. That means Jesus would have passed this pool about 20 times, if my calculations and geography are correct. There were 3 pilgrimage feasts that all Jewish males were expected to make - Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. If He made the 3 required pilgrimages every year from age 13 to 31 then that would be a potential 57 times that Jesus passed by this pool; and I am only counting the trips to the temple. I mean I am not including the trips back from the temple. So that bumps up the number to 114 times that Jesus could have walked by this pool. I think that over the years He would start to recognize a few people’s faces. In all of Jesus’ travels of back and forth, before His ministry started, I wonder if He longed for the day when His healing touch would begin and He could empty the poolside. Did He notice this guy laying there before His ministry started? Sure there would be new faces at the poolside all the time, but Jesus would start to recognize the faces that were always there. We do know from John’s account that Jesus noticed this guy and knew he had been sick for awhile. Like I said before, this dude was sick longer than Jesus had been alive. So, whether this was Jesus 115th time of walking by the pool or just his first, he still knew this guys condition and did not leave him the same as when he found him. Jesus completes the Healer group.
So, which group do we fit into: the sick, the rule enforcer, or the healer? When I started this study of the healings of Jesus, I wanted to get a better understanding of faith and how it works-- specifically towards the need for health/healing. As I continue this study I find these stories have so much more to do with living the life than just about healing. The healings in these stories are like a fine tasting frosting on top of an already yummy cupcake. . . But back to the question that started this paragraph. Which group do we fit into? If we fit into the sick group then we need to keep studying the word, reach out in faith, and never give up hope. Remember that Jesus, during His earthly ministry, never left anyone sick who wanted to be healed. If we fit into the rule enforcing group then it’s time for us to open our eyes and behold the opportunities for miracles that are right next door to us. If we fit into the last part, the healer, then it’s time to find some poolsides. You might say only Jesus fits into the healer group. Well that’s true sort-of; but Jesus told us in His Great Commission to Go Preach the Gospel, Signs & Wonders will follow, Don’t walk in Fear, and Lay hands on the sick and the sick will get…. What? I can’t hear you, what is the final part of the Great Commission? “The Sick will get well!” Mark 16:18. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go do some poolside struttin’.
Stay blessed y’all, it your choice.
jimmy
The Roof Rippers!! Pt. 3 of 3
Catchin’ Jesus Attention.
I was just going to do 2 installments on “the Roof Rippers!!” but I can’t skip this major point. Before we move forward we better read the story again. In Roof Rippers pt.1 I went with Luke’s account. In Roof Rippers pt. 2 I covered Mark’s story. It’s time to go with Matt’s record.
Matt 9:2 Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." 3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!" 4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." 7 And the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.
When I was in youth, I remember hearing messages about “For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” That statement is pulled from the first half of 2nd Chronicles 16:9. It’s funny that I don’t remember hearing the 2nd part of that verse in youth group. It states: “You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war." Looking back it may have done me better to hear the 2nd part more than the 1st part of 2nd Chron 16:9. But the point of the messages I heard in my youth was to spark something within me, to make me rise up and be noticed by God. Here in Matthew chapter 9 we see Jesus taking notice of some individuals. Look at Matt 9:2 “Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’” All the translations that are my go-to’s pretty much translate the statement “Jesus saw their faith” the same; but the Message did give this scripture a good twist. The Messages Bible states the phrase in Matt 9:2 this way: “Jesus, impressed by their bold belief”. This is actually pretty close to what the original Greek stated. The Greek word used in Matt 9:2 for “saw” is “eidon.” It does mean to literally see, but in Matt 9:2 is has more of a metaphorical meaning as in: spoken of the mind meaning to perceive by the senses, to be aware of, to remark. The same Greek word “eidon” is used in Romans 11:22 when it says “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God.” Eidon is translated to the word “consider.” Back to Matt 9:2, Jesus saw/considered their faith. Something caught Jesus eyes; something caught His attention. What was it that caught Jesus attention? Was it the faulty roof that just opened above Him? Was it the dust and rubble from the roof that was falling all over Him as He taught? Was it a dude being lowered down to His feet? No, it wasn’t any of those distractions. What made Jesus take notice was the 4+ friends’ faith. Matt 9:2 states “when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic…” It was their faith that made Creature/Savior of the world stop mid-sentence of what I am sure of was an earth shattering message and take notice. I really never thought of this before, but do you realize that these 4+ friends committed a crime in trying to get their friend to Jesus? Think about it, this is truly breaking and entering. They broke somebody’s roof. I am positive that the house Jesus was speaking in was not one of theirs. If the house was one of theirs then that person would have spoken up and said: “hey, stop breaking the roof. It’s my house; we can just kick everyone out and talk to Jesus.” I wonder what the owner of the house was thinking as he watched his ceiling open up. I’m sure it was some serious damage. This could not have been a weak roof. It had to support at least 5 people. James 2:17 famously says “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” These guys did not have dead faith! It took work to bust through that ceiling. On top of that, they really had to trust the roof because by busting a hole in it they compromised the integrity of that roof. Roof Busting Faith: that will catch Jesus attention every time. I want some Roof Busting Faith, don’t you? The truth is I/we have it, if we call on Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Jesus, as recorded in Luke 17:6* and Matt 17:20*, said that just a small amount of faith can move some serious stuff. Romans 12:3 says: “in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” From Romans 12:3 some theologians debate whether God gives some Christians more faith than others or if He gives all the same measure. Really, it doesn’t matter because according to Jesus’ teaching we just need a small amount to do great things. These 4+ guys moved something. They moved a roof to get their buddy healed. I think it is time for today’s church to practice its’ Roof Rippin’ skills. It’s time to move some thangs. Yep, I used the word thangs.
This healing miracle is the last of Jesus first year of ministry. Or you can say this is the last of His first Passover year. WOW! What a 1st year! From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. The highest would be people flocking to Him for his teaching and healing touch. The lowest would be His own home town trying to kill Him. Jesus 2nd year of ministry promises to be even more exciting.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
*Luke 17:6 He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.
*Matthew 17:20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
I was just going to do 2 installments on “the Roof Rippers!!” but I can’t skip this major point. Before we move forward we better read the story again. In Roof Rippers pt.1 I went with Luke’s account. In Roof Rippers pt. 2 I covered Mark’s story. It’s time to go with Matt’s record.
Matt 9:2 Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." 3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!" 4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." 7 And the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.
When I was in youth, I remember hearing messages about “For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” That statement is pulled from the first half of 2nd Chronicles 16:9. It’s funny that I don’t remember hearing the 2nd part of that verse in youth group. It states: “You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war." Looking back it may have done me better to hear the 2nd part more than the 1st part of 2nd Chron 16:9. But the point of the messages I heard in my youth was to spark something within me, to make me rise up and be noticed by God. Here in Matthew chapter 9 we see Jesus taking notice of some individuals. Look at Matt 9:2 “Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’” All the translations that are my go-to’s pretty much translate the statement “Jesus saw their faith” the same; but the Message did give this scripture a good twist. The Messages Bible states the phrase in Matt 9:2 this way: “Jesus, impressed by their bold belief”. This is actually pretty close to what the original Greek stated. The Greek word used in Matt 9:2 for “saw” is “eidon.” It does mean to literally see, but in Matt 9:2 is has more of a metaphorical meaning as in: spoken of the mind meaning to perceive by the senses, to be aware of, to remark. The same Greek word “eidon” is used in Romans 11:22 when it says “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God.” Eidon is translated to the word “consider.” Back to Matt 9:2, Jesus saw/considered their faith. Something caught Jesus eyes; something caught His attention. What was it that caught Jesus attention? Was it the faulty roof that just opened above Him? Was it the dust and rubble from the roof that was falling all over Him as He taught? Was it a dude being lowered down to His feet? No, it wasn’t any of those distractions. What made Jesus take notice was the 4+ friends’ faith. Matt 9:2 states “when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic…” It was their faith that made Creature/Savior of the world stop mid-sentence of what I am sure of was an earth shattering message and take notice. I really never thought of this before, but do you realize that these 4+ friends committed a crime in trying to get their friend to Jesus? Think about it, this is truly breaking and entering. They broke somebody’s roof. I am positive that the house Jesus was speaking in was not one of theirs. If the house was one of theirs then that person would have spoken up and said: “hey, stop breaking the roof. It’s my house; we can just kick everyone out and talk to Jesus.” I wonder what the owner of the house was thinking as he watched his ceiling open up. I’m sure it was some serious damage. This could not have been a weak roof. It had to support at least 5 people. James 2:17 famously says “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” These guys did not have dead faith! It took work to bust through that ceiling. On top of that, they really had to trust the roof because by busting a hole in it they compromised the integrity of that roof. Roof Busting Faith: that will catch Jesus attention every time. I want some Roof Busting Faith, don’t you? The truth is I/we have it, if we call on Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Jesus, as recorded in Luke 17:6* and Matt 17:20*, said that just a small amount of faith can move some serious stuff. Romans 12:3 says: “in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” From Romans 12:3 some theologians debate whether God gives some Christians more faith than others or if He gives all the same measure. Really, it doesn’t matter because according to Jesus’ teaching we just need a small amount to do great things. These 4+ guys moved something. They moved a roof to get their buddy healed. I think it is time for today’s church to practice its’ Roof Rippin’ skills. It’s time to move some thangs. Yep, I used the word thangs.
This healing miracle is the last of Jesus first year of ministry. Or you can say this is the last of His first Passover year. WOW! What a 1st year! From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. The highest would be people flocking to Him for his teaching and healing touch. The lowest would be His own home town trying to kill Him. Jesus 2nd year of ministry promises to be even more exciting.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
*Luke 17:6 He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.
*Matthew 17:20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
The Roof Rippers!! Pt. 2 of 3
Roof Rippin' kind of Friends
This is an awesome story. I am glad this one--out of the countless number of healings Jesus did--was selected to be recorded. For this entry we’re going to refer to Mark’s record.
Mark 2:3-12 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11 "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"
The reason I went with Mark’s record for this entry is because he gives us an idea of how many men were this guy’s friends. Both Matt and Luke tell us that “some men” brought the paralytic, but only Mark tells us that it was four of them that carried him. I never really thought that it could have been more than four guys that accompanied this dude to Jesus’ meeting. But now that I really, really look at this story I see that it must have been more than four guys that were there for their buddy. Look at Mark 2:3 again: “Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them.” Interesting! At least it’s interesting to me. I went to the Greek so I could get a better understanding of how many men there were. I looked up what “Some men came” was in the original text. It did not give me a number but rather something different, something that is already found on the surface of this story. Now the Greek word for “some men” in Mark 2:3 was not a particularly moving word. What Mark originally wrote was the Greek word “erchomai” and its meaning is exactly what was translated. But what was used in Matt 9:2 is awesome. Matt used the word “prospherÅ” and it means “to bring to, lead one to a person who can heal him or is ready to show him some kindness, one to a person who is to judge him.” Maybe I should have gone with Matt’s story. Nonetheless, that brings me to my next point. As I meditate about the paralytic’s friends it reminds me of what James said in his epistle. In James 5:19-20 it states: “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” Sorry sisters, you are left out; kidding, it’s just the translation. Here is the Message version of James 5:19-20: “My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God's truth, don't write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God.” This Gospel story of the Paralytic and his boys is a perfect example of what James is talking about. They, the 4+ or however many, brought the paralytic to Jesus’ feet; Jesus forgave him and then healed him. This dude must have had some sins in his life that needed to be dealt with. Notice that Jesus did not say sin, singular which in the New Testament represents the flesh nature; Jesus said sins. I wondered if the sins may have caused him to be paralyzed. Maybe that is why Jesus forgave him of the sins first. I went digging into the Greek to see if there might be some kind of indication of what made this guy sick. I really didn’t find anything. I went to one of my favorite commentators and his note really didn’t give more on what sins may have caused this sickness. I went to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words and found this: “being enfeebled by a paralytic stroke, palsied.” So it seems to be this guy could be paralyzed because of a stroke. Well there are all sorts of things that can cause a stroke. Strokes usually seem to be less common in younger people and I don’t know why but I always imagined this guy to be young. . .
Going back to what one of my favorite commentators stated--that commentator is Andrew Wommack by the way. In his note for Matt 9:2 Andrew stated the following: “Why did Jesus minister forgiveness of sins to this man instead of to the obvious need he had of healing? Probable reasons for this would include: (1) God is more concerned with the spiritual health of a man than his physical health (1 Sam. 16:7; Mt. 5:29-30). (2) Jesus, through a word of knowledge (1 Cor. 12:8), may have perceived that the real heart-cry of this man was to be reconciled to God.” That really hit home with me. In my entry “Peter’s Ma-in-law pt.1” I talked about pulling back and looking at the whole picture. I like details but, at times, I get lost in them and I forget the big picture. So I’m going to pull back in this entry and look at the whole picture. It was pretty obvious that this guy was sick but Jesus first words to him were "Son, your sins are forgiven." By saying this Jesus did heal this dude, but Jesus healed his inside first. Before this guy received his physical healing Jesus dealt with his spiritual sickness. This caused the Pharisees to go into a holy uproar, but Jesus didn’t care about the religious crowd. What was more important to Jesus was guy’s spiritual condition instead of putting on a show for the crowd. Jesus cares more about our spiritual health than about our physical health. Really what good is it to go to hell healthy? If you need scripture to back that up then look at Jesus’ teaching on “causing to sin.” It’s found in Mark 9:42-50. Also you can reference Jesus teaching on adultery found in Matt 5:27-30. The end of Matt 5:30 states “It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” It’s not that Jesus doesn’t care about our health, if He didn’t care then His body would never had been broken at the crucifixion. The bigger picture is that He wants us healthy on our insides first, then he’ll work on the outside. Earlier I talked about James 5:19-20. I'll quote it again for you to see: “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” The 4+ friends are a perfect example of what James 5:19-20 is talking about. Notice in the story Jesus never says what this guy’s sins were. He didn’t openly judge this guy by listing the sins out, He just forgave the paralytic. I imagine the 4+ friends may have had an idea of the sins this dude committed, but they didn’t yell from the roof what the sins were. Instead what those 4+ friends and Jesus did was “save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”
Whenever I read/hear this story I think to myself that I want to be a friend like that. I want to do whatever it takes to get my friends to Jesus feet for that forgiving/healing touch.
I was originally going to do 2 entries on this subject but I can’t skip mentioning the faith that caught Jesus' attention. Part 3 of the Roof Rippers will be here in a week.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
This is an awesome story. I am glad this one--out of the countless number of healings Jesus did--was selected to be recorded. For this entry we’re going to refer to Mark’s record.
Mark 2:3-12 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11 "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"
The reason I went with Mark’s record for this entry is because he gives us an idea of how many men were this guy’s friends. Both Matt and Luke tell us that “some men” brought the paralytic, but only Mark tells us that it was four of them that carried him. I never really thought that it could have been more than four guys that accompanied this dude to Jesus’ meeting. But now that I really, really look at this story I see that it must have been more than four guys that were there for their buddy. Look at Mark 2:3 again: “Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them.” Interesting! At least it’s interesting to me. I went to the Greek so I could get a better understanding of how many men there were. I looked up what “Some men came” was in the original text. It did not give me a number but rather something different, something that is already found on the surface of this story. Now the Greek word for “some men” in Mark 2:3 was not a particularly moving word. What Mark originally wrote was the Greek word “erchomai” and its meaning is exactly what was translated. But what was used in Matt 9:2 is awesome. Matt used the word “prospherÅ” and it means “to bring to, lead one to a person who can heal him or is ready to show him some kindness, one to a person who is to judge him.” Maybe I should have gone with Matt’s story. Nonetheless, that brings me to my next point. As I meditate about the paralytic’s friends it reminds me of what James said in his epistle. In James 5:19-20 it states: “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” Sorry sisters, you are left out; kidding, it’s just the translation. Here is the Message version of James 5:19-20: “My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God's truth, don't write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God.” This Gospel story of the Paralytic and his boys is a perfect example of what James is talking about. They, the 4+ or however many, brought the paralytic to Jesus’ feet; Jesus forgave him and then healed him. This dude must have had some sins in his life that needed to be dealt with. Notice that Jesus did not say sin, singular which in the New Testament represents the flesh nature; Jesus said sins. I wondered if the sins may have caused him to be paralyzed. Maybe that is why Jesus forgave him of the sins first. I went digging into the Greek to see if there might be some kind of indication of what made this guy sick. I really didn’t find anything. I went to one of my favorite commentators and his note really didn’t give more on what sins may have caused this sickness. I went to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words and found this: “being enfeebled by a paralytic stroke, palsied.” So it seems to be this guy could be paralyzed because of a stroke. Well there are all sorts of things that can cause a stroke. Strokes usually seem to be less common in younger people and I don’t know why but I always imagined this guy to be young. . .
Going back to what one of my favorite commentators stated--that commentator is Andrew Wommack by the way. In his note for Matt 9:2 Andrew stated the following: “Why did Jesus minister forgiveness of sins to this man instead of to the obvious need he had of healing? Probable reasons for this would include: (1) God is more concerned with the spiritual health of a man than his physical health (1 Sam. 16:7; Mt. 5:29-30). (2) Jesus, through a word of knowledge (1 Cor. 12:8), may have perceived that the real heart-cry of this man was to be reconciled to God.” That really hit home with me. In my entry “Peter’s Ma-in-law pt.1” I talked about pulling back and looking at the whole picture. I like details but, at times, I get lost in them and I forget the big picture. So I’m going to pull back in this entry and look at the whole picture. It was pretty obvious that this guy was sick but Jesus first words to him were "Son, your sins are forgiven." By saying this Jesus did heal this dude, but Jesus healed his inside first. Before this guy received his physical healing Jesus dealt with his spiritual sickness. This caused the Pharisees to go into a holy uproar, but Jesus didn’t care about the religious crowd. What was more important to Jesus was guy’s spiritual condition instead of putting on a show for the crowd. Jesus cares more about our spiritual health than about our physical health. Really what good is it to go to hell healthy? If you need scripture to back that up then look at Jesus’ teaching on “causing to sin.” It’s found in Mark 9:42-50. Also you can reference Jesus teaching on adultery found in Matt 5:27-30. The end of Matt 5:30 states “It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” It’s not that Jesus doesn’t care about our health, if He didn’t care then His body would never had been broken at the crucifixion. The bigger picture is that He wants us healthy on our insides first, then he’ll work on the outside. Earlier I talked about James 5:19-20. I'll quote it again for you to see: “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” The 4+ friends are a perfect example of what James 5:19-20 is talking about. Notice in the story Jesus never says what this guy’s sins were. He didn’t openly judge this guy by listing the sins out, He just forgave the paralytic. I imagine the 4+ friends may have had an idea of the sins this dude committed, but they didn’t yell from the roof what the sins were. Instead what those 4+ friends and Jesus did was “save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”
Whenever I read/hear this story I think to myself that I want to be a friend like that. I want to do whatever it takes to get my friends to Jesus feet for that forgiving/healing touch.
I was originally going to do 2 entries on this subject but I can’t skip mentioning the faith that caught Jesus' attention. Part 3 of the Roof Rippers will be here in a week.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
The Roof Rippers!! Pt. 1 of 3
Always Present.
Crazy title, right? I’m pretty proud of it. It makes me think of an old party anthem. “The Roof, The Roof, The Roof is on fire…” I won’t go on with that because this entry may become un-redeemed. The fifth chronological healing in the Gospels is about 4 (or more) friends who ripped a roof open to get their buddy access to Jesus’ healing touch. You may remember the story from children’s church - if you went to CC. This story is found in Matt 9:2-8, Mark 2:3-12, and Luke 5:17-26. All three do a great job covering the story, but Dr. Luke gave a little extra info in his record; that’s why we’re covering his first.
Luke 5:17 One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."
21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." He said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."
Amazing story! Talk about true friends with some crazy faith. I want to be a friend like that. Oops, let me back up; that subject is for “The Roof Rippers!! Pt. 2 of 3” What I want to cover in this entry has to do with something else. It’s something that I talked about in “The Leper Pt. 1 of 2.” It is the subject of “is it God’s will to heal?”. I said earlier in this entry that Dr. Luke gave a little extra info in his record; that is found in Luke 5:17. Here’s what it says: “And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.” But who were the sick that were there to be healed? Let’s look back at the beginning part of verse 17: “Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there.” Looks to me that Jesus’ healing touch was there for those in attendance, and those who were in attendance were the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Check out how the Amplified Bible puts verse 17 “One of those days, as He was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting by, who had come from every village and town of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was [present] with Him to heal them.” I am no English Major but I believe it would be safe to assume that “them” is speaking of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. The very ones who would in just a few years later stir up a crowd to yell “Crucify Him” (Matt 27:20). Those in the crowd that day must have needed healing because verse 17 says that the Jesus healing power was there to heal them. “Them” represents multiple people but in this story we have on record only one being healed - just one. The person that was healed doesn’t appear to be a Pharisees or a teacher of the law. As matter of fact he seems to be just a run-of-the-mill sinner. I come to that conclusion because Jesus forgave him first before healing him. This dude must have needed his life straightened out before his body was straightened out. But what about the Pharisees and teachers, did any of them get healed? I don’t believe so because the only recorded healing in this story is the sinner lowered to Jesus feet. Instead of receiving the healing they needed, the Pharisees and teachers of the law only got doubt and unbelief. Look at verse 21: “The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, ‘Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’” “Them” missed out on what they needed because of their own unbelief. We have another example of doubt and unbelief blocking the power to heal; it’s found in Mark 6:5 & 6. It states “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.”
So is it God’s will to heal or is it our will to not be healed? We see here in Luke 5:17-26 that Jesus was willing and able to heal the very ones who would soon crucify him, but only one person was on record of being set free. We also see in Mark 6 that it was a lack of faith that hindered Jesus from doing miracles in His own hometown. Is our faith, or lack of faith hindering us from Jesus’ healing touch?
You know what I notice Luke never said in his story? Luke never states that the power to heal left that meeting even after the Pharisees and teachers started questioning Jesus authority. It was still present for them to be healed. A matter of fact, in the whole New Testament it never says that that His healing power has ever left us either. In Mark 16:17-18 Jesus states “And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name…they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." That means, since I believe, the same power that was present to heal the Pharisees and teachers of the law is right here in my living room as I work on this blog. That also means, if you believe, the same power that was present to heal the Pharisees and teachers of the law is right there with you as you read this blog. That’s some seriously good news.
Stay blessed y’all, it your choice.
Jimmy.
Crazy title, right? I’m pretty proud of it. It makes me think of an old party anthem. “The Roof, The Roof, The Roof is on fire…” I won’t go on with that because this entry may become un-redeemed. The fifth chronological healing in the Gospels is about 4 (or more) friends who ripped a roof open to get their buddy access to Jesus’ healing touch. You may remember the story from children’s church - if you went to CC. This story is found in Matt 9:2-8, Mark 2:3-12, and Luke 5:17-26. All three do a great job covering the story, but Dr. Luke gave a little extra info in his record; that’s why we’re covering his first.
Luke 5:17 One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."
21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." He said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."
Amazing story! Talk about true friends with some crazy faith. I want to be a friend like that. Oops, let me back up; that subject is for “The Roof Rippers!! Pt. 2 of 3” What I want to cover in this entry has to do with something else. It’s something that I talked about in “The Leper Pt. 1 of 2.” It is the subject of “is it God’s will to heal?”. I said earlier in this entry that Dr. Luke gave a little extra info in his record; that is found in Luke 5:17. Here’s what it says: “And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.” But who were the sick that were there to be healed? Let’s look back at the beginning part of verse 17: “Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there.” Looks to me that Jesus’ healing touch was there for those in attendance, and those who were in attendance were the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Check out how the Amplified Bible puts verse 17 “One of those days, as He was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting by, who had come from every village and town of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was [present] with Him to heal them.” I am no English Major but I believe it would be safe to assume that “them” is speaking of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. The very ones who would in just a few years later stir up a crowd to yell “Crucify Him” (Matt 27:20). Those in the crowd that day must have needed healing because verse 17 says that the Jesus healing power was there to heal them. “Them” represents multiple people but in this story we have on record only one being healed - just one. The person that was healed doesn’t appear to be a Pharisees or a teacher of the law. As matter of fact he seems to be just a run-of-the-mill sinner. I come to that conclusion because Jesus forgave him first before healing him. This dude must have needed his life straightened out before his body was straightened out. But what about the Pharisees and teachers, did any of them get healed? I don’t believe so because the only recorded healing in this story is the sinner lowered to Jesus feet. Instead of receiving the healing they needed, the Pharisees and teachers of the law only got doubt and unbelief. Look at verse 21: “The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, ‘Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’” “Them” missed out on what they needed because of their own unbelief. We have another example of doubt and unbelief blocking the power to heal; it’s found in Mark 6:5 & 6. It states “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.”
So is it God’s will to heal or is it our will to not be healed? We see here in Luke 5:17-26 that Jesus was willing and able to heal the very ones who would soon crucify him, but only one person was on record of being set free. We also see in Mark 6 that it was a lack of faith that hindered Jesus from doing miracles in His own hometown. Is our faith, or lack of faith hindering us from Jesus’ healing touch?
You know what I notice Luke never said in his story? Luke never states that the power to heal left that meeting even after the Pharisees and teachers started questioning Jesus authority. It was still present for them to be healed. A matter of fact, in the whole New Testament it never says that that His healing power has ever left us either. In Mark 16:17-18 Jesus states “And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name…they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." That means, since I believe, the same power that was present to heal the Pharisees and teachers of the law is right here in my living room as I work on this blog. That also means, if you believe, the same power that was present to heal the Pharisees and teachers of the law is right there with you as you read this blog. That’s some seriously good news.
Stay blessed y’all, it your choice.
Jimmy.
Amazed!
Amazed!
As I was prepping for the next chronological healing I ran across this AMAZING scripture. The scripture is Mark 6:6; it has the word “amazed” in it. Well that’s the way the NIV translated that word. The KJV uses the word “marveled” instead of “amazed.” I like “amazed” but that may be because that’s what I titled this entry. The original Greek word written by Mark is “thaumazo.” The same word is found in Matt 8:10 describing Jesus reaction to the Centurion’s faith. Matt 8:10 states: “When Jesus heard this, he was astonished (thaumazo) and said to those following him, ‘I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith’.” “Amazed” used in Mark 6:6 is also describing Jesus reaction. I should show you more of Mark 6:6 than just one word. Here it is: “And he was amazed at their…” So in this scripture it appears that a group of people have amazed Jesus. That’s awesome, right? Don’t you want to amaze Jesus? I’m still not giving the full scripture. Here is a little more: “And he was amazed at their lack of…” So somebody has blown Jesus mind with their lack of something. Maybe it’s lack of doubt; maybe it’s a lack of sin? Maybe he has come across some Super Holy people. Wouldn’t that be neat to “amaze” Jesus with our lack of doubt or sin? Wait a minute, I don’t use the word “neat;” let me restate that. Wouldn’t that be awesome to “amaze” Jesus with our lack of doubt and sin? I better give the rest of verse 6: “And he was amazed at their lack of faith.” Wow! Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. I think it’s safe to assume that this was not a good amazement. I guess there is more then one way to amaze Jesus. Just look at the way the Centurion blew Jesus’ mind, it “amazed” him that a Centurion (not a local Jewish resident) had such amazing faith; but here in Mark 6:6 we find Jesus’ mind blown for a totally different reason. Apparently there are 2 completely different ways to amaze God and they both have to deal with Faith. The 1st way to “amaze” Him is to grab ahold of His truth and run with it; after all that is what the Centurion did. The Cent took Jesus’ word and ran back to his servant. The 2nd way to “amaze” Jesus is to totally ignore His truth even chase Him out of town. Mark 6:6 is in a group of scriptures that tell the story of Jesus returning to His hometown to minister. He was not warmly welcomed. The whole story is found in Mark 6:1-6; but it is also recorded in 2 other Gospels: Matt 13:53-58 and Luke 4:14-30. Both Matt and Luke recorded this story but Luke (of course, the detailed Doctor dude) gives the most details. Luke tells us in Luke 4:29 that not only did the crowd hate their hometown hero but that they tried to throw Him off a cliff. That is some serious unbelief! No wonder Jesus was Amazed. But now the question comes: have I ever amazed Jesus with my lack of Faith? I would love to say that I, like the Centurion, amazed Jesus with my great faith. I can say that I have never tried to throw Jesus off a cliff, but I can also say that I have ignored His word. That’s not a great testimony, right? But I think that is more common with today’s church. We ignore His word; we don’t take Him at His word. If we did then we would not hear in our worship songs lines about “pouring down rain/pain to make me closer” or in major ministers’ sermons stating that somehow tragedy is His will so He can teach us something. But the Word of God is so clear about His will. Why, even in the way that Jesus taught us to pray He said “Thy will be done here on Earth as it is done in Heaven”(Matt 6:9-13). If things like floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, death, sickness, and the like are God’s will being done here on earth then when we get to Heaven we should expect to see the same, right? Wrong! So you say “what about God testing us?” We all want to quote James 1:2 (throw a party when going through a trial) when things get rough but then we forget to move forward in same chapter: James 1:13-17 is such a clear picture demonstrating that God does not test us with bad things. Read it for yourselves:
James 1: 13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16 Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”
If we want to amaze Jesus with our faith then there is one simple way to do it; take His word and run with it. If we want to amaze Jesus with our lack of faith; then I guess we reject His word and push Him towards a cliff. I’m tired of pushing; how about you?
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice
jimmy
p.s. Caution! SoapBox yellin’ is about to start! Personnel story: Back in 2004 we (Kesha and I) lost some very dear friends to a very tragic car accident. They were our first friends when we moved up to Iowa. She was a teacher and he was a doctor. In ’04 they had just moved to Louisiana so he could fulfill his ortho-surgery residency. They were on thier way back to Iowa for the Thanksgiving Holiday when a truck hit them head on. All involved in the accident were killed. To say the least that was not a delightful Thanksgiving holiday. I was asked by the family to be one of the pallbearers. I was honored to do so. But I had to endure statements like “God needed 2 more flowers for His garden” and the worship song with the phrase “He Gives and takes away.” I was silently furious. Here’s why. I love my friends but I love God more and how dare they blame something so tragic on my God. The other vehicle involved in the accident was driven by a 16 year old kid who stole his grandfather’s pick-up. He lost control and hit our friends head on. How was that God’s will? Explain to me how that is our Heavenly Father’s way of treating His precious kids. Better yet, please show me in the New Testament an example of God doing that to one the first century saints. Well you might say there’s Lazarus, but go back and read the text. Plus if you remember Laz happened before the cross. How do we ever expect to win the world to an abusive Heavenly Father? If I did to my girls even a forth of what we blame God for doing to us then DHS would be knocking down my front door. Haiti, Katrina, Tornadoes, etc are not God’s will. The only ones we can truly blame for this mess is us/humans; for it was Adam that ate the forbidden fruit causing the fall of man and giving Satan free run on destruction. Jesus said in John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” It’s time for the Church to stop blaming God for theft, death, and destruction; it’s time to start giving God the glory for the life He gave us through His Son Jesus Christ.
Again, stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
As I was prepping for the next chronological healing I ran across this AMAZING scripture. The scripture is Mark 6:6; it has the word “amazed” in it. Well that’s the way the NIV translated that word. The KJV uses the word “marveled” instead of “amazed.” I like “amazed” but that may be because that’s what I titled this entry. The original Greek word written by Mark is “thaumazo.” The same word is found in Matt 8:10 describing Jesus reaction to the Centurion’s faith. Matt 8:10 states: “When Jesus heard this, he was astonished (thaumazo) and said to those following him, ‘I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith’.” “Amazed” used in Mark 6:6 is also describing Jesus reaction. I should show you more of Mark 6:6 than just one word. Here it is: “And he was amazed at their…” So in this scripture it appears that a group of people have amazed Jesus. That’s awesome, right? Don’t you want to amaze Jesus? I’m still not giving the full scripture. Here is a little more: “And he was amazed at their lack of…” So somebody has blown Jesus mind with their lack of something. Maybe it’s lack of doubt; maybe it’s a lack of sin? Maybe he has come across some Super Holy people. Wouldn’t that be neat to “amaze” Jesus with our lack of doubt or sin? Wait a minute, I don’t use the word “neat;” let me restate that. Wouldn’t that be awesome to “amaze” Jesus with our lack of doubt and sin? I better give the rest of verse 6: “And he was amazed at their lack of faith.” Wow! Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. I think it’s safe to assume that this was not a good amazement. I guess there is more then one way to amaze Jesus. Just look at the way the Centurion blew Jesus’ mind, it “amazed” him that a Centurion (not a local Jewish resident) had such amazing faith; but here in Mark 6:6 we find Jesus’ mind blown for a totally different reason. Apparently there are 2 completely different ways to amaze God and they both have to deal with Faith. The 1st way to “amaze” Him is to grab ahold of His truth and run with it; after all that is what the Centurion did. The Cent took Jesus’ word and ran back to his servant. The 2nd way to “amaze” Jesus is to totally ignore His truth even chase Him out of town. Mark 6:6 is in a group of scriptures that tell the story of Jesus returning to His hometown to minister. He was not warmly welcomed. The whole story is found in Mark 6:1-6; but it is also recorded in 2 other Gospels: Matt 13:53-58 and Luke 4:14-30. Both Matt and Luke recorded this story but Luke (of course, the detailed Doctor dude) gives the most details. Luke tells us in Luke 4:29 that not only did the crowd hate their hometown hero but that they tried to throw Him off a cliff. That is some serious unbelief! No wonder Jesus was Amazed. But now the question comes: have I ever amazed Jesus with my lack of Faith? I would love to say that I, like the Centurion, amazed Jesus with my great faith. I can say that I have never tried to throw Jesus off a cliff, but I can also say that I have ignored His word. That’s not a great testimony, right? But I think that is more common with today’s church. We ignore His word; we don’t take Him at His word. If we did then we would not hear in our worship songs lines about “pouring down rain/pain to make me closer” or in major ministers’ sermons stating that somehow tragedy is His will so He can teach us something. But the Word of God is so clear about His will. Why, even in the way that Jesus taught us to pray He said “Thy will be done here on Earth as it is done in Heaven”(Matt 6:9-13). If things like floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, death, sickness, and the like are God’s will being done here on earth then when we get to Heaven we should expect to see the same, right? Wrong! So you say “what about God testing us?” We all want to quote James 1:2 (throw a party when going through a trial) when things get rough but then we forget to move forward in same chapter: James 1:13-17 is such a clear picture demonstrating that God does not test us with bad things. Read it for yourselves:
James 1: 13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16 Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”
If we want to amaze Jesus with our faith then there is one simple way to do it; take His word and run with it. If we want to amaze Jesus with our lack of faith; then I guess we reject His word and push Him towards a cliff. I’m tired of pushing; how about you?
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice
jimmy
p.s. Caution! SoapBox yellin’ is about to start! Personnel story: Back in 2004 we (Kesha and I) lost some very dear friends to a very tragic car accident. They were our first friends when we moved up to Iowa. She was a teacher and he was a doctor. In ’04 they had just moved to Louisiana so he could fulfill his ortho-surgery residency. They were on thier way back to Iowa for the Thanksgiving Holiday when a truck hit them head on. All involved in the accident were killed. To say the least that was not a delightful Thanksgiving holiday. I was asked by the family to be one of the pallbearers. I was honored to do so. But I had to endure statements like “God needed 2 more flowers for His garden” and the worship song with the phrase “He Gives and takes away.” I was silently furious. Here’s why. I love my friends but I love God more and how dare they blame something so tragic on my God. The other vehicle involved in the accident was driven by a 16 year old kid who stole his grandfather’s pick-up. He lost control and hit our friends head on. How was that God’s will? Explain to me how that is our Heavenly Father’s way of treating His precious kids. Better yet, please show me in the New Testament an example of God doing that to one the first century saints. Well you might say there’s Lazarus, but go back and read the text. Plus if you remember Laz happened before the cross. How do we ever expect to win the world to an abusive Heavenly Father? If I did to my girls even a forth of what we blame God for doing to us then DHS would be knocking down my front door. Haiti, Katrina, Tornadoes, etc are not God’s will. The only ones we can truly blame for this mess is us/humans; for it was Adam that ate the forbidden fruit causing the fall of man and giving Satan free run on destruction. Jesus said in John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” It’s time for the Church to stop blaming God for theft, death, and destruction; it’s time to start giving God the glory for the life He gave us through His Son Jesus Christ.
Again, stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
The Leper Pt. 2 of 2
Why do you suppose he said that?
In the last entry we covered Matt’s account of the healing but this time we’re going to cover Mark’s account.
Mark 1:40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. 43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
Mark 1:40-42 covers the healing but in verses 43 Jesus gives a “strong warning” to the leper not tell anyone else of the healing but to go to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for his cleansing. The Amplified Bible translated verse 43 this way: “And Jesus charged him sternly (sharply and threateningly, and with earnest admonition) and [acting with deep feeling thrust him forth and] sent him away at once.” There is no need to break down vrs 43 in the Greek; the Amplified amped it up enough. But why did Jesus do this - why this stern of a warning? It’s not like Jesus cared about traditions. Just a few verses before we see him ignoring the “No touching dirty stuff” rule found in Numbers 19:22. So why was he so emphatic about this guy followings Moses’ law now? By the way, that part of Moses’ law that deals with Leprosy cleansing is found in Lev 14:2-6, I’ll post those scripts at the end of this entry. We can see in Mark 1:45 that the guy ignored Jesus’ command and “went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.” So by the blabbing mouth Jesus was uncomfortable, but still I don’t think that was the bottom line reason why Jesus was so strict about the guy going to the priest. Besides, Jesus didn’t care so much his own comfort; if He did then the cross would not have happened. Hebrews 12:2 says “for the joy set before him he endured the cross.” I think we can find the answer in what Jesus said at the end of Mark 1:44. Here is all of Mark 1:44 “"See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." Who are “them” that the testimony was to be told to? “Them” would have been the priest and those at the temple. Here is what I think is the reason Jesus wanted this guy to go show the priest the healing/cleansing. Jesus was extending an “olive branch” out to the priest and those on the religious side. He was trying to squash the jealousy that would/did rise up in those on the religious side. They (the religious) didn’t start to really challenge Jesus till after this leper was healed. As a matter of fact, the next healing Luke records in 5:21 “The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, ‘Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’" We could only imagine things would have been different if the leper actually followed Jesus’ instructions. Maybe they, the religious, would have followed Jesus as disciples and not as accusers. Maybe the Priest would have helped usher in the “Kingdom of God” and on the day of Pentecost the number could have been around 30,000 and not just the 3,000. None the less, that didn’t happen; the man ran his mouth to the wrong people. I can’t really blame him; I might have done the same thing if I was in his position. But no matter what God’s ultimate will was still done; despite man trying his best to mess things up God’s ultimate will is always done. Even in my own life, when I run my mouth at the wrong time to the wrong people God some how still gets His will done. How about in your life?
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice
jimmy
Leviticus 14:2 "These are the regulations for the diseased person at the time of his ceremonial cleansing, when he is brought to the priest: 3 The priest is to go outside the camp and examine him. If the person has been healed of his infectious skin disease, 4 the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed. 5 Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. 6 He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.”
In the last entry we covered Matt’s account of the healing but this time we’re going to cover Mark’s account.
Mark 1:40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. 43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
Mark 1:40-42 covers the healing but in verses 43 Jesus gives a “strong warning” to the leper not tell anyone else of the healing but to go to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for his cleansing. The Amplified Bible translated verse 43 this way: “And Jesus charged him sternly (sharply and threateningly, and with earnest admonition) and [acting with deep feeling thrust him forth and] sent him away at once.” There is no need to break down vrs 43 in the Greek; the Amplified amped it up enough. But why did Jesus do this - why this stern of a warning? It’s not like Jesus cared about traditions. Just a few verses before we see him ignoring the “No touching dirty stuff” rule found in Numbers 19:22. So why was he so emphatic about this guy followings Moses’ law now? By the way, that part of Moses’ law that deals with Leprosy cleansing is found in Lev 14:2-6, I’ll post those scripts at the end of this entry. We can see in Mark 1:45 that the guy ignored Jesus’ command and “went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.” So by the blabbing mouth Jesus was uncomfortable, but still I don’t think that was the bottom line reason why Jesus was so strict about the guy going to the priest. Besides, Jesus didn’t care so much his own comfort; if He did then the cross would not have happened. Hebrews 12:2 says “for the joy set before him he endured the cross.” I think we can find the answer in what Jesus said at the end of Mark 1:44. Here is all of Mark 1:44 “"See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." Who are “them” that the testimony was to be told to? “Them” would have been the priest and those at the temple. Here is what I think is the reason Jesus wanted this guy to go show the priest the healing/cleansing. Jesus was extending an “olive branch” out to the priest and those on the religious side. He was trying to squash the jealousy that would/did rise up in those on the religious side. They (the religious) didn’t start to really challenge Jesus till after this leper was healed. As a matter of fact, the next healing Luke records in 5:21 “The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, ‘Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’" We could only imagine things would have been different if the leper actually followed Jesus’ instructions. Maybe they, the religious, would have followed Jesus as disciples and not as accusers. Maybe the Priest would have helped usher in the “Kingdom of God” and on the day of Pentecost the number could have been around 30,000 and not just the 3,000. None the less, that didn’t happen; the man ran his mouth to the wrong people. I can’t really blame him; I might have done the same thing if I was in his position. But no matter what God’s ultimate will was still done; despite man trying his best to mess things up God’s ultimate will is always done. Even in my own life, when I run my mouth at the wrong time to the wrong people God some how still gets His will done. How about in your life?
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice
jimmy
Leviticus 14:2 "These are the regulations for the diseased person at the time of his ceremonial cleansing, when he is brought to the priest: 3 The priest is to go outside the camp and examine him. If the person has been healed of his infectious skin disease, 4 the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed. 5 Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. 6 He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.”
The Leper Pt. 1 of 2
Is it God’s will to heal?
I’ve been chomping at the bit to get to this healing. This story is the reason why I wanted to start the study of the chronological healings of Jesus. It is number 4 chronologically but Matthew chose to record this one first. In my blog entry “Peter’s Ma-in-Law Pt. 1 of 2” I discussed a little about Matt recording this one first and Pete’s Ma-in-Law third. At first I was a little perplexed on the reason why Matt mixed up the order (or really the Holy Spirit mixed up the order) but now that I’ve taken time to meditate on it I think I understand better. If you were to read the New Testament in regular order, instead of chronological order, then you would run across this healing first. This story answers a very important question - a question still being asked today. And this question is not just being asked by new Christian and non-believers but also by “Seasoned Saints.” The question is: “Is it God’s will to heal?” Well, is it? Let’s read Matt’s account.
Matt 8:2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.
So is it God’s will to heal? Jesus answers that question plainly.
If you were reading this account in a regular Bible then you would see in bright red ink three great words used by the creator Himself. Those three powerful words are “I am willing.” So if “I am willing” is found plainly in Matt 8:3 than why is it still a question if it is God’s will to heal us? Is it because we don’t know our Bible? Is it because we have forgotten this story even though we heard it over and over again in Sunday school? Or is it because we don’t really trust Jesus with our health? You read that right, I used the word trust. Trust is a synonym for Faith and when we don’t have faith in God then really we don’t have trust in God. Talk about going for the jugular; I reached out with a writer’s hand and squeezed my reader’s necks. I would like to take it easier writing this but “is it God’s will to heal?” should never be a question verbalized by any seasoned believer. We don’t know if the leper in this story was a believer before approaching Jesus but I can bet that he never questioned again if it was Jesus will to heal. But you may say that “so-n-so” prayed and believed and never received their healing. Sure, I know plenty of “so-n-so’s” who have not yet, or never received their healings but their situations do not supersede the Word of God. Myself for instance, I still wear glasses, but my situation does not supersede the Word of God (besides, I make these glasses look good). Here is another strong statement: to say “it is not God’s will to heal” is just the same as saying “it is not God’s will to save”. Why would I say that? I say that because both salvation and healing were taken care of at the Cross. Every time we take communion we are recognizing two things: “body broken” = healing and “the blood” = salvation/redemption. I like how Mark Brazee covered “God’s will to heal” in his devotional*. He said “Follow Jesus’ earthly ministry to see God’s will in action. You see, everything Jesus did (or didn’t do) represented God’s will.” Later on in the same devotion he said “He {Jesus} never left anyone sick who wanted and believed Him to be healed. He never said, ‘This sickness is here to teach you something, to perfect you, to correct you or to make you more pious.’” I think that pretty much sums it up.
Going back to the Leper’s story, it shows us that not only is it God’s will to heal but also no circumstance will stop Him from touching our lives. The dude had leprosy but all three gospels that recorded this healing (Matt 8:2-3, Mark 1:40-45, & Luke 5:12-14) tell of Jesus reached out and touched this guy. That is a “no-no”. According to the law if you touched a leper you became unclean for a day. Numbers 19:22 states “Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening"; but Jesus, moved with compassion, reached out and answers a 2000 year old question. I am so glad He reached out and said He was/is willing. I am so glad Jesus didn’t care whether He got dirty just so this leper could/would become clean. This was just a little glimpse of what Jesus would do on the cross for you and for me. Isaiah 53: 5 prophesied that He would (and He did) be “pierced for our transgressions,” he would be “crushed for our iniquities,” and “by his wounds we are healed.” He took on our sin, He took our sickness; He became unclean so, just like this former leper, we all could become clean.
Now to Jesus the Author and Perfecter of our trust, oops, I meant faith. (Heb 12:2)
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
*Prescription for a Miracle by Mark Brazee. Quotes used in this entry are found in January 27th devotion labeled “Jesus: The Image of the Father”.
I’ve been chomping at the bit to get to this healing. This story is the reason why I wanted to start the study of the chronological healings of Jesus. It is number 4 chronologically but Matthew chose to record this one first. In my blog entry “Peter’s Ma-in-Law Pt. 1 of 2” I discussed a little about Matt recording this one first and Pete’s Ma-in-Law third. At first I was a little perplexed on the reason why Matt mixed up the order (or really the Holy Spirit mixed up the order) but now that I’ve taken time to meditate on it I think I understand better. If you were to read the New Testament in regular order, instead of chronological order, then you would run across this healing first. This story answers a very important question - a question still being asked today. And this question is not just being asked by new Christian and non-believers but also by “Seasoned Saints.” The question is: “Is it God’s will to heal?” Well, is it? Let’s read Matt’s account.
Matt 8:2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.
So is it God’s will to heal? Jesus answers that question plainly.
If you were reading this account in a regular Bible then you would see in bright red ink three great words used by the creator Himself. Those three powerful words are “I am willing.” So if “I am willing” is found plainly in Matt 8:3 than why is it still a question if it is God’s will to heal us? Is it because we don’t know our Bible? Is it because we have forgotten this story even though we heard it over and over again in Sunday school? Or is it because we don’t really trust Jesus with our health? You read that right, I used the word trust. Trust is a synonym for Faith and when we don’t have faith in God then really we don’t have trust in God. Talk about going for the jugular; I reached out with a writer’s hand and squeezed my reader’s necks. I would like to take it easier writing this but “is it God’s will to heal?” should never be a question verbalized by any seasoned believer. We don’t know if the leper in this story was a believer before approaching Jesus but I can bet that he never questioned again if it was Jesus will to heal. But you may say that “so-n-so” prayed and believed and never received their healing. Sure, I know plenty of “so-n-so’s” who have not yet, or never received their healings but their situations do not supersede the Word of God. Myself for instance, I still wear glasses, but my situation does not supersede the Word of God (besides, I make these glasses look good). Here is another strong statement: to say “it is not God’s will to heal” is just the same as saying “it is not God’s will to save”. Why would I say that? I say that because both salvation and healing were taken care of at the Cross. Every time we take communion we are recognizing two things: “body broken” = healing and “the blood” = salvation/redemption. I like how Mark Brazee covered “God’s will to heal” in his devotional*. He said “Follow Jesus’ earthly ministry to see God’s will in action. You see, everything Jesus did (or didn’t do) represented God’s will.” Later on in the same devotion he said “He {Jesus} never left anyone sick who wanted and believed Him to be healed. He never said, ‘This sickness is here to teach you something, to perfect you, to correct you or to make you more pious.’” I think that pretty much sums it up.
Going back to the Leper’s story, it shows us that not only is it God’s will to heal but also no circumstance will stop Him from touching our lives. The dude had leprosy but all three gospels that recorded this healing (Matt 8:2-3, Mark 1:40-45, & Luke 5:12-14) tell of Jesus reached out and touched this guy. That is a “no-no”. According to the law if you touched a leper you became unclean for a day. Numbers 19:22 states “Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening"; but Jesus, moved with compassion, reached out and answers a 2000 year old question. I am so glad He reached out and said He was/is willing. I am so glad Jesus didn’t care whether He got dirty just so this leper could/would become clean. This was just a little glimpse of what Jesus would do on the cross for you and for me. Isaiah 53: 5 prophesied that He would (and He did) be “pierced for our transgressions,” he would be “crushed for our iniquities,” and “by his wounds we are healed.” He took on our sin, He took our sickness; He became unclean so, just like this former leper, we all could become clean.
Now to Jesus the Author and Perfecter of our trust, oops, I meant faith. (Heb 12:2)
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
*Prescription for a Miracle by Mark Brazee. Quotes used in this entry are found in January 27th devotion labeled “Jesus: The Image of the Father”.
Peter’s Ma-in-Law Pt. 2 of 2
So what it ministry?
In the last entry I went over Matt's record of the healing of Pete’s ma’s-in-law healing. I’ll be fair and show Mark's & Luke’s records too.
Mark 1: 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
Luke 4:38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
Now I used the NIV translation for the scriptures above but I think the NIV loses something in the translation. “Ministry” is lost in the translation. Check out how the King James translates the end of Mark 1:31 “and she ministered unto them.” She “ministered” right away, so what it ministry? So many times we look at the “pulpit” positions and say that’s “ministry” but in reality “ministry” can and should happen every single day instead of just on Sundays. As I was meditating on this story one morning I came up with this quote: “When you act selflessly you end up getting what is selfishly in your heart.” Someone who is way more quotable than me put it this way: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these other things shall be added unto you.” When I was in Bible school I remember one of my teachers talking about healing. He said that from his personal experience he had witnessed missionaries receive their healings, if they needed healing, quicker than a person that was not a missionary. The reason why was because the missionary saw past their own need and wanted to get back out and serve. Maybe that is why Pete’s mom was healed so fast, because she wanted to serve/minister. Or maybe she served/ministered because she was healed so quickly. Regardless, when she got healed she ministered. If we need a healing and receive it, then what are we going to do with it? I’m not suggesting God is withholding healing from you (if you need healing) just because your heart motives. I would never suggest that; I don’t believe God ever withholds healing (subject for another blog entry), but this subject covered today just may be a reason why some healings are delayed. It is always good to do a little “self check” on our motives.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
In the last entry I went over Matt's record of the healing of Pete’s ma’s-in-law healing. I’ll be fair and show Mark's & Luke’s records too.
Mark 1: 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
Luke 4:38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
Now I used the NIV translation for the scriptures above but I think the NIV loses something in the translation. “Ministry” is lost in the translation. Check out how the King James translates the end of Mark 1:31 “and she ministered unto them.” She “ministered” right away, so what it ministry? So many times we look at the “pulpit” positions and say that’s “ministry” but in reality “ministry” can and should happen every single day instead of just on Sundays. As I was meditating on this story one morning I came up with this quote: “When you act selflessly you end up getting what is selfishly in your heart.” Someone who is way more quotable than me put it this way: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these other things shall be added unto you.” When I was in Bible school I remember one of my teachers talking about healing. He said that from his personal experience he had witnessed missionaries receive their healings, if they needed healing, quicker than a person that was not a missionary. The reason why was because the missionary saw past their own need and wanted to get back out and serve. Maybe that is why Pete’s mom was healed so fast, because she wanted to serve/minister. Or maybe she served/ministered because she was healed so quickly. Regardless, when she got healed she ministered. If we need a healing and receive it, then what are we going to do with it? I’m not suggesting God is withholding healing from you (if you need healing) just because your heart motives. I would never suggest that; I don’t believe God ever withholds healing (subject for another blog entry), but this subject covered today just may be a reason why some healings are delayed. It is always good to do a little “self check” on our motives.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
Peter’s Ma-in-Law Pt. 1 of 2
He will even heal your In-Laws!
The 3rd healing recorded in chronological order is the healing of Peter’s ma-in-law. This is recorded in three of the gospels. Mark 1:29-31 & Luke 4:38-39 both record the deed but now Matthew finally gets into the “healings record game” in Matthew 8:14-15. The funny thing is Matt must have not cared what order the healings were in but rather that they just got recorded (I’ll cover that more in the entry “The Leper”). In the same chapter 8 he recorded the healing of the leper (8:2-4) and Centurion’s servant (8:5- 13) ahead of Pete’s ma-in-law but several sources show that those 2 healings happened after Pete’s ma-in-law. Not to write it off but in the grand scheme of things I don’t think it matters too much.
This last summer I had the privilege of co-teaching a class on the book of James with a friend of mine. My friend is a retired minister; he’s done this for years. I learned a very valuable thing from my friend: it was how to back up and look at the whole picture. I tend to get caught up in every detail and in turn lose focus on what’s really going on or what’s really being said. So let’s do that here, let’s back up and look at the whole picture. In the first 8 chapters of Matt we can see Jesus fulfilling His calling. Jesus came to preach/teach, then to heal (Matt 4:23). He came to set the captive free, first spiritually then physically. Seriously, what good is it to go to hell physically healthy? Matt chapter 5 through the end of chapter 7 records the famous “Sermon on the Mount”. There we find the “Be-attitudes” and so much more; those would be classified as the teaching/preaching part of Jesus’ calling. Or you can classify them as “spiritually freeing” parts of His ministry. Next in Matt chapter 8, we see Jesus “physically freeing” people from sickness and death. Matt never says what order the healings happened, he just records them. Let’s get to his version of the healing of Pet’s ma-in-law.
Matt 8:14-15 “14When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.”
Look carefully how Jesus ministered to her, “He touched her hand”. Recently I was listening to Pastor Bob Yadian’s series on “The Healing Lamb” (it’s a great teaching; you can pick it up on ITunes under “Precepts Radio”). Pastor Bob pointed out that when Jesus ministered healing to women He only touched their hands. We can see Jesus setting the standard on how to pray for the opposite sex. You pray for the opposite sex with discretion. In 1st Tim 3:1-7 Paul gives Timmy a list of qualifications that his elders must have. One of the requirements on that list is “Now the overseer must be above reproach” (1st Tim 3:2). There is no clearer example of “above reproach” than Jesus himself. Even at Jesus’ trial his accusers could not pin anything on Him. Even in the most spiritual situations it is important to remember our manners. One of the things about being “Christ-like” is to be “above reproach”.
Another thing that Pastor Bob pointed out was that Jesus never “prayed for the sick”. Sure enough Jesus did not pray for Pete’s ma-in-law; instead He commanded her fever to go. Matt records Jesus just touching her hand but Luke tells us that Jesus said what He said and the fever did what it was commanded to do. Now in James 5:14-15 we do see elders of the church praying for the sick. So there is prayer for/against sickness but when Jesus dealt with sickness He didn’t mess around. I guess we should’nt mess around either. Just get rid of it - sickness that is.
Stay blessed y'all, it's your choice.
jimmy
The 3rd healing recorded in chronological order is the healing of Peter’s ma-in-law. This is recorded in three of the gospels. Mark 1:29-31 & Luke 4:38-39 both record the deed but now Matthew finally gets into the “healings record game” in Matthew 8:14-15. The funny thing is Matt must have not cared what order the healings were in but rather that they just got recorded (I’ll cover that more in the entry “The Leper”). In the same chapter 8 he recorded the healing of the leper (8:2-4) and Centurion’s servant (8:5- 13) ahead of Pete’s ma-in-law but several sources show that those 2 healings happened after Pete’s ma-in-law. Not to write it off but in the grand scheme of things I don’t think it matters too much.
This last summer I had the privilege of co-teaching a class on the book of James with a friend of mine. My friend is a retired minister; he’s done this for years. I learned a very valuable thing from my friend: it was how to back up and look at the whole picture. I tend to get caught up in every detail and in turn lose focus on what’s really going on or what’s really being said. So let’s do that here, let’s back up and look at the whole picture. In the first 8 chapters of Matt we can see Jesus fulfilling His calling. Jesus came to preach/teach, then to heal (Matt 4:23). He came to set the captive free, first spiritually then physically. Seriously, what good is it to go to hell physically healthy? Matt chapter 5 through the end of chapter 7 records the famous “Sermon on the Mount”. There we find the “Be-attitudes” and so much more; those would be classified as the teaching/preaching part of Jesus’ calling. Or you can classify them as “spiritually freeing” parts of His ministry. Next in Matt chapter 8, we see Jesus “physically freeing” people from sickness and death. Matt never says what order the healings happened, he just records them. Let’s get to his version of the healing of Pet’s ma-in-law.
Matt 8:14-15 “14When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.”
Look carefully how Jesus ministered to her, “He touched her hand”. Recently I was listening to Pastor Bob Yadian’s series on “The Healing Lamb” (it’s a great teaching; you can pick it up on ITunes under “Precepts Radio”). Pastor Bob pointed out that when Jesus ministered healing to women He only touched their hands. We can see Jesus setting the standard on how to pray for the opposite sex. You pray for the opposite sex with discretion. In 1st Tim 3:1-7 Paul gives Timmy a list of qualifications that his elders must have. One of the requirements on that list is “Now the overseer must be above reproach” (1st Tim 3:2). There is no clearer example of “above reproach” than Jesus himself. Even at Jesus’ trial his accusers could not pin anything on Him. Even in the most spiritual situations it is important to remember our manners. One of the things about being “Christ-like” is to be “above reproach”.
Another thing that Pastor Bob pointed out was that Jesus never “prayed for the sick”. Sure enough Jesus did not pray for Pete’s ma-in-law; instead He commanded her fever to go. Matt records Jesus just touching her hand but Luke tells us that Jesus said what He said and the fever did what it was commanded to do. Now in James 5:14-15 we do see elders of the church praying for the sick. So there is prayer for/against sickness but when Jesus dealt with sickness He didn’t mess around. I guess we should’nt mess around either. Just get rid of it - sickness that is.
Stay blessed y'all, it's your choice.
jimmy
Crazy Synagogue Guy Pt.3 of 3
Now that’s amazing!
We covered how amazed the people in the synagogue were at Jesus’ teaching. He hadn’t even healed the crazy dude yet. Then in Part 2 we covered the “set free”. Now it’s time to really be amazed. Let’s read our text before going further.
Luke 4:31 – 36
31Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.
33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34"Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
35"Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" 37And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
Mark 1:21 - 28
21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
25"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." 28News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
Check out how Mark put it in 1:27: “The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, ‘What is this? A new teaching – and with authority!’ He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” This "amazement" is different than the first "amazement" recorded. This is beyond their ears being tickled; truly this is authority in action. I could only imagine being in that synagogue crowd that day. First I hear this traveling speaker teach with true conviction. It’s like the scripture that he is sharing is really alive inside of him. Second he tells a “loud mouth” to shut up and the “loud mouth” starts shaking like crazy and then chills out like everything is normal. That is one biblical scene I want to see on HeavenTube when we get up there. Luke records the congregation saying “What is this teaching? With Authority and Power”. The Authority he taught with caught their amazement before, but now His power has caught the crowds’ attention. The Greek word used for power here is “Dunamis”. It’s the same word used in Hebrews 1:3 “sustaining all things by his powerful word.” It is also the same word used in Acts 1:8 “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” It’s the same power. You know what that means? The same power that really amazed the synagogue crowd is the same power that now dwells in us. Now that is crazy to comprehend, it shouldn’t be but it is. It shouldn’t be crazy to comprehend because Jesus himself said that. In the last entry I mentioned Mark 16:18 but let’s look at verses 15-18: 15He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." Now He’s not telling us to gargle rat poison, he’s just saying we’re protected. Now that truly is amazing. The same healing power that flowed out of Jesus now flows out of us, in Jesus name. The question is, will we use it and let it flow or damn it up.
Stay Blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
We covered how amazed the people in the synagogue were at Jesus’ teaching. He hadn’t even healed the crazy dude yet. Then in Part 2 we covered the “set free”. Now it’s time to really be amazed. Let’s read our text before going further.
Luke 4:31 – 36
31Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.
33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34"Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
35"Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" 37And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
Mark 1:21 - 28
21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
25"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." 28News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
Check out how Mark put it in 1:27: “The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, ‘What is this? A new teaching – and with authority!’ He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” This "amazement" is different than the first "amazement" recorded. This is beyond their ears being tickled; truly this is authority in action. I could only imagine being in that synagogue crowd that day. First I hear this traveling speaker teach with true conviction. It’s like the scripture that he is sharing is really alive inside of him. Second he tells a “loud mouth” to shut up and the “loud mouth” starts shaking like crazy and then chills out like everything is normal. That is one biblical scene I want to see on HeavenTube when we get up there. Luke records the congregation saying “What is this teaching? With Authority and Power”. The Authority he taught with caught their amazement before, but now His power has caught the crowds’ attention. The Greek word used for power here is “Dunamis”. It’s the same word used in Hebrews 1:3 “sustaining all things by his powerful word.” It is also the same word used in Acts 1:8 “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” It’s the same power. You know what that means? The same power that really amazed the synagogue crowd is the same power that now dwells in us. Now that is crazy to comprehend, it shouldn’t be but it is. It shouldn’t be crazy to comprehend because Jesus himself said that. In the last entry I mentioned Mark 16:18 but let’s look at verses 15-18: 15He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." Now He’s not telling us to gargle rat poison, he’s just saying we’re protected. Now that truly is amazing. The same healing power that flowed out of Jesus now flows out of us, in Jesus name. The question is, will we use it and let it flow or damn it up.
Stay Blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
Crazy Synagogue Guy Pt. 2 of 3
You best recognize!
Going on with the Crazy Dude: A couple of years ago I read a book by Lester Summerall called “Demons: The Answer Book”. After reading it I would watch these prison documentaries on MSNBC and CNN and wonder how many of the prisoners were possessed. I can honestly tell you I have never knowingly been confronted by a demon possessed person. I’m not really planning on it. I’m not one that looks for the supernatural/paranormal kind of stuff. I have been to places where I felt a strong demonic presence or so it seemed. New Orleans is a place that comes to mind. Kesha and I went there years ago; we were uncomfortable the whole time. On the flip side I remember when Kesha and I first moved to Iowa City; someone asked me what I felt when I drove into town. My answer was “opportunity” ~ spiritually speaking. I think that person was looking for an answer along the lines of “evil” or something. Whether it’s I.City or N.O., I choose this: 1st John 4:4 “Greater is He that is in me then he that is in the world” and Romans 8:31“If God be for me then who can be against me.” Romans 8:31 “Who can be against me” has to be one of the greatest “spiritual” smack talk scriptures. That is pretty much saying that anyone who comes against me is nothing; they are nobody. I love smack talk! I used to wear my OU gear into Lincoln, Nebraska every time I visited it. Lincoln definitely has some Football Demons.
Let’s read on the healing (or freeing) of this crazy dude in the Capernaum Synagogue.
Luke 4:31 – 36
31Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.
33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34"Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
35"Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" 37And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
Mark 1:21 - 28
21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
25"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." 28News about him
spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
Let’s cover the “cast out”, shall we? In the last entry I talked about how amazed the people were at Jesus’ teaching. Now this crazy dude starts acting up. Luke 3:33-34 states “In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, ’Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!’” I want to focus in on that “Ha” in a moment but first we’ll look at what this demon says: “Holy One of God”. James 2:19 states “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” This “crazy synagogue dude” is a clear example of the point James is making in his book. But back to what the demon dude said. “Holy One of God”. My NIV study bible had this in the notes section: “The Holy One of God, the title is used elsewhere only in John 6:69 and points to Christ’s divine origin rather than his Messiahship. The name was perhaps used by the demons in accordance with the occult belief that the precise use of a person’s name gave certain control over him.” Sounds good to me, I told you, I don’t mess much with the paranormal stuff. Nonetheless, it’s seems like this demon is challenging Jesus. If it was not challenging Jesus then it would have stayed silent. Let’s get back to that “Ha” that Luke recorded. The Amplified states “Ah, let us alone!” I love the Message; it put’s it this way “Ho!” The Literal translation says it this way: “Aha! What is to us and to You…” “Ha, “Ah”, “Ho”, and “Aha” all show some kind of surprise or offense. What ever the demon was trying to say Jesus wasn’t going to put up with it. Jesus just simply states “Shut up & Get out”. That is New King Jimmy version (my favorite version) we can read what happens next: the demon left kicking and shrieking. I love how Dr. Luke records the “cast out”. He states in 4:35 that “Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.” Luke, being a doctor, made sure we, the readers, knew the man was set free without injury even though the demon did it’s best to kill the man. This story is telling me that no matter how big the problem is or how much the problem tries to take us out, our God is bigger. The problem could be a freaky demon or a simple cold it doesn’t matter. Our God is bigger. Colossians 2:15 states that Jesus “disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” I don’t/won’t take the time to fully dive into Colossians 2:15 but the “powers and authorities” are now the “nothing” that Romans 8:31 speaks of. No matter what rises up and tries to control you, it has to let go of you because God is bigger! Not only does it have to let go of you but you will be without injury. The word injury used in Luke 4:35 caught my attention. The Greek word for injury is the same used for “hurt” in Mark 16:18: “they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." That Greek word is Blapto and it also means, besides injure and hurt, to disable, weaken, and impede. Impede means to slow down. So what I want us to grasp today is the healing power of Jesus will not only set us free but whatever we were in bondage to before can no longer injure, hurt, disable, weaken, or slow us down. Whether that’s a demon or sickness, it does not matter. We’ve got a race to run, no need to be slowed down.
Stay Blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
Going on with the Crazy Dude: A couple of years ago I read a book by Lester Summerall called “Demons: The Answer Book”. After reading it I would watch these prison documentaries on MSNBC and CNN and wonder how many of the prisoners were possessed. I can honestly tell you I have never knowingly been confronted by a demon possessed person. I’m not really planning on it. I’m not one that looks for the supernatural/paranormal kind of stuff. I have been to places where I felt a strong demonic presence or so it seemed. New Orleans is a place that comes to mind. Kesha and I went there years ago; we were uncomfortable the whole time. On the flip side I remember when Kesha and I first moved to Iowa City; someone asked me what I felt when I drove into town. My answer was “opportunity” ~ spiritually speaking. I think that person was looking for an answer along the lines of “evil” or something. Whether it’s I.City or N.O., I choose this: 1st John 4:4 “Greater is He that is in me then he that is in the world” and Romans 8:31“If God be for me then who can be against me.” Romans 8:31 “Who can be against me” has to be one of the greatest “spiritual” smack talk scriptures. That is pretty much saying that anyone who comes against me is nothing; they are nobody. I love smack talk! I used to wear my OU gear into Lincoln, Nebraska every time I visited it. Lincoln definitely has some Football Demons.
Let’s read on the healing (or freeing) of this crazy dude in the Capernaum Synagogue.
Luke 4:31 – 36
31Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.
33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34"Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
35"Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" 37And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
Mark 1:21 - 28
21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
25"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." 28News about him
spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
Let’s cover the “cast out”, shall we? In the last entry I talked about how amazed the people were at Jesus’ teaching. Now this crazy dude starts acting up. Luke 3:33-34 states “In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, ’Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!’” I want to focus in on that “Ha” in a moment but first we’ll look at what this demon says: “Holy One of God”. James 2:19 states “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” This “crazy synagogue dude” is a clear example of the point James is making in his book. But back to what the demon dude said. “Holy One of God”. My NIV study bible had this in the notes section: “The Holy One of God, the title is used elsewhere only in John 6:69 and points to Christ’s divine origin rather than his Messiahship. The name was perhaps used by the demons in accordance with the occult belief that the precise use of a person’s name gave certain control over him.” Sounds good to me, I told you, I don’t mess much with the paranormal stuff. Nonetheless, it’s seems like this demon is challenging Jesus. If it was not challenging Jesus then it would have stayed silent. Let’s get back to that “Ha” that Luke recorded. The Amplified states “Ah, let us alone!” I love the Message; it put’s it this way “Ho!” The Literal translation says it this way: “Aha! What is to us and to You…” “Ha, “Ah”, “Ho”, and “Aha” all show some kind of surprise or offense. What ever the demon was trying to say Jesus wasn’t going to put up with it. Jesus just simply states “Shut up & Get out”. That is New King Jimmy version (my favorite version) we can read what happens next: the demon left kicking and shrieking. I love how Dr. Luke records the “cast out”. He states in 4:35 that “Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.” Luke, being a doctor, made sure we, the readers, knew the man was set free without injury even though the demon did it’s best to kill the man. This story is telling me that no matter how big the problem is or how much the problem tries to take us out, our God is bigger. The problem could be a freaky demon or a simple cold it doesn’t matter. Our God is bigger. Colossians 2:15 states that Jesus “disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” I don’t/won’t take the time to fully dive into Colossians 2:15 but the “powers and authorities” are now the “nothing” that Romans 8:31 speaks of. No matter what rises up and tries to control you, it has to let go of you because God is bigger! Not only does it have to let go of you but you will be without injury. The word injury used in Luke 4:35 caught my attention. The Greek word for injury is the same used for “hurt” in Mark 16:18: “they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." That Greek word is Blapto and it also means, besides injure and hurt, to disable, weaken, and impede. Impede means to slow down. So what I want us to grasp today is the healing power of Jesus will not only set us free but whatever we were in bondage to before can no longer injure, hurt, disable, weaken, or slow us down. Whether that’s a demon or sickness, it does not matter. We’ve got a race to run, no need to be slowed down.
Stay Blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
Crazy Synagogue Guy Pt. 1 of 3
Crazy Synagogue Guy pt. 1: Authority Established.
The second recorded chronological healing in the Gospels is Crazy. Seriously! Both Luke and Mark recorded this story. There must be something that the Holy Spirit wants us to grab there because He wanted us to read it at least twice. My only question is why is the crazy dude 2nd? As I stated in the “Official’s son pt.1” John 3:23 tells us Jesus had already performed many miraculous healings, so why is this one the next to be recorded? I am not going to give you a “Thus saith the Lord” reason why I think this one was chosen second; but I am going to give you my opinion. Before I go further we should read both Luke’s and Mark’s accounts.
Luke 4:31 – 36
31Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.
33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34"Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
35"Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" 37And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
Mark 1:21 - 28
21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
25"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." 28News about him
spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
There are little differences in the 2 recordings of this healing. One difference is Mark states that “They went to Capernaum” and Luke says “he went down to Capernaum”. In the verses right before Mark points out that Jesus calls out His first disciples Simon (Peter), Andrew, James, and John. Luke covers Jesus’ birth, baptism, and genealogy but doesn’t bother with the calling out of the first four disciples. It doesn’t mean he is contradicting Mark, he just simply didn’t mention them. In Luke 4:29, just 2 verses after this story of the crazy dude, Luke finally mention the 4 disciples. Mark didn’t even bother with any of Jesus’ childhood but jumped right into the adulthood of Christ. If someone gets hung up on that difference then they are really just looking for a reason to not believe. After Jesus and his boys get into Capernaum, they stroll into the local synagogue. Synagogues were places for the local Jews to worship God and study His word. Jesus took advantage of the custom that allowed visiting teachers to participate in the worship service by invitation of the synagogue leaders. With Jesus’ fame growing, what local synagogue wouldn’t want Him to come speak?
In this entry I’m not even going to get to the “healing”, I want to first point out something I just absolutely love. Both Mark and Luke recorded it. It’s something that is stated before the crazy dude acts up. Luke states in verse 4:32 that the people at the synagogue “were amazed at his teaching”. AMAZED! The King James says “they were astonished”; that’s probably better translated, but I like “Amazed.” Mark 1:22b finishes it off with “because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.” The “teachers of the law” were the ones who were supposed to have the authority. They were teaching on law. Law = Authority. But yet the teachers had no authority in their teaching on the Law or the Bible. Think about this. That crazy dude didn’t act up until he heard Jesus teach. He could have been going to that local synagogue for years. Or maybe this was his first time at the synagogue--nothing like a first impression. Nonetheless, he didn’t act up till he heard true authority speak. Luke stated that “his message had authority”. Take a few minutes and just meditate on those 4 words: “His message had authority”. His message still has the same authority today as it did back then. In another synagogue guest speaking experience--the one in Nazareth that Jesus was at just before this craziness--He quoted Isaiah 61:1-2. It states: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." In the Naz synagogue experience the congregation rejected the Authority but the Cap crowd was “amazed”. We still have the same 2 choices today as those who were in the Cap and Naz synagogues: are we amazed at his authority or do we reject it? We could add a 3rd choice: do we go crazy when hearing it? And I don’t mean crazy in a good way. I’m going to choose “amazed” and let His “Authority” change me day by day.
Stay Blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
Jimmy
Luke 24:32 They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
The second recorded chronological healing in the Gospels is Crazy. Seriously! Both Luke and Mark recorded this story. There must be something that the Holy Spirit wants us to grab there because He wanted us to read it at least twice. My only question is why is the crazy dude 2nd? As I stated in the “Official’s son pt.1” John 3:23 tells us Jesus had already performed many miraculous healings, so why is this one the next to be recorded? I am not going to give you a “Thus saith the Lord” reason why I think this one was chosen second; but I am going to give you my opinion. Before I go further we should read both Luke’s and Mark’s accounts.
Luke 4:31 – 36
31Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.
33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34"Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
35"Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" 37And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
Mark 1:21 - 28
21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
25"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." 28News about him
spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
There are little differences in the 2 recordings of this healing. One difference is Mark states that “They went to Capernaum” and Luke says “he went down to Capernaum”. In the verses right before Mark points out that Jesus calls out His first disciples Simon (Peter), Andrew, James, and John. Luke covers Jesus’ birth, baptism, and genealogy but doesn’t bother with the calling out of the first four disciples. It doesn’t mean he is contradicting Mark, he just simply didn’t mention them. In Luke 4:29, just 2 verses after this story of the crazy dude, Luke finally mention the 4 disciples. Mark didn’t even bother with any of Jesus’ childhood but jumped right into the adulthood of Christ. If someone gets hung up on that difference then they are really just looking for a reason to not believe. After Jesus and his boys get into Capernaum, they stroll into the local synagogue. Synagogues were places for the local Jews to worship God and study His word. Jesus took advantage of the custom that allowed visiting teachers to participate in the worship service by invitation of the synagogue leaders. With Jesus’ fame growing, what local synagogue wouldn’t want Him to come speak?
In this entry I’m not even going to get to the “healing”, I want to first point out something I just absolutely love. Both Mark and Luke recorded it. It’s something that is stated before the crazy dude acts up. Luke states in verse 4:32 that the people at the synagogue “were amazed at his teaching”. AMAZED! The King James says “they were astonished”; that’s probably better translated, but I like “Amazed.” Mark 1:22b finishes it off with “because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.” The “teachers of the law” were the ones who were supposed to have the authority. They were teaching on law. Law = Authority. But yet the teachers had no authority in their teaching on the Law or the Bible. Think about this. That crazy dude didn’t act up until he heard Jesus teach. He could have been going to that local synagogue for years. Or maybe this was his first time at the synagogue--nothing like a first impression. Nonetheless, he didn’t act up till he heard true authority speak. Luke stated that “his message had authority”. Take a few minutes and just meditate on those 4 words: “His message had authority”. His message still has the same authority today as it did back then. In another synagogue guest speaking experience--the one in Nazareth that Jesus was at just before this craziness--He quoted Isaiah 61:1-2. It states: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." In the Naz synagogue experience the congregation rejected the Authority but the Cap crowd was “amazed”. We still have the same 2 choices today as those who were in the Cap and Naz synagogues: are we amazed at his authority or do we reject it? We could add a 3rd choice: do we go crazy when hearing it? And I don’t mean crazy in a good way. I’m going to choose “amazed” and let His “Authority” change me day by day.
Stay Blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
Jimmy
Luke 24:32 They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
The Official’s Son Pt. 3 of 3
He didn’t even get to see the replay!
This is being written on a Saturday with College football on in the background. My teams have already played: OU got beat by Texas (AGAIN!! DRATS!!) and the Hawkeyes won big against Wisconsin (GO HAWKS). So with this last entry on the “Official’s Son,” I think it is fitting to use the following analogy. Have you ever been in the other room when the big play happened? Then on top of that, when you finally get back to the TV the replays have already been shown and they’re moving onto the next down/play/swing/whatever? I am sure that has happened to all of us. Let’s go ahead and read our text one more time and finish this thing up.
John 4:43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
48 "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
In the last entry I pointed out how Jesus said right to the officials face “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders …you will never believe." We know that the dad (the awesome example of being a true father) stood in there and fought for his son. Jesus followed up by saying “You may go, your son will live.” That’s when the dad took Jesus at his word and departed. Since we just read the whole story again I won’t continue with the “play by play” but do you realize the father never saw his son being healed? Sure he saw the end result (his healthy son) but he never saw the processes; he never saw the big play. Going back to the game analogy we want our team to win but what we love more is to watch them win it. The end result is what we want but the play by play is what we desire. Not only did this dad not get to see the big play he didn’t get to see the replay either. He made it back to the “TV” too late--more like a day late. Now think about what Jesus said to his face “Unless you people see…you will never believe” [emphasis mine]. WOW! This guy/dad/awesome example of fatherhood really did “Walk (all day & night) by faith not by sight” [ref 2 Cor 5:7]. Well, he had to keep his eyes open to walk back home, but still he never saw the healing take place. What brings tears to my eyes is what verse 53 says: “Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he and his household believed.” His whole household believed!! Now we have no real idea how big his household was. He was a “Royal Official” so we know his income was up there. We know he had at least 2 servants because of what John 4:51 says: “While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news… [emphasis mine]”. We know he had a son so that is at least 4 in the household. I am not sure what the average family size was for the area the Official was from, but I’ve heard 5 was the going rate for the number kids in a Jewish family at that time. You have to count the mother in there somewhere. I am going to take a guess and say the number in his household was 10. That’s just a guess, but no matter how many were in the household, they all believed on Jesus. Think about this: the reason why the whole household believed was not because of the son’s healing but because the father’s faith. The whole household, except the dad, saw the son get suddenly well, but it was only when the father returned that the whole household believed. What an awesome example of faith. Heb 11:1 famously states: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” We don’t need to see it; we just need to believe it. Going back to the my first entry on this subject, the healing and the whole household believing is all a result of this man taking Jesus at His word. John 1:1 states “In the beginning was the Word”. Let the Word be the beginning of your faith. The results will be more then what you could imagine or think.
I’m excited to start on the next recorded healing that Jesus did. It’s crazy!! I’m even more excited about “seeing” how strong our faith will grow. I want testimonies!!
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
This is being written on a Saturday with College football on in the background. My teams have already played: OU got beat by Texas (AGAIN!! DRATS!!) and the Hawkeyes won big against Wisconsin (GO HAWKS). So with this last entry on the “Official’s Son,” I think it is fitting to use the following analogy. Have you ever been in the other room when the big play happened? Then on top of that, when you finally get back to the TV the replays have already been shown and they’re moving onto the next down/play/swing/whatever? I am sure that has happened to all of us. Let’s go ahead and read our text one more time and finish this thing up.
John 4:43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
48 "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
In the last entry I pointed out how Jesus said right to the officials face “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders …you will never believe." We know that the dad (the awesome example of being a true father) stood in there and fought for his son. Jesus followed up by saying “You may go, your son will live.” That’s when the dad took Jesus at his word and departed. Since we just read the whole story again I won’t continue with the “play by play” but do you realize the father never saw his son being healed? Sure he saw the end result (his healthy son) but he never saw the processes; he never saw the big play. Going back to the game analogy we want our team to win but what we love more is to watch them win it. The end result is what we want but the play by play is what we desire. Not only did this dad not get to see the big play he didn’t get to see the replay either. He made it back to the “TV” too late--more like a day late. Now think about what Jesus said to his face “Unless you people see…you will never believe” [emphasis mine]. WOW! This guy/dad/awesome example of fatherhood really did “Walk (all day & night) by faith not by sight” [ref 2 Cor 5:7]. Well, he had to keep his eyes open to walk back home, but still he never saw the healing take place. What brings tears to my eyes is what verse 53 says: “Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he and his household believed.” His whole household believed!! Now we have no real idea how big his household was. He was a “Royal Official” so we know his income was up there. We know he had at least 2 servants because of what John 4:51 says: “While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news… [emphasis mine]”. We know he had a son so that is at least 4 in the household. I am not sure what the average family size was for the area the Official was from, but I’ve heard 5 was the going rate for the number kids in a Jewish family at that time. You have to count the mother in there somewhere. I am going to take a guess and say the number in his household was 10. That’s just a guess, but no matter how many were in the household, they all believed on Jesus. Think about this: the reason why the whole household believed was not because of the son’s healing but because the father’s faith. The whole household, except the dad, saw the son get suddenly well, but it was only when the father returned that the whole household believed. What an awesome example of faith. Heb 11:1 famously states: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” We don’t need to see it; we just need to believe it. Going back to the my first entry on this subject, the healing and the whole household believing is all a result of this man taking Jesus at His word. John 1:1 states “In the beginning was the Word”. Let the Word be the beginning of your faith. The results will be more then what you could imagine or think.
I’m excited to start on the next recorded healing that Jesus did. It’s crazy!! I’m even more excited about “seeing” how strong our faith will grow. I want testimonies!!
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
The Official’s Son Pt. 2 of 3
Do you really want this?!?!
The more I meditate on this passage the more I am getting out of it. I’ve really yet to dig deep into the Greek for stuff, this is all surface substance. I love the word of God. It truly is “. . .living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” ~ Hebrew 4:12.
Here is our text again:
John 4:43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
48 "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
Was Jesus stretching this guy? Was Jesus really asking, “Do you really want this?” I know that sounds crazy but many times we go into prayer with a wish instead of with faith. Our prayers sound more like “God, I wish you would take this from me” instead of “I know this is possible”. James 5:16b says “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” That’s the King James Version. The NIV left out the “Effectual fervent” part of that script. Here’s the Amplified “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].” Let’s see how this “Official’s” prayer for his son was “earnest (heartfelt, continued)”. Going back to John 4:46, The “Royal Official” (remember that title) heard that Jesus was in Galilee so he took off to meet Jesus. In verse 45 we see a bit of a crowd forming around Him for good reason; Jesus put on a awesome show. Set yourself on fire and people will watch you burn. They’d seen what He did in Jerusalem at Passover. Furthermore, Jesus is returning to the water/wine miraculous sign location. Now in the mix of all of this the “Royal Official” came walking up begging for his son’s deliverance. Jesus said something that blows me away. John 4:48 records "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe." This was loud enough for the crowd to hear, but Jesus said it right to the “Royal Official’s” face! “Royal Official” = Title. This guy was important. This guy had clout. This guy didn’t have to take this from some revolutionary—especially in front of the crowd. I’m sure the crowd was well aware of this guy’s title. Instead of being offended the “Royal Official” put down his “title” and simply said (vs. 49) “Sir, come down before my child dies”. He stayed in there fighting for his son. This is vaguely similar to the Canaanite Woman story; both she and the “Royal Official” stayed in there fighting for their children. As I meditated on this passage I think I got what Jesus was really doing. He was stretching them from beyond wishful thinking into a mindset of determination; an unwavering belief that, not only could Jesus heal their children, but that Jesus would heal their children. We know that in both stories the children were healed, but do we believe the same in will happen in our own lives? Do we want to fight for our healing, our health, or do we just wish it would happen? Do we put our prayer request on our prayer chain lists more for coping reasons or because we actually believe in the power of prayer? Think on these things.
By doing this study I am not trying to get or present some new type of formula for receiving our healing. I believe we will see a similar trait in all the recorded healings of the Gospels—that trait being Just take Jesus at His Word (John 4:50). The whole point of this study is to just build faith. Romans 10:17 states “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
A Father’s fight!
As a man/dad I find this story refreshing. It’s cool to see that the first recorded healing was a father fighting for his kid’s life. Usually men get a bad rap when it comes to this part of parenting. Let’s face it women, you all usually get most of the glory in parental battles and with good reason. You’re natural fighters for your children. For 9 months you fight in pregnancy. We men are pretty cool with the whole conception and cheering you on until due day, but the birthing process is more of a battle than any man wants to take on. So you women start off parenting with a fight; it comes naturally to you. What I love in this story is that the Holy Spirit shows, through the example of the “Royal Official”, how we as men can and should battle for our families. In my next entry I’ll cover the end result of this awesome father’s battle!
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
The more I meditate on this passage the more I am getting out of it. I’ve really yet to dig deep into the Greek for stuff, this is all surface substance. I love the word of God. It truly is “. . .living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” ~ Hebrew 4:12.
Here is our text again:
John 4:43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
48 "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
Was Jesus stretching this guy? Was Jesus really asking, “Do you really want this?” I know that sounds crazy but many times we go into prayer with a wish instead of with faith. Our prayers sound more like “God, I wish you would take this from me” instead of “I know this is possible”. James 5:16b says “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” That’s the King James Version. The NIV left out the “Effectual fervent” part of that script. Here’s the Amplified “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].” Let’s see how this “Official’s” prayer for his son was “earnest (heartfelt, continued)”. Going back to John 4:46, The “Royal Official” (remember that title) heard that Jesus was in Galilee so he took off to meet Jesus. In verse 45 we see a bit of a crowd forming around Him for good reason; Jesus put on a awesome show. Set yourself on fire and people will watch you burn. They’d seen what He did in Jerusalem at Passover. Furthermore, Jesus is returning to the water/wine miraculous sign location. Now in the mix of all of this the “Royal Official” came walking up begging for his son’s deliverance. Jesus said something that blows me away. John 4:48 records "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe." This was loud enough for the crowd to hear, but Jesus said it right to the “Royal Official’s” face! “Royal Official” = Title. This guy was important. This guy had clout. This guy didn’t have to take this from some revolutionary—especially in front of the crowd. I’m sure the crowd was well aware of this guy’s title. Instead of being offended the “Royal Official” put down his “title” and simply said (vs. 49) “Sir, come down before my child dies”. He stayed in there fighting for his son. This is vaguely similar to the Canaanite Woman story; both she and the “Royal Official” stayed in there fighting for their children. As I meditated on this passage I think I got what Jesus was really doing. He was stretching them from beyond wishful thinking into a mindset of determination; an unwavering belief that, not only could Jesus heal their children, but that Jesus would heal their children. We know that in both stories the children were healed, but do we believe the same in will happen in our own lives? Do we want to fight for our healing, our health, or do we just wish it would happen? Do we put our prayer request on our prayer chain lists more for coping reasons or because we actually believe in the power of prayer? Think on these things.
By doing this study I am not trying to get or present some new type of formula for receiving our healing. I believe we will see a similar trait in all the recorded healings of the Gospels—that trait being Just take Jesus at His Word (John 4:50). The whole point of this study is to just build faith. Romans 10:17 states “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
A Father’s fight!
As a man/dad I find this story refreshing. It’s cool to see that the first recorded healing was a father fighting for his kid’s life. Usually men get a bad rap when it comes to this part of parenting. Let’s face it women, you all usually get most of the glory in parental battles and with good reason. You’re natural fighters for your children. For 9 months you fight in pregnancy. We men are pretty cool with the whole conception and cheering you on until due day, but the birthing process is more of a battle than any man wants to take on. So you women start off parenting with a fight; it comes naturally to you. What I love in this story is that the Holy Spirit shows, through the example of the “Royal Official”, how we as men can and should battle for our families. In my next entry I’ll cover the end result of this awesome father’s battle!
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
The Official’s Son Pt. 1 of 3
The Official’s Son Pt. 1
At His Word!
I’m starting a study on the healings that Jesus performed in the Gospels and I’m doing them in chronological order. The reason for this is to just build faith. I’m personally not facing any health dilemma. I’m really doing quite well. . .well I could stand to lose 10lbs but I’m way better off than I was 6yrs ago. I just think we all could use a better understanding of healing and who better to learn it from than the great healer Himself, Christ Jesus.
The first recorded healing that Jesus did was the healing of the Official’s son. Even though it is found in John chapter 4, it is the first chronological healing recorded (and the second miraculous sign with the first being the water/wine sign). I don’t believe, however, that it is the first healing that Jesus did because of what John 3:23 says: “Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.” What better “miraculous signs” are there then healing people? I guess that is open for interpretation. Also, remember what John said at the end of his book: John 21:25 “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” The “Official’s son” is the first recorded healing in the gospels for good reason. There are a few things we can learn about faith in this story. For this blog entry I am only going to bring out one of the points and I think it’s a pretty important one—the one that sticks out to me the most. Here’s the story straight from John himself.
John 4:43After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
48"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
I used the NIV here because of how it translated verse 50. The Message puts verse 50 this way: “The man believed the bare word Jesus spoke and headed home.” That’s alright. Look at the Amplified: “And the man put his trust in what Jesus said and started home.” I like that. The trusty KJV states: “And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.” There are many more translations but those are the main ones I bounce around in. I still like the way the NIV put it. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s because it sounds like something I would say. Above you can read the results of the man taking Jesus at his word. There are several more points to healing faith here and I’ll cover them in following entries. I see persistence here, also walking by faith and not by sight, but what is so striking are the 7 words found in verse 50: “The man took Jesus at his word”. Taking Jesus at His word is so KEY to our victory in faith. With all the health scares going around today from the lack of insurance, to swine flu, to flu season, blah, blah, and more blah, it’s time for us who call on Christ’s name to start taking Jesus at his word. Maybe you don’t have a sick son at home but why wait for that to start taking Jesus at his word? My wife, who is running spiritual laps around me right now, started doing something so simple but so huge. She is refusing headaches. You read that right, refusing them. If she feels one coming on she just denies it in the name of Jesus and goes on her way. Later she will remember that she refused the pain and rejoice, she never got the full blown headache. Give it a shot, start simple and work up from there. If we all do this then pretty soon we’ll stop giving hospitals so much business, well except for having babies. Maybe at that time America would really have a health insurance problem because there would no longer be a need for it. If there is no supply of sickness then there is no demand for health insurance. We can knock out the “supply” by “His Word” and in turn bring down the “demand.” Sounds impossible? John G. Lakes wouldn’t think so. Because of his “healing rooms” Spokane, Washington was labeled “the healthiest city in the world”. That was in only a short 5 year span of 1915-20. Imagine what we can do if we all walk in that kind of faith! So today start with little things like headaches and colds and take Jesus at his word. Before you know it your house will be labeled “the healthiest house in the world”.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
At His Word!
I’m starting a study on the healings that Jesus performed in the Gospels and I’m doing them in chronological order. The reason for this is to just build faith. I’m personally not facing any health dilemma. I’m really doing quite well. . .well I could stand to lose 10lbs but I’m way better off than I was 6yrs ago. I just think we all could use a better understanding of healing and who better to learn it from than the great healer Himself, Christ Jesus.
The first recorded healing that Jesus did was the healing of the Official’s son. Even though it is found in John chapter 4, it is the first chronological healing recorded (and the second miraculous sign with the first being the water/wine sign). I don’t believe, however, that it is the first healing that Jesus did because of what John 3:23 says: “Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.” What better “miraculous signs” are there then healing people? I guess that is open for interpretation. Also, remember what John said at the end of his book: John 21:25 “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” The “Official’s son” is the first recorded healing in the gospels for good reason. There are a few things we can learn about faith in this story. For this blog entry I am only going to bring out one of the points and I think it’s a pretty important one—the one that sticks out to me the most. Here’s the story straight from John himself.
John 4:43After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
46Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.
48"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."
49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
54This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
I used the NIV here because of how it translated verse 50. The Message puts verse 50 this way: “The man believed the bare word Jesus spoke and headed home.” That’s alright. Look at the Amplified: “And the man put his trust in what Jesus said and started home.” I like that. The trusty KJV states: “And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.” There are many more translations but those are the main ones I bounce around in. I still like the way the NIV put it. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s because it sounds like something I would say. Above you can read the results of the man taking Jesus at his word. There are several more points to healing faith here and I’ll cover them in following entries. I see persistence here, also walking by faith and not by sight, but what is so striking are the 7 words found in verse 50: “The man took Jesus at his word”. Taking Jesus at His word is so KEY to our victory in faith. With all the health scares going around today from the lack of insurance, to swine flu, to flu season, blah, blah, and more blah, it’s time for us who call on Christ’s name to start taking Jesus at his word. Maybe you don’t have a sick son at home but why wait for that to start taking Jesus at his word? My wife, who is running spiritual laps around me right now, started doing something so simple but so huge. She is refusing headaches. You read that right, refusing them. If she feels one coming on she just denies it in the name of Jesus and goes on her way. Later she will remember that she refused the pain and rejoice, she never got the full blown headache. Give it a shot, start simple and work up from there. If we all do this then pretty soon we’ll stop giving hospitals so much business, well except for having babies. Maybe at that time America would really have a health insurance problem because there would no longer be a need for it. If there is no supply of sickness then there is no demand for health insurance. We can knock out the “supply” by “His Word” and in turn bring down the “demand.” Sounds impossible? John G. Lakes wouldn’t think so. Because of his “healing rooms” Spokane, Washington was labeled “the healthiest city in the world”. That was in only a short 5 year span of 1915-20. Imagine what we can do if we all walk in that kind of faith! So today start with little things like headaches and colds and take Jesus at his word. Before you know it your house will be labeled “the healthiest house in the world”.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
Can a dog be spirit-led?
From when I was about 6 months old till I was 8 years old my family lived on a farm. On 3 farms actually, though not all at once. We moved around a bit. . .It seems like I am always on the move. When I was around 2 years old I wandered off into a corn field. I have no idea how I got out of the house and lost in the field. I’m the 5th of 6 kids, so it’s a good guarantee that one of us is going to get lost sometime or another. Anyway my family, as best as they could, searched the cornfield for me. The corn wasn’t fully grown but the stalks were taller than me, and with blond hair I blended right in. My family tried but could not find me. I was lost for sure. Not only was my family searching for me, but my mother had also gone to a local business and they assembled a search party to look for me. I was found later that day, but not by the search party or one of my family members — well, not by my brother, sisters, Mom, or Dad. Cookie found me. Cookie was our good ol’ farm mutt. She was named Cookie because all of her fur was black except her neck, which was white. She went into the cornfield and barked like crazy when she found me, thus making it possible for the searchers to locate us. I don’t remember much from that age but I do remember that dog. We have had A LOT of dogs, but Cookie was one of our family’s favorites. So that begs the question, can a dog be spirit-led? I say “why not?” I believe the Holy Spirit led Cookie right to me and sounded the alarm. What biblical proof do I have to back this up? There are a few Bible stories where God used animals to get his purpose fulfilled but the one that comes to mind is the fish with $$ in its mouth. Look at Matthew 17:24-26 “24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?" 25 "Yes, he does," he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or from others?" 26 "From others," Peter answered. "Then the sons are exempt," Jesus said to him. 27 "But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” That fish had to listen to something to grab up a coin (the exact amount to pay 2 people's tax), not swallow it, and then be ready to get caught by Peter.
Saige is always asking me to tell her some of my childhood stories. As I tell her these stories of my life I reflect on how God fits into the picture. I know it was a dog that found me and dogs are great hunters, but Cookie was just a run-of-the-mill farm mutt with no “search and rescue” training. As I re-tell Saige this story over and over again I thank God that Cookie found me or else my life may have ended up corny. Get it? Because I was lost in a corn field. I guess that goes without explanation. So I ask you, can a dog, fish, donkey, or any other animal be Spirit-led? I think so, but I’ll let you decide. I know it’s not some deep theological dilemma, but it is something to ponder.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
Saige is always asking me to tell her some of my childhood stories. As I tell her these stories of my life I reflect on how God fits into the picture. I know it was a dog that found me and dogs are great hunters, but Cookie was just a run-of-the-mill farm mutt with no “search and rescue” training. As I re-tell Saige this story over and over again I thank God that Cookie found me or else my life may have ended up corny. Get it? Because I was lost in a corn field. I guess that goes without explanation. So I ask you, can a dog, fish, donkey, or any other animal be Spirit-led? I think so, but I’ll let you decide. I know it’s not some deep theological dilemma, but it is something to ponder.
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy
Lost In Transition
Lost in transition.
Have you ever felt lost in transition? I almost feel like I am in a perpetual stated of transition. Just when I finally feel like I’m hitting my flow it’s time for transition again. I think the worse is when we (Kesha & me) commit to a transition and a great position opens up, a position that we can’t fill because we’re in transition. I went on BibleGateway.com to find something on the subject of transition. It brought up this great article by Ron Hutchcraft. I have no idea who he is or how he is doing as a minister. I guess I could do a Wiki search but I half way trust Wikipedia as anyone can edit it. I’m just going to copy and post his article. I could try to re-write it but something would get lost. Speaking of editing I’m also going ahead and posting this without my editor's approval. Kesha is super busy and it may be weeks before she can look at it.
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"And now, in the center ring, high above the big top..." Or something like that. When we took our kids to the circus, that was how the ringmaster would introduce those stars of the big show, those death-defying artists on the high trapeze. They're amazing! I mean, they leap with perfect poise and grace from one trapeze to another until they end up safe on that platform across the arena. Now, I can imagine someone with lots of practice eventually getting used to hanging onto a trapeze. And maybe even then feeling relatively secure as soon as they reach that next bar. But it's that time between trapezes that would bother me - that does bother me.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Living Between Trapezes."
Now, that may be where you're living right now. One phase of your life is behind you; you're counting on a new one ahead. But right now you're in one of life's great "in between" times. So were the people God was advising in our word for today from the Word of God beginning in Jeremiah 29:5 .
The Jews are in a temporary spot between two permanent spots. They started in their homeland of Israel. They'll end up back in Israel, but right now they are experiencing the "in between" of captivity in Babylon. And God gives His instructions for people who are hanging there between trapezes. Listen. "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."
The message to God's ancient people may be, in essence, what He wants to say to you today. When you're in between, don't hold back. Live as if you'll be there your whole life. In the words of missionary martyr Jim Elliott, "Wherever you are, be all there." God says, "Build... settle... plant... increase... work for the good of that place."
You may be saying, "But, Lord, this isn't where I want to be. I just want to get by until we get to our destination." Listen to this statement from verse 11 in the same chapter, Jeremiah 29 . "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" It seems that God's good plans for tomorrow come out of your living wholeheartedly today.
You may very well not be where you hope you'll end up. You're between jobs or in one that's just a stopgap. Maybe you're single hoping to be married, you're living in a temporary situation or you're waiting for some breakthrough. Like the Jews of old, you're in an "in between" place. But also like them, God expects you to build there, to plant, to increase, to improve it.
And as you do, you give God the attitude He can use to bring you to His very best. If you're in between trapezes right now, remember - this is a terrible place to lose your concentration. Bloom where you're planted. Be all you can be right where you are. Make the greatest possible difference you can there. It's the best way to end up safely at the destination that you want so much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back to me: "Build... settle... plant... increase... work for the good of that place." I once heard a minister on the radio say “God never called us to be successful, just faithful”. None of this transition is going to matter 500 years into eternity, but the faithfulness will count for something. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite scripture. Eph 3:20 says “now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” That's almost the New Testament equivalent of Jer 29:11. I’m gonna let Him do His work as I go about doing His work, even if I feel like I'm in transition. I just want to stay faithful to Him, how about you?
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice!
jimmy
Have you ever felt lost in transition? I almost feel like I am in a perpetual stated of transition. Just when I finally feel like I’m hitting my flow it’s time for transition again. I think the worse is when we (Kesha & me) commit to a transition and a great position opens up, a position that we can’t fill because we’re in transition. I went on BibleGateway.com to find something on the subject of transition. It brought up this great article by Ron Hutchcraft. I have no idea who he is or how he is doing as a minister. I guess I could do a Wiki search but I half way trust Wikipedia as anyone can edit it. I’m just going to copy and post his article. I could try to re-write it but something would get lost. Speaking of editing I’m also going ahead and posting this without my editor's approval. Kesha is super busy and it may be weeks before she can look at it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And now, in the center ring, high above the big top..." Or something like that. When we took our kids to the circus, that was how the ringmaster would introduce those stars of the big show, those death-defying artists on the high trapeze. They're amazing! I mean, they leap with perfect poise and grace from one trapeze to another until they end up safe on that platform across the arena. Now, I can imagine someone with lots of practice eventually getting used to hanging onto a trapeze. And maybe even then feeling relatively secure as soon as they reach that next bar. But it's that time between trapezes that would bother me - that does bother me.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Living Between Trapezes."
Now, that may be where you're living right now. One phase of your life is behind you; you're counting on a new one ahead. But right now you're in one of life's great "in between" times. So were the people God was advising in our word for today from the Word of God beginning in Jeremiah 29:5 .
The Jews are in a temporary spot between two permanent spots. They started in their homeland of Israel. They'll end up back in Israel, but right now they are experiencing the "in between" of captivity in Babylon. And God gives His instructions for people who are hanging there between trapezes. Listen. "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."
The message to God's ancient people may be, in essence, what He wants to say to you today. When you're in between, don't hold back. Live as if you'll be there your whole life. In the words of missionary martyr Jim Elliott, "Wherever you are, be all there." God says, "Build... settle... plant... increase... work for the good of that place."
You may be saying, "But, Lord, this isn't where I want to be. I just want to get by until we get to our destination." Listen to this statement from verse 11 in the same chapter, Jeremiah 29 . "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" It seems that God's good plans for tomorrow come out of your living wholeheartedly today.
You may very well not be where you hope you'll end up. You're between jobs or in one that's just a stopgap. Maybe you're single hoping to be married, you're living in a temporary situation or you're waiting for some breakthrough. Like the Jews of old, you're in an "in between" place. But also like them, God expects you to build there, to plant, to increase, to improve it.
And as you do, you give God the attitude He can use to bring you to His very best. If you're in between trapezes right now, remember - this is a terrible place to lose your concentration. Bloom where you're planted. Be all you can be right where you are. Make the greatest possible difference you can there. It's the best way to end up safely at the destination that you want so much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back to me: "Build... settle... plant... increase... work for the good of that place." I once heard a minister on the radio say “God never called us to be successful, just faithful”. None of this transition is going to matter 500 years into eternity, but the faithfulness will count for something. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite scripture. Eph 3:20 says “now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” That's almost the New Testament equivalent of Jer 29:11. I’m gonna let Him do His work as I go about doing His work, even if I feel like I'm in transition. I just want to stay faithful to Him, how about you?
Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice!
jimmy
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