Matthew 9:29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
‘Hot town summer in the city. Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty!’ Yes Friends, that’s what’s been happening around here these last few days. The ole fogies will remember that tune from the late sixties, first made popular by John Sebastian and the Lovin’ Spoonful, then covered by people like B. B. King in his signature blues style. It’s so appropriate to summertime that it’s become a yearly staple, shades of a summer anthem. And no doubt it was pretty hot too when Jesus revived Jairus’ daughter, as we saw yesterday. Now, having promised to check out some more faith healing today, let’s do so. And we don’t have to venture far, for after leaving Jairus’ house, Jesus was followed by two blind men, ‘crying and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.’ (Matt.9:27) According to the scholars, that address, ‘son of David,’ was a messianic designation, which seems to indicate that the blind men had indeed put their faith in Jesus, considering Him the Messiah. What follows appears to bear this out, for when Jesus came to the house where He was sojourning, the blind men approached Him. ‘And Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straightly charged them, saying, See that no man know it. But they when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.’ (Matt.9:28 -31) Oh my people, why can’t we possess faith like those two blind men eh? Is it because we have all our limbs and faculties intact and feel whole, while they were incapacitated and had nothing to lose? It’s surely possible, since when we get caught in a jam, even unbelievers, the first words we utter are ‘Oh God!’ It just goes to show that somewhere buried deep in the human psyche is the knowledge of some power greater than man, but we’re so stubborn, egotistical and rebellious that we refuse to accept it, except in times of trouble. That might be what happened to the Pharisees when Jesus, soon after healing the blind men, healed a dumb man possessed with the devil. ‘And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: And the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel! But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of devils.’ (Matt.9:33-34) Hn! Now why would Jesus cast out devils if He was in cahoots with Beelzebub eh? It seems more likely that He’d be trying to demonize people. But it’s just human behaviour to deny stuff with poor reasoning, when the facts tend to throw our comfortable world off kilter. There’s one thing though that puzzles me with Jesus; that’s how on several occasions after healing people, He tells them not to noise it abroad. Now was that just His version of reverse psychology, or did He really want them to say nothing. That seems sorta difficult, for even if the recipients kept quiet, if you were blind, lame, dumb or possessed of some demon for any length of time, then suddenly you were made whole, it would certainly be noticed, especially in a small, close knit society like those of olden times. But moving on, we find Jesus in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, when a woman of Canaan, the same area, cries unto Him; ‘Have mercy on me Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.’ (Matt.15:22) Now there is another person, apparently poor and uneducated, who considers Jesus the Messiah, while the wealthy, educated elite refuses to accept it. This time though, for whatever reason, Jesus ignores the woman, and the disciples vote to send her away. But Jesus refuses, saying; ‘I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said. It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and cast it to the dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.’ (Matt.15:24-28) Ah mih Friends, that woman had such a good repartee for Jesus that He had no choice but to do her bidding. However, we don’t really need any wise words to come to Jesus, just a hurting, sincere, genuine heart, filled with the belief that He is whom He says He is, and can do what He says He can. If we’re penitent and humble, like those that got healed, there’s no reason why we too can’t be healed. My people, it all comes down to strong belief, trust and willing surrender, which, when combined, rolled and kneaded, like dough, we call faith. Notice how flour and water once mixed together cannot be separated; it works the same way with belief, trust and surrender; once turned into faith, it can never be undone. I therefore encourage and plead with us Friends, to do all in our power to heighten, to raise the level of our faith, for it’s only with a substantial amount of that spiritual strength and fortitude can we ever successfully journey through this troubled world. Anything less will spell disaster. Much LOVE!…only believe, trust and surrender…have faith…that Jesus is the way, the truth, the life…To be continued.
‘Hot town summer in the city. Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty!’ Yes Friends, that’s what’s been happening around here these last few days. The ole fogies will remember that tune from the late sixties, first made popular by John Sebastian and the Lovin’ Spoonful, then covered by people like B. B. King in his signature blues style. It’s so appropriate to summertime that it’s become a yearly staple, shades of a summer anthem. And no doubt it was pretty hot too when Jesus revived Jairus’ daughter, as we saw yesterday. Now, having promised to check out some more faith healing today, let’s do so. And we don’t have to venture far, for after leaving Jairus’ house, Jesus was followed by two blind men, ‘crying and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.’ (Matt.9:27) According to the scholars, that address, ‘son of David,’ was a messianic designation, which seems to indicate that the blind men had indeed put their faith in Jesus, considering Him the Messiah. What follows appears to bear this out, for when Jesus came to the house where He was sojourning, the blind men approached Him. ‘And Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straightly charged them, saying, See that no man know it. But they when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.’ (Matt.9:28 -31) Oh my people, why can’t we possess faith like those two blind men eh? Is it because we have all our limbs and faculties intact and feel whole, while they were incapacitated and had nothing to lose? It’s surely possible, since when we get caught in a jam, even unbelievers, the first words we utter are ‘Oh God!’ It just goes to show that somewhere buried deep in the human psyche is the knowledge of some power greater than man, but we’re so stubborn, egotistical and rebellious that we refuse to accept it, except in times of trouble. That might be what happened to the Pharisees when Jesus, soon after healing the blind men, healed a dumb man possessed with the devil. ‘And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: And the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel! But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of devils.’ (Matt.9:33-34) Hn! Now why would Jesus cast out devils if He was in cahoots with Beelzebub eh? It seems more likely that He’d be trying to demonize people. But it’s just human behaviour to deny stuff with poor reasoning, when the facts tend to throw our comfortable world off kilter. There’s one thing though that puzzles me with Jesus; that’s how on several occasions after healing people, He tells them not to noise it abroad. Now was that just His version of reverse psychology, or did He really want them to say nothing. That seems sorta difficult, for even if the recipients kept quiet, if you were blind, lame, dumb or possessed of some demon for any length of time, then suddenly you were made whole, it would certainly be noticed, especially in a small, close knit society like those of olden times. But moving on, we find Jesus in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, when a woman of Canaan, the same area, cries unto Him; ‘Have mercy on me Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.’ (Matt.15:22) Now there is another person, apparently poor and uneducated, who considers Jesus the Messiah, while the wealthy, educated elite refuses to accept it. This time though, for whatever reason, Jesus ignores the woman, and the disciples vote to send her away. But Jesus refuses, saying; ‘I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said. It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and cast it to the dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.’ (Matt.15:24-28) Ah mih Friends, that woman had such a good repartee for Jesus that He had no choice but to do her bidding. However, we don’t really need any wise words to come to Jesus, just a hurting, sincere, genuine heart, filled with the belief that He is whom He says He is, and can do what He says He can. If we’re penitent and humble, like those that got healed, there’s no reason why we too can’t be healed. My people, it all comes down to strong belief, trust and willing surrender, which, when combined, rolled and kneaded, like dough, we call faith. Notice how flour and water once mixed together cannot be separated; it works the same way with belief, trust and surrender; once turned into faith, it can never be undone. I therefore encourage and plead with us Friends, to do all in our power to heighten, to raise the level of our faith, for it’s only with a substantial amount of that spiritual strength and fortitude can we ever successfully journey through this troubled world. Anything less will spell disaster. Much LOVE!…only believe, trust and surrender…have faith…that Jesus is the way, the truth, the life…To be continued.
SCRIP-BITS 