Sharing Bread Matthew 9:32-34

SHARING BREAD

³² While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. ³³ And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel."

³⁴ But the Pharisees said, "It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons."

Matt 9:32-34 (NIV)

Oh the unbelieving naysayers – seeking to find any reason for the miraculous other than the obviously correct one.  The Pharisees were determined to discredit Jesus by crediting His power to the prince of demons for the miracle of the healed demoniac.  Later in Matthew we find a similar scenario and our Lord’s reaction to it – clearly this is one of the few times we discover Him defending His authority – most of the times He remained silent to His opposition leaving them alone as blind guides:

²² Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. ²³ All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.” ²⁵ Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house.”  Matt 12:22-29 (NIV)

This poor demon possessed man was a sad case indeed – he could not speak.  The Devil having gained possession of his soul made him silent of anything good.  There was muteness in his prayers and praises as well as muteness in any of the most intimate and kindly conversations.  Having just healed the blind man, others usher another of Satan’s handiwork into our Lord’s presence for help.  Christ was untiring, always going about doing good – as the waves of the sea, one good work continually followed another.  One can never exhaust the goodness, love and mercy of our Lord Jesus:

³⁷ You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached-- ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.    Acts 10:37-38 (NIV)

 

“Though our Savior’s passion is over, His compassion is not.”   William Penn

 

“Human love is capable of great things.  What then must be the depth and height and intensity of divine love?”   Lord Shaftesbury 

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.   Romans 8:35-39 (NIV)

 

When Christ heals, he does not simply put a Band-Aid on the problem rather He heals by dealing with the root – removing the effect of its tentacles by taking away the cause.  The lips could speak because Satan had lost the power over that poor distraught soul.  Never forget, Christ has power over Satan and his minions.  I am reminded of Jesus’ Word recorded in Luke:

¹⁷ The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." ¹⁸ He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. ²⁰ However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."   Luke 10:17-20 (NIV)

 

“I remember two things:  that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.”  John Newton

 

What I glean from this:

 

·       In all generations people have sought and continue to seek to explain Christ away.

·       Jesus was and is untiring in doing good works both then and now.

·       Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.  

 

Sharing Bread Matthew 9:27-31

SHARING BREAD

²⁷ As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

²⁸ When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"

"Yes, Lord," they replied.

²⁹ Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; ³⁰ and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this." ³¹ But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.

Matt 9:27-31 (NIV)

Is it not amazing how Jesus ever seems to leave behind Him a wake of the miraculous which continues on to this day?  While restoring sight surely points to an all-powerful God, the changing of the human heart through the power of the Holy Spirit to alter the ways of the wanderer is no less miraculous.  Our verses for today prove to be no different in the actions of Jesus.  We discover two blind men following closely on the heels of the Healer boldly begging for mercy from His hand.  Christ being the light of the world as well as the fountain of life:

¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."   John 8:12 (NIV)

 

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."  John 7:37-38 (NIV)

 

“Miracles are not the proofs, but the necessary results, of revelation.”   Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The promise God made to King David that the Messiah would come from his body was well known among the Jewish people.  These blind men not only knew but acknowledged and announced that Jesus was the long awaited One – the Son of David.  Though deprived of physical sight they, by the grace of God, were given enlightened eyes of understanding to discern greater things from above - things hidden from even the wise and prudent.  The “wisdom” of the world is as foolishness in the sight of God:

²⁶ Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him.   1 Cor 1:26-29 (NIV)

 

²⁵ At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.”  Matt 11:25-26 (NIV)

 

We see next in these verses that whatever our needs or burdens may be, we need to seek first the mercy of our Lord Jesus for our sufficiency, strength, salvation and path.  His will is pleasing and perfect – whether He chooses to heal us physically or spiritually.  It is His desire for us to lean totally upon Him – those tired from excessive toil, those weighed down with burdens or sickness, those who have reached the end of their hope and rope and even those who perhaps wrongly surmise they have no needs whatsoever, He urges to come to Him and commit their way to His.  The safest place to be is smack dab in the center of His will.  His call is to all and when we come to Him we trade our inabilities for His abilities, our insufficiencies for His sufficiency, and our wanderings in a trackless waste for His Way.  Later in Matthew He tells us:

 

²⁸ "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."    Matt 11:28-30 (NIV)

 

And come after Him these poor blind souls did.  Not only did they come after they proclaimed His Messiah-ship in the process - following Him all the way into the house He entered.  We would do well to remember that Jesus’ doors are always open to bold petitioners in prayer – we are never more bold than welcome.  Our Lord next poses the question of faith to those seeking His mercy – faith being the great condition our Lord always favors.  Those desirous of His mercy must believe in His achieving power to help for only God can open the eyes of the blind as in this particular case.  This begs the question from us – do we believe Jesus is able to help us in our specific need.  Is He our first resort or last?  Remember, in response to their faith Jesus heals.  The same is true today.    

 “Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.”   Thomas V. Moore

What I glean from this:

·       Jesus always leaves behind Him a wake of the miraculous.

·       The “wisdom” of this world is as foolishness in God’s sight.

·       Jesus desires to be my First Resort.

              

 

Sharing Bread Matthew 9:18-26

SHARING BREAD

¹⁸ While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, "My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live." ¹⁹ Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.

²⁰ Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. ²¹ She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."

²² Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.

²³ When Jesus entered the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, ²⁴ he said, "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him. ²⁵ After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. ²⁶ News of this spread through all that region.

Matt 9:18-26 (NIV)

In our verses for today we discover two incidents of the miraculous from the hand and even the hem of the Healer.  Jairus, the synagogue ruler whose daughter had just died and the woman with the issue of blood both humbly approach the Master believingly hopeful in the God of all hope to heal.  Those desirous of mercy from the Master must honor the Master in their love and humility.  Both the conditions of these two supplicants were completely above the powers of nature to help yet well within the power of Christ to accomplish Who has life in Himself.  It is interesting that the age of Jairus’ daughter and the woman’s duration of hemorrhaging had both been twelve years and in reading the other gospel accounts of this same passage one can see clearly the hopelessness of both situations.  Those not possessing the hope of nature can possess the hope of Christ as we discover in our verses for today.  I am reminded of Paul’s word in Romans to us as I read these accounts of suffering:

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.   Romans 15:13 (NIV)

The passage begins by Jairus approaching Jesus - kneeling before Him – humbly requesting Him to come heal his daughter who had recently died.  This incident of the shattering of his family’s well being sent this ruler straight to the Shepherd who ever lovingly tends to His sheep.  Then in the midst of this healing – introduced parenthetically – we discover the woman subject to bleeding approaching our Lord.  All things in our life should drive us to the feet of the Savior.  Scripture shows us that Jesus’ miracles were both sown thickly and interwoven.  The Savior’s job description on His First Advent not only included preaching Truth but producing the good work of healing and binding up the brokenhearted as well.  We discover in Isaiah:

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, ² to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor.     Isaiah 61:1-2 (NIV)

 

“God's mercy is vast and beyond our comprehension. He will never reject anyone who turns to Him for mercy. Nor will He force Himself on anyone who chooses to live without Him”.
Michael Youssef

Acquiescing to the ruler’s request, Jesus begins His journey to Jairus’ home.  Our Lord’s readiness to comply shows forth as He immediately rose and went with the supplicant – not only willing to grant the request but even complying to go to his home to fulfill it.  Those who seek Christ never seek Him in vain.  Enter the poor hemorrhaging woman on the scene having had spent all monies and efforts seeking healing yet to no avail.  She was a heart-rending case indeed - deserving pity - having neither health nor money.  Her condition was not only weakening and wasting but also rendered her ceremonially unclean – an outcast, excluded from the courts of the Lord’s house but not from approaching the Healer Who we discover, lovingly renders her the mercy she so desperately desired.  This woman believed Christ to have such an overwhelming fullness of power that by merely touching His garment – without even a Word – she would be healed.  Christ accepted the sincerity and power of her faith and heals this precious soul as well as encourages her heart with His Word – so like Jesus.

 

The scene quickly changes to the ruler’s home where the mourners had already gathered.  Many had come together to grieve the loss and comfort the parents in their distress.  The Lord rebukes the noisy crowd with His Word:  "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep."  Jesus is unhindered by their mocking and leaving the crowds outside, He goes in and does what only He can do – immediately raises the child to life again with but a Word.  She was dead to the world but alive to Christ Who knew within Himself what He would and could do.  Amazing.   

 

“God alone knows the depth and riches of His Godhead, and divine wisdom alone can declare His secrets.”   Thomas Aquinas

What I glean from this:

 

·       I am to approach Jesus in humility and faith.

·       Jesus is the Help of the helpless, the Hope of the hopeless.

·       Jesus is the Shepherd of my soul.

Sharing Bread Matthew 9:14-17

SHARING BREAD

¹⁴ Then John's disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁵ Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.”

¹⁶ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. ¹⁷ Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Matt 9:14-17 (NIV)

It is sad commentary indeed when the observances of our religious disciplines and duties - which should be motivated and confirmed by holy love – become more of an albatross to us rather than a pleasure and a delight.  You can almost hear the disciples of both the Baptist and the Pharisees conspiring together over the unfairness of their having been obedient to the spiritual discipline of fasting while the disciples of the Lord Jesus did not seem to have to.  Fasting appears as a bondage to these guys.  Surely, God does not look for us to relate to Him merely in a ritualistic way.  He desires our obedience because we desire obedience.  He calls us to walk with Him in humble fellowship - in modesty not arrogance – in desire and not duty.  This is what is most beneficial for us.  Faith knows God always has our best interest at heart.    I am reminded of the prophet Micah’s words regarding God’s requirements of His children:

⁸ He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.   Micah 6:8 (NIV)

 

“It probably isn’t as important to say ‘you need a heart for God’ as it is to say ‘you need to know God’s heart for you’.  The gospel isn’t about your goodness or your work, it’s about Christ’s goodness and work for you.”  Steve Brown

Fasting is to lead us to a delight in God and a dependency upon Him.  There is a tendency however to boast about our obedience to religious observances such as fasting as well as to trust in them instead of Christ for our righteousness.  The Pharisees loved to fast so that others would see them and think they were spiritual.  Instead of denying flesh they were glorifying flesh by seeking the praise of men over their actions.  Jesus specifically taught His disciples to fast in secret so that it would not be known to man rather only to the Father in heaven who is the Rewarded of the unseen acts of righteousness.  In the Sermon on the Mount we find:

¹⁶ “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”    Matt 6:16-18 (NIV)

Whatever Christ’s follower’s do that gives offense carries with it a reflection on Christ either by omission or commission.  This discord often kills love and sets people against ministers and ministers against people.  In our verses for today, Jesus comes to the defense of His guys who were acting according to His commands and pattern.  Those who faithfully follow the Lord Jesus can expect His defense.  I am reminded of the words in Isaiah:

¹⁷ no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD.   Isaiah 54:17 (NIV)

 

“A witness in a court of law has to give evidence; a Christian witness has to be evidence.”   Geoffrey R. King

Jesus responds to their query by stating it was not a proper time for the duty of fasting for His disciples as He was still with them.  This response did not condemn the practice of the others rather cleared His guys.  Our Lord compared the time to a wedding when everything was joyful and displays of sadness would have been improper.  There would however come a time when He would be taken from them when they would fast.  The condition of the children of the bride chamber depends upon whether they have more or less of the presence of the bridegroom. The closer we are to Jesus the happier we are.  In speaking of Jesus, John the Baptist states:

²⁷ To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ ²⁹ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.”  John 3:27-29 (NIV)

Lastly in our verses for today, Jesus tells us the wind of the Spirit was blowing, things were changing.  He came to usher in a new covenant which would be poured in to new vessels – vessels that had turned in repentance and crucified self.  He was not patching up an old system; His purpose was to bring something new.  He came to lead those who would follow in His steps into a kingdom based on His righteousness – a righteousness not built on following the law or on the traditions of the Pharisees - a kingdom bringing freedom and abundant life.

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. John 10:10 (NIV)

            

“Before we can pray ‘Thy kingdom come,’ we must be willing to pray, ‘My kingdom go.’”   Alan Redpath

 

What I glean from this:

 

·       My spiritual observances should be a delight not a duty.

·       God is the Rewarder of the unseen acts of righteousness.

·       Jesus is my defender.

Sharing Bread Matthew 9:9-13

SHARING BREAD

⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Matt 9:9-13 (NIV)

Jesus’ ministry was and is directed toward all who realize they have a need – btw, that would be everyone. It is a very good thing to realize that we all alike are in the same condition apart from Christ – needy – there are no exceptions.  Interestingly as well, God has a remnant among all kinds of people – sinners who realize their need for a Savior.  Indeed, He tells us in our verses for today it is precisely those for whom He came to call – seeking to save the lost – be it the banker or the burglar, the brilliant or the base, the businessman or the blasphemer.  Luke records a similar Word from our Lord:

¹⁰ “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”   Luke 19:10 (NIV)

 

“Sin is the sickness of the soul.  It is deforming, weakening, disturbing, wasting, and killing, but, we bless God, not incurable.  Jesus Christ is the great Physician of souls.  Wise and good people should be like physicians to everyone around them; Christ was so.  Souls that are sick with sin need this Physician, for their disease is dangerous; nature will not help itself.  No mortal can help us; we have such need of Christ that we are eternally ruined without Him.”  Matthew Henry

The fact that Jesus associated with tax collectors of course didn’t settle well with the Pharisees who foolishly fancied their lives as flawless flesh.  They thought it beneath them to associate with the likes of people such as these – being ever strict to avoid sinners yet not avoid sin. Blind to their own folly of their extraordinary religious pride, they could not accept the fact that Jesus not only reached out but welcomed those they believed to be far beneath them.  No one was a greater zealot than they for the mere form of godliness or greater enemies of its power.  Paul tells us in Timothy to have nothing to do with them – substance is better than show or shadows – obedience is better than sacrifice.  Acts of love trump the formalities of religious profession.  It is the Ace of spades so to speak: 

⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.   2 Tim 3:5 (NIV)

Believe me; we are all on level ground at the foot of the cross.  There was and is no one righteous, not even one. We must beware that pride is an insidious monster, particularly religious pride.  Pride never goes unpunished – a person who believes they are superior to others will eventually experience a downfall.  Scripture tells us:

¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.   Prov 16:18 (NIV)

 

¹² Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.  Prov 18:12 (NIV)

“Pride is an insidious disease of the soul because it can turn even justice and kindness into self-righteous deeds.”  Chuck Swindoll

“The essence of sin is pride. The heart of sin is independence and the core of sin is demanding my own way instead of God's.” Pat Singleterry

I think it precious that Matthew having received the mercy of God is now desirous of his friends to know of this salvation as well.  By opening his home, he provided the opportunity of helping his old associates come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus.  True grace is not content to sit and eat the morsels of its goodness alone rather to invite others of its limitless bounty. We were not saved to merely sit, soak and sour.  Matthew did what he could.  He opened his home and provided lavish hospitality out of his own means.  Luke records the incident as follows:

²⁹ Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.   Luke 5:29 (NIV)

 

“To show what true religion consists in:  not in external observances, but in doing all the good we can to the bodies and souls of others in righteousness and peace.”  Matthew Henry

 

We grasp Scripture more fully when we not only observe its Truth but apply them to our lives.  Head knowledge puffs up yet falls flat - it is love which edifies.

 

What I glean from this:

 

·       Jesus directed His ministry to those who realized their need.

·       Our Lord came to save and seek the lost.

·       I am to be a conduit of Christ’s love to others.

                    

Sharing Bread Matthew 9:1-8

SHARING BREAD

¹ Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 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.

Matt 9:1-8 (NIV)

The power and pity of the Lord Jesus is here demonstrated in His own town and appears in the limelight of our verses for today.  Christ yet again proves Himself to be the skillful and faithful Physician of both body and soul.  Our Lord has sufficient remedies for all maladies affecting and afflicting mankind.   Remember what the prophet Isaiah states regarding our sweet Jesus:

³ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ⁴ Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.   Isaiah 53:3-4 (NIV)

Mark tells us in the gospel bearing his name four men in an active and humble faith brought a paralytic to the Master for healing.  Lying on a mat, carried by caring companions, this paralyzed man was both helpless and hopeless.  Fortunately for him, his friends carried him to the God of the helpless and hopeless.   The crowds had so gathered and had become so great that the paralytic’s buddies ingeniously made a plan of digging through the roof above the Lord and lowering their paralyzed friend - while still on the mat (no small matter) - straight down through the opening before the feet of the Healer.  I think it interesting that these friends did not ask Christ to make a visit to them – which would have been far easier - rather they humbly and boldly brought the man to the Master.  A strong faith does not regard obstacles in pressing after Jesus.  We discover again, the Lord ever honors true faith:

¹ A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ² So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 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."  Mark 2:1-5 (NIV)

 

“Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible.  There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible.  Faith begins where man’s power ends.”   George Mueller  

 

“Show the world that thy God is worth ten thousand worlds to thee…..Be strong and very courageous, and the Lord thy God shall certainly, as surely as He built the heavens and the earth, glorify Himself in thy weakness, and magnify His might in the midst of thy distress.  The grandeur of the arch of heaven would be spoiled if the sky were supported by a single visible column, and your faith would lose its glory if it rested on anything discernible by the carnal eye.”   Charles H. Spurgeon 

Instead of being in absolute awe over having been eyewitnesses to the miraculous fingermarks of God, some of the teachers of the law mused to themselves in the secret whisperings of their inner thoughts that Jesus was a blasphemer because no one could forgive sins but God alone.  The greatest instances of the grace of God are here met with the blackest note of hell’s enmity.  Never mind the God miracle they just experienced.  Never mind that Jesus crystal clearly read their thoughts - Christ having perfect knowledge of all that we say within ourselves.  They did not like it. He just did not fit into their neat little mold of religiosity.  He made them uncomfortable so much so that they became reasonless - not even able to put two and two together.  I am reminded of King David’s prayer for his son Solomon regarding God’s full knowledge of our thoughts and the motives of our hearts:

 

⁹ “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”   1 Chron 28:9 (NIV)

 

What I glean from this:

 

·       Jesus came to carry my sorrows and to take up my infirmities.

·       Jesus always honors true faith. ¹ Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for.   Heb 11:1-2 (NIV)

·       The Lord Jesus knows my thoughts and the motives of my heart.  ⁹ For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.   2 Chron 16:9 (NIV)