John 5:1-15

“Notice what you notice.” Today we go back to Jerusalem in John’s Gospel. Jesus asked the man at the pool, “Do you want to be healed?” Time and again I have read Jesus’ question and wondered why Jesus would ask that. Surely the man would want to be healed, having spent 38 years lying there. But my Study Bible thought it was a reasonable question. Maybe the man’s illness (and excuse: “…while I am going another steps down before me”) was his best way for dealing with his situation. Not unlike “scam beggars” today, maybe this man did better with his illness than if he had to work his way through life.

The sick man did not know Jesus either before or after his healing. Only when Jesus recognized him in the temple did he finally truly meet his healer. So he rushed off to tell the Jewish leaders that his healer was Jesus, in my mind thinking that he was doing Jesus and the Jewish leaders a favor. I can see the joy in his eyes as he reported this news. And I’m sure the Jewish leaders’ response left him more confused than ever!

Jesus is not limited to asking questions about healing. What might He be asking me (or you) today?

Slava Bohu!

Mark 6:1-6

“Notice what you notice.” Today is Mark’s account of Jesus’ return to his hometown, Nazareth. And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. (v.5) It’s almost like Mark has really high expectations for Jesus, seeing no “mighty works” in Nazareth except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them, no small feat in itself! However, most recently Mark has reported on the calming of the storm in chapter 4 and the healing of the Gerasene demoniac, the raising of Jairus’ daughter, and the healing of the woman with a hemorrhage in chapter 5. So he (Peter?) had seen some “mighty works” at Jesus’ hand, but not in Nazareth.

So I wonder if I’m a “mighty works” sort of person, discounting “everyday” miracles. And although I reported a few days ago that I had never witnessed a healing (beyond normal medical intervention), I have, in fact, claimed up to a dozen “miracles” that cannot be explained by my normal understanding of life and the world around me, including six that I consider extraordinary. Plus I recognize that there are dozens (or even hundreds when we are driving) of daily deliverances of which I am completely unaware. So yes, I’m a miracles person. And if I had been at Nazareth with my current faith, I think I would have appreciated and applauded those “few sick people” that Jesus healed.

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 13:53-58

“Notice what you notice.” Today is Matthew’s account of Jesus’ return to his hometown, Nazareth. And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” (v. 57) I can’t remember when I first read this verse or heard it read, but I do recall early-on spending serious time trying to uncouple the “triple negative” and understand what Jesus said. So eventually I simplified and translated it as “A prophet has no honor at home.” So yes, I now understand the verse, but I love the original “triple negative”.

So yeah, this verse always jumps out at me. But today, the intro to that verse caught me, that “they took offense at Him”. And that caught me because I have felt some “lack of honor” in my own family. Coming from my rural roots it should be no surprise to anyone that I was the only child out of nine in the family to have even a college degree, let alone a PhD. And yes, I received “honor” from a number of my siblings. However, I clearly recall two occasions when one brother and one sister effectively ridiculed my education or my position as a college professor. Although I dismissed one of those comments as more jealousy than anything else, the second was more hurtful and has stayed with me to this day.

So I might be able to relate a bit as to how Jesus felt about being rejected at home. I doubt He stayed there long. And the good news is that at least one of his brothers (James) eventually embraced faith in Jesus’ resurrection and Messiahship. In addition, His mother Mary was with Him to the bitter end and was one of the early witnesses to His resurrection. So, all’s well that ends well? Maybe not. What about the other brothers and sister(s)? And there are still lingering disappointments.

Slava Bohu!

Luke 8:49-56

“Notice what you notice.” Today is the second half of Luke’s account of the raising of Jairus’ daughter. And her spirit returned and she got up at once. (v. 55) I have often heard the phrase “body, soul, spirit” applied to humans as a person’s physical body, personality, and life, respectively. These words from Luke confirm that ordering. Jairus’ daughter was not breathing and had no heartbeat, so the friends and relatives naturally would presume that she was dead. In fact, she WAS dead, except that Jesus understood our human ordering far beyond his peers. Her spirit WAS gone – otherwise it could not have “returned”. But Jesus’ taking her by the hand and speaking to her brought her spirit back and she got up. By bringing back her spirit Jesus brought her back to life.

So, every living human being on earth is also composed of body, soul, and spirit. I think of that iconic “holy grandmother” whose last words fully reflect her personality before she dies – before her spirit passes on. We are all spirit beings – until we die. But are we “Holy Spirit beings”? Are our lives transformed by the Holy Spirit working within us? If you were not in church this past Sunday, go online and listen to Tim Tennent’s sermon. It’s all about the Holy Spirit, effectively about how little “press” the Holy Spirit gets, but how powerful He is. Dr. Tennent opens up the Holy Spirit for us, in the Old Testament and the New. It’s a powerful message! Or come to this Friday’s “First Friday Prayer and Praise” service (6:30 pm), where we will be “Experiencing and Sharing the Transforming Power of the Holy Spirit”. God has us on earth with a job to do. We need to be “Holy Spirit filled” Christians to get that job done!

Slava Bohu!

Luke 8:40-48

“Notice what you notice.” Today is the first half of Luke’s account of the raising of Jairus’ daughter and the woman with a discharge. Today’s first verse reads, Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. I’ve been assuming all along that Jesus and His friends have been staying in and around Capernaum. And in the events leading up to this Jairus’ encounter, Jesus and His friends had taken off in the evening to sail across the Sea of Galilee. On the way He calmed a storm on the lake, then healed the demoniac when He arrived. After He cast out the demons into the pigs, the crowds asked Him to leave and He got back into the boat. So, He took off in the evening one day, arrived at the land of the Garasenes that evening or the next morning, then sailed back to Capernaum, presumably the next day.

The intriguing thing about all this is that the crowds that were with Him on the shore as He left one evening are still waiting for Him when He returned sometime the next day. Could they have had any expectation that He would return so quickly? What if He had been gone two or three days? How long would the crowd have waited for Jesus to return? Clearly Jesus had created quite a stir in and around Capernaum and the rest of Galilee.

Slava Bohu!

Mark 5:35-43

“Notice what you notice.” Today is the second half of Mark’s account of the raising of Jairus’ daughter. I see Jesus today as a “take charge” guy: But He put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with Him and went in where the child was. (v. 40) One of my Study Bible notes said that professional mourners were often called in to weep and wail over someone’s death, but that the time would have been too short in this case to bring in professionals. So the people who were creating the commotion must have been family and close friends. Because of their relationship to Jairus and his family, they knew they had the right – even the responsibility – to be there, but Jesus “put them all outside”.

Picture this, folks. You’re at the hospital. A dear friend or relative has Stage IV brain cancer and the doctors have just announced that the patient is dead. You’re in the room with the patient or in the hallway outside with maybe a dozen other relatives and close friends. Then in comes the hospital chaplain or a Pentecostal minister who says, “Clear the room. The patient is not dead, only sleeping. Move on outside.” My reaction: “Who do you think you are!!” But the chaplain/minister is forceful and a few minutes later our friend is walking out of the room to join us.

Jesus was indeed a powerful presence. The beginning of this narrative had Jesus getting out of the boat and a great crowd gathering around Him. And {that} great crowd followed Him and thronged about Him (v. 24), so much so that the woman with the discharge was able to sneak up through the crowd to touch His garment, hoping she would not be noticed. So after her healing, here’s Jairus, anxiously waiting for Jesus to finish with the woman so He can get on to the little girl. And Jesus dismisses the crowd, taking with Him only Peter, James and John. Then He gets to the house and dismisses that crowd.

I’m trying to picture Jesus in this setting – stern, forceful, tough – but One Who is to be obeyed. I don’t think I have a stern, forceful, tough Jesus in my life. Maybe I need Him in that demeanor…??

Slava Bohu!

Mark 5:21-34

“Notice what you notice.” It’s only the first half of Mark’s account of the raising of Jairus’ daughter and the healing of the woman with a discharge of blood, but there’s a ton of stuff that could be said. We covered this in our Men’s Group a year or two ago, so I won’t repeat those comments. It was about a 3-week discussion!

Verse 33 is intriguing to me: But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him… Yes, the synagogue official had also fallen at Jesus’ feet. But I sense something different in the woman. For the synagogue official, I can see respectful pleading that brings him to his knees before Jesus. But the woman came in “fear and trembling”. She was “unclean” and she knew it and anyone close to her also knew it. And anyone who touched her had to purify themselves according to the Law and remain unclean until evening. And presumably this happened relatively early in the day, shortly after Jesus had crossed the Sea of Galilee and come to Capernaum. So this woman knew that she might be facing Jesus’ wrath for her having touched Him. But instead He was gracious, forgiving, loving.

I expect that this is how Jesus is when we come to him with our 12+ years of baggage. Yet we also find ourselves in “fear and trembling” before Him, afraid and unwilling to admit to those deep, vile issues – of which He is already aware. It just doesn’t make sense that we keep secrets from Him. But we do. Dumb!

Blessings!

Matthew 9:18-34

“Notice what you notice.” Matthew: Healing miracles… Our reading today omits a simple item from earlier in the chapter, that Jesus had returned to Capernaum from across the Sea of Galilee in the land of the Gerasenes. We see this in verse 1 of chapter 9: And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. Just offering that geographic clarification…

Today’s Matthew reading has four healing miracles, including the raising of Jairus’ daughter and the healing of the woman with a flow of blood. These two miracles will be covered in the next four days in Mark and Luke. So today, the other two miracles – healing two blind men and a demon-possessed mute man…

In Matthew these other two miracles immediately follow the healing of Jairus’ daughter. Matthew has Him (presumably) leaving Jairus’ house and entering “the house” (v. 28), whereupon two blind men enter also and engage Him. Jesus doesn’t get much rest – crowds follow Him when He goes out in public and they even come into “the house”.

The healing of the two blind men is unique in Jesus’ ministry. As far as I can find out, this is the only place where He asked the men directly if they believe that He can heal them: …Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (v. 28) There are other occasions where Jesus asks whether people believe in Him (see John 11:26; 16:31), but not before a healing. And He rewards their belief, …“According to your faith be it done to you.” (v. 29)

I clearly lack healing faith. I do not discount healing miracles that others report (although some do seem suspect), but I have not seen those miracles myself (beyond “normal” medical intervention), nor have my intercessory prayers for healing in others’ lives been answered (again, beyond “normal” medical intervention). Just in the last month my siblings and I have been praying extensively for healing for my younger brother, Richard – that his prostate cancer would be removed before his operation (yesterday). Didn’t happen (although the doctors did report a successful surgery). That doesn’t shake any of my fundamental beliefs in our Almighty God, but I do wonder…

Blessings!

Luke 8:26-39

“Notice what you notice.” Luke’s account of the Gerasene demoniac… Here are Luke’s verses 28 and 29: When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. So the demons are asking not to be tormented. Presumably the “torment” was Jesus simply commanding them to come out of the man. Then the demons requested that they be cast into the pigs. Put all that together – the demons “requested” a body to inhabit and did not want to be cast into the abyss, also translated as the “bottomless pit”.

An online source helps me to understand all that. “The Abyss is a place for evil spirits and a place of eternal judgment. James 2:19 declares that even the demons believe that there is only ‘one God,’ however the demons ‘shudder’ because they are aware of the judgment of God that they (demons) will suffer eternal punishment. Matthew 25:41 describes eternal punishment (the Abyss) as an ‘eternal fire.’ That would be a place of great torment that caused a person, angel, or demon to ‘shudder’. (https://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/jesus-casts-out-demons-and-turns-them-to-pigs-faq.htm) So presumably if the demons did not have somewhere else to go, they would be condemned for all eternity. All that makes more sense now!

Blessings!