I hear you

Matthew 9:32-34…

Of course, Jesus is once again fulfilling His messianic call (Isaiah 35:5).

Of course, just because Jesus ordered the demon out of the man, and his speech resumed immediately doesn’t mean that anyone who cannot see, speak, or hear is demon possessed or has some curse (cf. John 9:1-5).

Of course, it wasn’t that all of them thought all the right things about Jesus. Some were beginning to recognize who He was, but many were just enthralled at the spectacle.

Of course, the religious leaders would have none of it. How we interpret the movements of God, and the facts about Jesus reveals the condition of our heart. Are you happy when people are helped, or do you immediately attribute everything to ulterior motives and sinister means?

Of course, Jesus knew that this would be so (Matthew 13:14-15). Those that have no fellowship have no faith, and therefore have no reason to see or hear what Jesus has to say, even denying His obvious presence among them in power.

Of course, for those whom it is granted to see and hear, the move of God is a wonderful thing to behold and be a part of (Matthew 13:16 / Acts 10:38).

Of course, it can be quite easy to slip into cynicism and lose sight of the truth in the search to prove or preserve our position.

Of course, you can hear what I’m saying, can’t you?

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

I see you

Matthew 9:27-31…

And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him. Think about it; blind men found Him. The news of Jesus raising the little girl from the dead would have caused quite a commotion, and the crowd obviously was a signal that Jesus was coming near. Are we discerning God’s movements?

Have mercy on us, Son of David. These men realized who Jesus was. “Son of David” was a messianic title (Romans 1:3), and the healing of the blind a messianic hope (Isaiah 35:5). This miracle shows yet another realm of the authority of Jesus; He can give sight.

Do you believe that I am able to do this? Jesus gives them the opportunity to pour out their whole heart. Yes, Jesus is God, and He knows our heart (Hebrews 4:12-13), but He wants us to strive for His heart (Hebrews 11:6).

According to your faith be it done to you. This does not mean that the amount of healing depends on the amount of faith. Rather, it simply means that these blind men received their sight from Jesus because they believed Him to be the Messiah. They had faith based on what they knew the Scripture predicted and what they had heard Jesus was doing. We see the Scriptures, and we hear the testimonies, but will we have faith? Keep looking, and keep changing (2 Corinthians 3:18).

See that no one knows about it. Jesus was revealing Himself as the Messiah, but at that time He was trying to control the situation because He was first and foremost coming for the problem of sin, and that would take the cross, not the throne. It was and is always more about the spiritual than the physical. Now that His death and resurrection have happened, we are supposed to go and tell everyone. Unbelievers are held captive by the enemy and are blind to the liberating truth, but Jesus has the power to give sight (2 Corinthians 4:4-6).

Do you see Jesus as He is, or is He just some guy that people are talking about?

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Time for breakfast

Matthew 9:23-26 / Mark 5:35-43 / Luke 8:49-56…

Why does Jesus say that the girl is just sleeping, when it is clear that He understands she’s dead? The answer is that Jesus is giving us an understanding of His power over death (Hebrews 2:14-15). He spoke to her as if she was alive because God “gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (Romans 4:17).

Jesus basically tells the girl, “Honey, it is time to get up.” Jesus is saying by His actions, “If I have you by the hand, death itself is nothing but sleep.”

We view our problems differently than God. We have a finite perspective and power, we are limited. God has an infinite perspective and power. He is not limited. We see Jesus as misinformed of our situation, and incapable of doing what we need. What we may see as a crisis, God sees as something else. We think it is too late, but God is always right on time.

The ordeal takes the people surrounding the place from weeping, to scornful laughter, to wondrous awe. That seems to be the way of most people who are born again by the Spirit of God. Not that the people in this story were born again, but that many people start out in the place of sorrow, and when Jesus is presented to them, they immediately act with scorn, but then after Jesus makes His true person and power known to them, they now stand in awe of their Savior.

Notice that she was given something to eat. She was brought back to life, but she would still have to live out her days in natural ways. You may have received the new birth, but you need new food. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed, so let us not run back to the jail cell, or be so hasty to place the shackles back on our feet. We must feed on Christ.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©