The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 12:15,
"Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill."
After healing a man with a shriveled hand in a synagogue on the Sabbath and being aware the Pharisees were plotting how they could kill Jesus, he withdrew with a large crowd in tow. Matthew tells us here that Jesus healed all who were ill.
From the text, the natural assumption is that all who were in that crowd that were ill were healed by him. Clearly he had the power to heal. Jesus Christ is, after all, the Son of God. He can heal anyone he decides to.
So, my thought is, why didn't he just heal everybody - not just those in the crowd, but all who were alive that day? How about for all time? Why didn't Jesus just end illness and infirmity right there?
Perhaps you might find that somewhat silly. However, he could have done it and he didn't. We read of further healings Jesus performed following this account in Matthew's gospel. So, the question remains, why didn't Jesus just end all suffering at the time by providing a "blanket" healing - eradicate illness altogether?
The answer, of course, is that he had no intention of doing so. If we follow the text carefully, we find occurrences of healings he employed to establish his credentials as the Son of God. Other places we see he chose to communicate his compassion - an important trait he wants us all to know about as the Savior of the world. In the case of the man with the shriveled hand, he was making an important point with the religious leaders of the day.
God's plan is that he offers us healing in the resurrection. We all cast off this body of sin and illness and death, and for those of us who have embraced him in faith, he provides us a renewed resurrected body that will not be subject to illness, infirmity and death. Listen to Paul's exciting words about this: "I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.'"
This is a "healing" like no other!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill."
After healing a man with a shriveled hand in a synagogue on the Sabbath and being aware the Pharisees were plotting how they could kill Jesus, he withdrew with a large crowd in tow. Matthew tells us here that Jesus healed all who were ill.
From the text, the natural assumption is that all who were in that crowd that were ill were healed by him. Clearly he had the power to heal. Jesus Christ is, after all, the Son of God. He can heal anyone he decides to.
So, my thought is, why didn't he just heal everybody - not just those in the crowd, but all who were alive that day? How about for all time? Why didn't Jesus just end illness and infirmity right there?
Perhaps you might find that somewhat silly. However, he could have done it and he didn't. We read of further healings Jesus performed following this account in Matthew's gospel. So, the question remains, why didn't Jesus just end all suffering at the time by providing a "blanket" healing - eradicate illness altogether?
The answer, of course, is that he had no intention of doing so. If we follow the text carefully, we find occurrences of healings he employed to establish his credentials as the Son of God. Other places we see he chose to communicate his compassion - an important trait he wants us all to know about as the Savior of the world. In the case of the man with the shriveled hand, he was making an important point with the religious leaders of the day.
God's plan is that he offers us healing in the resurrection. We all cast off this body of sin and illness and death, and for those of us who have embraced him in faith, he provides us a renewed resurrected body that will not be subject to illness, infirmity and death. Listen to Paul's exciting words about this: "I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.'"
This is a "healing" like no other!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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