Tell It Feb 26
Mark 5:18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. 19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.
Freed from bondage to the evil spirits that had possessed him, the Gadarene man seeks to become a follower, a fellow traveler with Jesus. No doubt, he would serve Jesus well. And he would repay his debt to Jesus. And he would feel safe from the return of those banished spirits.
Jesus does not accept the man’s offering. Instead, Jesus gives him a job to do. “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”
Jesus accepts all who want to follow Him, and He will put them to work in the fields in the way most beneficial for them. This is the way most beneficial for the kingdom, as well. He utilizes us where we are with what we have.
The healed man does not have to travel with Jesus to follow Him. Physical presence is not necessary. The effects of Jesus’ presence are always with the man, and he is to share what he has experienced with others.
This man has a testimony. And his story will be most meaningful among those who have known him at his worst and now see him at his best. The contrast of the madman living in the wilderness with this rational man who has returned home whole again speaks louder than his words.
Giving this testimony regularly, speaking of Jesus and pointing praise toward his healer, also gives the best protection against further demonic attacks.
This is also the best manner for the man to be with Jesus, to have Jesus beside him in spirit, if not in fact. The story he tells is not only an education to others, but also a reminder to himself. We easily forget our blessings while considering our difficulties.
The man has received the Great Commission – go and tell. It is a simple command, one easily accomplished. To follow Jesus is to follow His command.
A Crisis of Faith Feb 27
Mark 5:21 Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea. 22 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet 23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” 24 So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.
Jesus has been to the Gentile “other side.” And being no better received than at home, Jesus returns to the Jewish side of the Lake of Galilee. He is met by a great multitude of people, great in number and even in diversity.
Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, comes to greet Jesus and beseech a miracle from Him – to save his dying daughter. The name, Jairus, is Strong’s H215, as a noun: light, enlightened. The name is appropriate whether his light is a testimony to Jesus or he is enlightened as to Jesus’ identity.
This coming to Jesus of a ruler of the synagogue shows a man in a crisis of faith. What he has believed is challenged by the teachings of Jesus. Jairus observes the traditions of the fathers. He has done what he has been told, and he has taught this way of life to the next generation.
Like Nicodemus in Jerusalem in John 3, Jairus is willing to test his faith against the new faith that Jesus is teaching. He has seen Jesus’ miracles, and he knows that God must be with Jesus for such works to happen.
Jairus crosses over to the other side. He asks Jesus to perform a miracle, for his little daughter is dying. He places his faith in Jesus’ ability: “Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.”
Jesus accepts the distraught man’s call and goes with him. There is a great crowd pressed around them, but Jesus responds to this particular request. Some clamor for his attention that their need might be met, their request granted. Others want to see what miracles Jesus will perform. And some want to hear the Good News that Jesus preaches about the kingdom of God.
We have the sense that Jesus discerns who is best served by changing the course of nature with a divine intervention. As long as there is death, the sick and dying will be with us. Jesus has only a short time and cannot stave off all physical sickness and death.
Perhaps resolving a crisis of faith, a paralysis of the spirit, to improve the quality of life is every bit as important as saving a physical life.
Who Touched Me? Feb 28
Mark 5:25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the [f]affliction. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
31 But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”
32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
The near enemy of the best is the good.
Jesus has a limited time. There is a sense of urgency in His mission. He is to teach of the kingdom of God and to train a generation to follow Him.
Teaching, instructing the people on how to live in the kingdom of God (heaven) now, is Jesus’ primary goal. This is healing, also, but of the spirit.
Healing the body of those consumed with illness is a good thing. This work relieves suffering, enabling them to refocus their lives. What can be better?
The best…Jesus’ time could be consumed with doing the good thing, healing. But He must balance this with doing the best thing, teaching.
Hastening to Jairus’ daughter, to save her and also to save her father, Jesus is distracted by the faith of a woman suffering incurable blood loss. He feels not her touch, for many touch Him, but her drawing the power of a restored life from Him. To delay may cost Jairus’ daughter her life.
This, too, is a teaching moment. He pauses to acknowledge the action of the woman, to affirm the power of faith. At this moment, He chooses the best.
We will constantly face choosing between the best and the good. We must ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in weighing the cost.
Only Believe Mar 1
Mark 5:35 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”
36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”
The woman who had touched Jesus and was made whole had had her crisis of faith. She had seen the physicians and spent all her money, but she had grown worse rather than better. Hearing of Jesus and then hearing Him herself, she had switched her faith to Him and been made whole.
We should not be too hard on her physicians or our own today. Healing is an art requiring understanding as much as knowledge, hearing more than speaking. Our illnesses are as unique as our personalities, and the same is often true of the cure (as opposed to the removal of symptoms).
We think of this interruption of Jesus’ mission to heal Jairus’ daughter as a delay merciful to the woman healed of her long standing issue of blood. Instead, we might view its primary purpose as the healing of Jairus’ fractured spirit.
The announcement that Jairus’ daughter is dead would normally mean the end of the story. A healer is no longer relevant to the situation.
Jesus says, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” The story is not over if Jairus allows Jesus to continue.
Jairus has taken a leap of faith by coming to Jesus publicly to ask for the healing of his daughter. A lifetime of commitment to the doctrines of the Pharisees is now fluttering in the wind. He can reclaim his old position by standing down, surrendering his daughter to death’s dominion.
Or he can imitate the woman just healed before the crowd.
Like the woman who had tried everything to no avail, Jairus must believe. Jairus’ two choices are to bury his daughter or to believe in Jesus’ power. Believe in Jesus’ power even over death.
This is not so much a testing of Jairus’ faith as it is a sealing of his faith. The more that Jairus invests of himself in the outcome of his daughter’s illness, the more convicted will he be of Jesus’ power and identity.
Arise Mar 2
Mark 5:37 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38 Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. 39 When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.”
40 And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. 41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. 43 But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.
Jesus has saved a woman from a life-threatening issue of blood. He is in the process of restoring spiritual life to Jairus. He proceeds to bring a third life into the kingdom of heaven in the here and now.
Jesus takes only three disciples with him as they follow Jairus. We can imagine the other nine restraining the crowd from following. Peter and the brothers, James and John, receive advanced training from their teacher.
They arrive at the house to find mourning for the death of the girl under way. Jesus’ questioning of why they weep when she is only sleeping is met with derision and anger at His insensitivity.
Jesus sends the mourners outside, leaving only the parents and the three disciples inside. Taking a limp hand of the girl, he commands in the local dialect, “Talitha (young girl), cumi (arise).” She rises up and walks.
Who has ever defied the laws of nature so flagrantly as to bring the dead back to life? That the five witnesses are amazed is an understatement.
When on the other side among the Gentiles, Jesus had been asked to leave. His legacy was for the healed man to testify to all of what had occurred.
Here in nominal Israel, Jesus forbids anyone to speak plainly of what has occurred. There would be no end to demands that He raise the dead or cure the incurable.
The work He has before Him, His primary purpose, is to raise the dead among the living forever.
Being Offended March 3
Mark 6:1 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.
We have the miracles in the land of the Gentiles and then in northern Galilee. Jesus returns to Nazareth, His home. Now, among those who think they know Him, there are no crowds. No one seeks His wisdom or His healing power.
He teaches in the synagogue, but what He says they have never heard spoken from the priests. They have heard of His miracles elsewhere, but they have not seen miracles from the priests. And is this not the son of Mary and Joseph, a child they have watched grow into a man?
Since what Jesus says and does is not what the priests say or do, then Jesus’ power must come from the devil, if it even exists.
“So they were offended at Him.”
To offend is to “violate a law or rule…to cause discomfort.” The Greek word here is skandalizo, from which we get “scandal.”
How many times have you and I been offended at some remark or act, only to discover later its necessity and truth? Our limited perception of the world, and poor understanding of the fundamental principles of existence, create multiple opportunities for our view of the rules of life to be offended. And we move onward, oblivious of having closed the door on truth.
This is the state of the people of His native land. And this is the state of what is reputed to be His legacy, “Christianity.” We…I still misinterpret the words in red if I even try to understand them at all.
The giving of priority to other things - the tares of the world, others’ opinions, the stony ground of my heart – all of these put a veil over the teachings intended to give life in the kingdom of God here and now. And the seed sown in Nazareth did not take root, either.
What must I do to have good soil in my heart?
Their Unbelief Mar 4
Mark 6:4-6 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.
Familiarity does indeed breed contempt. The more familiar, the more we see another to be like ourselves, one of us, the harder it is to accept that they may be raised in the estimation of others above ourselves.
We have already seen Jesus’ brothers’ reaction to His ministry (March 13. Mark 2:21-35). The reaction of friends and acquaintances who have known Jesus as a child, an adolescent, and as a young adult, reject this new person as an imposter since he is but a man like themselves. After all, Jesus was only a carpenter (verse 3).
There is some truth to the joke that an expert is a man in a nice suit with a brief case from out of town. An unknown person who makes a statement is considered wiser than one of our own who has said the same thing.
We have just seen the power of belief in the area of Capernaum. Jesus told the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid. Only believe.” And the woman with the issue of blood who touched His garment was healed by her faith rather than by Jesus’ actions.
We now see the power of unbelief.
We are all familiar with the placebo effect. For example, a person is made well because of belief that a cure will be effective, when in reality the cure is nothing but a sugar pill.
The nocebo effect is also possible, though less well publicized. A person does not believe the cure will help even though it is exactly what is needed to remedy the disease. Unbelief destroys the cure’s beneficial effects.
Jesus marvels at the faith of a centurion, a Gentile, in Matt. 8:10 and Luke 7:9.
In this verse, He marvels at the unbelief of Israelites. These are the people who have held the precious promises of God to themselves, yet here they deny the reality of the promises that a Gentile has accepted.
We can reject the gifts of God – and of Jesus. They are available to us only as we are willing to receive them.
Next day
Mark 5:18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. 19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.
Freed from bondage to the evil spirits that had possessed him, the Gadarene man seeks to become a follower, a fellow traveler with Jesus. No doubt, he would serve Jesus well. And he would repay his debt to Jesus. And he would feel safe from the return of those banished spirits.
Jesus does not accept the man’s offering. Instead, Jesus gives him a job to do. “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”
Jesus accepts all who want to follow Him, and He will put them to work in the fields in the way most beneficial for them. This is the way most beneficial for the kingdom, as well. He utilizes us where we are with what we have.
The healed man does not have to travel with Jesus to follow Him. Physical presence is not necessary. The effects of Jesus’ presence are always with the man, and he is to share what he has experienced with others.
This man has a testimony. And his story will be most meaningful among those who have known him at his worst and now see him at his best. The contrast of the madman living in the wilderness with this rational man who has returned home whole again speaks louder than his words.
Giving this testimony regularly, speaking of Jesus and pointing praise toward his healer, also gives the best protection against further demonic attacks.
This is also the best manner for the man to be with Jesus, to have Jesus beside him in spirit, if not in fact. The story he tells is not only an education to others, but also a reminder to himself. We easily forget our blessings while considering our difficulties.
The man has received the Great Commission – go and tell. It is a simple command, one easily accomplished. To follow Jesus is to follow His command.
A Crisis of Faith Feb 27
Mark 5:21 Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea. 22 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet 23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” 24 So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.
Jesus has been to the Gentile “other side.” And being no better received than at home, Jesus returns to the Jewish side of the Lake of Galilee. He is met by a great multitude of people, great in number and even in diversity.
Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, comes to greet Jesus and beseech a miracle from Him – to save his dying daughter. The name, Jairus, is Strong’s H215, as a noun: light, enlightened. The name is appropriate whether his light is a testimony to Jesus or he is enlightened as to Jesus’ identity.
This coming to Jesus of a ruler of the synagogue shows a man in a crisis of faith. What he has believed is challenged by the teachings of Jesus. Jairus observes the traditions of the fathers. He has done what he has been told, and he has taught this way of life to the next generation.
Like Nicodemus in Jerusalem in John 3, Jairus is willing to test his faith against the new faith that Jesus is teaching. He has seen Jesus’ miracles, and he knows that God must be with Jesus for such works to happen.
Jairus crosses over to the other side. He asks Jesus to perform a miracle, for his little daughter is dying. He places his faith in Jesus’ ability: “Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.”
Jesus accepts the distraught man’s call and goes with him. There is a great crowd pressed around them, but Jesus responds to this particular request. Some clamor for his attention that their need might be met, their request granted. Others want to see what miracles Jesus will perform. And some want to hear the Good News that Jesus preaches about the kingdom of God.
We have the sense that Jesus discerns who is best served by changing the course of nature with a divine intervention. As long as there is death, the sick and dying will be with us. Jesus has only a short time and cannot stave off all physical sickness and death.
Perhaps resolving a crisis of faith, a paralysis of the spirit, to improve the quality of life is every bit as important as saving a physical life.
Who Touched Me? Feb 28
Mark 5:25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the [f]affliction. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
31 But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”
32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
The near enemy of the best is the good.
Jesus has a limited time. There is a sense of urgency in His mission. He is to teach of the kingdom of God and to train a generation to follow Him.
Teaching, instructing the people on how to live in the kingdom of God (heaven) now, is Jesus’ primary goal. This is healing, also, but of the spirit.
Healing the body of those consumed with illness is a good thing. This work relieves suffering, enabling them to refocus their lives. What can be better?
The best…Jesus’ time could be consumed with doing the good thing, healing. But He must balance this with doing the best thing, teaching.
Hastening to Jairus’ daughter, to save her and also to save her father, Jesus is distracted by the faith of a woman suffering incurable blood loss. He feels not her touch, for many touch Him, but her drawing the power of a restored life from Him. To delay may cost Jairus’ daughter her life.
This, too, is a teaching moment. He pauses to acknowledge the action of the woman, to affirm the power of faith. At this moment, He chooses the best.
We will constantly face choosing between the best and the good. We must ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in weighing the cost.
Only Believe Mar 1
Mark 5:35 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”
36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”
The woman who had touched Jesus and was made whole had had her crisis of faith. She had seen the physicians and spent all her money, but she had grown worse rather than better. Hearing of Jesus and then hearing Him herself, she had switched her faith to Him and been made whole.
We should not be too hard on her physicians or our own today. Healing is an art requiring understanding as much as knowledge, hearing more than speaking. Our illnesses are as unique as our personalities, and the same is often true of the cure (as opposed to the removal of symptoms).
We think of this interruption of Jesus’ mission to heal Jairus’ daughter as a delay merciful to the woman healed of her long standing issue of blood. Instead, we might view its primary purpose as the healing of Jairus’ fractured spirit.
The announcement that Jairus’ daughter is dead would normally mean the end of the story. A healer is no longer relevant to the situation.
Jesus says, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” The story is not over if Jairus allows Jesus to continue.
Jairus has taken a leap of faith by coming to Jesus publicly to ask for the healing of his daughter. A lifetime of commitment to the doctrines of the Pharisees is now fluttering in the wind. He can reclaim his old position by standing down, surrendering his daughter to death’s dominion.
Or he can imitate the woman just healed before the crowd.
Like the woman who had tried everything to no avail, Jairus must believe. Jairus’ two choices are to bury his daughter or to believe in Jesus’ power. Believe in Jesus’ power even over death.
This is not so much a testing of Jairus’ faith as it is a sealing of his faith. The more that Jairus invests of himself in the outcome of his daughter’s illness, the more convicted will he be of Jesus’ power and identity.
Arise Mar 2
Mark 5:37 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38 Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. 39 When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.”
40 And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. 41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. 43 But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.
Jesus has saved a woman from a life-threatening issue of blood. He is in the process of restoring spiritual life to Jairus. He proceeds to bring a third life into the kingdom of heaven in the here and now.
Jesus takes only three disciples with him as they follow Jairus. We can imagine the other nine restraining the crowd from following. Peter and the brothers, James and John, receive advanced training from their teacher.
They arrive at the house to find mourning for the death of the girl under way. Jesus’ questioning of why they weep when she is only sleeping is met with derision and anger at His insensitivity.
Jesus sends the mourners outside, leaving only the parents and the three disciples inside. Taking a limp hand of the girl, he commands in the local dialect, “Talitha (young girl), cumi (arise).” She rises up and walks.
Who has ever defied the laws of nature so flagrantly as to bring the dead back to life? That the five witnesses are amazed is an understatement.
When on the other side among the Gentiles, Jesus had been asked to leave. His legacy was for the healed man to testify to all of what had occurred.
Here in nominal Israel, Jesus forbids anyone to speak plainly of what has occurred. There would be no end to demands that He raise the dead or cure the incurable.
The work He has before Him, His primary purpose, is to raise the dead among the living forever.
Being Offended March 3
Mark 6:1 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.
We have the miracles in the land of the Gentiles and then in northern Galilee. Jesus returns to Nazareth, His home. Now, among those who think they know Him, there are no crowds. No one seeks His wisdom or His healing power.
He teaches in the synagogue, but what He says they have never heard spoken from the priests. They have heard of His miracles elsewhere, but they have not seen miracles from the priests. And is this not the son of Mary and Joseph, a child they have watched grow into a man?
Since what Jesus says and does is not what the priests say or do, then Jesus’ power must come from the devil, if it even exists.
“So they were offended at Him.”
To offend is to “violate a law or rule…to cause discomfort.” The Greek word here is skandalizo, from which we get “scandal.”
How many times have you and I been offended at some remark or act, only to discover later its necessity and truth? Our limited perception of the world, and poor understanding of the fundamental principles of existence, create multiple opportunities for our view of the rules of life to be offended. And we move onward, oblivious of having closed the door on truth.
This is the state of the people of His native land. And this is the state of what is reputed to be His legacy, “Christianity.” We…I still misinterpret the words in red if I even try to understand them at all.
The giving of priority to other things - the tares of the world, others’ opinions, the stony ground of my heart – all of these put a veil over the teachings intended to give life in the kingdom of God here and now. And the seed sown in Nazareth did not take root, either.
What must I do to have good soil in my heart?
Their Unbelief Mar 4
Mark 6:4-6 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.
Familiarity does indeed breed contempt. The more familiar, the more we see another to be like ourselves, one of us, the harder it is to accept that they may be raised in the estimation of others above ourselves.
We have already seen Jesus’ brothers’ reaction to His ministry (March 13. Mark 2:21-35). The reaction of friends and acquaintances who have known Jesus as a child, an adolescent, and as a young adult, reject this new person as an imposter since he is but a man like themselves. After all, Jesus was only a carpenter (verse 3).
There is some truth to the joke that an expert is a man in a nice suit with a brief case from out of town. An unknown person who makes a statement is considered wiser than one of our own who has said the same thing.
We have just seen the power of belief in the area of Capernaum. Jesus told the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid. Only believe.” And the woman with the issue of blood who touched His garment was healed by her faith rather than by Jesus’ actions.
We now see the power of unbelief.
We are all familiar with the placebo effect. For example, a person is made well because of belief that a cure will be effective, when in reality the cure is nothing but a sugar pill.
The nocebo effect is also possible, though less well publicized. A person does not believe the cure will help even though it is exactly what is needed to remedy the disease. Unbelief destroys the cure’s beneficial effects.
Jesus marvels at the faith of a centurion, a Gentile, in Matt. 8:10 and Luke 7:9.
In this verse, He marvels at the unbelief of Israelites. These are the people who have held the precious promises of God to themselves, yet here they deny the reality of the promises that a Gentile has accepted.
We can reject the gifts of God – and of Jesus. They are available to us only as we are willing to receive them.
Next day
