1 Samuel 17:46-47:The Battle belongs to the Lord

Presented to The Salvation Army: Nipawin and Tisdale Corps on July 6, 2008; Swift Current Corps on May 2, 2010; Warehouse Mission Corps, Toronto on July 17, 2016; 614 Warehouse Regent Park, Toronto, June 11, 2017 and Alberni Valley Ministries on June 21, 2026. By Captain (Major) Michael Ramsay

This is the 2016-17 Toronto version; to view the earlier Saskatchewan versions, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2008/07/1-samuel-1746-47-battle-belongs-to-lord.html

So I played a bit of sports growing up.  I won a few soccer trophies. I tried baseball – my team won a trophy once for winning the season. I tried basketball too. Now given my great height and size in general (5’7”), one would think that by rights I really shouldn’t be any good at basketball. But you know what? … I’m not. I tried out however for the grade six team…and I was one of ONLY two kids in my whole class -  NOT to make the team.

One day when I was in university, we went down to the park to play some basketball. Now my friends – they were really good at basketball. Some of them actually made the teams growing up.  Because they were all good sports and had a certain degree of patience, they would actually take the time to explain to me that hip checks, slide checks and nose tweaking were not acceptable defensive manoeuvres. Who knew?

After most of guys had gone home, I was left with a few of the more serious players and they decided to have a bit of a competition to see who was the best shot. How this would work was that one player would try to pick a tricky shot and if he could make it, all the rest of us would have to make it too – or we would be knocked out of the competition. So they would be doing these reverse lay-ups, shots from the three-point line and the like and due to the grace of God, I was actually able to keep up but then came my turn…

So for my turn - I clarified that I could do any shot that I wanted – I clarified that if I made the shot that they would have to do exactly the same thing – so I would make up the most elaborate shooting routine that I could think of: I would do things like roll on the ground eight times, while singing a children’s song and then throw the ball with my back to the net. Or at one point I think I bounced the ball in off another player after tripping and falling over myself. And – guess what - by the grace of God, the ball actually found the net; so here were all these too serious, too skilled players trying to concentrate on these shots while laughing and not being able to concentrate at all and - at the end of the competition - I was indeed the last man standing. /// It was weird but in life there are times when we can’t really rely on our own skills and abilities to carry us through. After all is said and done we must confess that the battle is not to the strong and the race is not to the swift (Eccl. 9:11). The battle -as 17:47 says- the battle belongs to the Lord.

Now we all know the story of David and Goliath that we read about today (1 Samuel 17), about how a young inexperienced soldier toppled a professional fighter and we know that the battle belongs to the Lord but instead of this – the fact that the battle belongs to the Lord - we often concentrate, when retelling this story, on how a person with just a sling can topple a well-armed soldier.

While it is true that Goliath is painted as a giant of a man, somewhere between 6’9” and 9’9” tall (depending on your translation: MT or LXX, 1 Samuel 17:4) and it is true that he is portrayed as having the most advanced weaponry of his day and age. Remember that the Israelites did not have any iron technology at all (1 Samuel 13:19). Remember that the Philistines forbade them from defending themselves– and remember that after they disarmed them then they attacked them - much like the USA in the second Iraq war or today with some countries and nuclear technology where they are doing their best to make sure that they are the only ones who will use these weapons. Here in our text today, Goliath has his century’s version of the depleted uranium bombs NATO dropped on Yugoslavia: Goliath has an iron spearhead that ways about 600 sheckles of iron (17:7). He is a formidable foe with superior technology…nonetheless the battle belongs to the Lord.

That being said, sometimes in playing up Goliath we play down David a little too much  – remember that David is already referred to as a warrior in 1 Samuel 16:18 and, as a shepherd, he has a lot of experience with his weapon of choice – the sling. And you’ll note also that his weapon of choice is a real weapon that real soldiers really did use in battle. They could fire a rock from a sling at over 100 km/hr. and an expert could be deadly accurate. IT WAS LIKE A GUN SHOT (2 Ki 3:25, 1 Chr 12:2, 2 Chr 26:14): Judges 20:16 says that some men who were left-handed could even sling a stone at a hair at a distance and not miss. This is not a child’s toy; it is a pretty powerful weapon that David chooses to bring into the battle.

David is not just a child; he is a pretty powerful tool that the Lord chooses to bring into battle. So then part of the miracle of the Lord’s victory in this battle here is NOT the fact that David is good with a sling but part of the miracle could be that the Lord apparently conceals this sling from Goliath’s sight until the contest begins (notice that in his taunts of 16:43 there is no mention of the sling – only of the David’s rod) so it appears then that Goliath and his shield-bearer – even with their superior superpower class technology - are ill-prepared to face their opponent and why? … Why? Because the battle belongs to the Lord. Goliath and David’s speeches make that quite clear (17:43-47). This isn’t a contest of two men who serve different gods; this is a contest of two gods (one real and one imagined), who have chosen as their weapons/armour different men. This is a significant difference (repeat). The battle belongs to the Lord.

IT ALWAYS REMINDS ME OF THIS CLIP FROM INDIANA JONES. 

THE BATTLE BELONGS TO THE LORD.

In our own lives, this is true too and I think that we too often forget that indeed the battles we have before us actually do belong to the Lord as well. I have been involved with a couple of different AA (alcoholics anonymous) groups in my time.

You should hear some of the testimonies in these different AA / NA groups. Steps 1-3 of AA’s 12 step programme confess that we are powerless over our foe, that only a power greater then ourselves can restore us, and that we need to turn our will and our lives over to God. This is true. When they forget that in AA it is not pleasant. When we forget that in our life it is not pleasant but when we remember it…when we remember it, all of a sudden the seemingly insurmountable can be surmounted because really life’s battles do belong to the Lord. They are not ours to fight.

What about us here? What do we do when we are faced with life’s conflicts? King Saul set up monuments to what he saw as his own accomplishments. Are we any better than Saul? Do we set up monuments for ourselves by taking credit for what God does through us? Do we set up monuments to ourselves in our minds by thinking that we are the reason that we won this or that we got that or that this worked out okay for us? Do we think that we have anything to do with the price of tea in China or the price of groceries or anything else here or do we remember that the battle belongs to the Lord?

When we are faced with life’s battles, do we just strap on the amour that society offers us - our education and experience - like the amour that Saul offered David and try to fight on our own strength? When we are faced with life’s battles, when we are deciding what to tell a friend, what to do with our cheques, what jobs to take; when we are faced with the battle of deciding what to do with the time and money we have been entrusted with– do we ask God? (really)  Do we pray? Do we read the Bible when we are faced with challenges (like this one from Goliath)? Do we, like David, realise that the battle belongs to the Lord. Or, instead do we try to face life’s challenges purely on our own strength (cf. 1 Samuel 15)? God has given us our experiences, and our education and they are indeed as formidable as a stone in David’s sling but only if we remember that it is the Lord’s battle. We need to seek Him because, indeed, life’s battles do belong to the Lord.

In our text today that is made very clear in verses 46 and 47. David says to his foe, “This day the LORD will hand you over to me…and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

It is not by the sword or the spear that the Lord saves. This is the same in our world. We can have an education that is the equivalent of the king’s armour. If we don’t use it for God it really is useless.  We can have as much money as a superpower spends on weapons. It means nothing if we don’t submit to the Lord.

So I know that life sends us many struggles. Everyday, some are facing a new Goliath. I know many people who are struggling with addiction. I know many friends who are struggling with serious health and family concerns. I know that there are those here that have real decisions to make about their home, their future, their children and their life.

As this is true, as this is all true, I invite you; I implore you to remember that the battle belongs to the Lord. So then let us load up our slings with the stones of effort, education, experience, talent, and know how but let’s do so in faith. Remember, no matter how difficult life’s challenges are; no matter how big are the Goliaths in front of us; no matter what seemingly insurmountable difficulty we are facing today – as we turn to Him, as we turn to our Lord, through prayer and Bible study – as we turn to Him, He will be successful for indeed the battle belongs to the Lord.

www.sheepspeak.com

[1] Ronald F. Youngblood. The Expositor's Bible Commentary.  Pradis CD-ROM:1 and 2 Samuel. The death of Goliath (17:1-58), Book Version: 4.0.2: The purpose of such contests was "to obviate the necessity of a general engagement of troops which would spill more blood than necessary to resolve the dispute" (Harry A. Hoffner, Jr., "A Hittite Analogue to the David and Goliath Contest of Champions?" CBQ 30 [1968]: 220). Whether this kind of radical limitation on warfare is ever sincerely accepted by either side remains in itself a matter of dispute (for a nuanced treatment of the issue, cf. George I. Mavrodes, "David, Goliath, and Limited War," Reformed Journal 33, 8 [1983]: 6-8). It is clear, however, that contests of champions (to be carefully distinguished from duels, which are individual combats not representing larger groups) such as that between David and Goliath or between Menelaus and Paris (Homer Iliad bk. 3) were not uncommon in ancient times (for additional examples, see Hoffner, "A Hittite Analogue," pp. 220-25).

2 Ibid.: By any standard of measure, the Philistine champion was a giant of a man (v.4). Some LXX MSS give his height as "four cubits and a span" (so also 1QSama; Jos. Antiq. VI, 171 [ix. 1]), others "five cubits and a span." The MT reads "six cubits and a span" (thus NIV mg.), making him "over nine feet tall." Other comparable heights in the OT are those of "an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet tall" (1 Chronicles 11:23) and Og king of Bashan, whose size is not specified but whose bed/sarcophagus was "more than thirteen feet long" (Deut 3:11). The MT account of Goliath's height is paralleled in modern times by reports concerning Robert Pershing Wadlow, who was eight feet eleven inches tall at the time of his death on July 15, 1940, at the age of twenty-two (Insight [18, 1985]: 51).

3 There is much debate as to whether chapters 16 and 17 are placed chronologically in order or even if they both originate from the same source or were both originally about the same people for that matter.

4 This may have contributed as well to David’s great speed in battle as he was not as encumbered with defensive amour as was Goliath. David was the light infantry as it were.

5 AA 12 Steps: www.alcoholics-anonymous.org

6 ^{http://renewnetwork.blogspot.com}

Genesis 17:15-18:15: Laughter (Nothing is too difficult for God)

Presented to Corps 614 Regent Park and The Warehouse Mission, 30 October 2016 by Captain Michael Ramsay

We have a couple of significant days coming up this week. Do we know what they are? What’s Monday? (Hallow e'en) And what’s Tuesday? (All Saints Day). We will look at both of these in the context of our scripture today (Genesis 17-18) but first I have some October 31 Trivia questions for us. Let’s see how we do?[1]

1. What happened on October 31, 1517?
2. Name one witch in the Bible?
3. Who famously survived a diet of worms?
4. Which of the following is not in the Bible (ghost, vampire, one raised from the dead)?
5. What was Luther protesting on October 31, 1517?
6. T or F: Jesus tells a parable of a haunted house.
7. Which King of Israel consulted a medium to contact the dead?

This Monday is not only Hallow e'en, it is also Reformation Day. We mentioned October 31, 1517, was the date Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church. Do we know to what his 95 Theses primarily referred? It is actually quite long and complicated and some of his 95 points make more sense than others but the main gist of it has to do with Papal Indulgences; do we know what Papal Indulgences were and thus what Martin Luther was protesting?

To draw an analogy from last century: Do you remember the televangelists from the 20th century… like the Jimmy and Tammy Faye Baker and Oral Roberts in the 1980s? They were getting rich peddling Christian-themed items and such. The Bakers even started an entire Christian amusement park and Roberts went so far as to lock himself in a tower and said that unless people gave him eight million dollars God would ‘call him home’. These people used or abused their authority and reputation to make money.

Way back in Luther’s time, something similar was occurring. A theological position had previously developed and was becoming quite prevalent that people would go to a place called purgatory after they died and purgatory was not a great place. Purgatory was a place of torment, where people would be purified of their sins by being tortured until they were made holy. Powerful people in the church were telling others that if they wanted to get their departed loved ones out of this spiritual Guantanamo Bay, all they had to do was pay some money and they would pray them out of Purgatory or give them time off for good behaviour or something like that. This –buying your friends and family out of purgatory - was called buying Papal Indulgences. The monk, Martin Luther, like so many other churchmen of his day had a real problem with powerful people exploiting others and this complaint was the main thrust of Luther’s 95 Theses. So on every October 31^st we are invited to remember that Salvation is due to the grace of God, not actions like by paying money or doing other things. And salvation can’t be bestowed or prevented by clergy or other church, political, family, civic, or other leaders. Holiness and Salvation come from Christ alone and Christ says we can all be holy. We’ll come back to this in a bit but first let’s look at Isaac and his mom and dad.

Do we know who Isaac’s mom and dad were? Isaac’s mom was Rebecca and Isaac’s dad was Abraham. And Isaac, he was born when his dad was 100 years-old and his mom was ninety.

Now Heather was born when I was in my forties and I certainly don't have the same energy I did when my older two girls were her age. Even my children’s grandparents are nowhere near the 100 years-old that Abraham was when Isaac was born and they definitely are a little slower keeping up with their grand-kids than they were with their own children. I can’t imagine what it would be like raising a child at 100.

Every month Susan and some others go to the Arthur Meighen Centre to lead a service for the seniors. They are great folks; many of them have age-related challenges and most of them are not 100 or even 90 years-old. Can you imagine if we went to a service at the old age home next week and one of the seniors gave birth? I can't imagine raising my own child at 90 years-old, let alone being a woman and giving birth in my 90s.  This is the miracle of Isaac's birth. Nothing is too difficult for God.

Now Isaac is a nice name. His name means laughter. Does anyone here know what their names mean? My name means ‘Servant of God’, Rebecca’s name means ‘Covenant’, Sarah-Grace means ‘Princess-Gift of God’ and Heather is a beautiful flower. Do you know why Isaac is called ‘Laughter’?[2]

It comes back to this story in Genesis - an angel of the Lord tells Abraham that his 90 something year-old wife will give birth.[3] Sarah hears this and she laughs out loud. The Angel calls her on it, saying, ‘why did you laugh when I said you were going to have a baby’? To which Sarah replies, ‘I didn't laugh’; The Angel says, ‘yes you did’; so God and the Angel call her child ‘Laughter’ to remind her and us not to doubt the power and the providence of God. Nothing is too difficult for God. There is nothing God cannot do. Do we know this? Do we believe this?[4]

This relates back to Reformation Day and Martin Luther a little bit. Remember one of the things that he was protesting was people thinking that they could pay or earn their way to God; that they could somehow merit or someone else could impede their eternal relationship with God.

Abraham and Sarah each laughed when they heard that God was going to give them a child. They didn’t believe that God would take care of them in this way; they didn’t know God can do anything. Do we? Do we believe that? Do we know that? Do we believe that whatever is wrong in our lives, God can take care of us? Every time Abraham and Sarah would be tempted to doubt that in the future they simply had to laugh or recall their son Isaac’s name, ‘Laughter’ and they would be reminded of his miraculous birth and that nothing is too difficult for God (Matthew 19:26, Luke 18:27).

This relates a little bit to All Saints Day which is coming up this week as well. Do we know what a saint is in the Bible? ‘Saint’ is actually the Bible`s word for a Christian. ‘Saint’ is one of those words I think that is left over from the King James translation that we should update so people know what we`re talking about because a lot of people only think of saints as dead people. The Bible says that if you are a Christian you are a saint. And more than that: If we were to name attributes of a saint, what might they be? (Good, nice, holy). Did you know that the word for saint in Greek is from exactly the same word as holy?[5] So the Bible says – especially in 1 Peter – that we who are Christians are holy. It is the same word.[6] The Bible says that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) but it does not say that we all sin all the time. We are no longer sinners; we are now holy saints, because God says so and God makes it so.[7] 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 tells as that as we serve God, He will transform our lives from sin to salvation. He will do it. He loves us. He makes us holy.[8] He makes us saints.

This is important. Whenever someone tells you that you are a failure, you can say ‘No, I’m a saint – the Bible says so’. It really does. Whenever someone tells you, you are no good, you can say, ‘No, I’m a saint.’ Whenever someone tells us we are worthless, what can we say? (No, I’m a saint). Whenever someone tells us we are evil what can we say? (No, I’m a saint). Whenever someone tells us we are less than in any way what can we say? (No, I’m a saint).

The God who transforms people in the Bible can transform you and He can transform me. The God who saves people in the Bible can save you and He can save me. The God in the Bible who loves people – the whole world’s worth (John 3:16) – He loves you and He loves me. God made us to be holy as He is holy – like the Bible from 1 Peter all the way back to Leviticus records – God has transformed us who love Him into saints. So next time you hear your Christian friend here saying ‘I’m not a saint,’ encourage and correct them, because they are a saint and so are you. God has declared us such: even me. Nothing is too difficult for God. So let’s praise Him for that today and on Tuesday which is our day – All Saints Day.

This is important. Nothing is too difficult for God. Sarah and Abraham had some really difficult challenges in their lives but nothing is too difficult for God. Twice Sarah said that she was Abraham`s sister instead of his wife so people wouldn’t kill her husband and take her away. And even though Abraham and Sarah messed things up by trying to solve the problem on their own, God took care of them. Nothing is too difficult for God.

Having a child was seen as being blessed by God; someone who did not have a child was thought to be cursed. This troubled Sarah and Abraham greatly. And even though Sarah messed things up a bit, God took care of them. He gave her a child and named him ‘Laughter’ to remind them that even though they laughed at the prospect of having this child, here he is because nothing is too difficult for God.

Before that Sarah even went so far as to force her slave girl to have relations with her husband so that she could have her child. And even though Abraham and Sarah messed things up by trying to do things without Him, God took care of them.[9] He gave them this child and another child, who was begotten of them both named  ‘Laughter’ to remind them that nothing is too difficult for God.

Every time after that someone laughed or every time after that they heard their son’s name, I’m sure they could laugh assuredly in the providence of God. Many times in her life and their life Sarah and Abraham messed up but God took care of them; nothing is too difficult for God.

Many times in my life I have messed up, made serious mistakes, done bad things, but God takes care of me. He calls me ‘holy’. I am a saint. You are a saint if you love God. Nothing is too difficult for God. God has been with me through my darkest hours, just like he was with Abraham and Sarah and later Isaac and his sons and their sons. We spoke about Judah the other week, Sarah’s great grandson and Isaac’s grandson. He messed up a lot but God took care of him. His brother spent years in slavery and in prison and during that time the Bible tells us he prospered and how did he prosper? He prospered because God took care of him. Nothing is too difficult for God.  God took care of him. And they could all look back on the naming of Isaac, their relative, laugh and remember that nothing is too difficult for God.

Today, I know there are many people here who are in the midst of so much. There is illness all around. I honestly can`t believe the number of people with cancer these days. There is addiction here and there and everywhere struggling with many of us as well. There are mental health issues. People in our family and our community are struggling with so much. There are broken relationships; Struggles around parents, children, jobs, finances, food, housing, and security. So much happens here in our world, our community, our family right here but you know what? Even in our darkest hour God will take care of us. Nothing is too difficult for God.

www.sheepspeak.com 

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[1] 1) Martin Luther presented his 95 Theses  2) The Witch of Endor 3) Martin Luther 4) Vampire 5) Papal Indulgences 6) True 7) King Saul

[2] Cf John H. Sailhamer, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM: Genesis/Exposition of Genesis/II. Abraham 11:27-25:10 [11])/D. The Lot Narratives (13:5-19:38)/5. Abraham, Sarah, and Ishmael (17:1-27), Book Version: 4.0.2

[3] Cf. Terence E. Fretheim, The Book of Genesis, (NIB I: Abingdon Press: Nashville, 1994), 463. One might see how this news would be surprising as the passage is clear (Genesis 18:11) that Sarah has stopped menstruating.

[4] Cf. Walter Brueggemann, Interpretation: Genesis, (John Knox Press: Atlanta, Georgia, 1982), 159. This is actually the primary focus of the text.

[5] Cf. Paul Minear, Interpretation 37 no 1 Jan 1983, p. 22: In his death and resurrection, Jesus' holiness or sanctification became the measure and standard of all holiness, whether of places, times, things, or persons. (Key passages which reflect this are John 10:36; 17:17-19; I Cor. 1:2; 6:11; Heb. 2:11; 10:10; 12:14-24; 13:12-14.)

[6]  John D.W. Watts. 'Holy.' In Holman Bible Dictionary, general editor Trent C. Butler. Nashville, Tennessee: Holman Bible Publishers, 1991), 660. W.E. Vine. 'Holiness, Holy, Holily.' In Vine's Expository Dictionary of  New Testament Word. (Nashville, Tennessee: Royal Publishers Inc., 1939), 555.

[7] N.T. Wright , Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision. (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2009), 142

[8] W.E. Vine. . 'Holiness, Holy, Holily.' In Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Word. (Nashville, Tennessee: Royal Publishers Inc., 1939), 556.

[9] Cf. John H. Walton, ‘Genesis’ in NIVAC Bundle 1: Penteteuch. (Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA: Zondervan, 2001), Loc 9574, re. Noble intent gone awry.

Week 51: Philippians 2:6: Divine

Devotional thought composed for TSA Devotional Book, September 2015.

Read Philippians 2:5-11

Is Jesus God? Yes.

Like every Christian, I affirm that Jesus is God. This is a non-negotiable in Christianity and it is an important question. If you go to a church or have someone show up at your door talking about religion, I encourage you to ask her this very question: Is Jesus God? Simply put, if the person cannot answer with an unequivocal yes, then she is not a Christian.

Jesus Christ is ‘truly and properly God’ (TSA d.4). ‘He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made’ (John 1:2-3). The character and being of God were fully present in the life of the man Jesus, for ‘He who has seen me has seen the Father’ (John 14: 9). In the Gospel of John we read that ‘the Word became flesh and lived for a while among us’ (John 1:14). In Philippians, Paul expresses this truth when he describes Christ as ‘being in very nature God’, and yet ‘taking the very nature of a servant’ (Philippians 2: 6-7). In Hebrews, Jesus Christ is referred to as ‘the radiance of God’s glory and exact representation of his being’ (Hebrews 1:3). At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, a statement was formulated which embraced the twin truths that Jesus Christ is one integrated person, with a divine and a human nature, ‘without confusion, without change, without division, without separation . . . at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man’ (from the Chalcedonian Definition). In the person of Jesus we see humanity fully open to divine grace and we see God revealed to us. (Salvation Story: Salvationists Handbook of Doctrine, pp 37-38).

Jesus is God and as Jesus died and returned to life, he is the Lord of both the living and the dead and sooner or later every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Romans 14:9-11, cf. Isaiah 45:23) for 'Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved' (Acts 4:12).

So then as Jesus is God, the question for us today is will we serve Him both now and forever in His Kingdom to come?

www.sheepspeak.com 

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[1] Based on the article by Captain Michael Ramsay, Is Jesus God? Nipawin Journal (28 May 2008) On-line: http://sheepspeak.com/sasknews.htm#G_d Is Jesus God?  

Ruth 1: Footprints in the Snow

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 27 October 2013
by Captain Michael Ramsay.

Moving can be an interesting time. New places can be very different from old places. I remember when we moved from Victoria to the prairies. We moved in the summer and we noticed how nice and warm Winnipeg was – much warmer than summers in Victoria. I also remember seeing all of these man-made lakes around the city. These really perplexed me. We would look at them: they would be beautiful but there were signs all over them that said ‘no swimming’, ‘no boating’, ‘don’t go in the water’, etc. I wondered why do they have all of these man-made lakes if you can’t swim in them or you can’t boat on them?  Do you know what the lakes are for? When Winter struck we found out what they are for: they were outdoor ice rinks. I come from a city where we only get snow once every four years or so and it usually only lasts for at the very most a week. Who of us from there had ever heard of, let alone experienced, an outdoor ice rink?

Also we brought our children into pre-school in Winnipeg in their boots and coats from the wet coast and were rewarded with a note home explaining to us that those are nice but they aren’t real coats and boots: these might be good for rain but in Winnipeg they need to be good for temperatures down to –40c. I remember then calling home and explaining to someone how cold it was in Winnipeg and the Vancouver or Vancouver Island native thought of the coldest temperature that they could think of and they actually asked me: how cold is it there… -5c? At –5c in Winnipeg, I explain, people are wearing shorts. This was a little bit different from Victoria.

Another thing that was different and that is really quite a blessing is the sunlight. On the prairies here you can experience weeks straight with great sunlight and without any real clouds. That is really a welcome change from the Pacific North Wet where you can seemingly have cloud cover for a month or more straight. Every part of our country has such unique beauty and when and wherever you move there are a number of things to get used to, no matter where you go.

In our story today we read about a lady who emigrates from Judah to Moab with her husband and her sons and then her husband and sons unexpectedly pass away and she returns to Judah with her daughter – a new immigrant to a new country. The book of Ruth relays some of their experiences upon coming to Judah. We know in this day and age that immigrating to Canada can come with it’s own challenges, especially for some people. Immigrating to Bethlehem in Judah at the time Ruth did bring some serious perils with it but that was not the full extent of Ruth and Naomi’s difficulties.

Women did not have all the rights and responsibilities in those societies then as they do in our country today. Widows found even less provision for them: they could be quite vulnerable; childless widows would be even more vulnerable; childless, immigrant widows would be very vulnerable. That is exactly what Ruth is as our story develops today.

We read about how Naomi and her husband left their home in Bethlehem in Judah when things were bad – there was a famine – and they went to the country of Moab, looking for a better life. Things may have been going well for a while. Naomi and her husband Elimelech raise their family; their sons, Mahlon and Chilion, grow up and get married. And then as providence would have it Naomi’s husband, her oldest son and her youngest son all die. Elimelech, Mahlon, Chilion all die. Now this would be bad enough in this time and place if your husband and all your children died. In that day and age, that was almost the only way that a woman would be provided for. Naomi couldn’t just go and get a job at 7-11 or at the bank. Also remember that there were no old age pensions in ancient Judah or ancient Moab – your only retirement plan was your sons. They were who provided for you in your old age. Now Naomi all of a sudden has nothing and not only does she have nothing but she has two daughters-in-law, who also have nothing and Naomi has some responsibility to provide for them.[1] It is in this situation that Naomi decides to pack it all up in Moab and head back to Bethlehem in Judah. It is in this situation that Naomi says, Ruth 1:13, “…No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the LORD has been against me” and Ruth 1:20-21, “She said to them, ‘Call me no longer Naomi [which means pleasant], call me Mara [which means bitter] for the Almighty [Shaddai] has dealt bitterly with me. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty; why call me [pleasant] Naomi when the LORD has dealt harshly with me, and the Almighty [Shaddai] has brought calamity upon me?”

Two questions that arise for us quite naturally today then are these:[2] 

1)      Are Naomi’s accusations toward God valid: did God forsake her? 

2)      Do we ever reproach God in a similar manner because we feel like God has forsaken us?

Are Naomi’s accusations valid? Naomi was married. There was a famine in her home country so she and her husband felt they had to flee to a foreign land. When they got there, there were no ‘good Judean women’ for her sons to marry so they – quite contrary to Israelite law – married foreigners (cf. Deuteronomy 7:3, 23:3). Then, all of a sudden, she has nothing: her husband and sons die and she is a foreigner with no job, no income, no support, no noted life savings, no children, no foreseeable future but she does have her deceased sons foreign wives to support. And as we noted when we were reading Genesis 38 about Judah and Tamar the other week, Naomi also may have some responsibility –if at all possible - to provide a son for a husband to each of her daughter-in-laws.[3] Naomi is totally despondent, saying: “the hand of the Lord is against me”; “the Lord has dealt bitterly with me”; “I went away full but the LORD brought me back empty”; “the LORD has dealt harshly with me”; “the Almighty has brought calamity upon me.”

Do we ever feel this way? Does our life ever seem to collapse around us? I have heard stories lately of friends either near or far who have lost homes, who have lost fathers, who have lost mothers, who have lost jobs, who have lost pets, who have lost their health, who have been completely overwhelmed with life that tears well up in their eyes. There are some of us here today who are right in the middle of this. There are people here today who are like Naomi and Ruth and who are like Job looking over the horizon to see yet more messengers coming with yet more unwanted news. There are some here today who when the phone rings, don’t want to answer it for fear of what news awaits them. Do you ever get to the point where you don’t want to see anyone for you know that they can’t possibly be bringing any good news? Do you ever get to the point where you are so vulnerable that even the slightest thing now will just seemingly melt away your last drop of strength and do you ever get to the point where you are tempted to ask God to just snuff out your light altogether? Do you ever get to the point where your heart cries out with Naomi’s: “the hand of the Lord is against me”; “the Lord has dealt bitterly with me”; “I went away full but the LORD brought me back empty”; “the LORD has dealt harshly with me”; “the Almighty has brought calamity upon me”? Do you ever find yourself there?

There have honestly been days when I am so overwhelmed by the demands on me from ministry, from family, from everyone else’s problems and from my own, that when I receive an email from headquarters demanding some seemingly frivolous report to be written, requiring some seemingly meaningless hoop to be jumped through, or some requesting seemingly onerous task be done in some seemingly unreasonable time, that I can be tempted to even question whether in deed the Lord really did call me to ministry in The Salvation Army? If He really called me then why would it seem at times that “the hand of the Lord is against me”; “the Lord has dealt bitterly with me”; “I went away full but the LORD brought me back empty”; “the LORD has dealt harshly with me”; “the Almighty has brought calamity upon me” and what can I do about it?

What could Naomi and Ruth do about it?[4] While Naomi reproached God and returned home, Ruth is a different story.[5] Ruth – far from turning on God – turns towards God. Ruth sticks by Naomi, her deceased husband’s mother. Naomi - even in her bitter unpleasant state - is used by God, as an evangelist, to bring Ruth to salvation. And Ruth is not only brought to salvation, Ruth is brought by God, through Naomi to Rahab’s –whom we met last week – son.[6] And Ruth was chosen by God to be the great grandmother of Kind David. And Ruth was chosen by God to be an ancestor of Jesus who is the Christ, the Messiah, the Saviour of the whole world. God when Ruth was at her lowest point, God pointed her to this great salvation for Ruth, for Naomi and for ultimately the whole world.[7]

Look how Ruth responds to the same calamity that befalls Naomi. Look how Ruth responds. Instead of heading home complaining bitterly to God about how He is treating her, she follows God and her mother-in-law, Naomi into the unknown future with a strong declaration of faith. Naomi tries to discourage Ruth from following her into this future but Ruth replies, Verse 17 “Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” And Verse 16, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Ruth follows God into the Promised Land. Ruth experiences salvation.

So here is the thing. Naomi turned from pleasant to bitter and God still saved her.[8] Romans 3:3,4a, “What if some were [even] unfaithful will their unfaithfulness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means!” Hebrews 13:5, God says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”; Romans 10:13, “Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved;” also Acts 2:21. And Ruth -even more- Ruth experiences the joy of that salvation in the midst of her calamity for Ruth moreover chooses not to suffer that bitterness for Ruth chooses to turn God when life seemed to turn on her. With Ruth and with Naomi and with us and with our Lord, it is like that poem, ‘Footprints’, that was read recently at the funeral service for Agnes Gerlack; the variously attributed poem reads:

One night I dreamed a dream.

As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,

One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,

I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,

especially at the very lowest and saddest times,

there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.

"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,

You'd walk with me all the way.

But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,

there was only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you

Never, ever, during your trials and testing.

When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you."

And that is the same with us today, no matter what is weighing us down, no matter what struggles we have, no matter if everything seems to be falling apart around us, no matter what trials and tribulations come our way, no matter what, the Lord is there with me and Lord is there with you and exactly when things seem to be the darkest then as we look we will notice that there is the light of God to show us the way; just when things seem the most difficult, there will always be our Lord carrying us through.

We don’t need to be bitter like Naomi. We don’t need to submit ourselves to the pain of bitterness in the midst of life’s very real struggles. We don’t need to worry (cf. Matthew 6:19-34). Jesus loves us. God loves us and God promises us that He will never leave us nor forsake us and just when things seem to be their most challenging, just when we can’t possibly move forward one more step at all, just then there is God right in the middle of our trials with us, carrying us on His shoulders towards His Salvation both for now and forever.

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com

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[1] Cf. Thomas W. Mann, “Ruth 4: Between Text and Sermon,” Interpretation 64 (2010).

[2] Cf. Martha L. Moore-Keish, “Ruth 2,” Interpretation 64 (2010).She phrases the relevant questions as ‘where is God?’ and ‘where are we?’

[3] Captain Michael Ramsay, “Thanksgiving at Judah’s House,” Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army (Sheepspeak.com: Swift Current, SK: 13 October 2013):  http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/10/thanksgiving-at-judahs-house.html

[4] Cf. Athalya Brenner, “From Ruth to the ‘Global Woman’: Social and Legal Aspects,” Interpretation 64, no. 2 (April 2010): 163 for a good discussion of possible motivations God may have provided.

[5] Cf. Kathleen A. Robertson Farmer, Ruth in Niw Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 2, ed. Leander E. Keck, et. al (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1998), 907 What is lost in the English translations is Ruth's tone of indignation. She is incensed that she would be asked to leave, or forsake, her mother-in-law.

[6] Captain Michael Ramsay, “Rahab the Redeemed (Joshua 2&6, Hebrews 11:31, James 2:25),” Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army (Sheepspeak.com: Swift Current, SK: 20 October 2013):  http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2011/09/rahab-redeemed-joshua-2-hebrews-1131.html

[7] Cf. Jessica Tate, “Ruth 1:6-22: Between Text and Sermon,” Interpretation 64 (2010)

[8] Cf. Peter Lau, “Ruth 1:1-18,” The Expository Times 121, no. 1 (2009): 27-28.

Matthew 8:1-9:34: You are Healed

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 01 Sept 2013 by Rebecca, Sarah-Grace, and Captain Michael Ramsay

To view a 24 November 2019 version of this sermon that was presented to Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2019/11/matthew-81-934-you-are-healed-2019.html

“The Miracle stories in [Matthew] 8:1-9:34 should not be interpreted in isolation, but each should be interpreted in the context of the section as a whole, since it was constructed by Matthew as “Messiah in deed” (cf. 11:2), corresponding 5:7-29 as “Messiah in word”.[1] Today we will very quickly attempt to do just that while focusing on healings: the infirmity, the patient, who initiates the healing, what is the response, what is the directive, and then after we do all of this we will try to pull it together and ask ourselves how do all of Jesus’ healings here recorded apply to our lives today?

Matthew 8:1-4: When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Infirmity: Leprosy (any skin disease)

Patient: Leper (social outcast)

Initiation: “A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing you can make me clean” (Matthew 8:2)

Response: “I am willing”, “Be clean” – Immediately the man was healed (v.3)

Directive: 1) Tell no one 2) Show yourself to the priest and offer sacrifices as a testimony (v.4)

This healing miracle is initiated by a man suffering from a skin disease. It may or may not be Hansen’s Disease –which is what we think of when we think of leprosy. This man, however, is shunned by his community: people with skin diseases are not allowed to take part in many social activities. He is an outcast. He is seen as unclean. There are a couple of important things that I notice off the bat about this healing. 1) The way the leper approaches Jesus: he approaches Him with deference and respect. He doesn’t command Jesus as if Jesus is some genie in a bottle. Instead the man says, Verse 2, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” And, Verse 3, then “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’” And 2) as he is healed, Jesus tells the man to offer the appropriate sacrifices to God as a testimony to the priests. We need to thank God for what he does in our lives and we need to share that with our religious leaders so that they have the opportunity to offer Glory to God as well.

Matthew 8:5-13: When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.

Infirmity: Paralysis 

Patient: Roman Centurion’s servant (military occupier, foreigner, political and social outcast)

Initiation: The Centurion approached Jesus in person rather than sending a servant: “‘Lord’, he said, ‘my servant lies at home in terrible suffering” (Matthew 8:6)

Response: “I will go and heal him” or “Shall I come and heal him?”[2] – Immediately the man is healed (v.8). The Centurion (though he is powerful and a master of both soldiers and servants) publicly initiates a confession of his unworthiness of Jesus to come to his home. He confesses a belief in the power of Jesus to even heal from a distance (v.9). Jesus heals his servant and pronounces that the Kingdom of God is open to all who have faith and are faithful; whether they are outcasts of society or not. Conversely, not everyone who is currently part of the ‘in group’ of our society will be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Directive: “Go! It will be done…” (v.12).

One of the important pieces of this miracle is the patient. The patient is the servant of a Roman Centurion. The Romans, we remember, are an occupying military. They are as popular in Palestine then as the Americans are in the countries they are invading and occupying today. Some of Jesus’ followers themselves even identify with the terrorist (sicarii, zealots) and their struggle against the Romans. Jesus still delivers this man’s servant from being paralyzed. The Roman Officer: he could have sent a servant for Jesus but he went himself. Jesus asked or even offered to come to his house to heal the servant but the Officer – who is a powerful man – declares that 1) he is unworthy of Jesus’ entering his house; he acknowledges that Jesus is so much more than even he is; and 2) he publicly declares that he has so much faith in the power of Jesus that even from a distance, without ever even seeing the girl, Jesus can heal her. This is amazing. If only we all had the faith of this Gentile, military adversary of the independence-seeking Jews.

This brings us to another very important point. Through this exchange Jesus pronounces to all that the Kingdom of God is open to all who have faith and are faithful; whether they are outcasts of society or not. Conversely, Jesus tells us that not everyone who is currently part of the ‘in group’ of our society or our churches be a part of His eternal Kingdom. Some will be cast out (TSA Doc. 9).[3] It is not ‘who you are’; it is not ‘what you do’, like so much in this life it is simply  a matter of ‘who you know’.

Matthew 8:14-15: When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

Infirmity: Fever

Patient: Peter’s mother-in-law

Initiation: None specified: “When Jesus came to Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever” (Matthew 8:14)

Response: 1) Jesus touched her hand, healed her 2) She waited on her Lord

Directive: None recorded.

What makes this healing stand out from the others? First, the others show very humble people coming before the Lord with much intention, deference, and respect on behalf of others or themselves. They approach Jesus quite humbly and they ask Him to please heal them or their loved ones. In this episode it even seems that Jesus initiates the healing: He goes to Peter’s house; He notices Peter’s mother-in-law and He heals her on the spot. Now even if she did not approach Jesus in humility before her healing, you will notice that afterward she gets up from her sickbed and proceeds to wait on Him.  Can you imagine if the doctor came to your house, healed an in-law of yours and then she immediately got up and began waiting on doctor? What would you think? Wow. She is better! This is what it was like and this is the same gratitude we should show as God delivers us from our ailments and infirmities.

Matthew 8:16: When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

Infirmity: Demon-possession

Patient: Many

Initiation: They were brought to him

Response: Jesus “drove out the spirits with a word and healed the sick” (v.16)

Directive: None specified

This verse mentions neither the heart of those coming before the Lord nor their actions or beliefs after being healed but merely that Jesus “drove out the spirits with a word and healed the sick” (v.16). This is passage is pointing out that these miracles Jesus is performing fulfill the prophesy of Isaiah 53:4. Jesus is the Messiah.

Matthew 8:28-34: When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.  Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

Infirmity: Demon-possession

Patients: Two men living in the tombs (social outcasts)

Initiation: They violently came to Jesus, Matthew 8:29, “What do you want from us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” Matthew 8:31: “The demons begged Jesus, ‘if you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

Response: 1) “Go!” Jesus drove them out. They went into the pigs and killed them. 2) The people looking after the pigs ran away and the whole town gathered and begged Jesus to leave.

Directive: Go!

This healing is neat too. Notice that no one initiates this who wants these men healed. The demon-possessed men violently come to Jesus and then the demons themselves provoke the encounter. Matthew 8:29, “What do you want from us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” Matthew 8:31: “The demons begged Jesus, ‘if you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” Then once everyone finds out what Jesus has done –driving out the demons who kill the pigs - they beg him to go away. Whereas we have some coming to Jesus – like the Centurion and the leper - showing the proper respect and asking for mercy and some that it most appears as if Jesus just happened upon them – like Peter’s mother-in-law – here he we have demons hostile to and afraid of Jesus who are provoking Him to an action that no one seems to want and yet Jesus still heals these men - even though it doesn’t appear to wanted or even appreciated.

Matthew 9:1-8: Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Then the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.

Infirmity: Paralysis

Patient: A man

Initiation: Some friends brought him to Jesus

Response: 1) When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven” (v.2). 2) Teachers complained, accusing Jesus of blasphemy. Jesus then healed the man.

Directive: Verse 6, “But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Get up, take your mat and go home.’”

Some items of note here: We have friends bringing a friend to Jesus. Jesus responds, Verse 2, not to the man or because of the man brought to Him but Jesus responds to and because of the faithfulness of his friends who brought the man to Him. This is similar to the case of the Roman Centurion’s servant. One thing that is quite interesting here is that instead of healing the man immediately Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven.” I don’t imagine that this is necessarily why this man’s friends brought him to Jesus and I could almost expect a response of “Gee, thanks…” if the teachers of the law didn’t provoke Jesus through commenting amongst themselves. The religious leaders are quite upset. They know that only God can forgive sins in this way. They know that Jesus is claiming to be God and it is in response to this that Jesus says, Verse 6, “But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” The man is healed. There is a certain irony here. Jesus forgives the sins of the man because of the faithfulness of the friends who bring him to Jesus for healing and he heals the man in response to the teachers’ lack of faith in Jesus’ ability to forgive sins.

Matthew 9:18-26: While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.”  Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.

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

Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.

When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.  After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. News of this spread through all that region.

Infirmity: Death

Patient: A girl

Initiation: Verse 18: “…a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, ‘My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.’”

Response: 1) …Jesus and his disciples went with the man, arrived at the house, threw out the mourners saying, Verse 24, “Go away, the girl is not dead but asleep.” 2) The crowd laughed at him. They were put outside then Jesus raised her from the dead

Directive: None.

Here we have two stories intertwined about healing bleeding and resurrecting the dead. We don’t really have time to address the full significance of the juxtaposition here;[4] so first we will look at the girl. After the religious teachers have just provoked Jesus, a religious synagogue leader is shown as coming to Jesus in desperation as his own daughter has just passed away. Here the leader is faithful in beseeching Jesus upon his knees - even as his relatives seemingly mock him as they laugh at Jesus. The synagogue leader puts his friends, relatives, and the mourners out of his house as he invites Jesus in. Jesus then raises the girl from the dead. No one other than the man apparently believe that Jesus will do this but when those present see it with their own eyes, they all believe and tell everyone that they know. The same is available to us. If we are bold in our faith and faithfulness, even as people mock us or laugh at us, they will see the power of God in our lives and so we should not be afraid to put those out who would drag us down into unbelief but rather we should boldly and faithfully proclaim our faith in their midst so that they too may believe.

Infirmity: Continual or frequently repeated bleeding

Patient: a woman (an unclean outcast)

Initiation: Verse 20-21: “…a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.’”

Response: Jesus spoke and she was healed.

Directive: “Take heart, daughter” (v.22)

This lady barges upon the scene. She doesn’t have any of the requisite deference of the synagogue leader in our story who is kneeling before the Lord. She doesn’t have the humility and overtly displayed respect of the leper or the Centurion mentioned in Chapter 8. This lady just sneaks up to Jesus and touches His clothes almost as if she is trying to steal a healing. Jesus notices her –of course- and tells her not to be afraid; He tells her to “Take heart, daughter … your faith has healed you.” This woman is seemingly afraid of Jesus but she knows He can heal her so she comes to Him. Jesus knows her fears. Jesus knows her struggles. Jesus meets her and Jesus heals her. Even if we are afraid of God, as we approach Him, He will meet us with love and forgiveness – no matter who we are. He loves us.

Matthew 9:27-31: As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

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.

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

Infirmity: Blindness

Patient: Two men

Initiation: The blind men followed Jesus calling out “have mercy on us, Son of David!” They then followed Jesus inside the building.

Response: Jesus asked them, Verse 28-30, “‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’

‘Yes, Lord,’ they replied.

Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith let it be done to you’; and their sight was restored.”

Directive: Verses 30-31: “Jesus warned them sternly, ‘See that no one knows about this.’ But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.”

In this story of healing, we have two persistent blind fellows calling out for mercy. They call out to Jesus. After Jesus goes inside, they follow Him there too. Of these two men, Jesus asks if they believe. He hasn’t asked this of the other people but He asks it of these men before he touches their eyes and heals them. This next part is neat. Jesus tells them to tell no one and what did they do? They tell everyone! This seems to always happens in the Bible but this is interesting because even though Jesus knows that these men will disobey His directive to them, He still has compassion and heals their blindness. Our healing and wholeness isn’t dependant upon our faith/faithfulness; it is dependant upon the faithfulness of Christ. He knows what is best for us and if that is healing, then Christ will heal us.

Matthew 9:32-38: While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 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.”

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

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Infirmity: Demon-possession and muteness

Patient: a man

Initiation: He was brought to Jesus

Response: 1) Jesus drove the demon out and the man could speak

2) The crowd was amazed “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”3) Verse 34, “But the Pharisees said, ‘It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.’”

Directive: None.

You will notice that there are many different ailments and illnesses and infirmities that Jesus heals in this section. You will also notice that some of them are tied to demon possession and some of them are not tied to demon possession. I have seen some very possibly well-intentioned people hurt some very vulnerable people very significantly as they wrongly inform them that their illnesses are a direct result of demon possession. This is not the case in all of these healings that we have seen raised before us today. Jesus does have the power to heal people who are wounded by demons but not every wound in life is delivered by the devils. Sometimes people’s lives are the way they are for the glory of God: John 9:3.

Conclusion

I have seen people who have really been healed of cancer. I have seen people who have really been healed of HIV and who really have been healed of AIDS. I do know people who have been healed of diabetes. There are people in our congregation here today who have been really healed and really delivered from many different infirmities and illnesses. The power of God is real. But I want to bring this to your attention:

There are fake healers out there. We have probably all seen them, heard them, or heard about them. There are people who fake the power of God for their own gain or glory or to try to make us forget about the very real healings that Christ has performed in many of our lives. Don’t fall for them. Don’t fall for the devil’s traps.

There are people too who will take Scripture out of context and wrongly say that God will only heal you if you have enough faith; there are people too who will take Scripture out of context and wrongly say that God will only heal you if you are good enough; There are people too who will take Scripture out of context and wrongly say that God will only heal you if you repent of your sins. All of this is wrong. We have read of God healing people who were brought to Him. We have read of God healing people who were not brought to Him. We have read of God healing people who reached out to him. We have read of God healing people who were dragged defiantly before Him. We have read of God healing people who had no request nor expectation of healing from Him. And we have read of God healing people who persistently came to Him. And we have read of God healing people who sincerely humbled themselves before Him.

Our text today shows that God heals people for the Glory of God. Jesus did not heal everyone who was sick in Palestine in the first century. Jesus did not heal everyone who had faith in Him in Palestine in the first century. Jesus did not raise every dead person in Palestine in the first century. Jesus did not raise every dead person who had faith in Him in Palestine in the first century.

I have heard many people say that whether or not God heals us has to do with whether we are good enough, holy enough, pure enough, or have faith enough. Our Scriptures today show us that that is patently false. It is a lie of the devils.. The truth is as Jesus is recorded as saying in just a chapter or two earlier – Matthew 7:11- that your Father in Heaven will give good gifts to his children and sometimes that gift is prolonged life here and now and sometimes that gift is an early return to Heaven above to be with Him. In any case, our Father loves us and will give us exactly what we need to see, experience and know to experience everlasting life with Him both for now and forever.

For God so loved the entire world that He sent His Only Begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Let us pray.

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[1] M. Eugene Boring, ‘Matthew’, (NIB 8: Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1995), 222

[2] Cf. Daniel J. Harrington, ‘The Gospel of Matthew’, (Sacra Pagina 1: Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2007), 113.

[3] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, ‘Matthew 8:11-12: Keep Your Eye on the Ball’ Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army (Swift Current, SK: Sheepspeak.com: 18 July 2010). Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2010/07/matthew-811-12-keep-your-eye-on-ball.html

[4] Cf. Douglas R.A. Hare, ‘Matthew’, (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1993), 105 for a discussion of this as well as how it relates to Mark 5.