This morning I'm working on using my rusty imagination while reading the Bible. It's easy to forget that the stories recorded in Scripture involved real people with real dilemmas and emotions. OK, Mark chapter 7. Bring it on.
One of the first things that caught my attention was in verses 24-25: "...And [Jesus] entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet." The desperation of this woman is extremely telling. It didn't matter what Jesus was doing. No doubt the owner of the house and Jesus' disciples tried to keep her at bay. Jesus was in the midst of some sort of quiet time--possibly a personal visit or a chance to speak with his disciples--but this woman could not be kept away. She needed Jesus. She had been watching her child suffer, and she knew that relief could be found in Jesus. She pushed. In verse 27, we see that Jesus sort of verbally pushed back. But she would not be deterred. She knew what Jesus could do, and nothing--not the crowds, not her social rank--nothing would keep her from pleading with the Messiah. Because of her persistence and Jesus' mercy, her daughter was healed.
Next, verses 32-35 tell of Jesus healing a deaf man with a speech impediment. Actually, it says that "they" brought this man to Jesus. I don't know who "they" are, but "they" apparently were quite a crowd (v. 33). Anyway, after a private encounter with Jesus, the man was healed. First off--imagine that the first things this man heard were the noises of the large crowd. How overwhelming would that have been? But then check out verses 36-37:
"...Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, 'He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.'"
This is a clear fulfillment of Isaiah 35:5-- this man could be the MESSIAH. Don't tell anyone?!? Yeah, right.
I understand why Jesus would tell them not to spread the word yet. In Mark 2:2-5, it says that the crowds were so intense that no one could get near Jesus and some people had to climb down through a roof to get close enough to Jesus so that their friend could be healed. John 6:15 says that at one point Jesus knew that the crowds were going to "come and take him by force to make him king". The people around him did not understand that Jesus' plans were different than their own.
But, can you imagine yourself in that scene? Either you are the one who had experienced Jesus firsthand or you had seen the amazing things that Jesus had done, and you weren't supposed to tell anyone. Can you imagine keeping silent about Jesus?
Well, can you?
No comments:
Post a Comment