Why does it seem as if our entire world is focused on the
Middle East and one religion in particular? We cannot understand Islam with our
western eyes and minds because the predominant western religion is Christianity
which is very different in application compared to Islam. We try to judge all
religions based on what we see of Christianity but Christianity is unique. As
we have discussed, Christianity is not a national law of governance, but a
belief system. A fundamentalist Christian follows the red letters, or the words
Jesus spoke. Unlike Jews who follow the laws of Moses, Christians are to follow
the words of Jesus and Paul’s words, then explain the change of the age, or
dispensation. This is the New Covenant, or New Testament; the Gospel is the
good news for humanity. Christianity has one commandment that Jesus gave us and
that should be the simplicity of the Christian life. Jesus healed many people
when he was on earth and taught about the kingdom of God. It is interesting
that healing the sick caused the religious people to hate him, but this is what
makes Christianity different from all other religions. Jesus cured people and
brought them good news, the Gospel. Jesus was the sacrifice we all needed in
order to receive eternal life. There is no need for anyone else to be martyred
for people to be saved. Because he laid down His life and his sinless blood, He
became the High Priest, even though while he was on earth he never entered the
inner courts of the temple. Jesus was a servant of humanity and thus the
followers of Christ are to be servants of humanity. Christianity is not a set
of rules, formulas, or superstitions but a love walk, with a message of good news.
When someone asked Jesus which commandment of Moses’ was the greatest, Jesus
told him the following.
Matt 22:36-40 Teacher, which kind of commandment is great
and important (the principal kind) in the Law? [Some commandments are light —
which are heavy?] 37 And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect).
[Deut 6:5.] 38 This is the great (most important, principal) and first
commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you
do] yourself. [Lev 19:18.] 40 These two commandments sum up and upon them
depend all the Law and the Prophets. AMP
These two commandments sum up all the other commandments
and the laws, and all the words of the Prophets hinge on these two
commandments. By living in this manner Christians establish themselves as very
different in comparison to other religions. Christians are not told to murder
others to bring about the millennial kingdom of Christ. Christians are not told
to force the general population to convert or be beheaded. Christians are not
told to subvert or overthrow governments. Christians are not told to make
Christianity the religious rule for the general population to live by. Instead
Christians are told to love, serve, give generously, feed the hungry, and share
the hope of Christ. Let’s look at what Jesus did on earth in a snapshot from
Matthew. Jesus taught in synagogues as well as anywhere the need for teaching
arose. Jesus brought good news as well as healing to the people all over the
nation of Israel. Jesus gave.
Matt 4:23-25 And He went about all Galilee, teaching in
their synagogues and preaching the good news (Gospel) of the kingdom, and
healing every disease and every weakness and infirmity among the people. 24 So
the report of Him spread throughout all Syria, and they brought Him all who
were sick, those afflicted with various diseases and torments, those under the
power of demons, and epileptics, and paralyzed people, and He healed [2323]
them. 25 And great crowds joined and accompanied Him about, coming from Galilee
and Decapolis [the district of the ten cities east of the Sea of Galilee] and
Jerusalem and Judea and from the other [the east] side of the Jordan. AMP
NT:2323 therapeuo (ther-ap-yoo'-o); from the same as
NT:2324; to wait upon menially, i.e. (figuratively) to adore (God), or
(specially) to relieve (of disease): KJV - cure, heal, worship.(Biblesoft's New
Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary.
Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible
Translators, Inc.)
NT:2324 therapon (ther-ap'-ohn); apparently a
participle from an otherwise obsolete derivative of the base of NT:2330; a
menial attendant (as if cherishing): KJV - servant.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive
Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary.
Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible
Translators, Inc.)
The word therapeuo
has a broad meaning, as in attending to
or serving, as well as healing, curing and worshipping.
The understanding here is that healing is serving and attending to someone in
need to cure their ailments. Jesus healed every disease and every weakness and
every infirmity. Jesus didn’t make a show out of it, but Jesus healing people
became well known among the people. Jesus didn’t ask for anything in return. He
didn’t ask for money, and he didn’t ask for anyone to follow him either. He
just simply gave them good news about the coming kingdom, and healed them.
Matt 8:1-4 WHEN JESUS came down from the mountain, great
throngs followed Him. 2 And behold, a leper came up to Him and, prostrating
himself, worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to
cleanse me by curing me. 3 And He reached out His hand and touched him, saying,
I am willing; be cleansed by being cured. And instantly his leprosy was cured
and cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, See that you tell nothing about this to
anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses
commanded, for a testimony [to your healing] and as an evidence to the people.
[Lev 14:2.] AMP
Here Jesus asked the man cured of leprosy not to tell
anyone. Jesus obviously wasn’t trying to build an army or a following, he
simply healed a man in need. The man believed Jesus could heal him, which tells
us he must have heard Jesus speak or he believed what other people told him
regarding Jesus. Jesus touched the man with his hand. Jesus didn’t become
contaminated nor did he contaminate others, but he touched the man, and I would
guess that man had not had a human touch in a very long time.
Matt 8:5-8 As Jesus went into Capernaum, a centurion came
up to Him, begging Him, 6 And saying, Lord, my servant boy is lying at the
house paralyzed and distressed with intense pains. 7 And Jesus said to him, I
will come and restore him. 8 But the centurion replied to Him, Lord, I am not
worthy or fit to have You come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my
servant boy will be cured. AMP
Jesus healed people who weren’t Jews. Here he healed a
servant boy of a centurion. The centurion wasn’t a Jew and yet the centurion
believed Jesus had the power to heal from afar. Imagine what the situation must
have looked like. The Roman military leader believed Jesus could heal his
servant, and approached him. This tells us Jesus was approachable and didn’t
mind talking with people of other nations.
Matt 8:14-17 And when Jesus went into Peter's house, He saw
his mother-in-law lying ill with a fever. 15 He touched her hand and the fever
left her; and she got up and began waiting on Him. 16 When evening came, they
brought to Him many who were under the power of demons, and He drove out the
spirits with a word and restored to health all who were sick. 17 And thus He
fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, He Himself took [in order to
carry away] our weaknesses and infirmities and bore away our diseases. [Isa
53:4.] AMP
Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law and then healed many
people, restoring their health. Isaiah 53 gives us some insight into what Jesus
looked like. He did not appear as glorious, neither did he appear beautiful, he
was simply average. Jesus did not glow or have an aura. He did not have a halo.
Jesus’ form was dishonorable or despised and omitted compared to the children
of men. This tells us that instead of appearing as strong and handsome, he was
simply average or even less than average in his physical body. He might well
have been skinny, pasty, frail, soft spoken, and gentle.
Isaiah 53:1 O Lord, who has believed our report? and
to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 We brought a report
as of a child before him; he is as a root in
a thirsty land: he has no form nor comeliness; and we saw him, but he had no
form nor beauty. 3 But his form was ignoble, and inferior to that of
the children of men; he was a man in suffering, and acquainted
with the bearing of sickness, for his face is turned from us: he
was dishonoured, and not esteemed. 4 He bears our sins, and is pained
for us: yet we accounted him to be in trouble, and in suffering, and in
affliction. 5 But he was wounded on account of our sins, and was
bruised because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by
his bruises we were healed. 6 All we as sheep have gone astray; every
one has gone astray in his way; and the Lord gave him up for our sins. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Esaias/index.htm
Jesus did not come as a superhero type. He did not rally
the people to fight, or overthrow the Romans. That is what disappointed the
Jews, they could not believe that Jesus was Messiah because they were expecting
he would restore control of Jerusalem to the Jews. Timing is everything and
Jesus hasn’t done that yet. Instead, he did come to heal people, take away our
sins, and be our perfect sacrifice.
Matt 9:27-31 As Jesus passed on from there, two blind men
followed Him, shouting loudly, Have pity and mercy on us, Son of David! 28 When
He reached the house and went in, the blind men came to Him, and Jesus said to
them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? They said to Him, Yes, Lord. 29
Then He touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith and trust and
reliance [on the power invested in Me] be it done to you; 30 And their eyes
were opened. And Jesus earnestly and sternly charged them, See that you let no
one know about this. 31 But they went off and blazed and spread His fame abroad
throughout that whole district. AMP
Again Jesus tells the men healed of blindness not to tell
anyone. Again it seems strange not to want the healed men to tell anyone.
Remember when Jesus read from Isaiah in the synagogue regarding his ministry on
earth? He read that he would bring recovery of sight to the blind.
Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he
hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the
acceptable year of the Lord. KJV
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach glad tidings to the poor, to heal
the broken in heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight
to the blind; 2 to declare the acceptable year of the Lord, http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Esaias/index.htm
And as we have studied, the New Testament and the
Septuagint agree, but the Masoretic text erased the phrase “recovery of sight
to the blind” as they were trying to erase Jesus from being the Messiah. Then
anyone could be declared the Messiah if they didn’t have to heal blind people. This
is just one of hundreds of alterations to the original text done by people who
did not want other people to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Note the KJV
which was taken from the Masoretic Text.
Isa 61:1-2 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because
the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me
to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the
opening of the prison to them that are bound;2 To proclaim the acceptable year
of the Lord KJV
In any event, Jesus healed blind people, and the best we
can tell is that he healed at least ten blind people, but it is possible that
he could have healed more. As we continue, notice again that Jesus simply
healed people, and the number of people asking for healing grew.
Matt 9:27-32-33 And while they were going away, behold, a
dumb man under the power of a demon was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon
was driven out, the dumb man spoke; and the crowds were stunned with bewildered
wonder, saying, Never before has anything like this been seen in Israel. AMP
Never before had a man merely walked around bringing good
news and healing people. Being a servant to all humans Jesus became a living
sacrifice and we are told to do the same.
Again, bringing the good news, the gospel of the kingdom, and healing
people. Jesus didn’t ask for anything, and he didn’t make a show of it, but the
crowds of people were awed by him.
Matt 9:34-36 But the Pharisees said, He drives out demons
through and with the help of the prince of demons. 35 And Jesus went about all
the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good
news (the Gospel) of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and every
weakness and infirmity. 36 When He saw the throngs, He was moved with pity and
sympathy for them, because they were bewildered (harassed and distressed and
dejected and helpless), like sheep without a shepherd. [Zech 10:2.] AMP
Jesus cured all diseases, weakness and infirmities. He was
moved with pity and sympathy for the people. Imagine, Jesus who looks rather
average or slightly less than average, was feeling badly because the people
were harassed, distressed, dejected, and helpless. Jesus’ compassion for the
people was a slap in the face to the religious leaders. The religious leaders
did not care for the people, but instead oppressed them, stole from widows, and
accused someone who did care for the people as being evil. Logically, the devil
has no interest in healing people who praise Yahweh.
Zechariah 10:2 For the speakers have uttered grievous
things, and the diviners have seen false visions, and they
have spoken false dreams, they have given vain comfort: therefore have they
fallen away like sheep, and been afflicted, because there was no healing. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Zacharias/index.htm
If Jesus looked and acted like Superman he would have
gained a following for the wrong reasons. Jesus didn’t want a group of administrators
following him, or a bunch of handlers or politicians strategizing his every
move. He did not want people following
him who didn’t understand the heart of why he was here. He didn’t want people
to become legalists about healing, because people already had their legalism
and superstitions as to why people were sick and not healthy. He simply brought
good news and healing because Israel’s leaders led them astray. This is
important to note. We cannot look at this with our modern day understanding of
political leaders. Today, we have separation between our political systems and
governments, and our religious leaders and our beliefs and practices. But in
Israel, the people were to live under the law which was a national rule and a
religion. The Kings as well as the Priests were to all obey the laws Moses
gave. Today, our nations have separated laws and religion so that many people
with different religious views can live in the same nation. The governing laws
are for all people, but the religious laws are only for the groups who ascribe
to them, not to everyone.
ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) has become a
global Islamic Caliphate. This is the dream of the jihadists, to establish a
global caliphate which Ataturk abolished 90 years ago.
“ISIS, or IS, believes that pledging
allegiance to the new caliph is a duty for every Muslim, and those who fail or
refuse to do so shall be deemed as apostates, and will be fought and struck
down. This was clearly stated by Adnani, who said, “Beware of splitting the
ranks. Those who want to split the ranks, strike their heads with bullets […].”
But what is the meaning of
declaring an Islamic caliphate? A Salafi cleric says, “It means that borders
and barriers among Islamic countries are now invalid. There will be a single
Islamic economic system and currency, and an army to defend it.” He continued,
“It also means there will no longer be any subservience to any country,
requiring the establishment of universities and factories to make Muslims a
major power in all fields.”” http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/20378
If we understand this thinking, what we see going on in the
world today makes a little more sense. Islamists believe they will rule the
world one day, and they are absolutely correct. The Bible tells us they will
rule for 3 ½ years. That’s it. But that’s another story for a different day. So
what we see is a clash of mid-eastern religious legalism, with western national
laws. In other words, people with their beliefs in the religion of Islam are
pushing their religious laws onto other nations that do not operate by
religious laws. What the western nations do not understand is that it is
impossible to separate Islam from its religious laws. Whereas Christianity is not
meant to usurp national laws, so people cannot understand why there is so much
turmoil with Middle Eastern Islamic sects. In western thinking, people go to
church or the synagogue, or Buddhist or Hindu temples once or twice a week, and
then live under the laws of the land they live in. But for the Muslim, Islam is
the law and all nations must adhere to Islamic law, and they are mandated to
bring that about by force.
Jesus came to give good news and healing, not to force
people to believe on him, not to force people to take over the world for him.
He will rule on earth for one thousand years, but he doesn’t need us to beat
people into it. The comparison between Christianity and Islam is clear. As we
know from Jesus’ own words, Christians are not to usurp governments but live
within all governmental rule. Islam intends to force the world to live under
its rule. This is the beauty of the Gospel and the Beauty of Christianity.
Jesus didn’t come to demand anything from anyone. Jesus gave his disciple’s exousia, authority and super human
abilities to heal people.
Matt 10:1-8 AND JESUS summoned to Him His twelve disciples
and gave them power and authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out, and
to cure all kinds of disease and all kinds of weakness and infirmity. 2 Now
these are the names of the twelve apostles (special messengers): first, Simon,
who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James son of Zebedee, and John his
brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew [Nathaniel]; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus [Judas, not Iscariot]; 4 Simon the
Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 5 Jesus sent out these
twelve, charging them, Go nowhere among the Gentiles and do not go into any
town of the Samaritans; 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand! 8
Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely
(without pay) you have received, freely (without charge) give. AMP
This was before the day of Pentecost, the day that the Holy
Spirit came to indwell believers. Today, we still have exousia, the same super human abilities to heal the sick. Jesus
charged the disciples to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but today
we are charged to go out to all nations healing everyone. Notice that the
disciples were to freely give, they were not to ask for donations, or gifts.
That should be our directive when we minister healing to those in need as well.
We now come to the section of scripture we touched on last week, a discussion
about the man with the withered hand who Jesus healed on the Sabbath.
Matt 12:13-23 Then He said to the man, Reach out your hand.
And the man reached it out and it was restored, as sound as the other one. 14
But the Pharisees went out and held a consultation against Him, how they might
do away with Him. 15 But being aware of this, Jesus went away from there. And
many people joined and accompanied Him, and He cured all of them, 16 And
strictly charged them and sharply warned them not to make Him publicly known. 17
This was in fulfillment of what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, 18 Behold, My
Servant Whom I have chosen, My Beloved in and with Whom My soul is well pleased
and has found its delight. I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim
and show forth justice to the nations. 19 He will not strive or wrangle or cry
out loudly; nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets; 20 A bruised reed He
will not break, and a smoldering (dimly burning) wick He will not quench, till
He brings justice and a just cause to victory. 21 And in and on His name will
the Gentiles (the peoples outside of Israel) set their hopes. [Isa 42:1-4.] 22
Then a blind and dumb man under the power of a demon was brought to Jesus, and
He cured him, so that the blind and dumb man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the
[crowds of] people were stunned with bewildered wonder and said, This cannot be
the Son of David, can it? AMP
Imagine how exasperating it must have been for the
Pharisees at this time. The Pharisees were in charge religiously speaking, and
they enjoyed their prominence and position. But Jesus, who was not glorious or
beautiful and without as nice of a human form as men, was healing people and breaking
the rules by healing on the Sabbath and many people followed him. The Pharisees
were losing their congregants to Jesus and they didn’t like it, yet they
couldn’t heal people and cure all their aliments. And they didn’t have any good
news for the people, nor did they themselves know the Gospel or the kingdom of
God.
Isaiah 42:1 Jacob is my servant, I will help him:
Israel is my chosen, my soul has accepted him; I have put my Spirit upon him;
he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles Nations. 2 He
shall not cry, nor lift up his voice, nor shall his voice be heard
without. 3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall
he not quench; but he shall bring forth judgment to truth. 4He shall shine
out, and shall not be discouraged, until he have set judgment on the earth: and
in his name shall the Gentiles Nations trust. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Esaias/index.htm
Jesus didn’t come yelling or literally croaking. He didn’t
make a commotion, but he brought judgment to the nations, and the Nations trust
Jesus. Israel was not the only nation the Messiah came to save, Jesus came for
the entire world, but Israel was to evangelize the nations from the time of Moses.
They were then to accept Jesus as Messiah and evangelize the world; but instead
they rejected Jesus and continue to do so to this day. Yet what did Jesus do on
earth? He gave everyone good news, the gospel, and healed the people. Why would
the people of that time period reject him? Was it because he didn’t look like a
super hero, or a Greek or Roman God? Was it because he didn’t glow or have a
halo so that people could recognize him as Messiah? But he healed so many
people, shouldn’t that have been enough? Notice verse 23 again.
Matt 12:23-28 And all the [crowds of] people were stunned
with bewildered wonder and said, This cannot be the Son of David, can it? 24
But the Pharisees, hearing it, said, This Man drives out demons only by and
with the help of Beelzebub, the prince of demons. 25 And knowing their
thoughts, He said to them, Any kingdom that is divided against itself is being
brought to desolation and laid waste, and no city or house divided against
itself will last or continue to stand. 26 And if Satan drives out Satan, he has
become divided against himself and disunified; how then will his kingdom last
or continue to stand? 27 And if I drive out the demons by [help of] Beelzebub,
by whose [help] do your sons drive them out? For this reason they shall be your
judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out the demons, then
the kingdom of God has come upon you [before you expected it]. AMP
Knowing their thoughts, Jesus answered their unasked
questions. He told them the good news again, if he drives out demons by the
Holy Spirit, then the kingdom of God has been shown to them. Isaiah prophecies that
the Spirit would be upon this special servant. Here the people were questioning
if he was the Messiah, and the Pharisees were attempting to dissuade the people
by their accusations. But Jesus brought good news. Who discourages good news?
Well, Herod didn’t like the good news John the Baptist was declaring.
Matt 14:10-21 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11
And his head was brought in on a platter and given to the little maid, and she
brought it to her mother. 12 And John's disciples came and took up the body and
buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. 13 When Jesus heard it, He withdrew
from there privately in a boat to a solitary place. But when the crowds heard
of it, they followed Him [by land] on foot from the towns. 14 When He went
ashore and saw a great throng of people, He had compassion (pity and deep
sympathy) for them and cured their sick. 15 When evening came, the disciples
came to Him and said, This is a remote and barren place, and the day is now
over; send the throngs away into the villages to buy food for themselves. 16
Jesus said, They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat. 17
They said to Him, We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish. 18 He
said, Bring them here to Me. 19 Then He ordered the crowds to recline on the
grass; and He took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up to heaven,
He gave thanks and blessed and broke the loaves and handed the pieces to the
disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 And they all ate and
were satisfied. And they picked up twelve [small hand] baskets full of the
broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about 5,000 men, not
including women and children. AMP
Jesus needs a moment alone on a boat, but the people
followed him. They were there all day long. Again Jesus cures them, then feeds
them; all 5,000+ people. People were so determined to get healed and bring
their sick for healing that they did not care to eat, but Jesus knew their
needs and took care of them. Jesus did not feed people just one time, but he
did it again with more than 4,000 people.
Matt 15:29-39 And Jesus went on from there and passed along
the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up into the hills and kept
sitting there. 30 And a great multitude came to Him, bringing with them the
lame, the maimed, the blind, the dumb, and many others, and they put them down
at His feet; and He cured them, 31 So that the crowd was amazed when they saw
the dumb speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind
seeing; and they recognized and praised and thanked and glorified the God of
Israel. 32 Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, I have pity and
sympathy and am deeply moved for the crowd, because they have been with Me now
three days and they have nothing [at all left] to eat; and I am not willing to
send them away hungry, lest they faint or become exhausted on the way. 33 And
the disciples said to Him, Where are we to get bread sufficient to feed so
great a crowd in this isolated and desert place? 34 And Jesus asked them, How
many loaves of bread do you have? They replied, Seven, and a few small fish. 35
And ordering the crowd to recline on the ground, 36 He took the seven loaves
and the fish, and when He had given thanks, He broke them and gave them to the
disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 37 And they all ate and
were satisfied. And they gathered up seven [large provision] baskets full of
the broken pieces that were left over. 38 Those who ate were 4,000 men, not
including the women and the children. 39 Then He dismissed the crowds, got into
the boat, and went to the district of Magadan. AMP
Jesus had a bit of alone time, and then again a great
multitude came to him. We can see the progression in the number of people
bringing the sick and needy to him. Last
time there was a great throng, now we have a great multitude. The crowd got it
right, they praised, thanked, and glorified God. This time of healing the sick
took three days. Three days. That is a long time for a healing service, so we
now understand just how large a number of people there were in the desert.
Even after being given exousia,
and seeing all these people healed and fed, the disciples had a bit of trouble
casting out a demon.
Matt 17:17-21 And Jesus answered, O you unbelieving
(warped, wayward, rebellious) and thoroughly perverse generation! How long am I
to remain with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to Me. 18
And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured
instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked privately, Why could
we not drive it out? 20 He said to them, Because of the littleness of your
faith [that is, your lack of firmly relying trust]. For truly I say to you, if
you have faith [that is living] like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to
this mountain, Move from here to yonder place, and it will move; and nothing
will be impossible to you. 21 But this kind does not go out except by prayer
and fasting. AMP
Once again, this was before the day of Pentecost. Today the
Holy Spirit resides within believers and demons are under the subjection of the
Holy Spirit. Therefore if the disciples were on earth today, they would not
have had any trouble casting out this demon via the direction of the Holy
Spirit.
Matt 19:1-2 NOW WHEN Jesus had finished saying these
things, He left Galilee and went into the part of Judea that is beyond the
Jordan; 2 And great throngs accompanied Him, and He cured them there. AMP
Jesus taught the people, then healed great multitudes; and
once again the Pharisees tried to dissuade the people by attacking Jesus. But
Jesus always gave the Pharisees an answer they were not expecting, and this
mixed them up. And Jesus was traveling from place to place with a crowd of
people following along. Jesus was not allowed into the inner courts of the
temple, nor into the Holy of Holies even though he was our perfect sacrifice
and now he is our High Priest who tore the veil of the temple. So when he went
into the temple area, he only went into the outer courts. Even though his
earthly body was not particularly noticeable, he turned over tables of the
corrupt businessmen making profits on the people who came to buy animals for
sacrifice.
Matt 21:12-16 And Jesus went into the temple (whole temple
enclosure) and drove out all who bought and sold in the sacred place, and He
turned over the four-footed tables of the money changers and the chairs of
those who sold doves. 13 He said to them, The Scripture says, My house shall be
called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers. [Isa 56:7; Jer
7:11.] 14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the porches and courts of
the temple, and He cured them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes
saw the wonderful things that He did and the boys and the girls and the youths
and the maidens crying out in the porches and courts of the temple, Hosanna (O
be propitious, graciously inclined) to the Son of David! they were indignant.
16 And they said to Him, Do You hear what these are saying? And Jesus replied
to them, Yes; have you never read, Out of the mouths of babes and unweaned
infants You have made (provided) perfect praise? [Ps 8:2.] AMP
Now Jesus is healing the sick, lame, and blind in the
temple courts. People started singing about Jesus healing the needy and calling
him the Son of David. The Priests and Scribes were very mad. We can imagine
that Jesus healing people in the deserts 100 miles north in the Galilee region
was a far better place because it kept the religious leaders from doing
anything about Jesus healing people, and kept the religious leaders away from
the crowds that followed Jesus. But Jesus healing people in the temple courts
was bringing the reality of his Messiahship right to the doorstep of those who
rejected him. He gave his life for us, as a sacrifice. He laid down his rights
to a nice life, a nice home, a wife and children, a nice vacation home at the
beach and instead served, ministered, gave and then served some more.
Jesus gave us one commandment. Only one. We would think
that by giving only one commandment, it should be easy for us to do. We should
see all Christians living this. We should be able to achieve this goal of
living only one commandment. However we get tricked out of it sometimes.
John 15:10-14 If you keep My commandments [if you continue
to obey My instructions], you will abide in My love and live on in it, just as
I have obeyed My Father's commandments and live on in His love. 11 I have told
you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and
gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing. 12 This is My
commandment: that you love one another [just] as I have loved you. 13 No
one has greater love [no one has shown stronger affection] than to lay down
(give up) his own life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you keep on
doing the things which I command you to do. AMP
No one gets persecuted by the government because they are
too kind to others. No one gets arrested because they are too generous in
helping the poor. No one is condemned for loving others. But for years there
have been people who made Christians the “enemy of the state” so to speak,
believing that Christians created all the problems in the world. Many times
those people who attacked Christians had a reason, Christians tried to act like
Jews and Muslims, pushing for laws to force people to live like Christians.
While Christians feel justified in doing that, it is not what Jesus told us to
do. Yet today we have a religious group who wants to enforce their religious
laws on the world and most people don’t understand what is happening, and many
even defend it. Looking back, maybe Christians were not the worst enemy of
liberty and freedom after all. But, as noted before, Islam will rule the world
for three and one half years, but that is still a future event. Meanwhile,
Christianity should become more prominent to the world as a contrast to what we
see in the news.
John 15:18-23 If the world hates you, know that it hated Me
before it hated you. 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would treat you
with affection and would love you as its own. But because you are not of the
world [no longer one with it], but I have chosen (selected) you out of the
world, the world hates (detests) you. 20 Remember that I told you, A servant is
not greater than his master [is not superior to him]. If they persecuted Me,
they will also persecute you; if they kept My word and obeyed My teachings,
they will also keep and obey yours. 21 But they will do all this to you
[inflict all this suffering on you] because of [your bearing] My name and on My
account, for they do not know or understand the One Who sent Me. 22 If I had
not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin [would be
blameless]; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates Me also
hates My Father. AMP
If we live Christianity the right way, no one will have an
excuse for persecuting Christians or rejecting Jesus. We still may be
persecuted but people will persecute us without justification or just cause. Again
John reiterates what Jesus said.
1 John 3:23 And this is His order (His command, His
injunction): that we should believe in (put our faith and trust in and adhere
to and rely on) the name of His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and that we
should love one another, just as He has commanded us. AMP
Love one another as Jesus commanded. Christianity is a most
brilliant religion. It is not about getting but giving. It is about serving
others, it is about loving others. It is about healing the sick, helping the
needy, feeding the poor and hungry. Jesus spent three days in the desert
healing people, it should not be hard for us to serve others for an hour per
week. John sums up the heart of the red letters.
1 John 4:15-21 Anyone who confesses (acknowledges, owns)
that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides (lives, makes His home) in him and he
[abides, lives, makes his home] in God. 16 And we know (understand, recognize,
are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and
put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he
who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells
and continues in him. 17 In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought
to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for
the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He
is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love [dread does not
exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and
expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of
punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love
[is not yet grown into love's complete perfection]. 19 We love Him, because He
first loved us. 20 If anyone says, I love God, and hates (detests, abominates)
his brother [in Christ], he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother,
whom he has seen, cannot love God, Whom he has not seen. 21 And this command
(charge, order, injunction) we have from Him: that he who loves God shall love
his brother [believer] also. AMP
Jesus didn’t look special, but average or even below
average in physical form, and he didn’t yell or loudly announce who he was.
Therefore it doesn’t matter what we look like physically, we can serve and love
others. And we don’t have to be loud about it, making a big show of our service
is the opposite of what Jesus did. As the crowds of people needing healing grew
and followed him, he told them the good news, which is the New Covenant reality
we live under today. We can never love too much. We shouldn’t hate, we
shouldn’t attack others and their ideas, we should be simple in our approach as
Jesus was, and recognize the world will hate us no matter what we do.
Rationally, the world should run to Jesus because of what he did, but there are
still people who will reject Him. Christianity is such a different religion
compared to all the other religions in the world and we are Christianity’s
ambassadors as to its magnificence in our crazy world.
In these days of turmoil, where we attempt to make sense of
a religion that seems to believe in murdering others to achieve world
dominance, we can and should live the example and the command Jesus gave us. While
it seems we should fight and argue and protest the Caliphate that is attempting
to rule the world, we should remember the genius of the New Covenant. The New
Covenant is not a governmental law. The New Covenant brings good news. The New
Covenant brings healing. The New Covenant sympathizes and has compassion on
those who need help. The New Covenant is not about us making a name for
ourselves, or dressing in expensive clothes to be well accepted. Instead the
New Covenant is about simplicity. Living who we are, the way we look, and
loving the others around us.
