Monday, April 16, 2007

Matthew 8

Jesus healed many people. Everything from leprosy to fever to demon possession was under His control – still is under His control. Since He's God, the fact that He healed all of these people is not really all that interesting to me. I think it's much more interesting to look at the different situations in which Christ worked.

One man came on behalf of himself to be healed from leprosy. He was humble in approaching Christ, and he appropriately made sure that it was recognized that he only wanted healing if it was in God's will. Christ healed Him. When we approach God, we should also be respectfully humbled by His awesomeness and His goodness. Accordingly, we should always remember that we may only have what God is willing to give. We cannot force Him to conform to our will.

Another man came on behalf of his servant. When Jesus decided to go to his house to heal the servant, the man declined stating that Christ can command from a distance the same as a general in an army. He need not be physically present to effect a miracle. The servant was healed, and the centurion who requested the healing reminds us that we can and should pray on behalf of others. And when we do that, we must remember that Christ can act in someone's life without us showing Him the way to the house. We don't need to give God directions to where He needs to be.

Finally, Peter's mother-in-law, was healed simply because Jesus saw that she was ill. Perhaps Peter wasn't too keen on the idea of his mother-in-law getting well while company was in the house, but that's another debate. The fact is that Jesus recognized a need on His own and addressed it. Sometimes, Christ gives us the healing that we need before we even have a chance to recognize that it was necessary. And sometimes He keeps mother-in-laws in our life for His own amusement.

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