Dear Explorer,
Read Matthew 9:27-34
Here we see 3 men being healed in two different incidents. I want you to compare and contrast the two.
What problem did the first two men bring to Jesus?
What did Jesus ask them?
How did they respond?
What did Jesus say?
He said that He healed them according to their faith.
As they were leaving, another man was brought to Jesus (apparently by someone else).
Will He be healed according to His faith?
No. He had no faith. He couldn't speak it if he did. He was incapable of functioning because the evil spirit was in complete control of his life. Someone else brought him to Jesus.
What does this tell you?
It tells me that there is no formula for Jesus' healing people. Some He healed because they had great faith. Others He healed who were incapable of making that decision – either because of an evil spirit, or lack of knowledge or some of them were dead! If Jesus didn't pick and choose who He would heal – based on whether they were somehow worthy to be healed, do you think we should limit our ministry to only those who we think are worthy of our efforts?
I believe we should care about and show compassion to all people. Yet, I was taught to avoid those who were not following Jesus for fear that I would become contaminated by their sins. Jesus didn't stay away from hurting people – He cared for them and healed them.
And once again the Pharisees accuse Jesus of being from Satan. We've already covered that discussion.
In His service, dale
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