|
| Jesus Responds: thoughts on Matthew 9 |
|
| |
When I was a young boy I had to go to a babysitter while my parents went to work.
One thing I loved about being there was the afternoons when the old Batman shows starring Adam West would come on. I’m not sure to this day why the babysitter felt the need to pull me aside and “scold” me about this. After all, it was her house and her T.V. and I was just a child guest. But she explained to me that her children really preferred to watch another show that came on at the same time—Emergency.I don’t know what you remember about this show.
This was ER before ER. What I remember is that it would usually open up with a bunch of firefighters and paramedics sitting around the firehouse eating chili.
One of them would notice that the coffee mugs were not put away in alphabetical order. It was something obviously very important to him, even if it wasn’t important to anyone else. And, being a paramedic, he responded to the immediate crisis.
Now, while this was happening that tell-tale three tone alarm would sound.
You see, somewhere in town a little boy riding his banana seat bike with the tall flag on the back decided to go off-road. Always, it seems, conveniently located for the camera man, he did this in sight of a sign that says:
DANGER—Loose gravel leading to a steep cliff.
And the Emergency team would respond.
Something else about this show I remember is that the Emergency Room doctor and nurse never seemed to have anything better to do than stand around the reception desk discussing last week’s bingo tournament.
As the paramedics did their thing with passion and precision, they would call ahead to see what the Doc recommended. He would tell them and they would respond to his critical directions.
Once they arrived, the child would be whisked away on a wheeled bed. Within moments you had the calming sensation that everything was alright. Why? Because the doctor and the nurse rarely left the reception station; talking calmly about the weather and the silliness of boys on banana seat bikes.
We knew everything would be alright because the doctor and nurse—didn’t respond.
Meanwhile a new call would come in… let’s say a “10-87”. This would be a caller explaining to the paramedic crew that little Timmy had climbed a tree in order to rescue his cat. Now, Timmy has slipped in a high part of the tree—suspended now over live electrical wires—being held up only by his polyester ugly-pants. Now, we know that he is not in danger because of the pants. Those polyester ugly-pants are made of stuff that today is used to line nuclear fall-out shelters and the space shuttle. But, the branch is cracking…The team responds…
and while they are there with ladder and cat and tree and boy and pesky power lines… another caller: a pool accident, a cardiac arrest….
It suddenly becomes clear that simply because crisis is common, it doesn’t make it any less of a crisis.
The Emergency show paramedics were continually bombarded with everyday, ordinary crises… and always they would respond.
It suddenly becomes obvious to us in a passage like the one we are about to examine, that Jesus was continually bombarded with the everyday, ordinary crises common to all of us.
Matthew Chapter 9
9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and [Jesus Responds] he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. 10And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 12But when he heard it, [Jesus Responds] he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." 18 While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." 19And [Jesus Responds] Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. 20And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well." [Jesus Responds] 22Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well. 23And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 [Jesus Responds] he said, "Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. 25But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26And the report of this went through all that district.
As Jesus responds to something in Matthew’s life that was obviously very important to him, even if it wasn’t important to anyone else…The tell-tale three tone siren sounds.
Pharisees decide to go off-road at a place that is obvious to us as a danger area. Matthew has value. Matthew can be redeemed. We are students of Jesus. We already know the answer. But the Pharisees don’t get it, yet. We read and see immediately the “Danger: Loose gravel, steep cliff warning”. But they didn’t see it.
And while Jesus is responding…The siren goes off again….A ruler of the synagogue has a daughter who has just died. Jesus is as close to 911 as he’s got… please come as quickly as you can…Jesus responds…
And on the way there—a woman hemorrhaging with blood risks everything to be found in public. She cannot let anyone know she is here; not even Jesus. The people would stone her if they knew she was in their midst making them unclean… Surely, she thinks, Jesus would not touch someone like me….but if I can just touch his garment…Jesus is aware… Jesus responds…
Back to the business at hand! On our way to the ruler’s house…Flute players and wailing erupt around them as they approach the house. The mourning; the grieving has already begun…But there’s a problem here… There has been some misunderstanding. The girl is not dead. She is only asleep. The people laugh—mocking both the pain of the grieving father and the power and plan of the Son of God!
Jesus responds!
The crowd is put outside!
The little girl is in a crisis too. Her real problem has been entirely misunderstood. Because no one understands what she really needs, she is left for dead…abandoned. People around her were praying, but they were praying for the wrong thing…No problem.Jesus is on the scene.And Jesus responds…
And He is still responding.
Although there does seem to be this… trouble …in our day: I often hear comments, sighs, the mumbling under the breath that tells me that many people today think that their problem is too small or too big. And why would God bother to help me anyway with all the terrible things I’ve done? Or sometimes some believe that they have far too many problems for Jesus to deal with…
Those like Matthew who are well on their way in their career, grappling with compromise… doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons. Or maybe it’s the other way around… doing all the wrong things for all the right reasons. But either way, they are trapped; victims of their own judgment calls. No where to turn; no one to turn to…no way to get out of the rat race.
Those like Pharisees…. The well meaning and sometimes self righteous who misunderstand the motive behind the actions of sincere individuals. Those who accuse others of an ends-justifying-the-means attitude and never stop to consider that maybe—just maybe-- the means were just all along.
Those like the ruler who has suffered the deepest and nearest loss of a loved one…
Those like the woman who really believe they are not worthy of God’s gracious help; who hide in a crowd of believers pressing in to be near Jesus in any given church on any given Sunday. Even if they make it to church—manage to be in the crowd; they must remain invisible.
And this is so simple to do, because the crowd on Sunday, much like the crowd in our scriptures, has their own agenda with Jesus—and they are not really concerned the invisible, under-foot people… as long as they can see that Jesus can see them.People like this woman who knows in her heart that Jesus has the power to heal; to save …but cannot even find the power in themselves to see themselves as equal opportunity human beings. They are hoping to touch the hem of his garment. They hope to that they can touch God by reaching the something on the fringe—perhaps the pastor—he is close to God…If I can get to him I’ll get to God….
Then there are those like the girl who slept; people praying all around her; people grieving for her. Yet, they did not know her well enough to know her real need; all around her people grieving and weeping and never once knowing her true condition.
But Jesus steps into a room suddenly quiet… and takes her by the hand…
...this poor child surrounded by well meaning people who, at least, were praying for her when she could not pray for herself…takes the hand of this little girl for whom many wept for all the wrong reasons; thinking they knew what was really wrong with her—identifying in her the wrong need…
Jesus takes her by the hand and responds in just the right way, making it right.
And He still does.
Jesus is still stepping into rooms to respond to everyday, common crisis that, in spite of being common, is still crisis…and Jesus responds…in the right way…making it right.
When others get in the way of others getting to Jesus… Jesus responds.
When someone believes they must go through another to receive salvation or healing from God…Jesus responds in just the right way making it right.
When others have misunderstood your motives…Jesus responds in just the right way making it right.
When someone does not even understand yet that they have a need… Jesus is already responding!
This is Gethsemane! All of humanity lost and separated from God; death is immanent! God has promised to the first man and woman that He would do something to respond to this crisis!
In a garden called Gethsemane, the Father sends the tell-tall three toned siren to the Son, who, sweating great drops of blood under the pressure… the risk to himself is tremendous…responds to the call…In the end Jesus responds following the emergency call all the way to Calvary.
Romans 4:19-24 [The Message]
19-25Abraham didn't focus on his own impotence and say, "It's hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child." Nor did he survey Sarah's decades of infertility and give up. He didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. That's why it is said, "Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right." But it's not just Abraham; it's also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God.
It all began in Matthew 9, verse 9, with Jesus responding to a need in Matthew’s life that Matthew didn’t even know he had.
In the midst of all those sirens and alarm bells to which Jesus responded, the most significant was the one alarm no one heard except the Father who loved, and the Son who responded, in just the right way, to set him right with God.
And He still responds long before you even know what kind of crisis you are in—in the just the right way, making the way to set you and me right with God.
Jesus responds. |
|
| To add a comment to "Jesus Responds: thoughts on Matthew 9" |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Follow this blog
