|
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| According to YOUR Faith |
|
| |
9:27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, "Have mercy on us, Son of David." 9:28 When he entered the house, 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." 9:29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you." 9:30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly charged them, "See that no one knows it." 9:31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
Is religion supposed to be about abusive power or personal faith? Sight impaired Jews 2,000 years ago would probably have been keenly aware of an Old Testament prophecy of the Messiah, that the blind would see. It is perhaps with that in mind that several blind men followed Jesus, referring to him as the promised Messianic Son of David. Jesus took them inside. He did not ask them how much faith they had to be healed, merely if they had faith. They answered in the affirmative and so Jesus healed them privately and without fanfare. Faith is central to the Christianity of Christ. However, power is often central to the religion of men. So, Jesus told them sternly not to tell anyone about their healing. New believers are often naïve to the realities of religion in the hands of men. The men forgot Jesus' request for secrecy, so the news spread rapidly and persecution from religious leaders was not far behind. When faith in Christ threatens the religion of men, bullying and the abuse of power are often the result. Even Jesus thought that it was sometimes best to keep his faith to himself. |
|
| To leave a comment or start your own blog: |
 |
or |
 |
Already a member? Login |
|
|
|
|
Brent |
 |
October 16, 2007 at 2:50am |
|
Grant, interesting thoughts. I have often wondered why Jesus told them to be quiet and yet they couldn't stop from sharing the good news. I have often wonderd if it wasn't simlar to the way the apostles when told by the Sanhedren not to preach were doing so as soon as they were released from court. Neither could keep from sharing or they would explode. Or so is my supposition. I do see the power and the rules of man getting in the way in the church too. I have seen the decisions about not embarassing rather than speaking the truth. I have been guilty of preserving order in church administration in the past over speaking the truth. It is so easy to justify ourselves. We are very good at it!! I just never thought of them keeping quiet because of the rules or power of men. I will have to think about this some more and research it. Your brother in Christ, Brent |
|
|
Grant |
|
October 16, 2007 at 9:42am |
|
| Please don't think this is all one-sided. There is certainly a time to keep quiet and a time to shout it from the roof-tops. Blessings! |
|
|
Gene |
|
October 16, 2007 at 2:09pm |
|
Amen, Grant!
Faith is private - but should be lived in the open. The old saying about there "being enough evidence to convict. . ." is relevant but at the same time there is a time to speak and a time to be silent. (Don't I recall reading that somewhere? Hmmm.) If all we do is shout we become that clanging gong or noisy cymbal. The important aspects of your example are that: 1) Christ's work was done; 2) Christ's work was noted; and 3) Contrary to what they were told, the Good News just bubbled up from within them. They were not told to broadcast it.
As Brent illustrates, per Gamaliel, "If God is in this, there is no way we can stand in its way."
Great blog. |
|
|
Brent |
|
October 16, 2007 at 10:08pm |
|
Grant - I don't a good hear you saying it is one-sided. I am just curious about the motivation to keep them quiet. I don't have an answer, still pondering. Gene - I like the balance you are talking about. I wonder how often we have imbalance in not speaking out. That is where I tend to fall so I just assume others are like me. *grin* |
|
|
Grant |
|
October 16, 2007 at 11:38pm |
|
Brent, if you read a few verse further, you see that the religious leaders were already criticizing Jesus. Now most commentaries say that the reason Jesus asked so many people to keep quiet was that his time had not yet come. I think they are right. Another similar lesson is that a leader is a few steps ahead of those he leads not a mile ahead. Martyrs get killed. Leaders keep quiet until they believe the sheep are ready to eat what they want to teach.
So what does that mean? I know a pastor in the Baptist Church who does not believe that having a beer is a sin. In fact he believes that Christ turned water into wine, not grape juice and that he drank wine at Passover, not grape juice. He does not tell his people this because they are not ready for it.
That is the case with many teachings in all of the churches. When teaching babes who can only swallow milk, feeding them meat will only cause offense, or get you fired and then you will have no chance to be effective at all. Some take the more direct route and become martyrs. I tend to be that way. Others focus on the important issues and keep quiet about their doctrinal disagreements considering them to be lesser things.
In the end of the day, we must all pick our battles. Some, like Luther thought that indulgences were a battle worth picking. Others, like Erasmus thought that Luther was wrong and that working for reform from within was a better alternative. Earlier leaders who did like Luther were just murdered. Luther was lucky that God's timing was right. Others, also blessed by God for their faith, did not survive the process.
Another example that inspires me was Kirkegaard. He told the Lutherans in Denmark that they heard God preached every week, but treated church like a fashion parade, ignoring God. He was hated by his generation for that, but 60 years after his death, became a national hero. Martyrdom (death or being hated) is a choice, and sometimes it is the right choice. |
|
|
Gene |
|
October 17, 2007 at 7:12pm |
|
Grant,
And yet, there are those who consider the fact that they are being criticized as a badge of honor. It depends on who is doing the criticizing and why. If the critics are fellow believers, then the criticism needs to be looked at as if it's a social or cultural issue (generally). If it's those who are not believers then it could be because they reject the message and will do anything to argue and criticize.
On the other hand, it could be for the same reasons. Some people just want attention. Jesus addressed that in his story of the man who prays in his closet. We need to be "right there" but not "right in your face." - "Real" not "really obnoxious." |
|
|
Grant |
|
October 17, 2007 at 8:53pm |
|
| Good comments! Jesus was right in the face of the Pharisees at times, villifying them. Other times he slipped through the crowds so as not to be noticed. I guess that's a judgment call. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
back to top
