Sermon and Worship Resources

Mark 9:14-32 · The Healing of a Boy With an Evil Spirit

14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

16 "What are you arguing with them about?" he asked.

17 A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."

19 "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."

20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

21 Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" 22 "From childhood," he answered. "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."

23 " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."

24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again."

26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"

29 He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer. "

30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

The View from the Mountaintop

Mark 9:14-32, Mark 9:2-13

Sermon
by David E. Leininger

Some important birthdays this week. Our Sunday School Superintendent, Jane Bonavita has a big one today (Lordy, Lordy, Jane is...). Our Director of Music, Debbie Hunter has an even bigger one Thursday (Isn't it nifty, Deb's turning ...). Am I in trouble? Here is one that is safe: on Tuesday, it is Abraham Lincoln's. Had he lived, Mr. Lincoln would be 193 (and, no, I don't have a jingle for that one).

Lincoln has always fascinated me. In my view, he was our greatest President. Others feel the same. In fact, he is now seen as so important a figure that one contemporary historian notes that there are currently more books in the English language about Lincoln than about anyone else except Jesus and Shakespeare.(1)

It seems particularly appropriate in the midst of the current conflict to think of Abraham Lincoln. After all, his presidency was entirely consumed with war. On his first day in office he was greeted with a dispatch from Fort Sumter letting him know that the Union troops would have difficulty holding out for much longer unless they were resupplied. His last day in office came as a result of what might be called the "final shot" of the Civil War - the one fired by John Wilkes Booth.

The lines between Lincoln and his Confederate counterpart, Jefferson Davis, were as clearly drawn as the line in the desert between George Bush and Osama bin Laden. Lincoln wrote words which sound as if they could have been written for President Bush's speech to the nation after September 11th: "Between him and us the issue is distinct, simple, and inflexible. It is an issue which can only be tried by war, and decided by victory."(2) Then, as well as now, the powers that be could see no middle ground. Too bad. The war that resulted was the most violent event in American History. The 620,000 soldiers killed almost equals the number of American fighters killed in ALL our country's other wars combined.(3)

In a way, it is surprising to look back on Lincoln as a great wartime leader because story after story has come down to us concerning his compassionate nature (pardons for deserters, help for needy southern families, mercy for the Confederacy at Appomattox). At the beginning of the war he was convinced that firmness should be tempered with restraint (just as we took pains to spare the civilians in Afghanistan and brought in millions of dollars in relief supplies). Lincoln promised that while suppressing the rebels, Union troops would avoid "any devastation, any destruction of, or interference with, property, or any disturbance of peaceful citizens."(4)

As time went on, of course, events dictated a change in that limited strategy. Lincoln himself wrote to General Sheridan and congratulated him on the scorched earth of the Shenandoah Valley. The President did the same in a letter to General Sherman after his devastation of South Carolina and Georgia. War (then and now) is never as clean as might be hoped. Innocent people suffer!

Lincoln suffered too. He had his own private war with depression which he battled with a widely-recognized sense of humor. There was a story that circulated around Washington during those years concerning him and Jefferson Davis. Two pious Quaker ladies were discussing the relative merits and prospects of the two leaders. One said, "I think Davis will succeed because he is a praying man."

The other replied, "But so is Lincoln."

The first responded, "Yes, but when Abraham prays, the Lord will think he's joking."(5)

Once at a Cabinet meeting, the president read aloud from a humorous book. The Cabinet members were amazed; not one of them even smiled. "Gentlemen," Lincoln asked with a sigh, "why don't you laugh? With the fearful strain that is upon me day and night, if I did not laugh, I should die."

Abraham Lincoln knew the depths of despair. During one particularly trying time he wrote a friend and said, "I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth."(6)

Of course, the President was the recipient of all sorts of advice to help him with his momentous decisions (just as Mr. Bush is today). Many of the arguments were based on religion and the unshakeable certainty that God wanted whatever problem was being discussed handled THIS way (which ever way the speaker was heading). Lincoln said, "In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be WRONG. God cannot be for, and against, the same thing at the same time." He also wrote, "I hope it will not be irreverent for me to say, that if it is probable that God would reveal his will to OTHERS on a point so connected with MY duty, it might be supposed that he would reveal it directly to me...if I can learn what it is, I will do it."(7) Good for you, Abe.

Lincoln's religious training began early. As a young lad he would go to church, hear a sermon, come home, take the younger children out, get on a stump or a log, and almost repeat the morning's message word for word. His family said that, not only would he recall the sermon, but he would also mimic accurately the preacher's eccentricities of style and voice.(8) Lincoln had his own ideas about what preaching ought to be. Later in life he reportedly said, "I do not like to hear cut and dried sermons. When I hear a man preach I like to see him act as if he were fighting bees!"(9) Glory!

Soon after settling in the White House, the Lincoln family rented a pew in Washington's New York Avenue Presbyterian Church where Mrs. Lincoln became a member. The whole family regularly attended on Sunday mornings. The President also came to the mid-week prayer service, but to avoid office-seekers and contractors who would pester him anytime he appeared in public, Lincoln did not sit with the congregation; instead he used a side entrance and sat in the minister's darkened study with the door slightly ajar so he could hear what was going on. The President said that he always found that listening to people talking TO God was a greater source of strength than listening to people talking ABOUT God.(10)

Concerning his own profession of faith Lincoln said, "I cannot without mental reservations assent to long and complicated creeds and catechisms. If a church would ask simply for assent to the Savior's statement of the substance of the law: `Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and thy neighbor as thyself' - that church would I gladly unite with." Many today would echo that sentiment.

He went on, "Probably it is to be my lot to go on in a twilight, feeling...with him of old time, who, in his need, as I in mine, exclaimed, "Help Thou mine unbelief."(11) Honest Abe was a man of honest faith...and honest doubt.

Those words, "I believe; help my unbelief," came from another man whose life reflected a mixture of honest faith and doubt. Jesus, Peter, James and John had come back from a mountaintop experience. It had been a beautiful moment, but now they were back in the world where people fight with each other, the world where little children get sick for no reason, the world where folks get frustrated with their problems, the world where the faith of the mountaintop gives way to the despair and doubt of the valley. The mountaintop experiences are wonderful when they come, but the world where most of us live (and where Abraham Lincoln lived) is the one that hears a loving Dad at the end of his rope say, "Lord, I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" and we whisper AMEN.

Lincoln once said, "I have often wished that I was a more devout man than I am. Nevertheless, amid the greatest difficulties of my administration, when I could not see any other resort, I would place my whole reliance in God, knowing that all would go well, and that He would decide for the right."(12) Abraham Lincoln had his honest doubts (as anyone with any sense would - there is no shame in that), but he was a man of more faith than perhaps even he knew.

One of the best preachers of Lincoln's day, Phillips Brooks, in a memorial sermon after the assassination said, "He fed us faithfully and truly. He fed us with counsel when we were in doubt, with inspiration when we sometimes faltered, with caution when we would be rash...He fed hungry souls all over the country with sympathy and consolation...He fed us with solemn, solid truths...Best of all, he fed us with a reverent and genuine religion. He spread before us the love and fear of God just in that shape in which we need them most, and out of his faithful service of a higher Master, who of us has not taken and eaten and grown strong? At the last, behold Lincoln standing with hand reached out to feed the South with mercy and the North with charity, and the whole land with peace, when the Lord who had sent him called him and his work was done!"(13)

"...when the Lord who had sent him called him and his work was done!" There is an affirmation of providence in that sentence that sends us back to our scripture lesson again. If you recall, it was in two parts. There was the story of the healing of the epileptic boy and that wonderful affirmation of very human faith from the lad's father. We are drawn to that picture because it so reflects our own experience, our own honest doubt and our desire to do better. But the part of the lesson that has not been mentioned yet is this strange mountaintop scene, the Transfiguration of the Lord. Jesus and three of his closest friends had climbed up to pray and rest. But while they were there, Jesus was "transfigured" - as far as Peter, James and John could see, he "glowed," something they had never encountered before. But if that were not enough, two of the greatest heroes of ancient religious history, Moses and Elijah, the great law-giver and the great prophet, appeared as well...paying their respects to one who was even greater than they. Finally, a voice came from the cloud that surrounded them up there, the voice of God: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" It affirmed for those disciples (if they had any lingering doubts) that this Jesus whom they had come to love and trust was more than a man - he was divine. A mountaintop experience if there ever was one!

True, there would be a time to come back from the mountain. Life is lived in the valley. But for Peter, James and John, life in the valley would never be the same again. For despite the fights and the fears and the failures, all the things that would contribute to a lack of faith, these three had seen God's future, the future that an early Christian hymn would describe as a time when every knee would bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord...a time of no more sorrow, no more sickness, no more tears, no more pain, no more war...a time when every valley would be exalted and every mountain made a plain. Peter, James and John had seen who was in charge, and with the lyric of the spiritual that slaves of Lincoln's day would sing, know, "He's got the whole world in His hands."

That day on the mountain, that moment in the close presence of God, changed those men, just as these moments in worship, the moments when we feel God especially near, can change you and me. Yes, with the father of the Gospel story we cry out, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief." But with Peter, James and John we glimpse the future and, with eyes of faith, see a better day. "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!"

Mr. Lincoln saw a better day and just one month before his death challenged his America and ours: "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphans, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and all nations."(14) Oh yes, Mr. Lincoln. Oh yes, Lord!

Amen!

1. James M. McPherson, Abraham Lincoln and The Second American Revolution, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 68

2. ibid., p. 88

3. ibid., p. 16

4. ibid., p. 75

5. Clifton Fadiman, Gen. Ed., The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes, (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1985), p. 358

6. Watson F. Pindell, Milestones to Immortality (Baltimore: Role Models, Inc., 1988), p. 30

7. ibid., p. 94

8. ibid., pp. 8-9

9. ibid., p. 42

10. ibid., pp. 78-79

11. ibid., p. 37

12. ibid., p. 122

13. Phillips Brooks, "Abraham Lincoln," Twenty Centuries of Great Preaching, Volume 6, (Waco, Texas: Word, 1971), p. 135

14. Abraham Lincoln, "Second Inaugural Address," Masterpieces of American Eloquence, (New York: Christian Herald, 1900), p. 239

ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., Collected Sermons, by David E. Leininger

Overview and Insights · Trouble in the Valley (9:14–29)

Jesus and his inner circle walk down from the mountain of glory to find the other nine disciples struggling to drive out demons and squabbling with the Jewish leaders. They lack spiritual power and wisdom. Jesus seems to be expe…

The Baker Bible Handbook by , Baker Publishing Group, 2016

Mark 9:14-32 · The Healing of a Boy With an Evil Spirit

16 "What are you arguing with them about?" he asked.

19 "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."

20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

23 " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."

24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again."

28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"

29 He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer. "

Commentary · The Healing of a Boy With an Evil Spirit

In the second-to-last miracle story in Mark (9:14–29), a desperate father struggles for the life of his son and the existence of his faith. While Jesus and the three principal apostles, Peter, James, and John, were on the Mount of Transfiguration, a man brought his son who was “possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech” (9:17) to the remaining disciples for healing. The boy’s condition is identified by the parallel story in Matthew 17:15 as epilepsy, a diagnosis that Mark’s further descriptions amply confirm (9:18, 20–22, 26). The disciples’ inability to heal the boy is another instance of their inadequacies when Jesus is not with them (also 6:48). Jesus does not chastise the disciples, for inability is not a fault. His exasperation at the crowd (9:19), however, implies more serious problems of misunderstanding and hardness of heart. In recounting the boy’s condition, the father declares his own heart. At the sight of Jesus, the malevolent spirit convulses the boy, while his father cries to Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” (9:22). So inseparable is the father’s desperation from his son’s condition that he begs for help and compassion “on us” (9:22). “ ‘If you can’?” replies Jesus in surprise (9:23). The problem is not one of God’s unwillingness or inability but of human disbelief. True faith is always aware how small and insignificant it is. True faith stands in the gap between the promise of God and the weakness of the flesh. In complete vulnerability, the father brings both his faith and weakness to Jesus: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (9:24). Seeing the crowd converge and not wanting to make a display of his power, Jesus “rebukes” the spirit and commands it to leave the boy (9:25). If the boy’s condition was epilepsy, Mark understands it in this instance to be demonically instigated. An encounter with Jesus can leave things initially worse than before, as indicated by the deathlike condition of the boy after the expulsion of the demon. Here too the father must trust Jesus rather than immediate and apparent circumstances. Stretching forth his hand, Jesus “lifted [the boy] to his feet, and he stood up” (9:27). This description echoes the raising of Jairus’s daughter from the dead (Mark 5:41), emphasizing the miraculous authority of Jesus. Disappointed in their inability to heal the boy, the disciples ask Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we drive [the demon] out?” (9:28). Jesus directs the disciples to the necessity of prayer. Indeed, the very inadequacy of the disciples must drive them to prayer; for prayer, as one scholar says, is “faith turned to God”—that is, God’s gift to the disciples in facing situations beyond their abilities.

The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary by Gary M. Burge, Baker Publishing Group, 2016

Big Idea: This event is another fulcrum in the book, as three primary Markan themes coalesce: (1) the power and compassion of Christ, (2) demonic conflict, and (3) discipleship failure.

Understanding the Text

This is a classic example of the mountaintop/valley experience. The innermost circle of disciples experienced the glory of God in Jesus, as great a spiritual “high” as anyone in history has known. Now they are about to join the rest of the Twelve as they descend into the valley and face one of the lowest of failures the disciples have ever experienced. This again parallels the exodus story—particularly when Moses came off the mountain to face the apostasy and idolatry of the Jewish people in the “golden calf” incident (Exod. 32).1

Interpretive Insights

9:14 a large crowd . . . teachers of the law. The first part of the story (vv. 14–19) centers on the conflict between the other nine disciples and the onlookers. The three who had been with Jesus had experienced peace and awe as they encountered the presence and majesty of God. Now they return to the real world of debate and dissension.

9:15 they were overwhelmed with wonder. Astonishment in Mark everywhere but here takes place after the miracle (1:27; 2:12; 4:41; 5:42; 6:51; 7:37). This is a particularly strong verb (ekthambe?), used of Jesus’s “deep distress” at Gethsemane (14:33) and the “alarm” of the women at the empty tomb (16:5–6). Here it means a “trembling astonishment that verges on alarm.”2Some attribute this simply to Jesus’s startling appearance, but it is better in this setting to attribute it to the likelihood that his clothes and countenance still glistened, and the wonder of the transfiguration is transferred to this scene, reminiscent of Moses’s glowing countenance when he came off the mountain (Exod. 34:29–35).3

9:17–18 a spirit . . . throws him to the ground. This is the first of four descriptions (vv. 17–18, 20, 22, 26) of the horrific effects of the demonic possession. None of them are picked up by Matthew (who knows of this, for he mentions the demon in Matt. 17:18), who centers instead on the healing of the child. Mark clearly wants his readers to know of the destructive impulses that drive unclean spirits. Demons possess people not because they wish they had a body but rather to torture and kill those who are made in God’s image. This is a central element in their war against God. The details (convulsions, foaming at the mouth, gnashing of teeth, paralytic rigidity) are descriptive of epileptic seizures. Yet the source of the epilepsy for Mark is demonic. Evil spirits often utilize human illness as part of their wicked repertoire.

9:19 You unbelieving generation. The antecedent of the “faithless” (apistos [NIV: “unbelieving”]) is quite difficult to determine. It could be the crowd and the scribes who were debating with the disciples, or the disciples who were unable to cast out the demon, or everyone present then as emblematic of the unbelief of the nation.4I believe that it is both the disciples and the people as a whole, but the nearest context describes the failure of the disciples (“I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not” [v. 18]), so Jesus is especially exasperated with the “unbelief” (= “hardness of heart” in 6:52; 8:17) of his own followers.5

how long shall I stay with you? . . . put up with you? These two pointed questions by Jesus reflect the coming cross. He indeed will not be with them much longer. Still, his exasperation is evident. Will there be sufficient time to transform their self-centered unbelief (again, especially the disciples) into faith and understanding?

9:20 immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. Spiritual warfare is again primary in Mark. When evil spirits encounter Jesus, there is always a violent reaction (1:23–26, 34; 3:11–12; 5:6–13),6 but on every occasion the pain and convulsions are visited upon the unfortunate person possessed. Jesus is the ancient enemy, but he is unassailable and always triumphant.

9:21 From childhood. The fact that this has been a lengthy and tragic situation adds further emphasis to the power of Jesus. Undoubtedly many in the past had tried to alleviate the situation and been unable to help.

9:22 if you can do anything, take pity on us. Since Jesus’s disciples have been powerless against the demon (the end of a long line of failures), the man is not so certain that their master has the strength (“if you can” = “if you have the power” [dynamai]) to do anything either. His lack of faith is understandable. Yet Jesus is nearly his last hope, so all he can do is beg for compassion and for Jesus to try.

9:23 “If you can”? Jesus repeats the father’s words back to him (literally, “As for ‘if you can’”). This is usually understood as exasperation on Jesus’s part and a rebuke of the father’s lack of faith. Yet the father was not guilty of the same degree of hardness as the “unbelieving generation” in verse 19. I would link this with the cry for help in verse 24 below as a small amount of faith rather than complete unbelief. The father is unsure but still centers on Jesus, as did the Syrophoenician woman and the deaf mute (7:24–37). He is another of the “little people” (see “Theological Themes” in the introduction) who exemplify the kind of discipleship Jesus requires of his followers.

Everything is possible for one who believes. This does not mean that faith imparts an omniscience to the believer and God is required to yield anything demanded by one with faith (see further on 11:22–24). It does mean that the limitless power of God is available to anyone who will trust entirely in Jesus (cf. Phil. 4:13, 19). This is one of Jesus’s key statements, with important repercussions for the life of faith, as will be explored in 11:22–24.

9:24 I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief! This is one of the most important theological descriptions of true discipleship in Scripture. Every one of us should have it inscribed on a plaque and hung on the wall over our desk, for it describes us all. The father admits that he has some faith, yet also a huge area where he lacks faith. He knows Jesus’s reputation and has heard the stories, but he has experienced firsthand the ineptitude of Jesus’s disciples. He has a “grain-of-mustard-seed” faith, so he says in effect, “I have a little faith; help me in the great areas where I cannot as yet have faith.”

9:25 You deaf and mute spirit, . . . come out of him. This was a triply tragic situation—epilepsy, complete silence, and demon possession. Probably wanting to keep the exorcism private, Jesus sees the crowd beginto grow around the child and so quickly casts out the demon. It is also final, for he impels the demon not only to get out but also never to “enter” the child again (demons could at times return [Matt. 12:43–45]). Jesus is in complete control.

9:26 the spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently. This is the last of the four sets of descriptions of the effects (vv. 18, 20, 22, 26) and shows both the power and the destructive impulses of the demon. In this final episode this last act of violence is in essence the “death throes” of the possession. This final attack is the most successful of the four; the child is left so “like a corpse” that people concluded “He’s dead.”

9:27 Jesus . . . lifted him to his feet. In effect this becomes another two-stage miracle (cf. 8:22–26), as Jesus casts out the demon and then raises up the comatose child. The language of resurrection (“lifted up,” “stood/arose”) is reminiscent of the raising of Jairus’s daughter (5:41–42) and points forward to Jesus’s own resurrection.

9:28 Why couldn’t we drive it out? Once more they are in a “house” (oikos), where Jesus often teaches his followers (1:29; 2:15; 7:17; 9:33; 10:10; 14:3). We are back to the issue of discipleship failure. The contrast between not only Jesus and the disciples but also the father and the disciples is great; again the father is one of the “little people” who show the way to true discipleship. Note that the disciples are not amazed or thrilled with the wondrous miracle but still are self-centered. The emphasis is on the “we,” and their concern is with their own powerlessness, with what “we” could not accomplish.

9:29 only by prayer.7 This final statement sums up the whole episode and turns the pericope into virtually a pronouncement story. Prayer is the action side of faith (on which, see 5:34, 36; 9:23; 11:22–24). At one level, this is a valid question and shows the disciples’ desire to grow and overcome their weaknesses. Yet this also further confirms their self-centeredness; apparently they did not take the time to pray to God before trying to cast out the demon. They assumed that when Jesus gave them authority over the evil spirits (3:15; 6:7), they had a power inherent in themselves. They failed to realize that without a complete dependence on Jesus and God, they had no power at all.

Theological Insights

This story provides a turning point, and some of the primary themes of Mark are found here: (1) The demonic powers have a single purpose: they exist to torment and defeat all who are made in the image of God; they hate their very followers, the unsaved, and want only destruction (see also Rev. 9). However, they have been defeated by Christ and can be overcome by those who truly put their faith in him. (2) The disciples are easily defeated due to their tendency to live and think only for themselves. Like the father of the demon-possessed child, they need to surrender entirely to Christ. (3) Prayer has incredible power to bring the might of God to bear on a situation and produce healing and the subjugation of the cosmic powers.

Teaching the Text

1. Unbelief carries great danger. At the heart of all sin is a refusal to believe the truths of God. All humans know in their hearts the truth and reality of God, and unbelief is not innocent ignorance but rather a deliberate “exchange” of God’s truth for a “lie” (Rom. 1:25) that they have created themselves. One thing about which we can be absolutely certain is the justice of God. Every person who has ever lived will stand before God, and each will know why he or she is accepted into heaven or cast into eternal punishment. The sin of unbelief will be inescapable, for without faith one can never be accepted by God (seventeen times in Rom. 3:22–4:19). So those who are part of the “unbelieving generation” are in serious danger. Since the disciples are included in 9:19, there is also danger for Christians; for them the danger is a powerless and ineffective life, the danger of being saved “so as by fire” (1 Cor. 3:15 KJV)—that is, having little of eternal value to show for their lives.

2. Mustard-seed faith is of enormous value. The power of God at work in our lives is not dependent on the amount of faith that we have (the dangerous error of the “prosperity” gospel). God is sovereign, not us, and he is in charge. The father’s response in verse 22 is the key for us all. We will never have enough faith; we must depend entirely on God and Christ. We exercise our faith in humility, simply trusting that God can act in and through us. It is God who acts; it is we who trust him as he acts. Like the father, we simply center on Christ. David Garland points to Dwight L. Moody’s “three kinds of faith.” “There is struggling faith, like a man in deep water desperately swimming; clinging faith, like a man hanging on the side of a boat; and resting faith, like a man safely within the boat and able to reach out and help others get in.”8 We often have a struggling faith like the father, and God’s help and power are available as we wrestle with life.

3. Prayer unleashes power. It is prayer that turns faith into action. Failure in our Christian walk demands deeper and more consistent prayer lives. We cannot grow when we, like the disciples in this story, believe that we inherently possess the ability to triumph spiritually in this world. There can be no victory in self-serving pride. The message is clear: Jesus alone can accomplish great things in us, and our only proper response is to unleash his power through our prayer. In his Farewell Discourse in John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks frequently of this new prayer power (14:13–14, 16; 15:7, 16; 16:23, 24, 26), and the source lies in the intercessory prayer of the Spirit in the midst of our struggles (Rom. 8:26–28).

Illustrating the Text

The patience of Jesus

Testimony: Many people who are unfamiliar with the Bible are surprised to discover the failure and unbelief of the disciples. And if they only knew, many laypeople in our churches would be surprised by the failure and unbelief of their pastors. If we always try to present a perfect image, where we are always victorious in faith, we are failing to present a great truth about the patience of God. In Philippians 1:6 we are reminded that God “who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Share a personal story of struggle or failure of faith or unbelief. Express the wonder that God did not give up on you and continued to work in your life, just as Jesus did with the disciples.

The danger of unbelief

Object Lesson: Ask a blindfolded volunteer to trust you by falling back, keeping his or her body rigid, knees locked, and feet in place (be sensitive to gender and attire). Many people will trust you and fall into your arms. Now walk in front of the volunteer and have an assistant quietly take your place in back. Ask the volunteer to fall backward again. Most people will not fall backward with trust and confidence. This provides a picture of unbelief. Deep down in our hearts many of us wonder if God can be trusted. Many followers of Jesus question if God really loves us and is really for us. Or deep down we wonder if God can really take care of us. For example, can I trust God by giving sacrificially to his work? Or can I trust God when he calls me to a new life venture that will require faith? Our life decisions will reveal our doubts and what we ultimately believe.

The power of faith

Bible: In Hebrews 6:19 the author likens hope in the promises of God to an “anchor for the soul,” keeping us “firm and secure.” Boaters will tell you about the importance of anchors. When a boat is properly anchored, it is held firm and secure, regardless of the tide, wind, swells, or storms. In the same way, faith in God’s promises provides hope that holds our souls firm and secure regardless of the storms that we face in life. Faith and hope help us battle worry, guilt, shame, regret, lust, bitterness, and so on. Have you put your trust in the promises of God?

Teaching the Text by Grant R. Osborne, Baker Publishing Group, 2016

Dictionary

Direct Matches

Compassion

Love for those who suffer. The OT often refers to God’s compassion, especially toward those who, because of their sinfulness, deserve the opposite treatment. In Exod. 33:19 Yahweh takes pity on the Israelites after they have rebelled, making an idol for themselves and praising it for their deliverance. He renews his covenant with them, but he reminds them of his sovereignty in doing so: “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (cf. Rom. 9:15).

The NT points to God’s compassion at significant junctures in the Gospels and the Epistles. Jesus himself has compassion for the crowds who “were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). He takes pity on the crowds, healing their sick and feeding them miraculously (14:14 21; cf. 15:32). The same connection between compassion and healing occurs in Matt. 20:34; Mark 1:41, this time on an individual level. The apostle Paul underscores this attribute of God, raising it to a title of sorts. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3). James says that the Lord is “full of compassion and mercy” (5:11), and John depicts God as one who will wipe away every tear caused by persecution and trial (Rev. 7:17; 21:4). Because God is always dealing with broken sinners, his compassion for them coincides with his love (see Ps. 145:8); and this rescuing of the guilty sets an example for his people. They must go and do likewise, loving the unlovely, unwise, and even unrighteous.

Fasting

Fasting, often linked with prayer, was one avenue of appeal to God in the face of crises, both national and personal. Moses ascended to Mount Sinai and was with God forty days and nights without eating bread or drinking water, both before and after the Israelites’ sin with the golden calf (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 9:8 18). David fasted when his son was dying (2 Sam. 12:15–23). Esther called all the Jews of Susa to fast for three days before she ventured before the king (Esther 4:15–17). Joel called the people to repentance and fasting as the land was devastated by a locust plague (Joel 1:13–14; 2:12). Forty days of fasting, an echo of Moses’ experience, prepared Jesus to face the devil’s temptations (Matt. 4:1–11 pars.).

The OT prophets criticized Israelites who presumed that their religious obligations were met simply by fasting (Isa. 58:1–10; Zech. 7:1–5). When asked why his disciples did not fast and pray, Jesus indicated that sometimes fasting is inappropriate (Matt. 9:14–17 pars.). Luke recorded an addition to Jesus’ statement about new wine in old wineskins: “No one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better’” (Luke 5:39), perhaps suggesting that the accumulation of fasting practices was “new wine” and they ought simply to observe the Day of Atonement.

Father

People in the Bible were family-centered and staunchly loyal to their kin. Families formed the foundation of society. The extended family was the source of people’s status in the community and provided the primary economic, educational, religious, and social interactions.

Marriage and divorce. Marriage in the ancient Near East was a contractual arrangement between two families, arranged by the bride’s father or a male representative. The bride’s family was paid a dowry, a “bride’s price.” Paying a dowry was not only an economic transaction but also an expression of family honor. Only the rich could afford multiple dowries. Thus, polygamy was minimal. The wedding itself was celebrated with a feast provided by the father of the groom.

The primary purpose for marriage in the ancient Near East was to produce a male heir to ensure care for the couple in their old age. The concept of inheritance was a key part of the marriage customs, especially with regard to passing along possessions and property.

Marriage among Jews in the NT era still tended to be endogamous; that is, Jews sought to marry close kin without committing incest violations (Lev. 18:6 17). A Jewish male certainly was expected to marry a Jew. Exogamy, marrying outside the remote kinship group, and certainly outside the ethnos, was understood as shaming God’s holiness. Thus, a Jew marrying a Gentile woman was not an option. The Romans did practice exogamy. For them, marrying outside one’s kinship group (not ethnos) was based predominantly on creating strategic alliances between families.

Greek and Roman law allowed both men and women to initiate divorce. In Jewish marriages, only the husband could initiate divorce proceedings. If a husband divorced his wife, he had to release her and repay the dowry. Divorce was common in cases of infertility (in particular if the woman had not provided male offspring). Ben Sira comments that barrenness in a woman is a cause of anxiety to the father (Sir. 42:9–10). Another reason for divorce was adultery (Exod. 20:14; Deut. 5:18). Jesus, though, taught a more restrictive use of divorce than the OT (Mark 10:1–12).

Children and parenting. Childbearing was considered representative of God’s blessing on a woman and her entire family, in particular her husband. In contrast to this blessing, barrenness brought shame on women, their families, and specifically their husbands.

Children were of low social status in society. Infant mortality was high. An estimated 60 percent of the children in the first-century Mediterranean society were dead by the age of sixteen.

Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean societies exhibited a parenting style based on their view of human nature as a mixture of good and evil tendencies. Parents relied on physical punishment to prevent evil tendencies from developing into evil deeds (Prov. 29:15). The main concern of parents was to socialize the children into family loyalty. Lack of such loyalty was punished (Lev. 20:9). At a very early stage children were taught to accept the total authority of the father. The rearing of girls was entirely the responsibility of the women. Girls were taught domestic roles and duties as soon as possible so that they could help with household tasks.

Family identity was used as a metaphor in ancient Israel to speak of fidelity, responsibility, judgment, and reconciliation. In the OT, the people of Israel often are described as children of God. In their overall relationship to God, the people of Israel are referred to in familial terms—sons and daughters, spouse, and firstborn (Exod. 4:22). God is addressed as the father of the people (Isa. 63:16; 64:8) and referred to as their mother (Isa. 49:14–17).

The church as the family of God. Throughout his ministry, Jesus called his disciples to follow him. This was a call to loyalty (Matt. 10:32–40; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26), a call to fictive kinship, the family of God (Matt. 12:48–50; Mark 3:33–35). Jesus’ declaration “On this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18) was preceded by the call to community. Entrance into the community was granted through adopting the values of the kingdom, belief, and the initiation rite of baptism (Matt. 10:37–39; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26, 57–63; John 1:12; 3:16; 10:27–29; Acts 2:38; 16:31–33; 17:30; Rom. 10:9). Jesus’ presence as the head of the community was eventually replaced by the promised Spirit (John 14:16–18). Through the Spirit, Jesus’ ministry continues in the community of his followers, God’s family—the church. See also Adoption.

Galilee

The northern region of Israel. Determining the region’s precise boundaries is difficult, but in Jesus’ time it appears to have encompassed an area of about forty-five miles north to south and twenty-five miles east to west, with the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee forming the eastern border. Josephus divides the region into Upper and Lower Galilee. Upper Galilee contains elevations of up to about four thousand feet and is composed mostly of rugged mountains, while Lower Galilee reaches a maximum height of about two thousand feet and is characterized by numerous fertile valleys. Lower Galilee was the site of most of Jesus’ ministry.

Galilee appears several times in the OT (e.g., Josh. 20:7; 1 Kings 9:11; 1 Chron. 6:76). It was part of the land given to the twelve tribes (Josh. 19). Since Galilee was distant from Jerusalem, which played the most prominent part in Jewish history, much of its history is not mentioned in the OT. Many of the references that do occur are military references, such as Joshua’s defeat of the kings at the waters of Merom (Josh. 11:1 9) and the Assyrian removal of the northern kingdom of Israel (Isa. 9:1). However, its great beauty, particularly of mountains such as Carmel, Hermon, and Lebanon, was the source of numerous images and metaphors in the poetic and prophetic literature (e.g., Ps. 133:3; Isa. 33:9; 35:2; Jer. 46:18).

Galilee figures more prominently in the NT. Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and conducted much of his early ministry there. Luke specifically identifies Galilee as the place where Jesus’ ministry began before spreading to Judea (Luke 23:5; Acts 10:37). Galilee is also portrayed as the place where Jesus will reunite with his disciples following the resurrection (Mark 16:7) and where he gives them the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16–20).

Law

In general, Torah (Law) may be subdivided into three categories: judicial, ceremonial, and moral, though each of these may influence or overlap with the others. The OT associates the “giving of the Torah” with Moses’ first divine encounter at Mount Sinai (Exod. 19 23) following the Israelites’ deliverance from the land of Egypt, though some body of customary legislation existed before this time (Exod. 18). These instructions find expansion and elucidation in other pentateuchal texts, such as Leviticus and Deut. 12–24, indicating that God’s teachings were intended as the code of conduct and worship for Israel not only during its wilderness wanderings but also when it settled in the land of Canaan following the conquest.

More specifically, the word “law” often denotes the Ten Commandments (or “the Decalogue,” lit., the “ten words”) (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 4:13; 10:4) that were delivered to Moses (Exod. 20:1–17; Deut. 5:6–21). These commandments reflect a summary statement of the covenant and may be divided into two parts, consistent with the two tablets of stone on which they were first recorded: the first four address the individual’s relationship to God, and the last six focus on instructions concerning human relationships. Despite the apparent simplistic expression of the Decalogue, the complexity of these guidelines extends beyond individual acts and attitudes, encompassing any and all incentives, enticements, and pressures leading up to a thing forbidden. Not only should the individual refrain from doing the prohibited thing, but also he or she is obligated to practice its opposite good in order to be in compliance.

Prayer

In the OT there is no language or understanding comparable to modern ways of talking about prayer as conversational or dialogical. Prayer does not involve mutuality. Prayer is something that humans offer to God, and the situation is never reversed; God does not pray to humans. Understanding this preserves the proper distinction between the sovereign God and the praying subject. Therefore, prayers in the OT are reverential. Some OT prayers have extended introductions, such as that found in Neh. 1:5, that seem to pile up names for God. These should be seen as instances not of stiltedness or ostentation, but rather as setting up a kind of “buffer zone” in recognition of the distance between the Creator and the creature. In the NT, compare the same phenomenon in Eph. 1:17.

A presupposition of prayer in the OT is that God hears prayer and may indeed answer and effect the change being requested. Prayer is not primarily about changing the psychological state or the heart of the one praying, but rather about God changing the circumstances of the one praying.

The depiction of prayer in the NT is largely consistent with that of the OT, but there are important developments.

Jesus tells his disciples to address God as “Father” (Matt. 6:9; cf. Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). Prayer to God is now to be made in the name of Jesus (Matt. 18:19 20; John 14:13; 15:16; 16:23–26).

Prayer can also be made to Jesus (John 14:14), and such devotion to him in the early church is evidence of his being regarded as deity. Unlike anything prior in the OT, Jesus tells his followers to pray for their enemies (Matt. 5:44). Jesus and his followers serve as examples (Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60).

The Holy Spirit plays a vital role in prayers. It is by him that we are able to call out, “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). The Spirit himself intercedes for us (Rom. 8:26). Our praying is to be done in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18; Jude 20; possibly 1 Cor. 14:15).

Jesus encourages fervent and even continual or repeated prayer (Luke 18:1–8), but not showy or repetitive prayer (Matt. 6:5–8).

Jesus becomes the model of prayer. He prays before important decisions (Luke 6:12–13) and in connection with significant crisis points (Matt. 14:23; 26:36–44; Luke 3:21; 9:29; John 12:27). He offers prayers that are not answered (Luke 22:41–44) and prayers that are (Heb. 5:7). Even as he tells his disciples to always pray and not give up (Luke 18:1 [which is also the meaning of the sometimes overly literalized “pray without ceasing” in 1 Thess. 5:17 NRSV]), so he himself wrestles in prayer (Luke 22:41–44; Heb. 5:7). He has prayed for his disciples (John 17; Luke 22:32), and even now, in heaven, he still intercedes for us (Heb. 7:25). Indeed, our intercession before God’s throne is valid because his is (Heb. 4:14–16).

Save

“Salvation” is the broadest term used to refer to God’s actions to solve the plight brought about by humankind’s sinful rebellion and its consequences. It is one of the central themes of the entire Bible, running from Genesis through Revelation.

In many places in the OT, salvation refers to being rescued from physical rather than spiritual trouble. Fearing the possibility of retribution from his brother Esau, Jacob prays, “Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau” (Gen. 32:11). The actions of Joseph in Egypt saved many from famine (45:5 7; 47:25; 50:20). Frequently in the psalms, individuals pray for salvation from enemies that threaten one’s safety or life (Pss. 17:14; 18:3; 70:1–3; 71:1–4; 91:1–3).

Related to this usage are places where the nation of Israel and/or its king were saved from enemies. The defining example of this is the exodus, whereby God delivered his people from their enslavement to the Egyptians, culminating in the destruction of Pharaoh and his army (Exod. 14:1–23). From that point forward in the history of Israel, God repeatedly saved Israel from its enemies, whether through a judge (e.g., Judg. 2:16; 3:9), a king (2 Kings 14:27), or even a shepherd boy (1 Sam. 17:1–58).

But these examples of national deliverance had a profound spiritual component as well. God did not save his people from physical danger as an end in itself; it was the necessary means for his plan to save them from their sins. The OT recognizes the need for salvation from sin (Pss. 39:8; 51:14; 120:2) but, as the NT makes evident, does not provide a final solution (Heb. 9:1–10:18). One of the clearest places that physical and spiritual salvation come together is Isa. 40–55, where Judah’s exile from the land and prophesied return are seen as the physical manifestation of the much more fundamental spiritual exile that resulted from sin. To address that far greater reality, God announces the day when the Suffering Servant would once and for all take away the sins of his people (Isa. 52:13–53:12).

As in the OT, the NT has places where salvation refers to being rescued from physical difficulty. Paul, for example, speaks of being saved from various physical dangers, including execution (2 Cor. 1:8–10; Phil. 1:19; 2 Tim. 4:17). In the midst of a fierce storm, Jesus’ disciples cry out, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” (Matt. 8:25). But far more prominent are the places in the Gospels and Acts where physical healings are described with the verb sōzō, used to speak of salvation from sin. The healing of the woman with the hemorrhage (Mark 5:25–34), the blind man along the road (Luke 18:35–43), and even the man possessed by a demon (Luke 8:26–39), just to name a few, are described with the verb sōzō. The same verb, however, is also used to refer to Jesus forgiving someone’s sins (Luke 7:36–50) and to his mission to save the lost from their sins (Luke 19:10). Such overlap is a foretaste of the holistic salvation (physical and spiritual) that will be completed in the new heaven and earth (Rev. 21–22). The NT Epistles give extensive descriptions of how the work of Jesus Christ saves his people from their sins.

Son of Man

In the OT, the phrase “son of man” usually refers to humanity in general or to a specific individual. In Ezekiel, for instance, God addresses the prophet himself as “son of man,” possibly indicating his human status compared with God or, alternatively, highlighting his unique status as God’s prophet in contrast with the rest of humanity.

One of the most crucial OT “son of man” texts is Dan. 7 because of its influence on the “Son of Man” in the Gospel tradition. The first half of the chapter records Daniel’s vision (7:1 14), while the second half contains its interpretation (7:15–27). In the vision Daniel sees “one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven” (7:13). This exalted figure contrasts with the first three beasts, which are “like a lion” (7:4), “like a bear” (7:5), and “like a leopard” (7:6). The fourth beast is so gruesome that it defies comparison with any species of the animal kingdom (7:7). Many agree that the beasts likely refer to ancient world empires; however, the referent of “one like a son of man” has given rise to much debate. The figure may refer to earthly Israel, since at this figure’s vindication he is endowed with authority and glory. This is precisely what “the holy people of the Most High” receive in verse 27. In this way, the “one like a son of man” is a symbol for the persecuted, earthly saints. Alternatively, the exalted figure could be a heavenly being such as the archangel Gabriel (9:21) or Michael (10:13; 12:1). Here “one like a son of man” is the heavenly counterpart and leader of suffering Israel and fights a cosmic battle on its behalf.

In the NT the term “Son of Man” occurs mostly in the Gospels and, with the exception of John 12:34 (where the crowd quotes Jesus), is uttered exclusively by Jesus himself. Unlike in Daniel, the epithet occurs in the Gospels with the definite article, likely indicating that the Son of Man was a known figure. In first-century Judaism many Jews believed that the Son of Man would return at the end as savior and judge. The OT provides the most helpful background for understanding the Son of Man in the Gospels.

The Son of Man sayings in the Gospels fall within three categories: earthly, suffering-resurrection, and future-vindication sayings. Starting with the earthly sayings, in Mark 2:10, for example, the Son of Man has “authority on earth to forgive sins,” and in 2:28 he exercises dominion over the Sabbath. Although in Daniel the Son of Man does not receive such authority until his appearance in Yahweh’s presence at his vindication, the Son of Man in the Gospels exercises such authority during his earthly ministry. Jesus also predicts that the Son of Man will suffer, die, and be raised again. In Mark, these suffering-resurrection predictions occur three times (8:31; 9:31; 10:33–34). Echoing Dan. 7, this plight of Jesus recalls the suffering of the holy ones caused by the little horn (v. 21). If the “one like a son of man” represents the holy ones in their vindication, then it is reasonable that he does so in their suffering as well; however, the text of Daniel is silent on this point. Finally, the clearest reference to Dan. 7 occurs in the future-vindication sayings. In Mark 13:26; 14:62 the Son of Man comes with/on the clouds, which points to his vindication over the Sanhedrin, the dominant adversaries of Jesus in Mark. Matthew appears to develop even more than Mark the judicial responsibilities of the Son of Man (Matt. 13:41–43; 25:31–33). Meanwhile, in Luke the church must stay alert and be prepared for the return of the Son of Man (12:39–40; 17:22–37; 21:34–36).

Finally, the Son of Man in Revelation is in the heavenly temple functioning as both judge and caretaker of the seven churches (Rev. 1:12–20) and reaps the saints while “seated on the cloud” (14:14–16).

Spirit

In the world of the Bible, a person was viewed as a unity of being with the pervading breath and thus imprint of the loving and holy God. The divine-human relationship consequently is portrayed in the Bible as predominantly spiritual in nature. God is spirit, and humankind may communicate with him in the spiritual realm. The ancients believed in an invisible world of spirits that held most, if not all, reasons for natural events and human actions in the visible world.

The OT writers used the common Hebrew word ruakh (“wind” or “breath”) to describe force and even life from the God of the universe. In its most revealing first instance, God’s ruakh hovered above the waters of the uncreated world (Gen. 1:2). In the next chapter of Genesis a companion word, neshamah (“breath”), is used as God breathed into Adam’s nostrils “the breath of life” (2:7). God thus breathed his own image into the first human being. Humankind’s moral obligations in the remainder of the Bible rest on this breathing act of God.

The OT authors often employ ruakh simply to denote air in motion or breath from a person’s mouth. However, special instances of the use of ruakh include references to the very life of a person (Gen. 7:22; Ps. 104:29), an attitude or emotion (Gen. 41:8; Num. 14:24; Ps. 77:3), the negative traits of pride or temper (Ps. 76:12), a generally good disposition (Prov. 11:13; 18:14), the seat of conversion (Ezek. 18:31; 36:26), and determination given by God (2 Chron. 36:22; Hag. 1:14).

The NT authors used the Greek term pneuma to convey the concept of spirit. In the world of the NT, the human spirit was understood as the divine part of human reality as distinct from the material realm. The spirit appears conscious and capable of rejoicing (Luke 1:47). Jesus was described by Luke as growing and becoming “strong in spirit” (1:80). In “spirit” Jesus “knew” what certain teachers of the law were thinking in their hearts (Mark 2:8). Likewise, Jesus “was deeply moved in spirit and troubled” at the sickness of a loved one (John 11:33). At the end of his life, Jesus gave up his spirit (John 19:30).

According to Jesus, the spirit is the place of God’s new covenant work of conversion and worship (John 3:5; 4:24). He declared the human spirit’s dependence on God and ascribed great virtue to those people who were “poor in spirit” (Matt. 5:3).

Human beings who were possessed by an evil spirit were devalued in Mediterranean society. In various places in the Synoptic Gospels and the book of Acts, either Jesus or the disciples were involved in exorcisms of such spirits (Matt. 8:28 33; Mark 1:21–28; 7:24–30; 9:14–29; 5:1–20; 9:17–29; Luke 8:26–33; 9:37–42; Acts 5:16).

The apostle Paul pointed to the spirit as the seat of conversion (Rom. 7:6; 1 Cor. 5:5). He described believers as facing a struggle between flesh and spirit in regard to living a sanctified life (Rom. 8:2–17; Gal. 5:16–17). A contradiction seems apparent in Pauline thinking as he appears to embrace Greek dualistic understanding of body (flesh) and spirit while likewise commanding that “spirit, soul and body be kept blameless” (1 Thess. 5:23). However, the Christian struggle between flesh and Spirit (the Holy Spirit) centers around the believer’s body being dead because of sin but the spirit being alive because of the crucified and resurrected Christ (Rom. 8:10). Believers therefore are encouraged to lead a holistic life, lived in the Spirit.

Suffer

While in the OT suffering is regularly an indication of divine displeasure (Lev. 26:16 36; Deut. 28:20–68; Ps. 44:10–12; Isa. 1:25; cf. Heb. 10:26–31), in the NT it becomes the means by which blessing comes to humanity.

The Bible often shows that sinfulness results in suffering (Gen. 2:17; 6:5–7; Exod. 32:33; 2 Sam. 12:13–18; Rom. 1:18; 1 Cor. 11:27–30). Job’s friends mistakenly assume that he has suffered because of disobedience (Job 4:7–9; 8:3–4, 20; 11:6). Job passionately defends himself (12:4; 23:10), and in the final chapter of the book God commends Job and condemns his friends for their accusations (42:7–8; cf. 1:1, 22; 2:10). The writer makes clear that suffering is not necessarily evidence of sinfulness. Like Job’s friends, Jesus’ disciples assume that blindness is an indication of sinfulness (John 9:1–2). Jesus rejects this simplistic notion of retributive suffering (John 9:3, 6–7; cf. Luke 13:1–5).

The NT writers reveal that Jesus’ suffering was prophesied in the OT (Mark 9:12; 14:21; Luke 18:31–32; 24:46; Acts 3:18; 17:3; 26:22–23; 1 Pet. 1:11; referring to OT texts such as Ps. 22; Isa. 52:13–53:12; Zech. 13:7). The Lord Jesus is presented as the answer to human suffering: (1) Through the incarnation, God’s Son personally experienced human suffering (Phil. 2:6–8; Heb. 2:9; 5:8). (2) Through his suffering, Christ paid the price for sin (Rom. 4:25; 3:25–26), so that believers are set free from sin (Rom. 6:6, 18, 22) and helped in temptation (Heb. 2:18). (3) Christ Jesus intercedes for his suffering followers (Rom. 8:34–35). (4) Christ is the example in suffering (1 Pet. 2:21; 4:1; cf. Phil. 3:10; 2 Cor. 1:5; 4:10; 1 Pet. 4:13), and though he died once for sins (Heb. 10:12), he continues to suffer as his church suffers (Acts 9:4–5). (5) Christ provides hope of resurrection (Rom. 6:5; 1 Cor. 15:20–26; Phil. 3:10–11) and a future life without suffering or death (Rev. 21:4).

The NT writers repeatedly mention the benefits of suffering, for it has become part of God’s work of redemption. The suffering of believers accompanies the proclamation and advancement of the gospel (Acts 5:41–42; 9:15–16; 2 Cor. 4:10–11; 6:2–10; Phil. 1:12, 27–29; 1 Thess. 2:14–16; 2 Tim. 1:8; 4:5) and results in salvation (Matt. 10:22; 2 Cor. 1:6; 1 Thess. 2:16; 2 Tim. 2:10; Heb. 10:39), faith (Heb. 10:32–34, 38–39; 1 Pet. 1:7), the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22), resurrection from the dead (Phil. 3:10–11), and the crown of life (Rev. 2:10). It is an essential part of the development toward Christian maturity (Rom. 5:3–4; 2 Cor. 4:11; Heb. 12:4; James 1:3–4; 1 Pet. 1:7; 4:1).

Suffering is associated with knowing Christ (Phil. 3:10); daily inward renewal (2 Cor. 4:16); purity, understanding, patience, kindness, sincere love, truthful speech, the power of God (2 Cor. 4:4–10); comfort and endurance (2 Cor. 1:6); obedience (Heb. 5:8); blessing (1 Pet. 3:14; 4:14); glory (Rom. 8:17; 2 Cor. 4:17); and joy (Matt. 5:12; Acts 5:41; 2 Cor. 6:10; 12:10; James 1:2; 1 Pet. 1:6; 4:13). Other positive results of Christian suffering include perseverance (Rom. 5:3; James 1:3), character and hope (Rom. 5:4), strength (2 Cor. 12:10), and maturity and completeness (James 1:4). Present suffering is light and momentary when compared to future glory (Matt. 5:10–12; Acts 14:22; Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17; Heb. 10:34–36; 1 Pet. 1:5–7; 4:12–13).

Throughout the Bible, believers are instructed to help those who suffer. The OT law provides principles for assisting the poor, the disadvantaged, and the oppressed (Exod. 20:10; 21:2; 23:11; Lev. 19:13, 34; 25:10, 35; Deut. 14:28–29; 15:1–2; 24:19–21). Jesus regularly taught his followers to help the poor (Matt. 5:42; 6:3; 19:21; 25:34–36; Luke 4:18; 12:33; 14:13, 21). It is believers’ responsibility to show mercy (Matt. 5:7; 9:13), be generous (Rom. 12:8; 2 Cor. 8:7; 1 Tim. 6:18), mourn with mourners (Rom. 12:15), carry other’s burdens (Gal. 6:1–2), and visit prisoners (Matt. 25:36, 43). See also Servant of the Lord.

Water

Water is mentioned extensively in the Bible due to its prevalence in creation and its association with life and purity. The cosmic waters of Gen. 1 are held back by the sky (Gen. 1:6 7; cf. Pss. 104:6, 13; 148:4). God is enthroned on these waters in his cosmic temple (Pss. 29:10; 104:3, 13; cf. Gen. 1:2; Ps. 78:69; Isa. 66:1). These same waters were released in the time of Noah (Gen. 7:10–12; Ps. 104:7–9).

Water is also an agent of life and fertility and is therefore associated with the presence of God. Both God himself and his temple are described as the source of life-giving water (Jer. 2:13; 17:13; Joel 3:18; cf. Isa. 12:2–3). Ezekiel envisions this water flowing from beneath the temple and streaming down into the Dead Sea, where it brings life and fecundity (Ezek. 47:1–12; cf. Zech. 14:8). The book of Revelation, employing the same image, describes “the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (22:1). This imagery is also illustrated in archaeological remains associated with temples. Cisterns are attested beneath the Dome of the Rock (presumably the location of the Jerusalem temple) and beneath the Judahite temple at Arad. Other temples, such as the Israelite high place at Tel Dan, are located close to freshwater springs. The Gihon spring in the City of David may also be associated with the Jerusalem temple (Ps. 46:4; cf. Gen. 2:13).

This OT imagery forms the background for Jesus’ teaching regarding eternal life in the writings of the apostle John. Jesus claims to be the source of living water, and he offers it freely to everyone who thirsts (John 4:10–15; 7:37; Rev. 21:6; 22:17; cf. Rev. 7:17). This water, which produces “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14), is the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer (John 7:38–39).

Water is also described in the Bible as an agent of cleansing. It is extensively employed in purification rituals in the OT. In the NT, the ritual of water baptism signifies the purity and new life of the believer (Matt. 3:11, 16; Mark 1:8–10; Luke 3:16; John 1:26, 31–33; 3:23; Acts 1:5; 8:36–39; 10:47; 11:16; 1 Pet. 3:20–21; cf. Eph. 5:26; Heb. 10:22).

Finally, the NT also reveals Jesus as the Lord of water. He walks on water (Matt. 14:28–29; John 6:19), turns water into wine (John 2:7–9; 4:46), and controls water creatures (Matt. 17:27; John 21:6). Most important, Jesus commands “the winds and the water, and they obey him” (Luke 8:25; cf. Ps. 29:3).

Direct Matches

Deaf

The condition of being wholly, or partly, without hearing. The Greek word kōphos can refer to one’s inability to speak (Matt. 9:32–33; 12:22; 15:30–31; Luke 1:22; 11:14) or hear (Matt. 11:5; Mark 7:37; 9:25; Luke 7:22). Such a condition was often believed to be a judgment from God (Mic. 7:16). God has control over deafness (Exod. 4:11; Ps. 94:9; Prov. 20:12; Luke 1:20). God’s people were to mirror his compassion toward the deaf (Lev. 19:14). In NT times, hearing deficiencies were sometimes caused by Satan (Mark 9:25) but were always met by Jesus’ miraculous power (Matt. 11:5; Mark 7:32–37; 9:25). Figuratively, deafness describes people’s spiritual rebellion, their unwillingness to hear, know, and obey God (Ps. 58:4; Prov. 28:9; Isa. 6:10; 29:18; 35:5; Jer. 6:10; Ezek. 12:2; Matt. 13:14–16; Mark 4:10–12; Luke 8:10; Acts 28:26–27). God is described as being deaf to a rebellious people (Deut. 1:45; Pss. 28:1; 39:12), whereas idols are deaf because they have no real life (Deut. 4:28; Pss. 115:6; 135:17; Dan. 5:23; Rev. 9:20).

Deafness

Greeting

Greeting Customs in Biblical Times

We know of greeting customs in biblical times from narrations of greetings and from instructions on greeting.

In biblical Hebrew, the phrase usually translated “to greet” is literally “to inquire of someone’s well-being [shalom]” (e.g., Exod. 18:7; 2 Sam. 20:9 [cf. the English greeting “How are you?”]). In some instances, we see people “blessing” one another as a form of greeting: “Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet [lit., ‘bless’] him” (1 Sam. 13:10). Ruth 2:4 provides an example of the words that passed between individuals in such a greeting: “Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, ‘The Lord be with you!’ ‘The Lord bless you!’ they answered.” The formula had changed little by the first century AD, when Gabriel said to Mary, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). Luke reports that “Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be” (1:29), though the source of her consternation is unclear, since the angel’s greeting closely approximates that of Boaz. Perhaps this is the very point: the angel was speaking in a distinctively “biblical-sounding” vernacular, which raised the concerns of the young, first-century AD woman.

Paul often instructs the recipients of his letters to greet one another with a “holy kiss” (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26; see also 1 Pet. 5:14). Tragically, a kiss of greeting was the signal by which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus (Matt. 26:48–49). Other examples of greeting with a kiss include Gen. 29:11, 13; 33:4; 45:15; Exod. 4:27; 18:7; 2 Sam. 20:9; Prov. 7:13. In other cases, kisses were exchanged as a farewell greeting (Gen. 31:28, 55; 48:10; 50:1; Ruth 1:9, 14; 1 Sam. 20:41; 2 Sam. 19:39; 1 Kings 19:20; Acts 20:37). Jesus taught his disciples to be generous with their greetings; after all, even pagans will greet their brothers and sisters, but a Christian must extend greetings even beyond the narrow circle of kinship (Matt. 5:47). When entering a home, Jesus taught, his disciples were to greet the inhabitants (Matt. 10:12). At other times, however, Jesus told his disciples to forgo greetings along the road in the interest of arriving quickly at their destination (Luke 10:4).

Greeting and Social Rank

In the examples of Ruth 2:4 and Luke 1:28 above, the greeting is initiated by the person of higher status. Boaz was a wealthy landowner greeting fieldworkers, and Gabriel was an important angel greeting a young, unmarried woman. An analogy may be drawn to another social norm, the notion that it was appropriate for the greater person to bless the lesser: “Without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater” (Heb. 7:7). Elsewhere in the Bible, the opposite practice is referred to, when Jesus criticizes the teachers of the law and the Pharisees because, among other honors, “they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplace and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others” (Matt. 23:7). When Paul went to Rome, believers from that city traveled about forty miles to meet and greet him as he approached the city (Acts 28:15), thus according to him the honors due a traveling dignitary in antiquity (cf. Mark 9:15; 1 Thess. 4:17).

Epistolary Greetings

Like modern letters, ancient correspondence began with a salutation (Acts 15:23; 23:26; James 1:1) (see Salutation). In particular, Paul used the greeting at the beginning of his epistles as an occasion for theological elaboration in addition to its use as the identification of the writer and the recipients of the letter. To the end of his letters, Paul often appended individually directed greetings, as well as greetings in the name of friends with whom he sent the letter (Rom. 16:3–16; 1 Cor. 16:19–21; 2 Cor. 13:12–13; Phil. 4:22–23; Col. 4:10–15; 2 Tim. 4:19–21; Titus 3:15; Philem. 1:23; see also Heb. 13:24; 1 Pet. 5:13; 2 John 13; 3 John 14).

Pity

To pity someone is to feel or express compassion toward that person. Of the two main Hebrew verbs translated “pity,” khus describes an attitude of merciful kindness toward a person (Deut. 25:12), and khamal refers to sparing someone from something negative (Lam. 2:2). When khus and khamal occur in the same sentence, the NIV generally translates them “pity” and “spare” respectively (e.g., Deut. 13:8; Ezek. 7:4). The Greek eleeō can also be translated “to have mercy” (Luke 17:13 NASB), while splanchnizomai graphically depicts compassion (Luke 10:33), as splanchna, from which splanchnizomai is derived, is the Greek word for “intestines” (compare English: “My heart goes out to you”).

Most often, when “pity” occurs in the Bible, lack of pity is under discussion. The Israelites were to show no pity to the Canaanites (Deut. 7:16), nor were they to pity those who violated the Mosaic law (Deut. 19:21; 25:11–12). God repeatedly warned the Israelites that he would show them no pity when he judged them (Isa. 9:17; Jer. 13:14; Ezek. 7:4). However, God does express pity (Ezek. 16:5–6; Zech. 8:14–15), particularly through Jesus Christ (Matt. 18:27; Mark 9:22; Luke 17:13–14) and Christians (1 John 3:17).

Spirit

Old Testament

The OT writers used the common Hebrew word ruakh (“wind” or “breath”) to describe force and even life from the God of the universe. In its most revealing first instance, God’s ruakh hovered above the waters of the uncreated world (Gen. 1:2). In the next chapter of Genesis a companion word, neshamah (“breath”) is used as God breathed into Adam’s nostrils “the breath of life” (2:7). God thus breathed his own image into the first human being. Humankind’s moral obligations in the remainder of the Bible rest on this breathing act of God.

On occasion in the OT, spirits are labeled “evil” (Judg. 9:23 ESV, NRSV, NASB). In the case of an evil spirit tormenting King Saul, the spirit was identified as “from the Lord” (1 Sam. 16:14–15, 23). According to the perspective of the ancients, once a person was possessed by a divine spirit, departure of such a spirit meant possession by a different spirit (1 Sam. 16:14). Such a perspective was common in the ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean worlds and stemmed from the religious fervor of Semitic nomads.

New Testament

The NT authors used the Greek term pneuma to convey the concept of spirit. In the world of the NT, the human spirit was understood as the divine part of human reality as distinct from the material realm. The spirit appears conscious and capable of rejoicing (Luke 1:47). Jesus was described by Luke as growing and becoming “strong in spirit” (1:80). In “spirit” Jesus “knew” what certain teachers of the law were thinking in their hearts (Mark 2:8). Likewise, Jesus “was deeply moved in spirit and troubled” at the sickness of a loved one (John 11:33). At the end of his life, Jesus gave up his spirit (John 19:30).

Human beings who were possessed by an evil spirit were devalued in Mediterranean society. In various places in the Synoptic Gospels and the book of Acts, either Jesus or the disciples were involved in exorcisms of such spirits (Matt. 8:28–33; Mark 1:21–28; 7:24–30; 9:14–29; 5:1–20; 9:17–29; Luke 8:26–33; 9:37–42; Acts 5:16).

Holy Spirit

God’s Spirit is described in the opening chapters of Genesis as partaking in creation. His Spirit likewise is seen throughout the OT as an agent in establishing God’s people as a nation and a people of his own. Leaders of Israel were chosen and possessed by the Spirit to assist in leading the people into God’s will (Deut. 34:9; Judg. 6:34; 15:14; 1 Sam. 11:6; 16:23). Typically, the moment the Spirit of God descended on a leader, miraculous fortitude, wisdom, and power resulted. The Spirit also provided whatever was needed for God’s prophets—courage, inspiration, and miracles (Num. 11:25; 1 Sam. 10:10; Isa. 11:2; Ezek. 2:2; Dan. 4:8; Joel 2:28). The office of prophet included prophesying both in the king’s court and among the people of the land. As the Spirit came on a prophet of God, the prophet would correct the king’s and others’ behavior and at times foretell the future or the outcome of possible decisions.

In the Synoptic Gospels, the Holy Spirit functions in much the same way as in the OT. One such function appears in Luke’s birth narrative when the angel answers Mary’s question as to how she might conceive while a virgin (Luke 1:34): “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (1:35). The Greek verb translated “will overshadow you” is used in the LXX to describe God’s protective nature (Pss. 91:4; 140:7). Likewise, the coming of God’s Spirit presented empowerment (Acts 1:8). Thus, Mary received both divine empowerment and protection. As the birth narrative continues, Luke records how other characters in the story, Elizabeth and Zechariah, were filled with the Spirit when Mary came to visit while pregnant with Jesus and when John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah, was born (1:41, 67). The evangelists record the Spirit descending on Jesus at the time of his baptism (Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32–34) and describe him as full of the Spirit when he was led by the Spirit into the desert (Luke 4:1). Finally, in John’s Gospel the Spirit is the promised comforter whom Jesus will give to his followers. He will testify about Christ (John 15:26).

In the new covenant the Spirit-possession of the OT gave way to believers’ reception of the Spirit at conversion. In Acts the Holy Spirit is presented as instrumental in carrying out the mission of the church, providing power and signs as well as moving and motivating missionaries. The apostle Paul attributes to the Holy Spirit the function of imbuing believers and the church with an assortment of virtues (Gal. 5:22), gifts (Rom. 12:7–8; 1 Cor. 12:1–11), and ministers (Eph. 4:7–13). He uses the idea of life in the Spirit as a point of contrast with life in the flesh. In John’s letters the Spirit is described as providing discernment of truth (1 John 4:6). See also Holy Spirit.

Wonders

Because Scripture sees all things as providentially arranged and sustained by God’s sovereign power at all times (Heb. 1:3), miracles are not aberrations in an otherwise closed and mechanical universe. Nor are miracles raw demonstrations of divinity designed to overcome prejudice or unbelief and to convince people of the existence of God (Mark 8:11–12). Still less are they clever conjuring tricks involving some kind of deception that can be otherwise explained on a purely scientific basis. Rather, God in his infinite wisdom sometimes does unusual and extraordinary things to call attention to himself and his activity. Miracles are divinely ordained acts of God that dramatically alert us to the presence of his glory and power and advance his saving purposes in redemptive history.

Terminology

The biblical writers describe miracles with various terms, such as “signs,” “wonders,” and “miracles” (or “powers”), which can carry various connotations. As the word “sign” suggests, divine miracles are significant and should cause us to think more deeply about God in a way that goes beyond mere amazement or curiosity (Exod. 4:30–31; John 2:11). Not all of God’s signs are miraculous. Some are given as part of his ordering of the natural world (Gen. 1:14) or as an encouragement to faith that God will do as he has said (e.g., the rainbow in Gen. 9:8–17; the blood of the Passover lamb in Exod. 12:13). (See also Sign.)

Often coupled with signs are “wonders” (Jer. 32:21; John 4:48; 2 Cor. 12:12). If the depiction of miracles as “signs” indicates an appeal to the intellect, that of “wonders” points to the emotions. Miracles evoke astonishment and awe at the one who did them.

The NT word “miracle” carries the meaning of power and therefore points to the supernatural source of these events (Luke 10:13; Acts 8:13).

Miracles in the Bible

Old Testament. In the OT, miracles are not evenly distributed but rather are found in greater number during times of great redemptive significance, such as the exodus and the conquest of Canaan. Miracles were performed also during periods of apostasy, such as in the days of the ninth-century prophets Elijah and Elisha. Common to both of these eras is the powerful demonstration of the superiority of God over pagan deities (Exod. 7–12; 1 Kings 18:20–40).

New Testament. In the NT, miracles often are acts of compassion, but more significantly they attest the exalted status of Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 2:22) and the saving power of his word (Heb. 2:3–4). In the Synoptic Gospels, they reveal the coming of God’s kingdom and the conquest of Satan’s dominion (Matt. 8:16–17; 12:22–30; Mark 3:27). They point to the person of Jesus as the promised Messiah of OT Scripture (Matt. 4:23; 11:4–6). John shows a preference for the word “signs,” and his Gospel is structured around them (John 20:30–31). According to John, the signs that Jesus performed were such that only the one who stood in a unique relationship to the Father as the Son of God could do them.

Miracles and faith. Just as entrenched skepticism is injurious to faith, so too is naive credulity, for although signs and wonders witness to God, false prophets also perform them “to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:24). Christians are to exercise discernment and not be led astray by such impostors (Matt. 7:15–20).

The relationship between miracles and faith is not as straightforward as sometimes supposed. Miracles do not necessarily produce faith, nor does faith necessarily produce miracles. Miracles were intended to bring about the faith that leads to eternal life (John 20:31), but not all who witnessed them believed (John 10:32). Additionally, Jesus regarded a faith that rested only on the miracle itself as precarious (Mark 8:11–13; John 2:23–25; 4:48), though better than no faith at all (John 10:38). Faith that saves must ultimately find its grounding in the person of Jesus as the Son of God.

It is also clear that although Jesus always encouraged faith in those who came to him for help (Mark 9:23), and that he deliberately limited his miraculous powers in the presence of unbelief (Mark 6:5), many of his miracles were performed on those who did not or could not exercise faith (Matt. 12:22; Mark 1:23–28; 5:1–20; Luke 14:1–4).

The fact that Jesus performed miracles was never an issue; rather, his opponents disputed the source of his power (Mark 3:22). Arguments about his identity were to be settled by appeal not to miracles but to the word of God (Matt. 22:41–46).

The function of miracles. Miracle accounts function in a symbolic and prophetic manner. Hence, the cursing of the fig tree was prophetic of the coming judgment (Mark 11:12–21). The unusual two-stage healing of the blind man of Bethsaida symbolized Peter’s incomplete understanding of Jesus’ messiahship (Mark 8:22–33).

The miraculous element of Jesus’ ministry carries an eschatological significance, pointing to the order of things in the age to come. For example, the nature miracles (Mark 4:35–41) look forward to the redemption of creation itself, which is presently subject to frustration and decay (Rom. 8:20–21); the healing miracles point to a day when disease and deformity will be abolished (Rev. 21:4); and miracles in which the dead are raised to life anticipate a time when death itself will be no more (Rev. 20:14; 21:4). From this perspective, the miracles are a gracious foretaste of a far more glorious future.

Secondary Matches

The following suggestions occured because Mark 9:14-32 is mentioned in the definition.

Bartimaeus

Mark 10:46–52 tells of this blind beggar who properly identifies Jesus as the “Son of David” (cf. Matt. 20:29–34; Luke 18:35–43). Because blindness can be a symbol of unbelief (Isa. 43:8), restoring sight was a sign of the coming Messiah (Isa. 29:18; Matt. 11:2–6). The Bartimaeus story is part of a larger unit (Mark 8:22–10:52), framed by Jesus’ healing of another blind person (8:22–26). Seeing and believing, Bartimaeus is cast as an ideal disciple, “following” Jesus (10:52). Mark’s use of the name implies a well-known disciple (cf. Jairus in 5:22).

Disabilities and Deformities

(Disabilities; Disability; Deformity; Deformities; Sickness] The Bible often speaks of health, healing, disease, and illness. Good health was a sign of God’s favor, and healing was also the work of God and his divinely empowered agents. These agents included the prophets (1 Kings 17:8–23; 2 Kings 5:1–15), the apostles (Acts 3:1–10), and the messiah (Mal. 4:2). The divine prerogative of Jesus was to heal (Mark 1:32; 6:56; Matt. 4:23; 8:16; 15:30; 21:14; Luke 6:10, 17–19), and miraculous healings were a sign of his messianic office (Luke 7:20–23). Disease, on the other hand, was regarded as a sign of God’s disfavor. Within a covenantal context, God could send disease to punish the sinner (Exod. 4:11; 32:35).

The Bible assigns a wide variety of names to various diseases and their symptoms. These terms are nontechnical and generally descriptive. Some are uncertain in meaning. In most cases they describe the symptoms of the disease, not the disease itself. Diagnosis often was based on incomplete observation and nonclinical examination. The Bible also presupposes supernatural intervention in the life of a person. Healing occurred when God’s agents touched individuals, cast out demons, and resurrected the dead.

Ancient Near Eastern Influences

In the ancient Near East the knowledge of disease and medicine was precritical. Bacteria and viruses were virtually unknown. Mesopotamian literature contains many references to medicine, physicians, and medical practice. Minerals, salts, herbs, and other botanicals were used to make up treatments. Babylonian physicians also administered prescriptions accompanied by incantations. Disease was considered to be the result of a violation of a taboo or possession by a demon. The Code of Hammurabi (1750 BC) includes laws regulating the practice of medicine and surgery by physicians. In Egypt medicine and healing were connected to the gods. Tomb paintings and several papyrus documents describe the developing state of Egyptian medicine, pharmacy, and surgery.

Greek physicians admired and sought to learn the skills of the Egyptians. However, the early Greek doctor Hippocrates (460–370 BC), called the “Father of Medicine,” is credited with being the first physician to reject the belief that supernatural or divine forces cause illness. He argued that disease is the result of environmental factors, diet, and living habits, not a punishment imposed by the gods.

It is clear that the biblical world shared with the ancient Near East the same types of maladies common to tropical or subtropical climates. These include malaria, tropical fevers, dysentery, and sunstroke. The tendency of the hot climate to produce frequent droughts and famine certainly contributed to similar types of diseases throughout the Fertile Crescent. Additionally, it must be remembered that Palestine was a land bridge between the Mesopotamian and Egyptian worlds. Migrations carry not only goods and products, but also parasites, communicable disease, and epidemics.

Biblical Concept of Disease

The religious tradition of the Hebrews repudiated the magical or demonic origin of disease. Hence, moral, ethical, and spiritual factors regulated disease and illness. This was true for the individual as well as the community. The Hebrews, like the Egyptians, also recognized that much sickness arose from the individual’s relationship to the physical environment. Great stress was placed on hygiene and preventive medicine.

Pentateuchal legislation offered seven covenantal principles designed to prevent the possibility of disease and sickness: (1) Sabbath observance for humans, animals, and the land, which enforced regular periods of rest (Gen. 2:3); (2) dietary regulations, which divided food into efficient categories of clean and unclean (Lev. 11); (3) circumcision, which carried physical benefits as well as religious and moral implications (Gen. 17:9; circumcision is the only example of Hebrew surgery); (4) laws governing sexual relationships and health, including a list of forbidden degrees of marital relationships (Lev. 18–20); (5) provisions for individual sexual hygiene (Lev. 15); (6) stipulations for cleanliness and bodily purification (Lev. 14:2; 15:2); (7) sanitary and hygienic regulations for camp life (Num. 31:19; Deut. 23:12).

In NT times magical charms and incantations were used along with folk remedies in an effort to cure disease. Jesus repudiated these means. He also suggested that sickness and disease were not direct punishments for sin (John 9:2). In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7), Jesus confirmed that the ethical and religious standards of the new covenant promoted the total health of the community and the individual.

Circulatory Diseases

Nabal most likely suffered a cerebrovascular accident or stroke (1 Sam. 25:36–38). After a heavy bout of drinking, his heart “died” (KJV; NIV: “failed”), and he became paralyzed, lapsed into a coma, and died ten days later. Psalm 137:5–6 may contain a clinical example of the symptoms of stroke. The psalmist wrote, “If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you.” This description points to a paralysis of the right side of the body (right hemiplegia) and the loss of speech (motor aphasia) that result from a stroke on the left side of the brain. Basically, the exiled psalmist is wishing upon himself the effects of a stroke if he held anything other than Jerusalem as his highest priority. Some have considered the collapse of Uzzah when he reached out to stabilize the ark of the covenant (2 Sam. 6:6–7) to be the consequence of an apoplectic seizure. But since no actual paralysis was described and death occurred immediately, this seems unlikely. It is more probable that God struck him down with an aortic aneurism or a coronary thrombosis.

Paralysis

A possible case of paralysis may be described in the shriveled (atrophic) hand of Jeroboam I (1 Kings 13:4–6). In an angry outburst Jeroboam ordered the arrest of a prophet who condemned the altar at Bethel. When Jeroboam stretched out his hand, it “shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back.” Several complicated diagnoses have been offered to explain the “withered” hand, but it is possibly an example of cataplexy, a sudden loss of muscle power following a strong emotional stimulus. After intercession by the man of God, and the subsiding of the emotional outburst, the arm was restored.

The threat against the faithless shepherd of God’s people (Zech. 11:17), which included a withered arm and blindness in the right eye, may refer to a form of paralysis known as tabes dorsalis, or locomotor ataxia. Knifelike pains in the extremities and blindness characterize this disease.

Paralysis is frequently mentioned in the NT (Matt. 8:6; 9:2, 6; 12:10; Mark 2:3–5, 9, 10; 3:1, 3, 5; Luke 5:18, 24; 6:6; John 5:3; Acts 9:33; Heb. 12:12). The exact diagnosis for each of these cases remains uncertain.

The physician Luke’s use of the Greek medical term paralelymenos (Luke 5:18, 24) suggests that some of these cases were caused by chronic organic disease. Others clearly were congenital (Acts 3:2; cf. 14:8). It is not necessary to rationalize the origin of these examples of paralysis as hysteria or pretense. The NT writers regarded the healing of these individuals by Jesus and the apostles as miraculous.

Mental Illness and Brain Disorders

Cases of mental disease are generally described in the Bible by noting the symptoms produced by the disorder. The particular cause of a mental illness in the NT is often blamed on an unknown evil spirit or spirits (Luke 8:2). Such spirits, however, were subject to God’s control and operated only within the boundaries allowed by him (1 Sam. 16:14–16, 23; 18:10; 19:9). Accordingly, in the OT “madness” and “confusion of mind” were regarded as consequences of covenantal disobedience (Deut. 28:28, 34).

It has been argued that King Saul displayed early indications of personality disorder. Symptoms included pride, self-aggrandizement (1 Sam. 11:6; 13:12; 15:9, 19), and ecstatic behavior (10:11–12). A rapid deterioration in Saul’s character transpired after David was anointed and became more popular (16:14; 18:10–11). Since Saul demonstrated fear, jealousy, a sense of persecution, and homicidal tendencies, some scholars argue that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.

Nebuchadnezzar suffered a rare form of monomania in which he lived like a wild beast in the field eating grass (Dan. 4:33). David, in order to save his own life, feigned insanity or perhaps epilepsy before the Philistine king Achish (1 Sam. 21:12–15).

In the NT, individuals with mental disorders went about naked, mutilated themselves, lived in tombs (Mark 5:2), and exhibited violent behavior (Matt. 8:28). Such mental disorientation was often linked to demon possession. Examples include the Syrophoenician’s child (Matt. 15:22; Mark 7:25), the demoniacs at Gerasa (Matt. 8:28; Mark 5:2; Luke 8:27) and Capernaum (Mark 1:23; Luke 4:33), a blind and mute demoniac (Matt. 12:22; Luke 11:14), and a fortune-telling slave girl (Acts 16:16). While such behavior is clinically suggestive of paranoid schizophrenia or other mental disorders, the mind-controlling influence of some extraneous negative force cannot be ruled out.

Epilepsy (grand mal) causes the afflicted person to fall to the ground, foam at the mouth, and clench or grind the teeth (Matt. 17:15; Mark 9:17–18; Luke 9:39). The description of Saul falling to the ground in an ecstatic state (1 Sam. 19:23–24) and Balaam falling with open eyes may be indicative of an epileptic seizure. In the NT, Jesus healed many who suffered from epilepsy (Matt. 4:24; 17:14–18; Mark 9:17–18; Luke 9:38–42). Some scholars have linked the light seen by Paul on the road to Damascus with the aura that some epileptics experience prior to a seizure. His subsequent blindness has also been attributed to the epileptic disturbance of the circulation of the blood in the brain.

Childhood Diseases

The cause of the death of the widow’s son at Zarephath is unknown (1 Kings 17:17–22). The death of the Shunammite woman’s son has been attributed to sunstroke (2 Kings 4:18–37), although a headache is the only symptom recorded (v. 19). In both cases there is too little evidence to present an accurate diagnosis.

In the first case, the boy at Zarephath stopped breathing (1 Kings 17:17). This may leave the door open to argue that Elijah resuscitated the child. However, in the second case, the text clearly states that the Shunammite boy died (2 Kings 4:20), implying a resurrection.

Infectious and Communicable Diseases

Fever and other calamities are listed among the punishments for covenantal infidelity (Deut. 28:22). Three different types of fever may be intentionally described here: “fever,” “inflammation,” and “scorching heat” (ESV: “fiery heat”). Fever is also mentioned frequently in the NT (Matt. 8:15; Mark 1:30–31; Luke 4:38–39; John 4:52; Acts 28:8). Both Jesus and Paul healed individuals who had a fever. A number of these fevers were likely caused by malaria, since the disease was known to be endemic to the Jordan Valley and other marshy areas in Palestine.

Several epidemics in which numerous people died of pestilence or plague are mentioned in the OT (Exod. 11:1; 12:13; Num. 14:37; Zech. 14:12). The fifth plague of Egypt (Exod. 9:3–6) has been attributed to Jordan Rift Valley fever, which is spread by flies. Bubonic plague has been blamed for the malady that struck the Philistines (1 Sam. 5–6). However, it may have been the result of a severe form of tropical dysentery. Acute bacillary dysentery contracted in the military camp may also have been responsible for the epidemic that killed a large number of the Assyrian army (2 Kings 19:35).

Parasitic Diseases

Some scholars have repeatedly argued that the “fiery serpents” (NIV: “venomous snakes”) encountered by Moses and the children of Israel (Num. 21:6–9) were in reality an infestation of the parasitic guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis). Microscopic fleas ingested in drinking water carry the larvae of this slender nematode into the body. The larvae move from the digestive tract to the skin. The adult worm, which may grow to a length of several feet, discharges its eggs into an ulcer on the skin. Death of the host occurs because of the resulting infection of the skin ulcers.

After the conquest of Jericho, Joshua cursed the individual who would endeavor to rebuild the city (Josh. 6:26). Later, Hiel of Bethel attempted to rebuild the city and lost two of his sons as a result of the curse (1 Kings 16:34). Elisha was then asked to purify the bad water at Jericho in order to allow a new settlement (2 Kings 2:19). Elisha obliged by throwing salt into the spring and thereby making the water potable (2:20–22). Recent archaeological study has discovered the remains of certain snails in the mud-bricks used to construct Jericho in the Bronze Age. These types of snails are now known to serve as intermediate hosts for the flatworm parasite that can cause schistosomiasis. The Schistosoma haematobium trematode infects the urinary tract and the bladder. It is possible that this type of parasite was responsible for the death of Hiel’s two sons.

In NT times, Herod Agrippa apparently died of the complications of a parasitic disease, perhaps being infested by the larvae of flies (myiasis) in the bowels. Luke mentions that he was “eaten by worms” (skōlēkobrōtos [Acts 12:23]). The father of Publius also suffered from dysentery (Acts 28:8).

Physical Deformities and Abnormalities

Individuals with deformities were disqualified from priestly service (Lev. 21:18–20). The list included lameness, limb damage, and dwarfism. The deformities mentioned here might have been congenital or acquired. Mephibosheth was dropped by his nurse (2 Sam. 4:4) and perhaps suffered damage to the spinal cord. Jacob possibly sustained injury to an intervertebral disk (Gen. 32:32) causing a deformity and a limp. The woman who was “bent over” (Luke 13:10–17) might have suffered from an abnormality of the spine similar to scoliosis. It is difficult to ascertain the origin of the “shriveled hand” of the unnamed individual healed by Jesus (Matt. 12:10–13; Mark 3:1–5; Luke 6:6–10). It could be congenital in character or a paralysis caused by any number of factors.

Diseases and Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears

Physical blindness is mentioned several times in the Bible. Blindness excluded one from serving as a priest (Lev. 21:18, 20). Blindness and deafness, however, were disabilities requiring special care from the community (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18). The “weak eyes” of Leah may refer to an eye condition (Gen. 29:17).

Blindness in the biblical world was caused by various factors. Leviticus 26:16 speaks of a fever that destroys the eyes. Flies probably were responsible for much of the conjunctivitis found in children. John 9:1 mentions congenital blindness, which Jesus cured using mud made from spittle and dirt (John 9:6). In Mark 8:22–26 Jesus healed a blind man by spitting in his eye and laying hands on him (cf. Matt. 20:34 with Mark 10:52).

Congenital deafness would also be associated with mutism and speech defects because a child learning to speak depends on imitation and mimicry. Jesus healed a man who was deaf and could barely talk (Mark 7:32–37). The man’s inability to say much possibly pointed to a loss of hearing early in life.

Skin Conditions

Various skin and hair abnormalities are described in the Bible. Some made the individual unclean (Lev. 13:30; 14:54). The OT speaks of “the boils of Egypt” (Deut. 28:27; cf. Exod. 9:9). Skin ailments included tumors, festering sores, boils, infections, and the itch (Deut. 28:27, 35; Isa. 3:7). Job complained of a litany of ailments: broken and festering skin (7:5), multiple wounds (9:17), black peeling skin and fever (30:30), gnawing bone pain (2:5; 19:20; 30:17), insomnia (7:3–4), and wasting away (33:21). These symptoms have been diagnosed as indications of yaws or eczema. A poultice made of figs cured Hezekiah’s boil (2 Kings 20:7).

Leprosy was once thought to be a common problem in the biblical world. Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is a slow, progressive chronic infectious disease caused by a bacterium. Symptoms include loss of sensation and loss of parts of the body. Evidence for this type of disease in Palestine is rare. Uzziah may have had a true case of Hansen’s disease. He was quarantined until the day he died (2 Chron. 26:21).

Scholars now suggest that the symptoms of the disease described in the Bible do not fit this pattern and thus do not signify leprosy (Hansen’s disease) as it is known today. Instead, the word that English versions translate as “leprosy” (Heb. root tsr’) probably refers to different types of infectious skin disease, often characterized by a long-standing, patchy skin condition associated with peeling or flakiness and redness of skin. Evidence points more toward psoriasis, fungal infections, or dermatitis.

This disease could appear in humans (Lev. 14:2), on buildings (14:34), and on clothing (14:55). It was not limited to the extremities but could occur on the head (14:42–44). It could run its course quickly (13:5–8). It made the individual ceremonially unclean, but it was also curable (Lev. 14:3; 2 Kings 5:1–27). Individuals with the disease were not necessarily shunned (2 Kings 7; Matt. 26:6 // Mark 14:3). Moses (Exod. 4:6), Miriam (Num. 12:10), and Naaman experienced this type of skin disease (2 Kings 5:1–27). Jesus healed many suffering from skin ailments (Matt. 8:2–3; Mark 1:40–42; Luke 5:12–13), including the ten “men who had leprosy” (Luke 17:12–14).

Ailments of an Unknown Nature

Some cases in the Bible present insufficient evidence for scholars to render a clear diagnosis. King Asa suffered a disease in his feet (2 Chron. 16:12). However, in the OT the Hebrew expression for “feet” is sometimes used euphemistically for the sexual organs (Judg. 3:24 KJV). Because of this, the exact nature of the disease is ambiguous. Jehoram was afflicted with “an incurable disease of the bowels” (2 Chron. 21:18–19). Other unknown ailments factor in the deaths of the firstborn son of David and Bathsheba (2 Sam. 12:15), of Jeroboam’s son in infancy (1 Kings 14:17), of Elisha (2 Kings 13:14), and of Ezekiel’s wife (Ezek. 24:16).

Diseases and Physical Abnormalities

Ancient Near Eastern Influences

Biblical Concept of Disease

Circulatory Diseases

Paralysis

Mental Illness and Brain Disorders

Childhood Diseases

Infectious and Communicable Diseases

Parasitic Diseases

Physical Deformities and Abnormalities

Diseases and Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears

Skin Conditions

Ailments of an Unknown Nature

Doctor

Ancient Near Eastern Influences

Biblical Concept of Disease

Circulatory Diseases

Paralysis

Mental Illness and Brain Disorders

Childhood Diseases

Infectious and Communicable Diseases

Parasitic Diseases

Physical Deformities and Abnormalities

Diseases and Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears

Skin Conditions

Ailments of an Unknown Nature

Jesus Christ

The founder of what became known as the movement of Jesus followers or Christianity. For Christian believers, Jesus Christ embodies the personal and supernatural intervention of God in human history.

Introduction

Name. Early Christians combined the name “Jesus” with the title “Christ” (Acts 5:42; NIV: “Messiah”). The name “Jesus,” from the Hebrew Yehoshua or Yeshua, was a common male name in first-century Judaism. The title “Christ” is from the Greek christos, a translation of the Hebrew mashiakh (“anointed one, messiah”). Christians eventually were named after Jesus’ title (Acts 11:26). During the ministry of Jesus, Peter was the first disciple to recognize Jesus as the Messiah (Matt. 16:16; Mark 9:29; Luke 9:20).

Sources. From the viewpoint of Christianity, the life and ministry of Jesus constitute the turning point in human history. From a historical perspective, ample early source materials would be expected. Indeed, both Christian and non-Christian first-century and early second-century literary sources are extant, but they are few in number. In part, this low incidence is due to society’s initial resistance to the Jesus followers’ movement. The ancient Roman historian Tacitus called Christianity “a superstition,” since its beliefs did not fit with the culture’s prevailing worldview and thus were considered antisocial. Early literary sources therefore are either in-group documents or allusions in non-Christian sources.

The NT Gospels are the principal sources for the life and ministry of Jesus. They consist of Matthew, Mark, Luke (the Synoptic Gospels), and John. Most scholars adhere to the so-called Four Source Hypothesis. In this theory, Mark was written first and was used as a source by Matthew and Luke, who also used the sayings source Q (from German Quelle, meaning “source”) as well as their own individual sources M (Matthew) and L (Luke). John used additional sources.

The early church tried to put together singular accounts, so-called Gospel harmonies, of the life of Jesus. The Gospel of the Ebionites represents one such attempt based on the Synoptic Gospels. Another harmony, the Diatessaron, based on all four Gospels, was produced around AD 170 by Tatian. Additional source materials concerning the life of Christ are provided in the NT in texts such as Acts, the Pauline Epistles, the General Epistles, and the Revelation of John. Paul wrote to the Galatians, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law” (Gal. 4:4). The first narrative about Jesus by the Christian community was a passion narrative, the account of his death and resurrection. The first extant references to this tradition are found in Paul’s letters (1 Cor. 2:2; Gal. 3:1). The resurrection was recognized from the beginning as the cornerstone of the Christian faith (1 Cor. 15:13–14).

Among non-Christian sources, the earliest reference to Jesus is found in a letter written circa AD 112 by Pliny the Younger, the Roman governor of Bithynia-Pontus (Ep. 10.96). The Roman historian Tacitus mentions Christians and Jesus around AD 115 in his famous work about the history of Rome (Ann. 15.44). Another Roman historian, Suetonius, wrote around the same time concerning unrest among the Jews in Rome because of a certain “Chrestos” (Claud. 25.4). Some scholars conclude that “Chrestos” is a misspelling of “Christos,” a reference to Jesus.

The Jewish author Josephus (first century AD) mentions Jesus in a story about the Jewish high priest Ananus and James the brother of Jesus (Ant. 20.200). A controversial reference to Jesus appears in a different part of the same work, where Josephus affirms that Jesus is the Messiah and that he rose from the dead (Ant. 18.63–64). The majority of scholars consider this passage to be authentic but heavily edited by later Christian copyists. Another Jewish source, the Talmud, also mentions Jesus in several places, but these references are very late and of little historical value.

Noncanonical Gospels that mention Jesus include, for example, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, the Gospel of James, the Gospel of Judas Iscariot, the Gospel of the Hebrews, the Egerton Gospel, and the Gospel of Judas. Although some of these may contain an occasional authentic saying or event, for the most part they are late and unreliable.

Jesus’ Life

Birth and childhood. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke record Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem during the reign of Herod the Great (Matt. 2:1; Luke 2:4, 11). Jesus was probably born between 6 and 4 BC, shortly before Herod’s death (Matt. 2:19). Both Matthew and Luke record the miracle of a virginal conception made possible by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:35). Luke mentions a census under the Syrian governor Quirinius that was responsible for Jesus’ birth taking place in Bethlehem (2:1–5). Both the census and the governorship at the time of the birth of Jesus have been questioned by scholars. Unfortunately, there is not enough extrabiblical evidence to either confirm or disprove these events, so their veracity must be determined on the basis of one’s view regarding the general reliability of the Gospel tradition.

On the eighth day after his birth, Jesus was circumcised, in keeping with the Jewish law, at which time he officially was named “Jesus” (Luke 2:21). He spent his growing years in Nazareth, in the home of his parents, Joseph and Mary (2:40). Of the NT Gospels, the Gospel of Luke contains the only brief portrayal of Jesus’ growth in strength, wisdom, and favor with God and people (2:40, 52). Luke also contains the only account of Jesus as a young boy (2:41–49).

Jesus was born in a lower socioeconomic setting. His parents offered a temple sacrifice appropriate for those who could not afford to sacrifice a sheep (Luke 2:22–24; cf. Lev. 12:8). Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, was a carpenter or an artisan in wood, stone, or metal (Matt. 13:55). From a geographical perspective, Nazareth was not a prominent place for settling, since it lacked fertile ground. Jesus’ disciple Nathanael expressed an apparently common first-century sentiment concerning Nazareth: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46).

Jesus was also born in a context of scandal. Questions of illegitimacy were surely raised, since his mother Mary was discovered to be pregnant before her marriage to Joseph. According to Matthew, only the intervention of an angel convinced Joseph not to break his betrothal (Matt. 1:18–24). Jesus’ birth took place in Bethlehem, far from his parents’ home in Nazareth. According to kinship hospitality customs, Joseph and Mary would have expected to stay with distant relatives in Bethlehem. It is likely that they were unwelcome because of Jesus’ status as an illegitimate child; thus Mary had to give birth elsewhere and place the infant Jesus in a feeding trough (Luke 2:7). A similar response was seen years later in Nazareth when Jesus was identified as “Mary’s son” (Mark 6:3) rather than through his paternal line, thereby shaming him as one who was born an illegitimate child. Jesus was likewise rejected at the end of his life as the crowds cried, “Crucify him!” (Matt. 27:22–23; Mark 15:13–14; Luke 23:21; John 19:6, 15). When Jesus was arrested, most of his followers fled (Matt. 26:56; Mark 14:50–52), and a core disciple, Peter, vehemently denied knowing him (Matt. 26:69–74; Mark 14:66–71; Luke 22:55–60; John 18:15–17, 25–27). His own siblings did not believe in him (John 7:5) and were evidently ashamed of his fate, since from the cross Jesus placed the care of his mother into the hands of “the disciple whom he loved” (19:26–27) rather than the next brother in line, as was customary.

Baptism, temptation, and start of ministry. After Jesus was baptized by the prophet John the Baptist (Luke 3:21–22), God affirmed his pleasure with him by referring to him as his Son, whom he loved (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). Jesus’ baptism did not launch him into fame and instant ministry success; instead, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he was tempted for forty days (Matt. 4:1–11; Mark 1:12–13; Luke 4:1–13). Mark stresses that the temptations immediately followed the baptism. Matthew and Luke identify three specific temptations by the devil, though their order for the last two is reversed. Both Matthew and Luke agree that Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread, expect divine intervention after jumping off the temple portico, and receive all the world’s kingdoms for worshiping the devil. Jesus resisted all temptation, quoting Scripture in response.

Matthew and Mark record that Jesus began his ministry in Capernaum in Galilee, after the arrest of John the Baptist (Matt. 4:12–13; Mark 1:14). Luke says that Jesus started his ministry at about thirty years of age (3:23). This may be meant to indicate full maturity or perhaps correlate this age with the onset of the service of the Levites in the temple (cf. Num. 4:3). John narrates the beginning of Jesus’ ministry by focusing on the calling of the disciples and the sign performed at a wedding at Cana (1:35–2:11).

Jesus’ public ministry: chronology. Jesus’ ministry started in Galilee, probably around AD 27/28, and ended with his death around AD 30 in Jerusalem. The temple had been forty-six years in construction (generally interpreted as the temple itself and the wider temple complex) when Jesus drove out the money changers (John 2:20). According to Josephus, the rebuilding and expansion of the second temple had started in 20/19 BC, during the eighteenth year of Herod’s reign (Ant. 15.380). The ministry of John the Baptist had commenced in the fifteenth year of Tiberius (Luke 3:1–2), who had become a coregent in AD 11/12. From these dates of the start of the temple building and the correlation of the reign of Tiberius to John the Baptist’s ministry, the onset of Jesus’ ministry can probably be dated to AD 27/28.

The Gospel of John mentions three Passovers and another unnamed feast in John 5:1. The length of Jesus’ ministry thus extended over three or four Passovers, equaling about three or three and a half years. Passover, which took place on the fifteenth of Nisan, came on a Friday in AD 30 and 33. The year of Jesus’ death was therefore probably AD 30.

Jesus’ ministry years may be divided broadly into his Galilean and his Judean ministries. The Synoptic Gospels describe the ministry in Galilee from various angles but converge again as Jesus enters Judea.

Galilean ministry. The early stages of Jesus’ ministry centered in and around Galilee. Jesus presented the good news and proclaimed that the kingdom of God was near. Matthew focuses on the fulfillment of prophecy (Matt. 4:13–17). Luke records Jesus’ first teaching in his hometown, Nazareth, as paradigmatic (Luke 4:16–30); the text that Jesus quoted, Isa. 61:1–2, set the stage for his calling to serve and revealed a trajectory of rejection and suffering.

All Gospels record Jesus’ gathering of disciples early in his Galilean ministry (Matt. 4:18–22; Mark 1:16–20; Luke 5:1–11; John 1:35–51). The formal call and commissioning of the Twelve who would become Jesus’ closest followers is recorded in different parts of the Gospels (Matt. 10:1–4; Mark 3:13–19; Luke 6:12–16). A key event in the early ministry is the Sermon on the Mount/Plain (Matt. 5:1–7:29; Luke 6:20–49). John focuses on Jesus’ signs and miracles, in particular in the early parts of his ministry, whereas the Synoptics focus on healings and exorcisms.

During Jesus’ Galilean ministry, onlookers struggled with his identity. However, evil spirits knew him to be of supreme authority (Mark 3:11). Jesus was criticized by outsiders and by his own family (3:21). The scribes from Jerusalem identified him as a partner of Beelzebul (3:22). Amid these situations of social conflict, Jesus told parables that couched his ministry in the context of a growing kingdom of God. This kingdom would miraculously spring from humble beginnings (4:1–32).

The Synoptics present Jesus’ early Galilean ministry as successful. No challenge or ministry need superseded Jesus’ authority or ability: he calmed a storm (Mark 4:35–39), exorcized many demons (Mark 5:1–13), raised the dead (Mark 5:35–42), fed five thousand (Mark 6:30–44), and walked on water (Mark 6:48–49).

In the later part of his ministry in Galilee, Jesus often withdrew and traveled to the north and the east. The Gospel narratives are not written with a focus on chronology. However, only brief returns to Galilee appear to have taken place prior to Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. As people followed Jesus, faith was praised and fear resolved. Jerusalem’s religious leaders traveled to Galilee, where they leveled accusations and charged Jesus’ disciples with lacking ritual purity (Mark 7:1–5). Jesus shamed the Pharisees by pointing out their dishonorable treatment of parents (7:11–13). The Pharisees challenged his legitimacy by demanding a sign (8:11). Jesus refused them signs but agreed with Peter, who confessed, “You are the Messiah” (8:29). Jesus did provide the disciples a sign: his transfiguration (9:2–8).

Jesus withdrew from Galilee to Tyre and Sidon, where a Syrophoenician woman requested healing for her daughter. Jesus replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). Galileans had long resented the Syrian provincial leadership partiality that allotted governmental funds in ways that made the Jews receive mere “crumbs.” Consequently, when the woman replied, “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table,” Jesus applauded her faith (Matt. 15:27–28). Healing a deaf-mute man in the Decapolis provided another example of Jesus’ ministry in Gentile territory (Mark 7:31–37). Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ took place during Jesus’ travel to Caesarea Philippi, a well-known Gentile territory. The city was the ancient center of worship of the Hellenistic god Pan.

Judean ministry. Luke records a geographic turning point in Jesus’ ministry as he resolutely set out for Jerusalem, a direction that eventually led to his death (Luke 9:51). Luke divides the journey to Jerusalem into three phases (9:51–13:21; 13:22–17:10; 17:11–19:27). The opening verses of phase one emphasize a prophetic element of the journey. Jesus viewed his ministry in Jerusalem as his mission, and the demands on discipleship intensified as Jesus approached Jerusalem (Matt. 20:17–19, 26–28; Mark 10:38–39, 43–45; Luke 14:25–35). Luke presents the second phase of the journey toward Jerusalem with a focus on conversations regarding salvation and judgment (Luke 13:22–30). In the third and final phase of the journey, the advent of the kingdom and the final judgment are the main themes (17:20–37; 19:11–27).

Social conflicts with religious leaders increased throughout Jesus’ ministry. These conflicts led to lively challenge-riposte interactions concerning the Pharisaic schools of Shammai and Hillel (Matt. 19:1–12; Mark 10:1–12). Likewise, socioeconomic feathers were ruffled as Jesus welcomed young children, who had little value in society (Matt. 19:13–15; Mark 10:13–16; Luke 18:15–17).

Passion Week, death, and resurrection. Each of the Gospels records Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with the crowds extending him a royal welcome (Matt. 21:4–9; Mark 11:7–10; Luke 19:35–38; John 12:12–15). Luke describes Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem as a time during which Jesus taught in the temple as Israel’s Messiah (19:45–21:38).

In Jerusalem, Jesus cleansed the temple of profiteering (Mark 11:15–17). Mark describes the religious leaders as fearing Jesus because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching, and so they “began looking for a way to kill him” (11:18). Dismayed, each segment of Jerusalem’s temple leadership inquired about Jesus’ authority (11:27–33). Jesus replied with cunning questions (12:16, 35–36), stories (12:1–12), denunciation (12:38–44), and a prediction of Jerusalem’s own destruction (13:1–31). One of Jesus’ own disciples, Judas Iscariot, provided the temple leaders the opportunity for Jesus’ arrest (14:10–11).

At the Last Supper, Jesus instituted a new Passover, defining a new covenant grounded in his sufferings (Matt. 26:17–18, 26–29; Mark 14:16–25; Luke 22:14–20). He again warned the disciples of his betrayal and arrest (Matt. 26:21–25, 31; Mark 14:27–31; Luke 22:21–23; John 13:21–30), and later he prayed for the disciples (John 17:1–26) and prayed in agony and submissiveness in the garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36–42; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–42). His arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and resurrection followed (Matt. 26:46–28:15; Mark 14:43–16:8; Luke 22:47–24:9; John 18:1–20:18). Jesus finally commissioned his disciples to continue his mission by making disciples of all the nations (Matt. 28:18–20; Acts 1:8) and ascended to heaven with the promise that he will one day return (Luke 24:50–53; Acts 1:9–11).

The Identity of Jesus Christ

Various aspects of Jesus’ identity are stressed in the four NT Gospels, depending on their target audiences. In the Gospels the witnesses to Jesus’ ministry are portrayed as constantly questioning and examining his identity (Matt. 11:2–5; 12:24; 26:63; 27:11; Mark 3:22; 8:11; 11:28; 14:61; Luke 7:18–20; 11:15; 22:67, 70; 23:39; John 7:20, 25–27; 18:37). Only beings of the spiritual realm are certain of his divinity (Mark 1:34; 3:11; Luke 4:41). At Jesus’ baptism, God referred to him as his Son, whom he loved (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). Likewise, when Jesus was transfigured in the presence of Peter, James, and John, a voice affirmed, “This is my Son, whom I love” (Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7). At the moment of his death, the questioning of Jesus’ identity culminated in a confession by a Roman centurion and other guards: “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Matt. 27:54; cf. Mark 15:39).

Miracle worker. In the first-century setting, folk healers and miracle workers were part of the fabric of society. Jesus, however, performed signs and miracles in order to demonstrate the authority of the kingdom of God over various realms: disease, illness, the spiritual world, nature, and even future events. Especially in the Gospel of John, Jesus’ signs and miracles are used to show his authority and thus his identity.

No challenge superseded Jesus’ authority. Among his ample miracles and signs, he changed water into wine (John 2:7–9), calmed a storm in the sea (Matt. 8:23–27; Mark 4:35–39; Luke 8:22–25), exorcized demons (Matt. 9:32–34; Mark 5:1–13; Luke 9:42–43), healed the sick (Mark 1:40–44), raised the dead (Matt. 9:23–25; Mark 5:35–42; Luke 7:1–16; 8:49–54; John 11:17, 38–44), performed miraculous feedings (Matt. 14:17–21; 15:34–38; Mark 6:30–44; 8:5–9; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:8–13), and walked on water (Matt. 14:25–26; Mark 6:48–49; John 6:19).

The Pharisees requested miracles as evidence of his authority (Mark 8:11–12). Jesus refused, claiming that a wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign (Matt. 12:38–39; 16:1–4). The only sign that he would give was the sign of Jonah—his death and resurrection three days later—a personal sacrifice, taking upon himself the judgment of the world (Matt. 12:39–41).

Rabbi/teacher. Jesus’ teaching style was similar to other first-century rabbis or Pharisees (Mark 9:5; 10:51; John 1:38; 3:2). What distinguished him was that he spoke with great personal authority (Matt. 5:22, 28, 32, 39, 44; Mark 1:22). Like other rabbis of his day, Jesus gathered disciples. He called these men to observe his lifestyle and to join him in his ministry of teaching, healing, and exorcism (Matt. 10:1–4; Mark 3:13–19; Luke 6:12–16).

Jesus used a variety of teaching methods. He frequently spoke in parables (Matt. 6:24; 13:24–52; 18:10–14, 23–35; 21:28–22:14; 24:32–36, 45–51; 25:14–30; Mark 4:1–34; 12:1–12; 13:28–34; Luke 8:4–18; 12:41–46; 13:18–21; 14:15–24; 15:1–16:15, 19–31; 18:1–14; 19:11–27; 20:9–19; 21:29–33), used figures of speech (John 10:9), hyperbole (Matt. 19:24; Mark 10:25; Luke 18:25), argumentation (Matt. 26:11), object lessons (Matt. 24:32), frequent repetition (Matt. 13:44–47; Luke 13:18–21), practical examples, and personal guidance.

Major themes in Jesus’ teaching include the kingdom of God, the cost of discipleship, internal righteousness, the end of the age, his identity, his mission, and his approaching death. In his teachings, observance of Torah was given new context and meaning because God’s kingdom had “come near” (Matt. 3:2). Jesus had come to fulfill the law (Matt. 5:17).

Jesus’ teaching ministry often took place amid social conflict. These conflicts were couched in so-called challenge-riposte interactions in which the honor status of those involved was at stake. Jesus used these interactions as teachable moments. When questioned, Jesus gave replies that reveal omniscience or intimate knowledge of God’s will, especially in the Gospel of John. In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus’ answers are both ethical and practical in nature. The Synoptics portray Jesus as challenged repeatedly with accusations of violating customs specified in the Jewish law. Jesus’ answers to such accusations often echoed the essence of 1 Sam. 15:22, “To obey is better than sacrifice,” phrased by Jesus as “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Matt. 9:13; 12:7). An overall “better than” ethic was common in Jesus’ public teaching.

The Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7) contains a “better than” ethic in which internal obedience is better than mere outward obedience. For example, Jesus said that anger without cause is equal to murder (Matt. 5:21–22), that looking at a woman lustfully amounts to adultery (Matt. 5:28), and that instead of revenging wrongs one must reciprocate with love (Matt. 5:38–48). Jesus valued compassion above traditions and customs, even those contained within the OT law. He desired internal obedience above the letter of the law.

Jesus’ teachings found their authority in the reality of God’s imminent kingdom (Matt. 3:2; 10:7; Mark 1:15; Luke 10:9), necessitating repentance (Matt. 3:2), belief (Mark 1:15), dependence (Matt. 18:3–5; Mark 10:15), and loyalty to a new community—the family of Jesus followers (Mark 3:34; 10:29–30). Jesus urged, “Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness” (Matt. 6:33). Preaching with such urgency was common among prophetic teachers of the intertestamental period. Jesus, however, had his own grounds for urgency. He held that God deeply valued all humans (Matt. 10:31) and would bring judgment swiftly (Matt. 25:31–46).

Examples of a “greater good” ethic in the Synoptics include the occasions when Jesus ate with sinners (Mark 2:16–17). Jesus used an aphorism in response to accusations about his associations with sinners, saying, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). He advocated harvesting and healing on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23–28; 3:1–6), and when he was accused of breaking the law, he pointed to an OT exception (1 Sam. 21:1–6) to declare compassion appropriate for the Sabbath. Jesus also applied the “greater good” ethic in the case of divorce, since women suffered the societal stigma of adultery and commonly became outcasts following divorce (Matt. 19:8–9; Mark 10:5–9).

Jesus’ kingdom teachings were simultaneously spiritual, ethical, and eschatological in application. The teachings were aimed at internal transformation (Matt. 5:3–9; 18:3; Mark 10:15) and spurring on love (Matt. 5:44; 7:21). The Spirit of the Lord had called Jesus to bless the hurting ones as they aspired to a godly character. Jesus taught, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48), and “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). The “blessed” ones in Jesus’ teachings are poor of spirit, peace driven, mournful, and hungry for righteousness, consumed with emulating godly character.

Some scholars believe that Jesus promoted an “interim ethic” for the kingdom, intended only for a short period prior to the end of time. However, he was explicit regarding the longevity of his teachings: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matt. 24:35; Luke 16:17).

Messiah. The concept of an anointed one, a messiah, who would restore the glories of David’s kingdom and bring political stability was common in Jewish expectation. Both before and after the Babylonian captivity, many Jews longed for one who would bring peace and protection. Israel’s prophets had spoken of a coming deliverer, one who would restore David’s kingdom and reign in justice and righteousness (2 Sam. 7:11–16; Isa. 9:1–7; 11:1–16; Jer. 23:5–6; 33:15–16; Ezek. 37:25; Dan. 2:44; Mic. 5:2; Zech. 9:9). Isaiah’s description of the servant (Isa. 53) whose suffering healed the nation provided a slightly different angle of expectation in terms of a deliverer.

Jesus’ authority and popularity as a miracle worker called up messianic images in first-century Jewish minds. On several occasions hearers called him “Son of David,” hoping for the Messiah (Matt. 12:23; 21:9). Simon Peter was the first follower who confessed Jesus as the Christ, the “Messiah” (Matt. 16:16; Mark 8:29). In line with Isaiah’s model of the Suffering Servant, Jesus focused not on political ends but rather on spiritual regeneration through his own sacrificial death (Mark 10:45).

Eschatological prophet. Many scholars claim that Jesus is best understood as a Jewish apocalypticist, an eschatological prophet who expected God to intervene in history, destroy the wicked, and bring in the kingdom of God. Central in this understanding are Jesus’ prophecies concerning the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (Matt. 24:1–2, 15–22; Mark 13:1; Luke 21:5–24; John 2:19; Acts 6:14). In addition, it is noted that Jesus had twelve disciples, representative of the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:2–28; Luke 22:23–30). Certain of Jesus’ parables, those with apocalyptic images of coming judgment, present Jesus as an eschatological prophet (Matt. 24:45–25:30; Luke 12:41–46; 19:11–27).

Suffering Son of God. Jesus’ first recorded teaching in a synagogue in Nazareth was paradigmatic (Luke 4:16–21). He attributed the reading, Isa. 61:1–2, to his personal calling to serve, and in doing so he revealed a trajectory of suffering. The Gospel of Mark likewise aptly portrays Jesus as the suffering Son of God. Jesus’ own teachings incorporated his upcoming suffering (Mark 8:31; 9:12–13, 31; 10:33–34). He summarized his mission by declaring, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). His earthly career ended with a trial in Jerusalem consisting of both Roman and Jewish components (Matt. 26:57–68; 27:1–31; Mark 14:53–65; 15:1–20; Luke 22:54–23:25; John 18:19–24; 18:28–19:16). He was insulted, scourged, mocked, and crucified.

Jesus’ suffering culminated in his humiliating death by crucifixion (Matt. 27:33–50; Mark 15:22–37; Luke 23:33–46; John 19:16–30). Crucifixion was a death of unimaginable horror, bringing shame and humiliation to the victim and his family. Anyone hanging on a tree was considered cursed (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13). Thus, especially in a Jewish society, anyone associated with a crucified person bore the shame of following one who was executed as a lowly slave and left as a cursed corpse. The apostle Paul referred to this shame of the cross when he stated, “I am not ashamed of the gospel” (Rom. 1:16).

Exalted Lord. Jesus had prophesied that he would rise again (Matt. 16:21; 17:9, 23; 20:19; 27:63; Mark 8:31; 9:9, 31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 18:33; 24:7, 46). The testimony of the Synoptics is that the resurrection of Jesus Christ indeed occurred on the third day, Christ having died on Friday (Mark 15:42–45; Luke 23:52–54; John 19:30–33) and risen again on Sunday (Matt. 28:1–7; Mark 16:2–7; Luke 24:1–7; John 20:1–16). The resurrected Jesus was witnessed by the women (Matt. 28:8–9), the eleven disciples (Matt. 28:16–17; Luke 24:36–43), and travelers on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:31–32). According to Paul, he appeared to as many as five hundred others (1 Cor. 15:6). He appeared in bodily form, spoke, showed his scars, and ate (Luke 24:39–43; John 20:27; Acts 1:4). After forty postresurrection days, Jesus ascended into the heavenly realm (Acts 1:9).

As much as Jesus’ death was the epitome of shame, his victory over death was his ultimate exaltation (Phil. 2:5–11). At Pentecost, Peter proclaimed that in the resurrection God fulfilled OT promises (Ps. 16:10) by raising his Son from the grave (Acts 2:30–31). Furthermore, Christ provided freedom from the law through his resurrection (Rom. 5:13–14), God’s approval of his life and work (Phil. 2:8–9), and God’s designation of him as Lord over all the earth, the living and the dead (Acts 17:30–31; Phil. 2:10; Heb. 1:3), and over all his enemies (Eph. 1:20–23).

Jesus’ exaltation commenced the beginning of forgiveness and justification (Luke 24:46–47; Acts 13:30–39; Rom. 4:25) and his intercession for the people of God (Rom. 8:34). His ascension signaled the coming of the Holy Spirit as comforter and teacher (John 14:26; Acts 2:33) and was accompanied by the promise of his return in glory (Luke 24:51), at which time he will render judgment (Matt. 19:28; 24:31; Rev. 20:11–15) and establish his eternal kingdom (1 Cor. 15:24; 2 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 11:15; 22:5).

Jesus’ Purpose and Community

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, who preaches the good news of the kingdom, urging people to repent (4:17–23). Repentance and belief allow one to enter the kingdom. The call into the kingdom is a call into a new covenant, one made in Jesus’ blood (26:28).

In the prologue to the Gospel of Mark, the narrator reveals the identity of Jesus (1:1). Jesus is presented as the one who brings good tidings of salvation (cf. Isa. 40:9; 52:7; 61:1). The centrality of the gospel, the good news (Mark 1:14–15), is evident.

Luke likewise presents the preaching of the good news as a main purpose of Jesus’ ministry (4:43). The content of this good news is the kingdom of God (4:43; 8:1; 16:16). When the disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus if he was the one who was to come (7:20), Jesus answered, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (7:22). The kingdom of God, as presented in Luke, brings freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and release for the oppressed (4:18). Jesus’ healings and exorcisms announce the coming kingdom of God already present in the ministry of Jesus (4:40–44; 6:18–20; 8:1–2; 9:2; 10:8–9).

In the Gospel of John, Jesus testifies to the good news by way of signs throughout his ministry. These signs point to Jesus’ glory, his identity, and the significance of his ministry. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, who offers eternal and abundant life. This abundant life is lived out in community.

In the Gospel of John, the disciples of Jesus represent the community of God (17:21). The disciples did not belong to the world, but they continued to live in the world (17:14–16). Throughout his ministry, Jesus called his disciples to follow him. This was a call to loyalty (Matt. 10:32–40; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26), a call to the family of God (Matt. 12:48–50; Mark 3:33–35). Jesus’ declaration “On this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18) was preceded by the call to community. Jesus’ presence as the head of the community was replaced by the promised Spirit (John 14:16–18).

Jesus’ ministry continued in the community of Jesus’ followers, God’s family—the church. Entrance into the community was obtained by adopting the values of the kingdom, belief, and through the initiation rite of baptism (Matt. 10:37–39; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26, 57–62; John 1:12; 3:16; 10:27–29; Acts 2:38; 16:31–33; 17:30; Rom. 10:9).

The Quests for the Historical Jesus

The quest for the historical Jesus, or seeking who Jesus was from a historical perspective, is a modern phenomenon deemed necessary by scholars who claim that the NT Gospels were written long after Jesus’ death and were heavily influenced by the post-Easter understanding of the church.

The beginning of this quest is often dated to 1770, when the lecture notes of Hermann Samuel Reimarus were published posthumously. Reimarus had launched an inquiry into the identity of Jesus that rejected as inauthentic all supernatural elements in the Gospels. He concluded that the disciples invented Jesus’ miracles, prophecies, ritualistic religion, and resurrection. Reimarus’s conclusions were not widely accepted, but they set off a flurry of rationalistic research into the historical Jesus that continued throughout the nineteenth century. This became known as the “first quest” for the historical Jesus.

In 1906 German theologian Albert Schweit-zer published The Quest of the Historical Jesus (German title: Von Reimarus zu Wrede: Eine Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung), a scathing indictment of the first quest. Schweitzer’s work showed that nineteenth-century researchers re-created Jesus in their own image, transforming the historical Jesus into a modern philanthropist preaching an inoffensive message of love and brotherhood. Schweitzer’s conclusions marked the beginning of the end for this first quest. Schweitzer himself concluded that the historical Jesus was an eschatological prophet whose purposes failed during his last days in Jerusalem.

With the demise of the first quest, some NT scholars, such as Rudolf Bultmann, rejected any claim to being able to discover the historical Jesus. This trend continued until 1953, when some of Bultmann’s former students launched what has come to be known as the “new quest” for the historical Jesus (1953–c. 1970). This quest created new interest in the historical Jesus but was still dominated by the view that the portrait of Jesus in the Gospels is largely a creation of the church in a post-Easter setting.

As the rebuilding years of the post–World War II era waned and scholars started to reap academic fruit from major archaeological finds such as the DSS, research on the historical Jesus moved on to what has been called the “third quest.” This quest seeks especially to research and understand Jesus in his social and cultural setting.

Lunatic

In Matt. 17:15 the NASB translates the Greek verb selēniazetai as “he is a lunatic” to describe a demonically afflicted boy. The Greek word literally means “to be moonstruck” and is etymologically linked (as is the English word “lunatic”) to the belief that the moon’s phases provoke certain mental or spiritual afflictions. Several modern versions prefer translations of the Greek word that denote an epileptic condition (e.g., NIV: “he has seizures”; NRSV: “he is an epileptic”), as the context suggests (Matt. 17:14–21; Mark 9:14–29).

Medicine

Ancient Near Eastern Influences

Biblical Concept of Disease

Circulatory Diseases

Paralysis

Mental Illness and Brain Disorders

Childhood Diseases

Infectious and Communicable Diseases

Parasitic Diseases

Physical Deformities and Abnormalities

Diseases and Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears

Skin Conditions

Ailments of an Unknown Nature

Miracles

Terminology

The NT word “miracle” carries the meaning of power and therefore points to the supernatural source of these events (Luke 10:13; Acts 8:13).

Miracles in the Bible

Nativity of Christ

The founder of what became known as the movement of Jesus followers or Christianity. For Christian believers, Jesus Christ embodies the personal and supernatural intervention of God in human history.

Introduction

Jesus’ Life

The Identity of Jesus Christ

Jesus’ Purpose and Community

The Quests for the Historical Jesus

Paralysis

Ancient Near Eastern Influences

Biblical Concept of Disease

Circulatory Diseases

Paralysis

Mental Illness and Brain Disorders

Childhood Diseases

Infectious and Communicable Diseases

Parasitic Diseases

Physical Deformities and Abnormalities

Diseases and Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears

Skin Conditions

Ailments of an Unknown Nature

Physician

Ancient Near Eastern Influences

Biblical Concept of Disease

Circulatory Diseases

Paralysis

Mental Illness and Brain Disorders

Childhood Diseases

Infectious and Communicable Diseases

Parasitic Diseases

Physical Deformities and Abnormalities

Diseases and Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears

Skin Conditions

Ailments of an Unknown Nature

Sick

Ancient Near Eastern Influences

Biblical Concept of Disease

Circulatory Diseases

Paralysis

Mental Illness and Brain Disorders

Childhood Diseases

Infectious and Communicable Diseases

Parasitic Diseases

Physical Deformities and Abnormalities

Diseases and Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears

Skin Conditions

Ailments of an Unknown Nature

Sickness

Ancient Near Eastern Influences

Biblical Concept of Disease

Circulatory Diseases

Paralysis

Mental Illness and Brain Disorders

Childhood Diseases

Infectious and Communicable Diseases

Parasitic Diseases

Physical Deformities and Abnormalities

Diseases and Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears

Skin Conditions

Ailments of an Unknown Nature

Showing 1 to 50 of938 results

1. Why God Will Never Get Tenure at Any University

Illustration

1. Only published one book.
2. It was in Hebrew.
3. It had no references.
4. He did not publish it in referenced journals.
5. Some doubt He even wrote it Himself.
6. He is not known for His cooperative work.
7. Sure, He created the world, but what has He done lately?
8. He did not get permission from any review board to work with human subjects.
9. When one experiment went awry, He tried to cover it up by drowning all the subjects.
10. When sample subjects do not behave as predicted, He deletes the whole sample.
11. He rarely comes to class--just tells His students to read the Book.
12. It is rumored that He sometimes lets His Son teach the class.
13. Although He only has 10 requirements, His students often fail His tests.
14. He expelled His first two students for learning.
15. His office hours were infrequent and usually held on a mountain top.

2. What is Hope?

Illustration

Edmund L. Hoener

There is a theologian named Victor Havel who defined hope in this way. "Hope," he said, "Is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out."

I believe that part of what that means is that hope looks to the intrinsic value of people and of whatever we do. Hope determines the worthwhile-ness of someone or something at the very beginning, so that outcomes become secondary to that person, or that project's very existence.

3. Precious Lord, Take My Hand

Illustration

Wayne Brouwer

There is a familiar gospel song that breathes with both the pain and the urgency of Jesus' pleading challenge in these verses. Thomas Dorsey was born in 1899 with music in his soul. He was known as "Georgia Tom," entertainer and blues singer. When he became a Christian, his music took on more depth as Dorsey explored the profound spiritual blues of scripture.

In 1938, Dorsey was scheduled to be the lead singer at a series of revival meetings in St. Louis, Missouri. His wife was pregnant, and Dorsey grew more hesitant to leave her as the due date approached. But she knew the impact of his ministry, and urged her husband to keep his musical commitments for the sake of those who were seeking God. So he traveled the long road from Chicago to St. Louis.

On the first night of the revival, while Dorsey was already on the platform and the service was in progress, a telegram came. Dorsey's wife had died in a sudden and serious childbirth complication. Dorsey left for Chicago immediately, and found his infant son barely hanging onto life. The child died a few hours later. In a moving funeral service, Thomas Dorsey buried his beloved wife and tiny son in the same casket.

Despondency set in. The great blues singer wandered in a depression that seemed to know no limits. A friend took him in for a while, just to care for his physical needs. One evening, Dorsey wandered over to a piano and began to improvise on the keyboard. A melody gradually emerged, and the words soon followed. It sings in the heart of every person who has struggled to hold on to their faith in hard times

Precious Lord, take my hand,
Lead me on, help me stand,
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.
Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light.
Take my hand, precious Lord; lead me home.

When my way grows drear,
Precious Lord, linger near -
When my life is almost gone.
Hear my cry, hear my call,
Hold my hand lest I fall -
Take my hand, precious Lord; lead me home.

When the darkness appears,
And the night draws near,
And the day is past and gone,
At the river I stand,
Guide my feet, hold my hand,
Take my hand, precious Lord; lead me home.

4. Bashful Love

Illustration

Stephen M. Crotts

Pastor Stephen Crotts tells the following story: When I was in college my post office box was right next to a pretty little blonde's. She was a tanned Florida Freshman, if you know what I mean. And her name was Sally. Now John, a fellow on my hall, was secretly in love with Sally. And he kept trying to get me to switch post office boxes with him. That way he could be close to Sally. You see, John was painfully shy. Though he longed to know Sally, he couldn't muster the nerve to ask her out. So, he secretly loved her at a distance. Once he rode a bus four blocks past the place where he wanted to get off just so he could be near her a little longer. (She was in the front of the bus. He was at the rear.) He went to the administrative building and got a copy of her class schedule so he could just happen to be where she was. Another time he signed up for zoology because she would be in the class.

And, yes, I traded post office boxes with John. But it cost him! For three dollars, a coil of rope, a Spanish 101 book, and a nice ball point pen, John got my box next to Sally's. Well, come the school year's end, John finally summoned up the courage to ask Sally out for a date. She agreed. And over supper John confided in Sally, telling her of his year long love. And you know what? Sally said she'd loved John the whole year too! Think of all the joy they missed! Think of the romance and comfort and tenderness that will never be because their love was shy.

And aren't we bashful like John was with Sally when it comes to our own love affair with God? We are reluctant to draw near, timid to ask for help. We're shy to ask questions, to find out more about him. Yes, we're bashful lovers of God.

Our text for today tells us that the disciples, too, were shy with Christ. The Lord told them of his impending conflict with the Jewish authorities. He said he'd be killed and later rise from the dead. Such talk confused the disciples. Their minds buzzed with wonderment, but according to our text, "They did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant."

5. Learn How to Die and You Learn How to Live

Illustration

Mitch Albom

When Professor Morrie Schwartz was dying from ALS disease, a former student named Mitch Albom, now a sports writer, returned every Tuesday to visit with his old professor. Albom wrote his best-selling book, Tuesday's with Morrie, about the things he learned from his old professor in the weeks leading up to his death. On one of those visits, Morrie said, "Take any emotion - love for a woman, or grief for a loved one, or what I'm going through, fear and pain from a deadly illness. If you hold back on the emotions - if you don't allow yourself to go all the way through them - you can never get to being detached, you're too busy being afraid. You're afraid of the pain, you're afraid of the grief. You're afraid of the vulnerability that loving entails.

"But by throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and completely. You know what pain is. You know what love is. You know what grief is. And only then can you say, 'All right. I have experienced that emotion. I recognize that emotion. Now I need to detach from that emotion for a moment.'" Morrie stopped and looked me over, perhaps to make sure I was getting this right. "I know you think this is just about dying," he said, "but it's like I keep telling you. When you learn how to die, you learn how to live"

6. Labor Day

Illustration

King Duncan

Eiton Mayo, a professor at Harvard, once did a five-year study at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works in Chicago to find out what effect fatigue and monotony had on productivity. He stumbled onto a motivation principle that revolutionized the theory and practice of management. Mayo took five workers off the assembly line and put them under the watchful eye of a friendly supervisor. Then he started to make frequent changes in their work conditions. But he always discussed the changes in advance. He changed their work hours, number of breaks, and lunch times. Occasionally, he would switch back to the original, more difficult working conditions. To his surprise, changing back to the tougher conditions didn't adversely affect production. Instead, it kept going up. The professor realized that by singling out certain workers, he raised their self-esteem. They developed a friendly relationship with the supervisor and soon began to feel more like part of a team. Exercising a freedom they never had before, the workers talked, joked, and began meeting socially after work. Mayo and the supervisor had their cooperation and loyalty. That explained why production levels rose even when rest breaks were taken away. The part of the study dwelling on positive effects of benign supervision and the effort to make workers feel like they're part of a team became known as the Hawthorne Effect. We still see this used in management today.

7. IN DOUBT? FAITH IT!

Illustration

John H. Krahn

When I was in the hospital, I received many cards. Among them was one that had an actual mustard seed in a little container pasted on the front of it along with the words, "For if you had faith even as small as a tiny mustard seed you could say to this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would go away. Nothing would be impossible." A mustard seed is really no big deal. But from this small seed grows a very large plant in a very short period of time.

Using a tiny mustard seed, Jesus suggests a very remarkable thing. He says that if our faith is only as large as this very small seed, we can do great things, as great as moving a mountain from one location to another. In fact, he says, "Nothing would be impossible for us." As Jesus talks to us about a mountain-moving faith, some of us possess a mountain of doubt.

It has been my experience that those who doubt more than they believe try to subject God to the limits of their own reason. They want God on their terms, according to their own rationale. They seem to say that if they were God, things would have been done differently. And right here, I believe, is the crux of the problem. They see themselves as God. For to be wiser than God is to be God.

If we really want to get to know God, it is better to begin with faith. What we really need is a faith that seeks understanding rather than an understanding that seeks faith. To put it another way, "In Doubt? Faith It!" No matter how little our faith might be - even if it is smaller than a mustard seed - God is saying to us today that there is great potential for its growth.

8. Three Small Steps in Our Faith Journey - Sermon Starter

Illustration

Brett Blair

One day the great Michelangelo attracted a crowd of spectators as he worked. One child in particular was fascinated by the sight of chips flying and the sound of mallet on chisel. The master was shaping a large block of white marble. Unable to contain her curiosity, the little girl inquired, "What are you making?" He replied, "There is an angel in there and I must set it free."

Every Christian at their confirmation or conversion is handed a large cold white marble block called religion. We must then take the mallet in hand and set to work. Religion is not our goal but we must first start there. Now there are many names for religion. At times we do call it religion but we often use other words and images to describe it. Sometimes we call it our faith. Jesus spoke in terms of the Kingdom of God. We say we are the Church, Christians, or Disciples. There are many names with varying nuances of meaning but in the end they all describe the same thing. We are a people of Faith, faith in Christ to be sure, but faith nonetheless.

We are not a business or institution. We do not sell or produce anything. We advocate no earthly cause. We serve no worldly authority. We come to a church building made by men. And to do what? Practice our faith. But we just as well could have met on a hillside or cave.

Our leader is not here, not so that I can show him to you or offer irrefutable evidence of his existence. That means faith is all we have. We are born through faith, live by faith, and die in faith. After my death, then and only then will I know in full, as the Apostle Paul says, when I see Jesus face to face. Until then I had better understand this religion thing. Now that sounds pretty daunting doesn’t it? Here’s the good News. It’s not all that difficult. Religion is a marble slab and we have to find, like Michelangelo, the angel inside.

Chisel with me a few minutes this morning and let the chips fly, and let’s find the faith that lives inside. Faith: it is the angel of our religion. Faith can set us free if we know how to live it. How do you practice your faith and not just religion? Jesus outlined faith in Luke 17. He explained there are three simple ways to exercise faith. Three small steps make up our journey of faith.

1. The First Step Is Learning to Forgive (4).
2. The Second Step Is Learning to Believe (6).
3. The Third Step Is Learning to Serve (10).

9. Eyes on the Unseen

Illustration

Larry Powell

The first scripture selection relates the healing of a man "who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech." Although nothing is mentioned regarding the faith of the man who was healed, faith was yet an active ingredient in the healing as exhibited by those who resolutely brought the man to Jesus. In verse 34, the phrase "looking up to heaven," underscores the intimate relationship with God that Jesus brought to that moment. Similarly, I have read that when Francis of Assisi preached, he never looked at his hearers, but instead fixed his eyes upon the sky as if expecting Christ to appear before he had completed the next sentence. Jesus, "looking up to heaven," apparently sought to acknowledge and intensify the power of God in his life for this moment of healing.

In our second passage, faith again is important to the healing, but this time it is the faith of the person to be healed, Bartimaeus. By faith, Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus even after being rebuked by those around him: "but he cried out all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me" (v. 48). Although blind, he threw off his cloak and ran to where Jesus was standing. Jesus said, "What do you want me to do for you?" and by faith Bartimaeus replied, "Master, let me receive my sight" (v. 51). Jesus’ reply underscores the point; "Go your way; your FAITH has made you well" (v. 52).

A congregation I once served included a young man who had been deaf from birth. He was a big, robust, handsome fellow whose sweet spirit enabled him to smile easily. During worship, he stood for the hymns and responsive readings, and participated as best he could in the entire service. During the sermon, his eyes were steadily fixed upon my lips, and in those few times when he was unable to lip-read what I was saying, he would turn to the young lady beside him and "sign" for clarification. I remember the day that he and the young lady came to my study to make plans for their wedding. She asked such questions as necessary and signed to him at intervals. As I spoke, she continued to interpret, even though he seemed already to understand. During the wedding ceremony, they held written copies of the vows and signed their pledges to each other. Before I left that congregation to acccept another appointment, the young man underwent an operation which enabled him to hear his first sounds. That was the first step. By God’s grace, one day, perhaps even now, he will be able to listen to all those things which you and I have grown accustomed to. Although different than the deaf man who was brought to Jesus, it will be a genuine miracle of healing, and it will have been done for one who has cried out from the silence in faith.

We are far removed in time and space from ancient Jericho where our Scriptures relate two of our Lord’s healings. However, as a society and as individuals, we yet stand in need of the healing touch.

Charles H. Scott’s familiar hymn says it well; "Open my eyes that I may see, glimpses of truth Thou hast for me ... Open my ears that I may hear voices of truth Thou sendest clear." And then the all-important third verse concludes, "Open my mouth and let me bear gladly the warm truth everywhere."

10. Courage

Illustration

Mark Trotter

I remember Paul Tillich, the great theologian, defined faith as courage. That is just wonderful. He said that is what faith will look like when you see it. It will look like courage. What faith is, is acting on your trust that God is faithful. Most of the time, if you are doing anything worthwhile, it is done on faith, and it takes courage.

Most people think the opposite of faith is doubt. They think, "I have some doubts, therefore I don't have faith." Well faith doesn't remove doubt. Faith is courage to go into an unknown future in spite of the doubts. Faith doesn't remove fear either. Faith is the courage to do the right thing even when your knees are trembling. Faith doesn't remove disappointments, or guarantee victory. Faith is the courage to keep on going even when you want to give up, but you keep on going.

That is what faith looks like. Madeleine L'Engel put it perfectly. "I don't have to have some special qualification to do what I have to do. All I have to do is have the courage to go on and do it."

11. Faith Needs Daily Exercise

Illustration

Charles Kirkpatrick

One day my wife brought a jar and asked me to open it for her. I tried and tried to open that jar, but my hands just weren't strong enough to hold the jar tightly and turn the lid. It is a little embarrassing to a man when a woman asks him to open a jar and he can't do it, so I decided that I needed to increase the strength in my hands. I got a hand exerciser to help me. You have probably seen one of these. You just squeeze the two sides together, like this. If you don't have one of these, you can do the same type of exercise by squeezing a rubber ball. By exercising my hands every day, I know, they will get stronger and stronger. Then maybe I won't be embarrassed the next time my wife asks me to open a jar for her.

Faith is like a muscle. You have to exercise it every day to make it strong. Sometimes we say that we have faith in God. We say that we believe that He can do anything, but then we act as if everything depends on us. That isn't a very strong faith, is it?

Jesus told his disciples that if they had as much faith as a tiny mustard seed, they could tell a tree to move from one place to another, and the tree would obey them. Now, that is a strong faith, isn't it? I wish I had as much faith as a mustard seed. Maybe I will if I keep exercising it. I can exercise my faith by trusting in God each and every day. How strong is your faith? Does it need a little daily exercise?

12. BE EASTER PEOPLE

Illustration

John H. Krahn

After the tomb was found empty and Jesus appeared to the early church on many occasions, doubt disappeared, and the early church had overwhelming confidence in the Lord. The church today must live and be about its ministry with the same Easter confidence. We say we rely on God’s mercy for our salvation; we need to give over all areas of our lives to God’s control. What aspects of ourselves are outside God’s control? Our temper? Our money? Our time? We need join the psalmist and say, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Our trust in the Lord must be complete. We are no longer defeated people but powerful Easter people. Little children in danger or in despair literally run and throw themselves into the arms of their mother. This is confident faith. When was the last time we ran and thrust ourselves onto the Lord? A cautious step in his direction is better than none at all, but believing with abandonment is called forth by an empty tomb. God wants us to fall head over heels in love with him so he can bring the greatest joy and purpose possible into our lives.

God also encourages us to hold fast to hope without wavering. Scripture says, "Where there is no hope, the people perish." Too many of us view too much of our lives and the world as hopeless. Without hope, no great strides will be made in the future; there is no venturesome faith without hope. Without hope we burrow into the ground and live the life of a mole instead of walking freely in God’s sunlight. In a difficult situation, a hopeful people find the challenge and opportunity to do something great with God.

Confident in our faith, with an unwavering hope, the Lord also encourages us to stir up one another to love and good works. We must do something. Faith and hope must move from the abstract to the particular.

Easter people are called upon to celebrate the Festival of the Resurrection each Sunday, for each Sunday is a little Easter. "... Not neglecting to meet together," is how it is written in Hebrews. To break fellowship with the worshiping community is to pursue a weakening faith. It is also a form of denial of all that Christ means. True faith, strong faith, is never faith in isolation but must always be faith shared and strengthened through regular worship. We must encourage one another to be regular in worship and strong in the faith.

The end is drawing near. The Lord will return soon to reclaim his fallen creation. When the Lord of the church comes again, how will he find us? Will we be acting like people who have been touched by the meaning of the cross and the empty tomb? Therefore, let us continue to draw near to the Lord with a true heart and a confident faith. We hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering. We consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. We do not neglect to worship but encourage one another. In sum, we will all be Easter people.

13. How Much Faith Is Enough Faith?

Illustration

John Jewell

Have you ever had a time when you were faced with an incredible obstacle or a heart wrenching burden and thought, "If only I had more faith!"

There was a young couple who went to a new church shortly after burying their eight year old son. The boy had suffered from a degenerative neurological disease for which there was no treatment. Parents and physicians alike could only watch as the disease slowly stole the boy's life. The heartbroken couple had been committed members of a church where people were taught that God would heal any illness if only those who prayed for healing had enough faith. During the wake one of the members of that church approached the mother, took her hand and said with what can only be called chastisement thinly disguised as sympathy, "If only you had been able to pray with enough faith, your son wouldn't have died."

As you might well imagine ex-members of this destructive fringe live with a horrendous sense of guilt. Can you imagine what it would be like to believe that your child died because you didn't have enough faith to save her or him? It took months for the father of that little boy to begin to hope that his son didn't die because of his lack of faith. The mother never did get free from her guilt. Their former church was "based on the bible" and how the pastor quoted over and over again:

"If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." [Lk 17:6]

There are times when we do face mountains -- or deeply rooted issues in our lives we would dearly love to see removed.

Have you ever been in such a place in your life? The life issues are different for all of us, but the result is similar. When our prayers seem to be of no avail, it makes us feel as though we fall into the category Jesus aimed at when he said, "O ye of little faith!" At times like this, I join the disciples in today's scripture pleading with Jesus, "Increase my faith!"

14. Great Is Your Faith - Sermon Starter

Illustration

Brett Blair

What would you think if I told you that on your tombstone would be inscribed a four-word epitaph? Well, you might respond, it would depend on who would write this epitaph an enemy or a loved one. It might also depend, you might say, on how well this person knew and understood you. If a newspaper critic wrote of a concert pianist the four words: "He was a failure," you could always say: That was his opinion. But if one of the world's great musicians wrote, "He was a genius," then you are apt to take the remark more seriously.

There was a character in the Gospel who Jesus once described with four immortal words: Great is your faith. She was a Canaanite woman who came from the country to the north of Palestine, a country hostile to the Jews. She was presumably married, she had at least one child; but that's all we know about her. We don't know whether she was a good woman or a bad woman. We don't know her name. All we know of her is that in this single encounter with Jesus he spoke to her this four-word epitaph: Great is your faith.

Only four words but they are enough to make her immortal. We can trust these words as being true because the expert on faith spoke them. Jesus searched for faith, as a gem collector would fine jewels. He did not always find it in his disciples. On no occasion that we know did he ever say of Peter, James, and John: Great is your faith. More often the words he spoke to them: You of little faith. On only one other occasion did Jesus praise a person for their faith. Interestingly, that was a Roman soldier stationed in Capernaum.

We regard this Canaanite woman with more than just an academic interest. She awakens in us a feeling of admiration, perhaps even envy, because she stands where most of us would like to stand. What faithful Christian would not like it said of him or her: Great is your faith? Think of what it would mean if an aspiring young artist had Picasso place his hand on his shoulder and say: You have a great talent. How wonderful it would be then to a believer in God, if Jesus would place his hand on our shoulder and say: You have a remarkable talent for faith. But how does one qualify for this praise? What does one have to do? To answer these questions let us take a closer look at her story.

1. Crossing Barriers
2. Refusing to Be Put Off
3. Going in Faith and Humility

15. Feeling, Faith and Fact

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Three men were walking on a wall,
Feeling, Faith, and Fact.
When Feeling got an awful fall,
Then Faith was taken back.

So close was Faith to Feeling,
That he stumbled and fell too.
But Fact remained and pulled Faith back,
And Faith brought Feeling too.

16. The Size of Faith

Illustration

Vince Gerhardy

The size of faith doesn’t matter because God is the one doing the moving.

If it is my faith that moved the mountain, then the bigger the mountain, the more faith I would need to move it.

The bigger the obstacle, the more strength I’d need to climb it.

The more serious the illness, a faith even greater would be required to overcome it.

The more serious the sin, the more faith I would need in order to have it forgiven.

That kind of thinking kind of makes sense, but that’s not how faith works. In fact, faith doesn’t do the work at all. And thank God for that.

God is the one doing the work through faith. Think of faith as the key that opens the door to God acting in our lives. If I have a bigger key ring than you do, does it matter? The size of a key ring doesn’t matter. Key rings don’t open doors, but it’s that little key on the ring that opens doors. Even a little faith opens the door for God to move the mountains and trees and even our hearts.

17. Impossible Is Nothing

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

One of the most popular college religion texts, Phil Zuckermann's Invitation to the Sociology of Religion (2003) says that the truth claims of religion are "mind-boggling, implausible,"fantastical," "manifestly unbelievable."

I say: Now you're talking, Dr. Zuckermann. For the very category of "impossible" is God's category. The impossible is the very definition of God. So if you tell me, the truth claims of Jesus are "impossible," I say...Hallelujah! It's only when you cross the border from the possible to the impossible that you're in God's territory. Faith does NOT stand to reason.

Or to quote Adidas, who stole one of our lines like the t-shirt company "No Fear" stole another one (and owes Christianity massive royalty payments): "Impossible is Nothing."

You tell me the incarnation is "impossible."

I say: Impossible is nothing. For "impossible" is the canon of faith, not the category of logic. It's the "madness of the impossible."

18. WE HAVE GREAT POTENTIAL

Illustration

John H. Krahn

Until Jesus Christ permeates every fiber of our being, we can never begin to appreciate the power and potentiality available in us. We continue to doubt whether we can do this or that or be what we want to be. Yet, God wants us to reach the heights of our created potential. God wants us to develop a faith that can handle both problems and opportunities. He desires that we capture his vision of our worth and our latent abilities.

Some time ago I saw the play Man of La Mancha. I believe it illustrates what I am saying. The man of La Mancha comes to a wayside inn. Here the camel drivers stop. He sees Aldonza, the waitress, there. She is also the local prostitute. Aldonza is dirty and smells from perspiration. "Ho, my lady. You will be my lady ... every knight needs a lady, and you will be my lady. And I will give you a new name, it will no longer be Aldonza but Dulcinea." She looks at him in amazement. "Me, your lady, ha!" she kicks up her heels, grabs a sack of money out of his hand, runs off the stage. Every time the man of La Mancha sees her, he says, "You are a lady, you have a new name. I have given it to you. It is Dulcinea."

The curtain opens on another scene ... the stage is empty. It’s night. Suddenly Aldonza comes on stage. Her hair is disheveled; she has blood and dirt and mud on her; her skirt is torn. She’s been raped. Hysterical, she runs confused and crying to the middle of the stage. Off to the side enters the man of La Mancha. When he sees her, he says, "Ho, my lady." To which she replies, "Don’t call me a lady. Look at me; I was born in a ditch; my mother left me naked and cold and too hungry to cry. I never blamed her; I’m sure she left hoping I would have the good sense to die. Ah ... look at me, I’m no lady, I’m only a kitchen slut, reeking with sweat, a strumpet men use and forget. Oh God, I am no lady; I am only Aldonza. I am nothing at all." Then she runs away and is gone.

And now it is the last scene. The man of La Mancha, like Jesus of Nazareth, has been despised, rejected by men, a man of sorrow, acquainted with grief. He is dying, like our Lord, from a broken heart. While on his deathbed, a courtly woman comes to his side. She has a beautiful mantilla which covers her modestly. She kneels beside him and says, "My lord, my lord."

Through a haze he looks at her and asks, "Who are you?"

"My lord, look, don’t you remember? Try to remember, my lord. You sang the song, remember ... to dream the impossible dream, to fight the unbeatablc foe. My lord you gave me a new name. You called me your lady."

And through eyes clouded with death he recognizes her and says, "Dulcinea," and he dies.

God has given all of us great potential. He believes in us and wants to help us lead full and useful lives. We need to join God in his faith in us. An ever-deepening faith in Jesus Christ is the best way to accomplish this. Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest and bless us with a doubt-cleansing faith, a possibility - expanding faith, a faith that opens up our great potential.

19. Devout of this World

Illustration

Elizabeth Gilbert

The devout of this world perform their rituals without guarantee that anything good will ever come of it. Of course there are plenty of scriptures and plenty of priests who make plenty of promises as to what your good works will yield (or threats as to the punishments awaiting you if you lapse), but to even believe all this is an act of faith, because nobody amongst us is shown the endgame. Devotion is diligence without assurance. Faith is a way of saying, 'Yes, I pre-accept the terms of the universe and I embrace in advance what I am presently incapable of understanding.' There's a reason we refer to 'leaps of faith' because the decision to consent to any notion of divinity is a mighty jump from the rational over to the unknowable, and I don't care how diligently scholars of every religion will try to sit you down with their stacks of books and prove to you through scripture that their faith is indeed rational; it isn't. If faith were rational, it wouldn't be by definition faith. Faith is belief in what you cannot see or prove or touch. Faith is walking face-first and full-speed into the dark. If we truly know all the answers in advance to the meaning of life and the nature of God and the destiny of our souls, our belief would not be a leap of faith and it would not be a courageous act of humanity; it would just be . . . a prudent insurance policy.

20. The Exercise of Faith

Illustration

If you do not use your right arm, it will eventually lose all its power to move. Its muscles must be exercised to stay alive. If you have faith, you must exercise this also. If you don't, it dies.

A widely known professor in a New England university started out as a practicing Christian, a man of faith. Over the years, however, this all changed. He became known as an agnostic, or an atheist even. He said, concerning that change, that he never consciously abandoned faith. He said, "It was as though I had just put it away in a drawer, and later when I looked for it, it wasn't there." Of course it wasn't; the man had let faith die for want of exercise.

If you have faith, keep it out and keep it active. Faith does not survive packed in an old trunk or kept in cold storage. Some fine musical instruments must be played to survive; leave them idle and they will no longer make music for you. Use the faith you've got, and it will grow stronger; fail to use it, and it will weaken and perish. Exercise your faith!

There are many ways of doing this: helping others, loving them; forgiving others, living nobly; firmly holding high ideals and going straight. But your faith is best exercised when you ask it to do the thing it alone has the power to do, when you ask it to lift up your soul for the touch of God. This you do when you truly worship him.

21. You Can't Inherit Faith

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

Somewhere recently I read this statement: “Most of the 500 wealthiest Americans got their money the old-fashioned way -- they inherited it!”

That may be the case with money, but it is not true with the most important things of life. It’s not true of character. Of course, we are influenced in character by our parents, but our own character is our own doing, by our own choices, the way we choose to live.

We may inherit money, but we do not inherit faith. Someone put it in a catchy line: “God has no grandchildren.”

Faith must be first-hand, personal, appropriated by each person. Too many of us are seeking to live on borrowed faith. The 500 wealthiest Americans may have gotten their wealth the old-fashioned way -- by inheriting it -- but we don’t get character and faith that way. They’re not inherited, they’re claimed, personally, and cultivated.

22. Luke's Stories

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

Luke is fond of telling stories of faith. In his stories Luke narrates scenes in which trust in the spoken word from God is the very essence of faith.

It all begins with an old priest named Zechariah. This is the first story that Luke tells us in his Gospel. One day, Luke writes, the lot fell to Zechariah to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. As he was about to perform this sacred task, however, an angel of the Lord appeared to him standing just to the right of the altar. Zechariah was troubled. Fear fell upon him. The angel spoke words of comfort to Zechariah. "Do not be afraid, Zechariah," the angel said, "for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John" (Luke 1:13). The angel Gabriel went on to announce to Zechariah that his son John would be filled with the Holy Spirit and would make the way ready for the Messiah to come. Zechariah had heard a word spoken to him from God. Zechariah had heard a word from Gabriel announcing new realities that were to come to pass.

Of such stuff is faith composed as Luke tells the story. Faith, or unfaith! Zechariah heard the word from God. He did not believe it! "How will I know that this is so?" Zechariah demanded of the angel (Luke 1:18). "I'm an old man and my wife is old too. How can this word be?" "I am Gabriel," the angel shot back. "How will I know?" said Zechariah. "I am Gabriel," came the reply. And the angel continued. "... because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur" (Luke 1:20). "You did not believe my words." That is the heart of Zechariah's unbelief. Mary is next in line. Six months into Elizabeth's pregnancy Gabriel spoke words from God to Mary. "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28).

That was Gabriel's greeting to Mary. Like Zechariah before her, Mary was troubled and afraid at the sound of the angel's voice. Gabriel spoke to her as he had spoken to Zechariah: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus" (Luke 1:31). Mary, like Zechariah, heard a word spoken to her from God. Mary, too, is unsure. "How can this be," she protests, "since I am a virgin?" (Luke 1:34). Gabriel told Mary that it will be because the Holy Spirit will make it happen. Mary was satisfied. She spoke great words of faith. "Here I am," she said, "the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). "You did not believe my words," said Gabriel to Zechariah. That is the heart of Zechariah's unfaith. "...let it be with me according to your word," were Mary's words to Gabriel. This is the heart of Mary's faith.

Faith is called into being by a word spoken from God. A centurion in Capernaum grasped this reality very well. "Only say the word ...," the centurion said. Luke presents this rather unlikely fellow, this centurion, this stranger to Israel, this foreigner as a model of faith. "Only say the word ...."

23. The Little V-8 Engine That Could

Illustration

Napolean Hill

Automobile genius Henry Ford once came up with a revolutionary plan for a new kind of engine which we know today as the V-8. Ford was eager to get his great new idea into production. He had some men draw up the plans, and presented them to the engineers. As the engineers studied the drawings, one by one they came to the same conclusion. Their visionary boss just didn't know much about the fundamental principles of engineering. He'd have to be told gently his dream was impossible. Ford said, "Produce it anyway." They replied, "But it's impossible." "Go ahead," Ford commanded, "and stay on the job until you succeed, no matter how much time is required."

For six months they struggled with drawing after drawing, design after design. Nothing. Another six months. Nothing. At the end of the year Ford checked with his engineers and they once again told him that what he wanted was impossible. Ford told them to keep going. They did. And they discovered how to build a V-8 engine.

24. A Faithful Harlot

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

What's a bad girl like you doing in a list like this? The author of the book of Hebrews tells of a great cloud of witnesses that surround us in our own faith walk. The usual biblical heroes and heroines are there. The biggest surprise in the list is Rahab. Rahab was not an Israelite after all. She was a harlot who plied her trade in pre-Israelite Jericho. Who is this woman anyway? And what is she doing in a list like this?

Rahab's story is told in the Old Testament book of Joshua. In the story we hear that Jericho was next on Joshua's list of cities to be conquered. Joshua sent two spies into Jericho to size up the task of triumphing over this great city. After sneaking into the city they were made welcome in the house of a harlot. That's how Rahab entered Israel's story.

The king of Jericho had spies of his own, of course. They informed him that Rahab was housing two spies of the people of Israel. The king of Jericho, therefore, sent a message to Rahab calling upon her to take a great patriotic action and give up the spies. But the king's message had come to late. Rahab had already hidden the spies on her roof. She told the king's messengers that two unknown men had come to her house but that they had left the city before the gate was closed the night before. "You can probably catch them if you hurry," she told them.

Then Rahab went to the Israelite spies on her roof. The intent of her mission is astounding. She confesses to them her faith in the God who has brought them here! "I know that the Lord has given you the land," she said to them, "and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt .... The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below" (Joshua 2:9-11). The author of Hebrews has it right. Rahab is a woman of faith. She has heard the stories of the Lord's deliverance and she has believed. In Rahab we meet a harlot who believes; a sinner who is a saint.

Now Rahab had a request for the spies sent by Joshua. "Give me a sign of good faith," she says to them, "that you will spare my father and mother, my brother and sisters and all who belong to them and deliver our lives from death" (Joshua 2:12-13). The spies agreed. "Our life for yours!" they promise her.

Rahab then let the men down a rope from her window that they might escape the city. She gave them complete escape instructions. The spies promised again that they would remember their oath to protect Rahab and her family. They gave Rahab a scarlet cord and told her to let it hang from the window of their escape. This would be a sign of protection for Rahab and her family would all be spared because of the sign. "According to your words, so be it," Rahab declared (Joshua 2:21). How nearly do Mary's words in response to the angel's promise match those of Rahab! Mary said, "... let it be with me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). Was Rahab Mary's teacher in faith?

Joshua and the army of Israel soon conquered the city of Jericho. The sign of faith, the scarlet cord, hung from Rahab's window. Rahab and her family were saved by her faith. Faith bloomed in a powerful way in this person we would least expect. That's what Rahab is doing in a list like this."

25. Believing What You Cannot See

Illustration

Richard Mayhue

Augustine said, "What is faith, unless it is to believe what you cannot see." This is the obvious description, but scripture has quite a bit to say about what exactly faith is:

Definition of faith: Hebrews 11:1.
Faith is derived from the Word of God: Romans 10:17
Faith's demand: Hebrews 11:6
Faith's design: 2 Corinthians 5:7
The dualism of faith: Hebrews 4:2
Faith's duty: Romans 1:17 live by it.

26. Before The Sun Sets

Illustration

Staff

The supper table hadn't yet been cleared. Coffee cups were still half full. And the children had been excused from the table. They knew that something was not right between their parents, they could tell. Their mother had been tight-lipped during the earlier part of the meal. Their father had not said much which was unusual because he always had a story or two to tell. But tonight it was different. Without any protest the children left the table and went to do their homework.

When the doors had been closed and the children safely out of earshot the discussion began. It may have been nothing too much to worry about, but it was something that had been bothering her for a week now. Why, she wanted to know, did he insist on stating his opinion publicly? Why couldn't he simply remain quiet instead of having to always speak?

She had been brought up in a home where she had been taught to keep opinions to one's self. People didn't care what you thought. That's what she'd been taught by her parents. For all of her life she had followed their instruction. She couldn't remember a time when she had stated an opinion publicly. Granted, in their own home she would express herself but not in public. And now her husband had spoken once too often. She intended to let him know.

Whispered words can also be intense words. They didn't raise their voices. They didn't have to. She told him; he listened. He explained that in his home people were always encouraged to speak their mind. Let people know what you think. That's what his father had always told him.

The children knew that the discussion was over when they heard the dishes clanking in the sink. Their father walked the dog and then their mother had tucked them in.

Early the next morning, as each of the children came into the kitchen their mother confided in them.

"Last night you know that your father and I had an argument." Each of the children knew that. It had been impossible to conceal the fact.

"You may wonder why." In fact, each did.

"The cause of the argument is not really of concern to you. But I will tell you why we talked at the table. Because when we got married the minister placed his hand on ours and said, 'Don't ever let the sun go down on anger.' Your father and I have always followed that counsel. Because we have always cleared the air before retiring for the night our marriage has held together. We want you children to know that conflict will happen, differences will appear. But your marriage stands a better chance if you never let the sun go down on anger."

The children learned about one of the most important parts of their parents' relationship. They never let the sun set on their anger.

27. Faith and Power

Illustration

Larry Powell

Mark 4:37-41 is one of the many passages in the Bible which has been set to music. "Master, the tempest is raging! The billows are tossing high! The sky is o’er shadowed with blackness ..." You recognize it. From childhood, we have sung the words to "Peace Be Still" and have loved to lift the refrain which concludes, "they all shall sweetly obey thy will ..." Two primary elements are underscored in both the scripture and the hymn: the power of Christ and faith in Christ.

The Gospel according to Mark characterizes the ministry of Jesus as being a succession of "mighty works," indicative of his Sonship. Actually, the stilling of the storm is only the beginning of a series of incidents portraying the power of Christ. After the storm experience on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and the disciples came to the other side of the sea into the country of the Gerasenes. Here they encountered a man who lived among the tombs, crying out in travail both day and night, inflicting injury upon himself and striking fear into the hearts of all who chance to see him. Frequently, he had been subdued and bound with chains, but such was his deranged agony that he tore away the fetters and ran about the tombs as a wild man. In a great display of power, Jesus freed the man from his torment (5:13) and "all marveled. Then, crossing to the other side of the sea, Jesus encountered a certain Janus, a ruler of the synagogue, who prevailed upon him to accompany him to his home and heal his daughter" (5:23). On the way to the home of Janus Jesus was "touched" by a desperate woman who had hemorraged for twelve years and, according to Mark 5:29, so great was the power of Jesus that the woman was immediately healed simply by touching his clothing. Not to be minimized here is Jesus’ statement to the woman; "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed from your disease" (5:34). Now the word comes that during the interval, Janus’ daughter has died. Reassuring Janus, Jesus said, "Do not fear, only believe." Approaching the house Jesus observed a gathering of people loudly mourning the death of the girl. Everyone was asked to wait outside the house save the little girl’s parents and the disciples who had been selected to accompany Jesus to the house, Peter, James, and John. "Taking her by the hand, he said to her, ‘Talitha cumi’ which means ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’ And immediately the girl got up and walked" (5:41-42).

Power! That is the theme of Mark’s section dealing with three successive miracles of Jesus. Read again the refrain of "Peace, Be Still" and see how it applied to each of the three incidents. See also the summons for faith. The disciples were scolded for their lack of faith, the woman with the issue of blood was rewarded because of her faith, and Janus was encouraged to intensify the faith he already had exhibited by falling at the feet of Jesus. Desperation characterizes all three encounters, and all three contain the enacted teaching that the power of Christ is but half of the whole; the other half, which taps this power, is faith. Ironically, it would appear that we, too, learn the lesson best in times of desperation.

28. Two Main Expressions of Faith

Illustration

Christopher D. Marshall

In Mark's story it is possible to distinguish two main expressions or applications of faith, which we may call "kerygmatic faith" and "Petitionary faith."

(a) Kerygmatic faith denotes the believing acceptance of Jesus' proclamation of the dawning kingdom, a response entailing ethical conversion and a commitment of reliant trust upon Jesus as the bearer of the Kingdom. (1:15)

(b) Petitionary faith denotes the concrete act of believing trust required of those who seek the operation of kingdom power.

The very fact that Mark uses the response of Bartimaeus to illustrate simultaneously petitionary faith and kerygmatic faith (10:46-52) is clear evidence that he conceives of no fundamental structural difference between both expressions of "pistis."

29. No Imitations

Illustration

Martin Luther

The question is asked: how can justification take place without the works of the law, even though James says: "Faith without works is dead"? In answer, the apostle distinguishes between the law and faith, the letter and grace. The 'works of the law' are works done without faith and grace, by the law, which forces them to be done through fear or the enticing promise of temporal advantages. But 'works of faith' are those done in the spirit of liberty, purely out of love to God. And they can be done only by those who are justified by faith.

An ape can cleverly imitate the actions of humans. But he is not therefore a human. If he became a human, it would undoubtedly be not by vurtue of the works by which he imitated man but by virtue of something else; namely, by an act of God. Then, having been made a human, he would perform the works of humans in proper fashion.

Paul does not say that faith is without its characteristic works, but that it justifies without the works of the law. Therefore justification does not require the works of the law; but it does require a living faith, which performs its works.

30. The Holy Spirit Doesn't Have A Copy Machine

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

The wind of the Spirit blew through St. Mary's Parish but it did not seem to touch the life of Maria Sanchez. Maria had been a faithful member of St. Mary's Parish all of her life. She was baptized there, confirmed there, married there. And yet, when the Spirit blew new life into the lives of so many in the parish, Maria felt excluded.

Some called this blowing of God the "charismatic movement." Whatever it was called it certainly touched the lives of some of the members of St. Mary's in very special ways. Some spoke in tongues for the first time in their lives. Others spoke words of prophecy while others interpreted prophetic words and still others experienced the power of healing.

Maria Sanchez knew these people whose lives had been touched by God in new ways. She was excited for them. She joined them in some of their special prayer meetings. Maria's friends knew of the depth of her faith. This was not in question, at least not in the beginning. Maria was welcomed into their fellowship. She was excited to be there. She experienced the gifts of the Spirit as others exercised them. None of these new gifts were manifested in her life, however. That's where the problem arose.

Maria's newly "spirit-filled" friends wanted to pray for her with the laying on of hands so that she might also be filled with the Spirit and experience the work of God's Spirit in her life in new ways. Maria was more than willing to be prayed for. So the prayer fellowship prayed for Maria.

They prayed -- but nothing happened. No new gifts of the Spirit, that is, became manifest in Maria's life. They prayed for Maria at the next meeting as well. And the next and the next and the next! But -- nothing! It seemed 29to Maria that the matter got focused on the gift of speaking in tongues. "Everyone ought to have this gift," the others told her as they prayed and prayed for her. "Speaking in tongues is a sign of increased holiness," they told Maria.

The prayers did not seem to work, however. Maria Sanchez did not speak in tongues. She did not prophesy nor interpret prophetic utterances nor acquire new and greater faith nor experience new healing power. All the prayers seemed to be in vain. Maria Sanchez experienced all of this as a source of great guilt. What was the matter with her? What was wrong with her faith life? Why couldn't she speak in tongues? In the company of her "spirit-filled" friends she could only see herself as a spiritual failure.

One day Maria's aunt came to visit her. Maria knew her Aunt Carmen to be a woman of great faith. Maria told her aunt of her experiences with her spiritual friends and of her own despair over God's lack of presence in her life. Aunt Carmen heard Maria's story of pain and replied in great wisdom. "The Holy Spirit has been at work in your life ever since you were baptized," Aunt Carmen began. "It is the Spirit that has taught you to have faith in Jesus. It is the Spirit that has given you your many gifts for the common good of God's people. The Holy Spirit doesn't have a copy machine. Only you have been given the gifts that you have. The Spirit doesn't want you to be like anyone else. The Spirit gives each one of us a different assortment of gifts. Our spiritual task is to use the gifts the Spirit gives us for the common good.""

31. Pastoral Prayer

Illustration

Brett Blair

D-Day for WWII was June 6, 1944 — the day on which the Battle of Normandy began — commencing the Western Allied effort to liberate mainland Europe from Nazi occupation during World War II. President Roosevelt composed a prayer and delivered it on the radio that evening. What follows is the full text of that address:

My Fellow Americans,

Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our Allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

And for us at home fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas, whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

Many people have urged that I call the nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.

Give us strength, too strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.

And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.

And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade. Let not the keeness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

Thy will be done, Almighty God.

Amen.

Note: We offer this as a possible pastoral prayer during times of war or conflict. We understand that current wars and WWII have many dissimilarities but there are at the same time similarities. Also we understand there are many differences of opinion regarding war and conflict. So we will not attempted to contemporize or adapt the above prayer leaving that up to each pastor. Or, you may simply wish to incorporate part or all into your sermon as an historical illustration.

32. Screwtape and Wormwood

Illustration

Carla Thompson Powell

C.S. Lewis, great author and interpreter of the Christian faith, wrote a fictional series of correspondence between two devils entitled The Screwtape Letters. Screwtape is an older, more experienced devil who writes to the younger, naive Wormwood. Wormwood's job is to thwart the faith of a new Christian, to turn a particular Christian believer away from his faith in God. To accomplish his mission, Wormwood tries to make the young Christian realize the absurdity of his new faith. The devil's apprentice works hard to woo his "patient" away from the Christian camp, pointing out illogical teachings and hypocrisy in the church.

Screwtape and Wormwood speak of some of the absurdities of the Christian faith, as a way to draw the believer away from his belief. Screwtape points out that the followers of Jesus "have all been plainly told by Him that suffering is an essential part of what he calls redemption". Screwtape and Wormwood see Jesus' experience and call to suffering as an Achilles' heel in even the most solid faith of a believer. In the Screwtape Letters, Jesus' suffering is one of those absurdities of faith that the devils try to exploit in their attempts to draw people away from Christ. And these two fictional devils aren't the only ones who see a suffering God as confusing and scandalous.

33. HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?

Illustration

John H. Krahn

How much is enough? Most of us have asked this question many times throughout life. When our kids are having a bad day, we wonder how much we can take before we lose our temper. How much is enough? When we are buying something and bickering as to how much we should pay, we wonder, "How much is enough?" At work, when the thrust is to increase our production, we wonder, "How much is enough?" And so it is quite understandable that this question might also creep into our religious life and into our thoughts of salvation. How often must we attend church in order to be a good member? How many times must I forgive that person in order to qualify for God’s forgiveness of me? How good must we be to make it to heaven? How much is enough?

Whereas industry might consider it enough to get six hours of work from an employee in an eight-hour day, God says that only perfection is enough for us to enter into his presence at the end of time. There will be no bickering when Jesus returns. To say to Jesus, "But Lord, I was a good provider for my family; I worked seven days a week; I never willfully hurt anyone," cuts no ice with the Lord in terms of salvation. Only those who are perfect will go to heaven when Christ comes again. So you see, we all fall short when we look at our lives and ask, have I done enough? The most righteous among us cannot do enough to save themselves and qualify for heaven, for only perfection is enough.

Heaven can only be grasped by faith. Our faith, our trust, our belief, our love of the Lord Jesus Christ make heaven a certainty for our future. When the King of Ages returns to earth again, those who put their hope in the Lord will receive the benefits of forgiveness obtained through his punishment at Calvary. They will be gifted with eternal life. Good works do not appropriate eternity, only faith does.

To be ready for his return is to remain strong in the faith. If you have been putting off some aspect of the Christian discipline, put it off no longer - now is the time for change. The King is coming, and we must prepare. Each of us needs to be sure that our personal faith is strong. If we all knew the Lord was coming in one week, what would we do differently? Now is the time to begin. God in Christ has given us the crown of life through faith in his Son. Only when God gave everything was it enough for our salvation. How much will be enough of a commitment from us today? The Lord wants a total commitment of faith. How much is enough? Everything!

34. How Much Faith?

Illustration

King Duncan

Billy Graham noted, “Faith is the avenue of salvation. Not intellectual understanding. Not money. Not your works. Just simple faith. How much faith? The faith of a mustard seed, so small you can hardly see it. But if you will put that little faith in the person of Jesus, your life will be changed. He will come with supernatural power into your heart. It can happen to you.”

35. BIG DADDY, J.C., AND THE SPOOK

Illustration

John H. Krahn

Many Christians are hurt by even the slightest criticism of their faith. Yet God often uses attacks and slurs on one’s faith to strengthen it.

Madalyn Murray O’Hair was invited by the Student Christian Association to speak at a certain college in Ohio. Mrs. O’Hair will go down in history as the one who knocked prayer and Bible reading out of the public schools. Over 350 students, faculty, and townspeople gathered to hear Mrs. O’Hair discuss her views in opposition to God and religion.

She lambasted everything sacred. She made fun of pastors, leaders, and church officers. She said the Bible was not infallible, and it did not amount to anything anyway; she harassed the students and professors; she harangued the foolish thinkers who believed what they read. She referred to God as "Big Daddy" and to Jesus Christ as "J.C." and to the Holy Ghost as the "Spook." The audience was stunned by her speech, and as questions were put to Mrs. O’Hair, she further attacked Christianity.

As the meeting was about to break up, a tiny voice of a little college girl came from the back of the auditorium. She spoke quietly and lovingly and her voice was full of compassion. Here is what she said, "Mrs. O’Hair, I am so happy you came to speak to all of us here at our college tonight! We have listened with attention to your tirade on our beliefs. We thank you for showing all of us what an atheist is; we express gratitude on your challenge to our faith; we appreciate your concern for us ... but now we, in turn, must be ever grateful for your visit ... because ... now and forever we have been strengthened in our Christian beliefs. We really feel sorry for you, and we’ll pray each night and day for your conversion to our Christian beliefs, and again we thank you for coming, and I know that you have strengthened my faith in our church, in our religion, and in our Christ! Now I’ll have more faith in ‘Big Daddy,’ in ‘J.C.’, and in the ‘Spook’! Again I say, thank you, and bless your soul!"

The speaker of the evening was flabbergasted. She had no answer. There was a riot of noise. The applause for this response was deafening. The meeting broke up with people experiencing an unbelievable Christian conviction of love for Jesus Christ, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

The next time someone looks down on your faith, let God use even that person’s negative attitude to draw you closer to him.

36. The Glory And The Pain

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

His given name was Leslie Leonard but everyone just called him "Pete." Pete was the son of very devout parents. They saw to it that the seeds of faith were planted in him. They were there to nourish the seeds along. Once he got out on his own in life, however, it appeared that the seeds of faith had not taken very deep root in Pete's soul. He sowed wild oats instead. He appeared to have left behind him the faith of his parents.

Early on life went well for Pete. He married, had a son, was involved with a number of businesses. He had some successes in his life. What was most successful about him was his personality. Pete was a charmer. He had a ready smile for all whom he encountered. People who were swept into his life's orbit couldn't help but like him. He was just that kind of guy.

As the years passed by things were not easy for Pete. His marriage failed him. His only son failed him as well. And then the greatest tragedy of all occurred. His health failed him. In his early 40s he was stricken with multiple sclerosis. He was totally blind and paralyzed from the neck down. Eventually he got back the use of his upper body though his eyes and his legs never recovered. After some years one of his legs had to be amputated. Suffering covered Pete's life like a blanket.

Blind and crippled Pete had every earthly reason to be bitter over his state in life. He had every earthly reason to complain. He had every earthly reason to hate life and God. But he didn't. Miraculously, as his suffering increased, his faith increased as well. He hinted at times that there in his hospital bed, in the first days of his MS, God had been revealed to him in a special way. Whatever the reason, Pete was a new man. The faith planted by his parents blossomed at last!

People often went to visit Pete. After a visit to him a man said of his experience, "I went to cheer him up and it was he who cheered me up. It's always like that with him."

His pastor spoke similar words about Pete. "I don't go to call on Pete in order to minister to him," they would often say. "I go to call on Pete when I need someone to talk to; when I need someone to minister to me. I take my problems to him. In his blindness he sees more than just about anyone I know."

As long as he was able, Pete was in church every Sunday. There was a space reserved for him in the last row where his wheelchair would easily fit. Through the cajoling of his pastors Pete also served many terms on the church council. He was one of the leaders of his congregation. His common sense and his faith tested-by-fire helped him to pierce to the core of many of the issues that faced the congregation. He was blind but he could see things that most people could never see. He was immobile of body but mobile of mind and thought.

When Pete died the whole congregation mourned. On a bitter winter day the church was full for his funeral. The pastor put into words that day what most of them had thought. "We saw in him the glory of God," the pastor said, "the glory of God shining through the depths of human suffering. Thanks be to God."

37. Gospel Grandmothers

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

United Church has a tradition. They were known for supporting their pastors very well. Any pastor who has ever served at United will verify the truth of this tradition. Pastors, for example, consider it a privilege to serve in this congregation deep in the heart of Texas. Pastor Mike Snyder surely did. Pastor Mike, as everyone called him, had had a kind of love affair with this congregation throughout his nine years of service at United. The feeling was mutual. The people of United felt uniquely blessed by him as well.

It was not much of a surprise, therefore, when the church board at United decided to hold a special evening meeting to honor and celebrate the ministry of Pastor Mike Snyder. Someone on the board had found out that this year was the 25th anniversary of Pastor Snyder's ordination. Everyone agreed immediately that there should be a party, a Texas-style party to honor their pastor's 25 years of ordained ministry. And so it was.

The party for Pastor Snyder's anniversary was held on a hot Texas summer night. Just about the whole congregation turned out for it. Choirs sang their favorite numbers. The younger children recited verses of Bible stories they had learned. One of the members of the high school youth group spoke on their behalf. Many adults spoke as well. There was a representative of the women's organization, the men's club, the church board and just about every other group at United.

In their speeches people took care not to paint Pastor Snyder as some kind of perfect saint. It wasn't that Pastor Snyder's ministry with them was without fault. In fact, they knew his faults pretty well. There were some well-timed jokes concerning the fact that Pastor Snyder often neglected his own family in order to get all the ministry done at United. "You have to find more time for your own family," said the woman from the women's organization. Other jokes teased Pastor Snyder about the short fuse on his temper. They reminded him gently to put a lid on it!

And so the party went on. Words of thanksgiving and praise were spoken. So were words of caution and concern. And now it was time for Pastor Snyder's response. Jimmie Jones, chair of the church board, invited the pastor to the podium. "One of the things you've done best among us," said Jimmie, "is to help bring faith to life. We'd like to know who helped you. Who helped you to faith, Pastor Mike?"

"My grandmother," said Pastor Snyder without hesitation. "I believe that my grandmother had a tremendous shaping power over my life of faith even though I never knew her. She died eight years before I was born. But I heard the stories. I heard stories of how she headed up the Sunday school until she died. I heard stories of how she was the pioneer in seeing to it that the English language was introduced into her congregation of immigrants. I heard many stories of her faith."

"I can't explain it but I have always felt that my call to the ministry was a call to fulfill my grandmother's legacy. In some mysterious way I feel that her vision of Christian service has been passed along to me. She is, in a very special way, my 'gospel grandmother.' I'll bet many people here tonight can name a 'gospel grandmother' who has helped to lead you to faith. I thank God, we should all thank God, for our grandmothers in the faith!"

38. Faith Is The Rare Courage

Illustration

J. Howard Olds

Faith is the rare courage to act on that which you cannot yet prove to be true.
Faith is leaving a fresh grave with enough hope to carry on.
Faith is writing a song of thanksgiving when the rent is due.
Faith is accepting forgiveness when it seems nothing more than a distant dream.
Faith is proclaiming peace while you still feel the turmoil inside.
Faith is letting your hair down enough to receive the mercy of God.

39. Living Against Reality

Illustration

E. Stanley Jones

"I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so mad that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely these are my native air. A John Hopkins University doctor says, "We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact." But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality."

40. The Apostles' Creed

Illustration

Staff

The earliest known mention of the expression "Apostles' Creed" occurs in a letter of AD 390 from a synod in Milan. The most traditional version of the creed is as follows:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
      who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
      and born of the virgin Mary.
      He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
      was crucified, died, and was buried;
      he descended to hell.
      The third day he rose again from the dead.
      He ascended to heaven
      and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
      From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the holy catholic* church,
      the communion of saints,
      the forgiveness of sins,
      the resurrection of the body,
      and the life everlasting. Amen.

*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places

The Old Roman Symbol (Latin: vetus symbolum romanum), or Old Roman Creed, is an earlier and shorter version of the Apostles’ Creed. It was based on the 2nd-century Rule of Faith and the interrogatory declaration of faith for those receiving Baptism. It is said that this earlier and first adopted version was based on the Trinitarian formula found in The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19. It was widely accepted in the 4th century, that, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, each of the Twelve Apostles contributed an article to the twelve articles of this creed:

I believe in God the Father almighty;
and in Christ Jesus His only Son, our Lord,
Who was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,
Who under Pontius Pilate was crucified and buried,
on the third day rose again from the dead,
ascended to heaven,
sits at the right hand of the Father,
whence He will come to judge the living and the dead;
and in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Church,
the remission of sins,
the resurrection of the flesh
(the life everlasting)

The Apostles' Creed (100 A.D.) is the oldest and shortest creed with only 109 words in the traditional version. Only the New Testament creed, "Jesus is Lord," is older. It is also the most often used -- practically every Sunday, except for festivals and seasons when the Nicene Creed is confessed. Undoubtedly, it is the most universal statement of the Christian faith.

By 100 A.D. the Apostles' Creed became the basic statement of faith for the church. In the first century, it was the rule of faith for baptismal candidates. In 390 it became known as the Apostles' Creed, even though it was not written by the apostles but contained the beliefs of the apostles. An ancient legend has it that after Pentecost the apostles agreed on a summary of what they were going to preach. The summary was the Apostles' Creed. Yet, the creed did not reach its final form until the sixth or seventh century. Martin Luther held this creed in such high regard that he used it in his Small Catechism to teach families what a Christian believes. To this day the Small Catechism is used as the basis for youth and adult preparation for church membership in Lutheran churches.

41. Jerry's Faith

Illustration

John E. Sumwalt

In the Lutheran parochial school I attended as a child I was taught to fear God, and that I risked punishment for sin. When I was 17 years old, my younger sister died of a brain tumor, and I began to question everything that I had been taught. I could not understand how God could allow this. Her death left me confused and angry. I became more of a doubter than a believer. I came to the conclusion that I could only believe in myself. I pushed myself, I worked hard; I became an over-achiever and eventually a workaholic. This program propelled me to financial success, but it was accompanied by personal failure. I learned that the love of money can bring financial gains that are accompanied by personal loss.

I became an empty person. I couldn't stand success and began to self-destruct. I lost everything, my friends, those who had pretended to be my friends and my family. It was all like an unbelievable soap opera -- and before it was over I learned quite a bit about the judicial system, the Mafia, extortion and revenge. There were times when I feared for my life and for the lives of the members of my family. It was the kind of situation that causes one to think about taking his own life.

But I wasn't ready for that option. The love I had for my children gave me courage and made me determined to try again. I wanted to be a believer in something bigger than myself, but it was difficult. It would take a miracle. I carefully planned a comeback. I wanted to be successful again and not make some of the same mistakes. The task seemed monumental.

In the process I met an independent preacher named Andy. He worked for me on a part-time basis and we soon became friends. He wasn't pushy with his religion, so I decided to go to one of his church services on a Wednesday night. It was quite unusual to say the least. Wednesday night was testimony night. The opening song service was quite an experience. The songs had beautiful melodies and were easy to sing. When they sang songs like "He Touched Me" and "O, How I Love Jesus," I noticed that many had tears in their eyes as they sang with great feeling. I felt touched by this, and quite uncomfortable. The testimonies that followed were as impressive to me as the song service. People spoke about what God had done for them, how God answered prayer and healed them. Was this real? Do they know a different God than I do, I wondered? It was all so confusing.

I didn't know if I could believe it, but I went back to observe more. I knew these people had something I didn't have. I guess it was a simple faith in God. It seemed like a good way to live, but I still wondered if it was real. If there was no God, I think we would have to invent one to keep our sanity. I tried to keep an open mind on the subject. I found myself reading the Bible because I was hungry for truth.

One Saturday night my mother called to tell me that my grandmother was gravely ill. I needed strength to face this so I went to church the next morning before going to the hospital to see her. That morning Andy spoke of the healing power of Jesus. I cornered him after church and said, "Andy, are you sure he heals today?" He was sure. I marked several of the healing promises in my Bible and then I went to the hospital. As I entered the waiting room, I saw that many of my relatives were there to pay their last visit to Grandma. The pastor of her church was about to get on the elevator after praying with her. I stopped him for a brief talk. I said, "Don't you believe God has the ability to heal people?" He assured me he believed that God does have the power to heal, but he added that we all have a time to die. I knew he was right, but a voice in the back of my mind said, "Prove me and know that I am God."

I followed my cousin and his wife into Grandma's room in the intensive care unit. When I spoke to Grandma she regained consciousness, and her smile told me that she was pleased to see her oldest grandson. I got right to the point. "Grandma, do you want me to pray that God will heal you?" She agreed. The four of us held hands and I prayed for her healing. It was a special moment. The nurses and other members of the hospital staff who were present stood with tears in their eyes. When I finished I had a feeling that Grandma was healed. My cousin's wife knew it, also. Grandma fell into a deep sleep. When we went out to the waiting room, my relatives were talking about Grandma being ready to pass away. The doctor had told them that she would not live through the day. I said, "Grandma is not going to die today. She is healed." I went home and then back to the church for the Sunday evening service.

On Monday morning my mother called to tell me that Grandma had made a complete recovery. I said, "What did the doctor have to say about this recovery?" She answered, "He said it was a miracle." I believe God knew just what I needed. I had the audacity to take God at his word, and God cared enough not to let me make a fool of myself.

Author's Note: Gerald Wagner shared this story of his grandmother's healing with a new member class in our church in the Spring of 1990. It is printed here in his own words. Mr. Wagner, an independent semi-truck driver, lives in Kenissha, Wisconsin.

42. Even the Great Believers Doubt

Illustration

Mickey Anders

Most Christians think the great believers of the faith never doubted. They know about the faith of the famous Christian leaders, but not about their inner struggles. One Christian leader at the turn of the century wrote in his autobiography: "My religious faith remains in possession of the field only after prolonged civil war with my naturally skeptical mind." The Scottish reformer, John Knox, wrote of a time when his soul knew "anger, wrath and indignation, which is concei6ved against God, calling all his promises in doubt." Read the diary of Increase Mather, one of the great Puritan leaders, and find this entry: "Greatly molested with temptations to atheism."

We sing Martin Luther's great hymn, "A mighty fortress is our God," and we suppose he never questioned his faith, but he once wrote, "For more than a week, Christ was wholly lost. I was shaken by desperation and blasphemy against God."

In today's Scripture passage we find that kind of faith-struggle even among one of the twelve disciples, Thomas. Here's a man who seems to me to be a disciple for a time like this because we live in an age that questions everything. Perhaps we can learn something from Thomas about how to handle our questions and doubts.

43. God Delights in What He Does

Illustration

King Duncan

Tony Campolo in his book, Who Switched the Price Tags?, gives us a beautiful example of the kind of attitude that accompanies mustard seed faith. He tells of Lord Chesterton who suggested that God got a childlike excitement out of His work. "As a matter of fact, he contended that God may be the only one left in the universe who has childlike emotions about work, while all the rest of us have grown old and cynical because of sin. God never tires of what He does. He enjoys it.

If you take a five-year-old child, throw her into the air, catch her, bounce her off your knee, and then set her down on the floor, you can expect her to exclaim, "Do it again!" If you repeat the process a dozen times, the child will not tire of these antics.

Lord Chesterton believed that God may be that way about creating daisies. He asks us to imagine God creating the first daisy and enjoying it so much that something down inside Him exclaims, "Do it again!" And when he makes the second daisy, He is even more excited and shouts to Himself, "Do it again!" Imagine God continuing to create daisy after daisy, and after making the hundred-billionth daisy, being even more filled with excitement than when He began. Obviously, this is an exaggeration but it makes no difference. The principle is what is valid - God is a God who delights in what He does."

We are created in God's image. Mustard seed faith says that this is a marvelous world in which God has placed us. It is an exciting and wonderful thing to be alive. We are fortunate when we can get up each morning and go to our schools, offices, fields and factories and share in the abundance of God's creation.

44. At the Root of Rebellion

Illustration

Alexander Maclaren

Important lessons are given by this alternation of the two ideas of faith and unbelief, obedience and disobedience. Disobedience is the root of unbelief. Unbelief is the mother of further disobedience. Faith is voluntary submission within a person's own power. If faith is not exercised, the true cause lies deeper than all intellectual reasons. It lies in the moral aversion of human will and in the pride of independence, which says, "who is Lord over us? Why should we have to depend on Jesus Christ?" As faith is obedience and submission, so faith breeds obedience, but unbelief leads on to higher-handed rebellion. With dreadful reciprocity of influence, the less one trusts, the more he disobeys; the more he disobeys, the less he trusts.

45. Transactional Theology

Illustration

Barbara Brown Taylor

On the occasions when Jesus praises peoples’ faith, most Christians automatically assume that he means their faith in his divinity, which he then rewards by helping them out; but that is just another sorry example of transactional theology. According to this theology, if you believe the right things about Jesus, then he will help you. If you don’t, he won’t. I am not sure where this idea comes from, but in the first three gospels Jesus seems much more concerned with making people well than with making them believe in him.

Jesus does not proclaim himself; he proclaims the coming of God’s kingdom. The only thing people have to believe is that God can help them. In Luke’s gospel, when Jesus heals the ten lepers and the lone Samaritan among them comes back to say thanks, Jesus does not say, “Rise up and follow me.” He says, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” The faith that helps Jesus do his saving work; the faith that makes people well; is their full-bodied trust that God can act in their lives, both to forgive and to heal.

46. Healing - Gone With One Call

Illustration

Philip Yancey

Even back then I was searching for hard evidence of God as an alternative to faith. And one day I found it on television, of all places. While randomly flipping a dial, I came across a mass healing service being conducted by Kathryn Kuhlman. I watched for a few minutes as she brought various people up on the stage and interviewed them. Each one told an amazing story of supernatural healing. Cancer, heart conditions, paralysis it was like a medical encyclopedia up there. As I watched Kuhlman's program, my doubts gradually melted away. At last I had found something real and tangible. Kuhlman asked a musician to sing her favorite song, "He Touched Me. That's what I needed, I thought; a touch, a personal touch from God. She held out that promise, and I lunged for it.

Three weeks later when Kathryn Kuhlman came to a neighboring state, I skipped classes and traveled half a day to attend one of her meetings. The atmosphere was unbelievably charged soft organ music in the background; the murmuring sound of people praying aloud, some in strange tongues; and every few minutes a happy interruption when someone would stand and claim, "I'm healed!" One person especially made an impression, a man from Milwaukee who had been carried into the meeting on a stretcher. When he walked yes, walked onstage, we all cheered wildly. He told us he was a physician, and I was even more impressed. He had incurable lung cancer, he said, and was told he had six months to live. But now, tonight, he believed God had healed him. He was walking for the first time in months. He felt great. Praise God! I wrote down the man's name and practically floated out of that meeting. I had never known such certainty of faith before. My search was over; I had seen proof of a living God in those people on the stage. If he could work tangible miracles in them, then surely he had something wonderful in store for me.

I wanted to contact the man of faith I had seen at the meeting, so much so that exactly one week later I phoned Directory Assistance in Milwaukee and got the physician's number. When I dialed it, a woman answered the phone. "May I please speak to Dr. S_____," I said. Long silence. "Who are you?" she said at last. I figured she was just screening calls from patients or something. I gave my name and told her I admired Dr. S_____ and had wanted to talk to him ever since the Kathryn Kuhlman meeting. I had been very moved by his story, I said. Another long silence. Then she spoke in a flat voice, pronouncing each word slowly. "My...husband...is...dead." Just that one sentence, nothing more, and she hung up.

I can't tell you how that devastated me. I was wasted. I half-staggered into the next room, where my sister was sitting. "Richard, what's wrong?" she asked. "Are you all right?" No, I was not all right. But I couldn't talk about it. I was crying. My mother and sister tried to pry some explanation out of me. But what could I tell them? For me, the certainty I had staked my life on had died with that phone call. A flame had flared bright for one fine, shining week and then gone dark, like a dying star.

47. Love of Enemies

Illustration

Joyce Hollyday

Sarah Corson, a founder of Servant in faith and Technology (SIFAT) in Alabama, was on a mission in the South American jungles to set up an agricultural project in a village where she and her husband had earlier started a church and built a fish hatchery. She was with seventeen young people, including two of her sons. One Thursday night, around midnight, thirty soldiers rushed toward the house where they were all staying. Sarah was paralyzed with shock as the soldiers stormed over the clearing leading to the house. She remembered with fear that earlier that day, a neighbor had overheard a conversation near the military camp in which soldiers had blamed Americans for recent resistance to a military takeover of the country. The soldiers had vowed to exterminate all Americans in the region.

Sarah Corson prepared to die. But as the soldiers approached, she found herself offering them warm words of welcome. The commander shoved his rifle against her stomach and pushed her into the house. The soldiers began pulling everything off the shelves and out of drawers. Sarah calmly explained that she and the others were there only to set up projects and teach the Bible. The commander, stating that he had never read the Bible, said, 'Maybe it is a communist book, for all I know.' Sarah asked him to let her talk about it.

While he kept his gun pointed at her and the other soldiers continued ransacking the house, Sarah opened a Spanish Bible the Sermon on the Mount. She read about Jesus' command to love one's enemies.

'That's humanly impossible!' the commander shouted.

'That's true, sir,' she answered. 'It isn't humanly possible, but with God's help it is possible.' She challenged him to let her prove it by killing her slowly: 'Cut me to pieces little by little, and you will see you cannot make me hate you. I will die praying for you because God loves you.'

The commander lowered his gun and stepped back. Then he ordered everyone in the house to march to a truck. But before they reached the truck, he turned around and led the women back to the house. He told Sarah that the women would be raped repeatedly in the jungle camp, so he could not take them there. He also told her that this was the first time he had disobeyed an order from a superior officer-and that he would pay with his life if he were found out. He said as he left, 'I could have fought any mount of guns you might have had, but there is something here I cannot understand. I cannot fight it.'

The village waited in agony for word of the men who had been taken. The local people insisted that the church service not be held on Sunday, because soldiers considered any gathering a source of political agitation. But on Saturday night, a messenger arrived with word from the commander of the attack that he would be in church on Sunday. He wanted Sarah to come and get him; if she did not, he would walk the ten miles. It sounded to Sarah like a threat. She sent a message throughout the town that night. 'We will have the service after all,' she said, 'but you are not obligated to come. In fact you may lose your life by coming. No one knows what this solider will do. Do not come when the church bell rings unless you are sure God wants you to come.'

Sarah picked up the commander and his bodyguard at the military camp. Holding their rifles they marched coldly into the church and sat down. The church was packed before the first hymn was over. The people came in fear and trembling, but they came.

It was the church custom to welcome visitors by inviting them to the platform, singing a welcome song, and waving to them. Then the congregation would line up to shake the visitors' hands, embrace them, and offer a personal greeting. Sarah decided only to offer the commander and his bodyguard the song. Stunned to be invited up front, the two soldiers stood with their guns across their backs. The people sang weakly and waved timidly. But then, the first man on the front seat came forward and put out his hand. As he bent over to hug the soldiers, Sarah overheard him saying, 'Brother, we don't like what you did to our village, but this is the house of God, and God loves you, so you are welcome here.' Every person in the church followed his example, even the women whose eyes were red from weeping for their loved ones whom the commander had taken prisoner.

The commander was incredulous. He marched to the pulpit and said, 'Never have I dreamed that I could raid a town, come back, and have that town welcome me as a brother.' Pointing to Sarah, he said, 'That sister told me Thursday night that Christians love their enemies, but I did not believe her then. You have proven it to me this morning. . . I never believed there was a God before, but what I have just felt is so strong that I will never doubt the existence of God as long as I live.'

The commander stayed for lunch with the congregation and offered money from his own pocket to parishioners who had loved ones taken away. Two weeks later, all of the men who had been taken were released from the basement cell where they had been imprisoned and some had been tortured.

Sarah Corson was overcome with gratitude to God for putting divine love in her heart for a person she could not love on her own. She remembers the last words the commander said to her: 'I have fought many battles and killed many people. It was nothing to me. It was just my job to exterminate them. But I never knew them personally. This is the first time I ever knew my enemy face to face. And I believe that if we knew each other, our guns would not be necessary.'"

Note: the full story can be found here - https://sifat.org/pdfs/Welcoming_the_Enemy.pdf

48. Pressed Out

Illustration

Staff

Pressed out of measure and pressed to all length;
Pressed so intensely, it seems beyond strength;
Pressed in the body, and pressed in the soul;
Pressed in the mind, till the dark surges roll.
Pressure by foes, and pressure by friends
Pressure on pressure, till life nearly ends.
Pressed into knowing no helper but God;
Pressed into loving the staff and the rod.
Pressed into liberty where nothing clings;
Pressed into faith for impossible things.
Pressed into tasting the joy of the Lord;
Pressed into loving a Christ-life outpoured.

49. How Great Is Your Faith?

Illustration

Jon L. Joyce

When Christ came to Bethany, following the death of Lazarus, the body had been in the tomb long enough for decay to set in. For Christ to be expected to restore the body to life now took even more faith than it would if he had been present immediately after Lazarus’ death. But still Mary’s faith in Christ was unwavering. She told Christ that she knew that "even now" he could perform the miracle of restoring her brother from death.

We tend to limit our faith. We think that some things can be accomplished by prayer, or through Christ, but how much? We fail to comprehend how great God is, or to realize the limitless height and depth and width of Christ’s love. Your God Is Too Small is the catching title of a book. It could well be paraphrased to read, "Your Faith Is Too Small." It is never too late to expect miracles of Jesus. In old age as well as youth, no matter how late in the game, the addiction to dope or liquor or some mortal sin, "even now" Christ can come to the rescue if we put our faith in him.

50. HAVING A REALLY GOOD FIGHT

Illustration

John H. Krahn

I believe it was the Mills Brothers who made popular the song, "You Always Hurt the One You Love." Fighting is one of the realities of married life. Unfortunately, most of us do not handle it well. Fighting is a negative way of communicating some very strong feelings. If we accept the premise that the point of all communication is to get closer to each other, then we might seek more constructive and positive ways of communicating our strong feelings rather than destructive fighting. Although space doesn’t permit us to consider all the suggestions for what I call "good fighting," let me mention just a few. Discover what you are really fighting about. What’s really underneath it all, then stick to the subject, don’t bring up past history. No name calling. Remember you are fighting with the one you love - hurt her and you are hurting yourself and your marriage.

Back to the Mills Brothers ... if we are able to hurt the one we love more than anyone else, then we, as a spouse, have the greatest ability to bring healing to our relationship. If we really want to heal the other person, we can. Healing not only after fights but throughout life. Healing comes through a gentle touch or by saying "I’m sorry" and really meaning it. Healing also comes through forgiving one another and accepting each other’s limitations.

Jesus Christ is the greatest facilitator of healing in marriage. He gives us the power to forgive our spouse - not because he/she deserves it but because he/she needs it. We forgive not only for his sake but for our sake and for our marriage’s sake. For marriage is something that we are in together, and when one or the other is hurting, both of us are hurting, and our marriage is hurting.

Those who are wise, work hard at their marriages. Those who are wiser work hard too, but they also invite God’s help in loving each other. If God wants your marriage to work, and he certainly does, then he is anxious to give you whatever you need to make it work. Both of you must keep strong in the Lord. There is a little Christian saying that goes, "When I try, I fail. When I trust, He succeeds." The best thing we can do in our marriage is not try so hard but to trust even harder.

As people, there will be those moments when we cannot help but express negative feelings to our spouse. Be careful not to try to hurt the person, but rather attempt to express how his/her actions are hurting you. Tell it like it is. Don’t hold back. But let the Lord help you share your strong communication in a loving manner. When you have a fight, have a good one.

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