mercyMERCYme

Matthew 9:1     And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.

2    And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
(Thy sins be forgiven thee, why did he say that? when what he needed was his health, ah but guilt you see is a far greater disease with far greater consequences, according to the Jewish way of thinking and teaching, to be sick as this man was, was to be considered cursed of God, all because of some past sin, thereby adding guilt on top of the pain and shame of his sickness, yeah we can be pretty cruel and heartless at times. Oh what a heavy weight to carry condemnation is! now u understand why he said Thy sins be forgiven thee!

10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? 12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
( could it be because it is the sick and the hurting , the broken and the rejected that know they need help, know they are lost and hopeless, whereas the so called righteous feel they need no one they can do it on their own or so they think)

13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
( what no sacrifices? ah but maybe its because so many come with their sacrifices, with their worship, with their praise, but their heart is far from him, maybe he want not our sacrifices because we come before him, we raise our hands in adoration, bow in so called reverence, yea we even weep at his altar, then we get up and go out and gossip over our fellow brothers and sisters, we attack ministers without mercy, we hold grudges, we act bitter, we judge, we accuse, we condemn, it’s no wonder he considers our sacrifice’s a stench he’d rather have mercy! not sacrifice! )

20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:   21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
( His garment you see according to custom represented his authority and power, it was called the train and it was embroidered at the bottom the more elaborate the design the more authority he was considered to carry, what she was saying was hey I recognize you are the Lord of glory! and If I can just tap in to that and touch it, if I can but touch you, no I may not be much, may not have much, but what I do have is a measure of faith! )

22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
32 As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.
33 And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. 34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils. 35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all sickness and every disease among the people.
36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
( Compassion ah what a word, what a way, what a spirit, somehow despite his own troubles and trials, his own rejection and hurt, he was able to feel for others, able to care for others, ah but maybe the reason he could feel and care so much for them was because he had been there? was because he had suffered there before, could there be a lesson here? )
Reflections: In this chapter of the gospel we find three distinct characters each with their own story and needs, each with their own despair and frustrations, their own hurts and hopelessness ah but there is one thing they each share in common, they share a hope and faith in the same god, and to each is been given a measure of faith! another thing they share in common is being loved by that same God! lets take a closer look at each individual;

1. We have a hopeless paralytic what a life, think about it, for every drink he would take, every morsel he would eat, he would need assistance, and to make matters worse for every movement of the bowels he would need help, oh how he often long to run through the tall green grass barefooted, or swim in the healing pool of Saloam, Oh yes he prayed and prayed but his prayers only seem to bounce of the walls, that confined him to his lowly prison cell but his prison was not so much his room or bed as it was the atrophied muscles and frail bones that shackled and held him captive, he had no mediator or so he thought, his whole life was defined by a 3’6 mat but not for long you see Jesus has a way of stepping in just in time, why it was Jesus who orchestrated the loyal friends who brought him to Jesus in the first place! ever felt like this poor paralytic oh you may not be confined to a 3’6 mat but maybe instead to a self righteous attitude, some cultic belief, a prison of carnal bondage, oh no its not your body that is paralyzed but your bible? your faith, your spirit, its not your muscles and bones that are atrophied but rather your ministry and burden, your not confined to a mat but a format, a routine, a tradition “ ye shall know truth and the truth shall make you free“)

2. Then we have the woman with the issue of blood: .She didn’t have it to good either, oh how she suffered daily, imagine the innuendo’s, ‘ yeah she is cursed of God, the result of some perverted sexual sin no doubt; they would whisper or maybe they didn‘t whisper but shouted it, the gossip, the ridicule, the mocking she must have had to endure, she was ostracized by society, mocked by the children, disowned by family, anathemized by the religious hierarchy, her future was dim, she would have to scavenge through garbage cans on the outskirts of the city at night for scant leftovers, an outcast she was avoided yea even shunned. It seemed hopeless indeed, with each passing day things got harder, her strength seem to evaporate, her will faltered, her health was all but gone oh she visited many a doctor but all they ever took was all her money and left her none the better. But then came this man called Jesus he would take none of her money but indeed all her sickness and misery and for free at that! Ever felt like this woman oh no you may not have some physical disease or do you? maybe the reason some people are still going through certain things are because maybe your issue of blood is not an issue of blood but more an issue with the bible? maybe your sickness is not physical as much as it is spiritual, maybe you to have been rejected and criticized, mocked and castigated. Maybe for you too its been a long time, its been a lot of suffering and despair, a lot of shame and pain, but if I may, let me ask; when’s the last time since you have recognized the authority and divinity, power and presence of Jesus? when’s the last time you tried to touch him?

Then there was this poor demoniac What a life, not only possessed but oppressed, who more than likely would be shuffled off to some lonely abandoned island like the Gaderenes, to live his life out among the rejected, the unwanted, the feared. But insane as he was, there were those moments of sanity when he would cry out or at least try to, after all he was dumb remember, and these demons really had him shut out and shut up! ever wonder what its like to be unable to speak or express yourself, or unable to pray for that matter, or so he thought, but all it took was a tear, a lowly cry, a wail, a desire, a little bit of faith, well wherever it took he got Jesus attention! have mercy on me thou son of God! maybe if we would recognize who Jesus is maybe we would receive our deliverance, for to be demon controlled is a terrible thing, yeah even they long for freedom, even the demons wish they had it to do over, you see to lose the very presence of God is to be truly lost, to live in darkness is tragic, to be out of mind is to be estranged from our Gods wisdom, ever felt like this demoniac? ever felt abandoned? ever felt like everyone and their mother is afraid of you? like people avoid like you have some kind of disease? ever felt like u know not what to say? how to pray? felt like the words are stuck in u mouth? the fear has filled your heart? darkness has deceived you and sought to destroy you? bondage has broken you? no the darkness that surrounds me may not be one of demons but one of biblical ignorance, no you may not be possessed by demons literally but they seem to plague your mind and heart, your possessed maybe not of demons but of drinking and drugs, adultery and promiscuity, greed and arrogance, violence or lack of virtue, oh what demons, you see the demons come in more ways than one, they don’t need much but once they get in?

Prayer: Dear Father I hope you know how much I love you! matter a fact I adore you! wow! you have been so good to me, so gracious, I worship you! I come to you today not so much with any request to make but rather to proclaim your Sonship, your goodness, I come to exclaim that I recognize your divinity, your authority, that you are Lord over me and my will, my family, my heart, yes many are the times when I have needed your divine intercession and as usual you never fail me, I thank you Lord! but I am concerned today for those who are still in the destructive grasp of the demon forces of hell, for those plagued by sickness and disease, and yes even more for those paralyzed be fear and lack of faith, lack of wisdom and direction, for those who are the unwanted, the rejected, the outcast, the uncontrollable, Oh father forgive me for the times when I was willing to condemn and castigate and offer no hope , no mercy, when I refused to believe in others, refuse to see the potential in others, the good, when I consigned others to a lonely island of demoniacs and disease ridden people, to an island not on some physical parcel of land but to a place of torment in their heart, mind and home, dare I say in our Church? for the times when I blamed others rather than look inward and examine myself, for the times when I looked for a fault why others were sick and hurting that I might bring shame and condemnation rather than look for faith that I might bring hope and healing! oh daddy help me to be more like you, to love like you, to forgive like you, to live like you! keep me from demons, disease and paralysis that I might know and live in the divine, destiny and prayer, that I would continual to abide in you.. Failure is not final    .AMEN!
by: George R. Nava 2170 E. Market St. Stkn, Ca ph46-59731 web page: http://gospelstuffs.homestead.com/index.html