Read Matthew 8 online here.
Faith, according to the Bible, is a pretty important thing. I mean not only are we saved by faith, but the Bible also tells us that we are cleansed by faith, we are justified by faith, we are sanctified by faith, we are to walk by faith, live by faith, fight the good fight of faith, take up the shield of faith, we are to overcome the world by faith, we are to ask in faith and the list goes on. Faith is so important that in the letter to the Hebrews the writer says in chapter 11, verse 6 that without faith it is impossible to please God. And don’t forget the kicker — Romans 14:23 — “whatever is not from faith is sin”. This tells me that pretty much everything about the Christian life is to operate by faith.
As I read Chapter 8 of Matthew I am struck by how we see real people demonstrating real faith. First, it’s the leper who came to Jesus seeking cleansing. Who knows how much he knew about Jesus. It doesn’t say. But he knew enough to believe that Jesus could heal him. Note the leper said to Jesus “if you are willing, you can make me clean.” There was no doubt on the part of the leper. It was up to Jesus to respond, and that is what Jesus did.
In fact, when we look at others in the New Testament who Jesus healed or ministered to in some miraculous fashion, His response was always in the context of responding to people who had placed their faith in Him. That’s what faith is — placing your faith in something. In other words, it’s a disposition toward an object that allows that object to work on your behalf. When you sit in a chair, you are placing your faith in the chair to hold you up. It’s not your faith that’s holding you up, it’s the chair. If you don’t believe me sit down in a chair and then take the chair away. What happens? You crash to the floor — by faith. Likewise, when we come to Jesus, by faith, we are demonstrating that we trust Him to work on our behalf, whether for salvation or for any other need. And when we place our faith in Jesus, Jesus responds. This is good news. Even if I have the faith the size of a mustard seed, Jesus will respond. That is even more good news.
As I place my faith in Jesus and see His response, my faith grows. And while it’s great to feel strong in my faith, what matters most is where I have placed my faith. What have you placed your faith in, or should I say, who have you placed your faith in?
Today's article written by Dan Ferguson.
Monday, December 8, 2008
What's So Amazing About Faith? Matthew 8.
4 comments:
Dan, Thanks for your comments on Matthew 8. I appreciated all you wrote but especially liked that first paragraph stressing the great importance of faith in our Christian life. P.
I'm always struck by the fact that Jesus laid hands on the leper to heal him. Especially because in Jesus' time there was both the fear of leprosy, and the fear of being unclean. Who among us in this day of enlightened understanding of contagion would answer, "Sure, I will," when the call came out, "Who will touch this leper?"
Since you've written about faith, I also noticed that the centurion's actions are in stark contrast to those of the disciples who were with Jesus all the time:
23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
26 He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
27 The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
When I consider what the term "faith" may have meant at that time (and still means today) I am reminded of some spare time research I did on the "scapegoat".
The ritual required a huge mount of faith on the part on the rank and file Jews.
First, they had to have faith that the High Priest had the authority cleanse them of their sins. I think most of us would concur that Jesus certainly had that authority.
Second, they had to have faith that the High Priest had competently performed the ceremony for the cleansing of those sins. I think most f us would concur that, through His perfect life, Jesus had competently performed the ceremony leading up to the sacrifice.
And, possibly the most important aspect, the rank and file Jews had to believe that their individual sins were placed up[on the scapegoat or the sacrifice, so that they could be cleansed.
This is where I think we can most grow in our faith. It goes beyond the acknowledgement of Jesus' authority, competence and sufficiency and requires us to recognize the intimacy of His sacrifice on our behalf...that it was not just the ubiquitous sin of the world that He paid for on the cross, but the very specific individual sins that we commit each and every day overtly or by omission. YBIC - Aaron
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