Evidence in Scripture, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Miracles

Jesus Heals the Mute, Crippled, Lame, and Blind!

Matthew 15 is filled with inspiring record of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Jesus talks about inner purity, the importance of following God’s law instead of man’s tradition, and responds in compassion to the request of the gentile woman to cast out a demon. What follows next in Matthew 15:29-31 is nothing short of amazing.

29 Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. 30 A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all. 31 The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.

It is all too easy to read quickly over these few lines of scripture. But if we intentionally pause and dwell on this scripture we see another amazing record where Jesus performed His miracles in front of large crowds. It was certainly no slight of hand or trick, but the power of God Himself. Those who could not talk could now talk… the lame, the blind, the crippled… all healed in front of large crowds that had known these people and known that they were truly suffering with these conditions before Jesus healed them.

There will always be those like the Pharisees, who make up wild reasons to rationalize Jesus was not God. They look at the evidence and then choose to make up explanations to avoid the natural and obvious conclusion that Jesus is God. Some major world religion is based on logic such as this… rejecting the accurate record of the Bible and creating new records that just make up a new story about Jesus to say He is only a prophet and that He did not die for us and come back from the dead… despite irrefutable evidence of the public and brutal execution and the empty tomb and the many witnesses who saw Him for 40 days after He rose from the dead.

Jesus was clearly recognizable by the crowds and they saw in mass the miracles He performed during His earthly ministry. As His followers, we can know that He is God… just like He said. He does not ask us to just take His word for it, but rather came down to live among us and leave us much evidence.

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Character of God, Faith / Trusting God, Humility, Merciful, Miracles

Your Faith Is Great. Your Request Is Granted.

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Jesus is moved by the faith of a gentile woman in Matthew 15:21-28 as she pleads for His mercy to cast out a demon from her daughter. Although it was not part of His direct mission or task, He was moved by her humility and faith in repeatedly asking for His help.

21 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Gentile[e] woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”

23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”

24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”

25 But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”

26 Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

27 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”

28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.

Jesus repeatedly shows compassion by recognizing the needs of others and responding to them, even when it means changing His plans. He recognized the gentile woman’s great faith and then healed her daughter.

We can see in this scripture that we can not just claim healing in Jesus’ name and be healed as if we were at a vending machine demanding what we want.  The woman asked for His intervention to heal her daughter and He granted that request.

Each of us should consider…

Do we look upon God’s people around us with compassion? are we willing to stop what we are doing to help someone in Jesus’ name or are we too busy with our own tasks?

When we have illness or injury or if we suspect demon possession (yes, it is real though many dismiss it), do we look to God for help? Do we humbly come before Him asking in faith or do we demand it as if from a vending machine? Do we ask once and then move on not believing He will answer or do we seek Him persistently, believing He will hear our request? God’s answer is not always “yes” to our requests, but we can always come before Him humbly and seek His help with our needs and desires.

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Discerning / Judging, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Hypocrisy, Righteousness / Serving God, Traditions / Holidays

Why Do You Put Traditions Above Commandments of God?

In Matthew 15:1-20, Jesus reminds us that we should be careful to follow the instructions of God and clearly distinguish those from the traditions of man.

Traditions can be very comforting and can initially be well intended…  trying to help translate the commands of God into actionable, specific steps or actions. However, we must be careful not to get so attached to the traditions of men, that we lose connection to the original instructions of God.

15 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”

3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’[a] and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents.[c] And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship is a farce,
    for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’[d]”

10 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 11 It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”

12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”

13 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”

15 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”

16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”

Jesus also strongly makes the case to his disciples that we can not be overly concerned about offending people if they do not like to hear the truth of God’s word. We must teach the truth of the gospel even if it upsets some who prefer the traditions of men.

Ask yourself, what traditions are you holding on to? Do you get so focused on the tradition that you miss the original intent of God’s instruction? Are the traditions you hold on to even based on God’s instruction, or are they contrary to it?

Where traditions are in contrast to God’s instruction or replace God’s instruction, we must reject them. Traditions should support and point to God’s instruction, but never replace it.

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Courage / Fear

Do Not Be Afraid, for I Am With You

Scripture provides much comfort for those of us who trust in the Lord. When we find ourselves afraid because of difficult situations we may face, we can be encouraged that God is with us.

[Psalm 34:4] I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.

[Proverbs 1:33] But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.”

[Isaiah 41:10] Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

There is no situation we face that surprises God. None that He cannot help us to endure. Our troubles and challenges are never as big as our God. I find much comfort in seeking Him and laying my fears at His feet. I find peace in knowing God through Jesus Christ.

I encourage you to click through to the scripture hyperlinks above and read the full passages for broader context. Then try to think about what fear are you holding onto in your life that you should bring humbly before the Lord? Bring it to Him humbly and seek His help for you to endure it and overcome it.

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Can I Trust the Bible?

Biblical Evidences

My passion is to study, understand, and share the gospel of Jesus Christ and the entirety of God’s instruction in the Bible. I truly enjoy reading every day and sharing. God has provided a written document… an instruction manual… that opens up much understanding for those who accept it and study it.

However, many are lost because they turn away from and reject the Bible at the prompting of the world… Satan really.

In lieu of studying scripture directly today, I encourage each of you to visit www.BibleEvidences.com and review the presentation laid out on that site.

The site leads you through a quick, high level review of evidences for the Bible including accuracy of prophecy, archaeological evidence, medical evidence, scientific evidence, review of how carefully and accurately the word of God in the Bible has been preserved, comments briefly on other religions, and then closes with strong historical evidence of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It is important in our walk with Christ to recognize that God does not call us to have blind faith in following Him, but rather faith based in evidence. He has provided much evidence that His word is true… that He alone is God.

Some stumble in faith because they cannot see God. I can not see gravity, but there is no denying that gravity exists. I do not float away from the ground into the sky, if I stumble I fall to the ground, it takes energy to lift my legs to walk or jump. If we can thus accept and embrace understanding the impacts of gravity on our life by looking at the evidence, then we should also be able to do the same with God.

To ignore the evidence and reject God has eternal consequences… separation from God for eternity in hell. On the other hand, if we choose to accept God through Jesus Christ, then we can spend eternity with God in heaven.

I am truly thankful that God came in the form of Jesus Christ to make a way for us to be saved from our own sin nature and from Satan’s lies.

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Faith / Trusting God, Miracles, Obeying God, Prayer, Righteousness / Serving God, Suffering / Adversity

“You Really Are The Son of God!”

In Matthew 14:22-36, we continue on our journey with Jesus after He just finished feeding 5000 men plus women and children with 5 loaves and 2 fish. That was quite a miracle to witness, and many, many witnesses… including the disciples.

22 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. 23 After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.

24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning[b] Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”

27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here![c]”

28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said.

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong[d] wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

34 After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. 35 When the people recognized Jesus, the news of his arrival spread quickly throughout the whole area, and soon people were bringing all their sick to be healed. 36 They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.

Key points to draw from this scripture:

  • Jesus took time from His busy earthly ministry to pray, long stretches of undisturbed time… not just 5 minutes fit in between brushing teeth and going to sleep. Jesus demonstrated the importance of prayer in communicating with God.
  • Through scripture, Jesus is telling us that storms will come. Expect them.
  • Sometimes God directs us into the storm for our personal growth or to serve Him. He knew the storm was coming when He told the disciples to get in the boat.
  • Several of the disciples were experienced fishermen, they would not easily be frightened by an average storm. This one was rough.
  • Peter had strong faith, and when focused on Jesus was able to even walk on water! However, when he took his eyes off Jesus, focusing on the power of the storm instead of the power of God, he started to sink. We can accomplish much with strong faith in Jesus, but must stay focused on “how big our God is” instead of “how big our problems are”.
  • Jesus will answer when we earnestly seek Him. He did not let Peter drown.
  • The disciples had just previously witnessed the miracle of the loaves and fishes, and yet were still surprised when Jesus calmed the storm, proclaiming, “You really are the Son of God!”
  • When we get discouraged, lets remember that even those who walked with Jesus still had trouble in the storm. They served God while still being very much imperfect and on a journey to know Jesus more intimately and submit to Him more fully.

Praise Jesus for showing His strength through our weakness! We need not be perfect to serve Him. We need only repent from our sins, seek Him wholeheartedly asking forgiveness and submitting to Him, and proclaim Him loudly. We can call upon Him and He will answer.

Do not wait until you feel you are “good enough” to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others.  We know that Jesus is “good enough”! Start (or continue) the journey toward righteousness today. Follow Jesus and submit all areas of your life to Him. The journey to grow more like Christ and less like our own sin nature is a journey that we never complete in this life, but it transforms our lives along the way.

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Character of God, Compassion, Righteousness / Serving God

Jesus Provides For the Needs of the Crowd

Matthew 14: 13:21 continues after John the Baptist has been executed by Herod. We see Jesus wanted to be alone, but when the crowds followed, He had compassion on them. Then we are witness to an amazing miracle.

13 As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. 14 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

15 That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”

16 But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.”

17 “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered.

18 “Bring them here,” he said. 19 Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. 20 They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. 21 About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!

During His earthly ministry, Jesus routinely put the needs of others above His own. Compassion moved Him to action to help others. His disciples were also concerned about the people and wanted to make sure they could find food to eat. However, Jesus had something else in mind. He started by taking what little they did have, looking up toward heaven, and blessing it. He choose to give honor to God when it looked like there was not enough.

What we witness next is amazing and we should be careful never to take it for granted or to try to explain it away. More than 5000 people were fed and they had more left over than when they began. Talk about a miracle with lots of witnesses.

Praise God for showing compassion and providing for His people! Praise God for showing us His glory through the earthly ministry of Jesus and the many miracles He demonstrated.

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Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Heaven and Hell, Pride, Righteousness / Serving God, Suffering / Adversity, Wickedness / Evil

John the Baptist Executed On A Whim

Matthew 14:1-12 informs us about the death of John the Baptist by Herod Antipas. Herod was obviously wicked and appears to be prideful. He makes a foolish vow and then sticks by it… choosing to kill John rather than backtrack on a vow he made on a whim. It is worth noting that Herod did not even want to kill John, but determines it is better to execute John than to nullify a vow.

14 When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee,[a] heard about Jesus, 2 he said to his advisers, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead! That is why he can do such miracles.”

3 For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod’s brother Philip). 4 John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of a riot, because all the people believed John was a prophet.

6 But at a birthday party for Herod, Herodias’s daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him, 7 so he promised with a vow to give her anything she wanted. 8 At her mother’s urging, the girl said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!” 9 Then the king regretted what he had said; but because of the vow he had made in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders. 10 So John was beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. 12 Later, John’s disciples came for his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened.

It is hard to imagine such a foolish decision by Herod. The chapter even begins with recognition that Jesus, whom he thought may be John raised from the dead is doing many miracles. This seems to indicate that Herod knew John had power and authority above a normal man… but refused to acknowledge it was from God and refused to submit to it because it would call him to change how he was living.

John, on the other hand, served God even to his death. He did not compromise truth to save his own life. He lived, and died, for God. This scripture provides a stark contract between those who live for God and those who are wicked and selfish, living only for themselves and without a accurate moral sense of right and wrong.

We can be assured from the rest of God’s word that John is with God and Herod would seem to be somewhere else. There is ultimately accountability for our actions, often in this world… always when we die and face our creator.

Praise God for providing a way to salvation and forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ! Those who repent from our sins, submit to and serve Jesus Christ will also go to be with God when we die.

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Can God Use Me?, Character of God, False Prophets / Teachers, Hearing from God, Humility, Miracles, Prayer, Pride, Suffering / Adversity

Relying on God’s Power In Our Weakness

In 2 Corinthians, Paul is telling the people of Corinth about a vision God gave him. He is trying to make a point that although he had much he could brag about, he will not. Indeed Paul had much to brag about given his passionate and selfless submission and service to Jesus Christ and the divine revelation he received.

Paul then shares in 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 about a specific issue from which he suffers that God has chosen not to heal, despite several requests by Paul. We know that Paul is not a “complainer”. His ministry documents much suffering and he endured it all with minimal or no complaints, to the glory of Jesus Christ. The issue must have been significant for Paul to mention it, though we are not told about the details.

… So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul is revealing a great way to view our own weaknesses. Accepting our weakness and looking to Christ for strength is powerful. In our weakness, His power works best. This does not mean we should not strive to change our behaviors and grow to be more like Jesus… of course we should! But God knows we are weak and can use that to His glory if we are fully submitted to Him. Then we know all was accomplished because of Him and not because of ourselves.

This scripture is also a powerful reminder that those who preach that it is a matter of our personal faith alone that can deliver us from all illness or challenges are teaching false doctrine. Even Paul, who had tremendous faith, still experienced a “thorn” which he could not get rid of. “Name it and claim it” teaching is false. We are to come humbly before God with our needs and submit to His will, even if His answer is “no”.

All of us have to work to overcome our sin nature. All of us are subject to injury and illness. All of us have limitations in our abilities. It is fine to seek healing and help from God to overcome these challenges, but if the answer is “no”… then give glory to God and let His power work through your weakness.

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Hearing from God, Prayer

Experiencing Prayer with Jesus

Experiencing Prayer with Jesus, by Henry and Norman Blackaby provides a great framework for us to study the scripture regarding the example Jesus Christ set for us in His prayer life. There are many great scripture examples regarding prayer in Jesus’ life. I am sharing a few below.

Jesus encourages His disciples (and us as His followers today) to pray in Luke 18:1-8.

18 One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. 2 “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. 3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ 4 The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, 5 but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

6 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. 7 Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man[a] returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

The disciples asked Jesus how to pray in Luke 11:1-13 because they could see He demonstrated a powerful and effective prayer life. He showed them first and then when asked, He explained further with words.

11 Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

2 Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:[a]

“Father, may your name be kept holy.
    May your Kingdom come soon.
3 Give us each day the food we need,[b]
4 and forgive us our sins,
    as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation.[c]”

5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.[d]

9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 “You fathers—if your children ask[e] for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

I strongly encourage each of you to dive deeper into scripture and study how Jesus experienced prayer. In addition to reading scripture directly, I found it helpful to read Experiencing Prayer with Jesus. Henry and Norman Blackaby lead you through key elements in scripture and application in their lives and ministry.

  • Our purpose in prayer – to receive God’s instruction for our lives and become prepared to serve Him
  • Focus on receiving God’s agenda instead of bringing our own
  • Characteristics of Jesus’ prayer life
  • Pray for others
  • Pray for our daily needs
  • Pray for forgiveness and to be able to forgive others
  • Hearing God’s answers with certainty
  • Protection from temptation and from evil
  • Accomplishing God’s will
  • Honoring God’s name

Throughout the book there are leading questions to help you apply the key points of Jesus’ prayer life to your own life and develop an action plan to improve your prayer life to be more like that of Jesus.

I found much to challenge myself to develop a deeper and more passionate prayer life, modeling my behavior after that of Jesus.

Praise God for providing the example in Jesus Christ of how we are to relate to Him!

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