Jacobs Thoughts and Doings

Anna Ruth slices one of four loaves of her whole wheat bread, hot from the oven, today.  She bakes two or three times a month, always producing tasty, nutritious bread.  Neither her Mom nor mine did this.  I think she learned in Africa.   But she still does it to the delight of her thankful family.  Stop in and have a slice!

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” 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.  The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Matthew 8:23 – 27

Jesus announced his appearance by healing the sick, etc.  As the Disciples looked on they were astounded. Is this not the son of Mary of Nazareth?  From where does he get this power to heal?

An outcast Jew cured of leprosy, amazing.  The servant of a Roman soldier, sick but now healed.  Peter’s mother-in-law whose high fever was relieved.  A Teacher of the Law reminded of the way to eternal life and now a lesson for his disciples on the boisterous Sea of Galilee.  Where Jesus was, miracles happened.  He was obviously different.

As the boat, manned by the disciples, was crossing the Sea of Galilee a fierce storm appeared out of nowhere and threatened to harm if not kill them.  Jesus, by the way, was fast asleep on the deck of the boat.  Things became desperate, even for seasoned fishermen – they faced certain peril.  While they were scurrying about to save the boat and their lives, Jesus slept soundly.  At that point, when they could no longer save the boat, they awoke Jesus!  “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”

No one knew the fury of the sea like these disciples.  They faced certain doom and they knew it!   Could it be that their minds went back to Jesus’ healing the sick?  Or was it just a fit of desperation that compelled them to wake Jesus, without knowing quite why?  In any case, Jesus must have surely known the plight of the ship and all in it.  I doubt whether the disciples even imagined that Jesus could help. He knew nothing of the ways of the sea.

But waken him, they did, only to hear him ask why they were afraid.

Without hesitation Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves and it was completely calm.  In the deafening silence, he heard a chatter among the bewildered disciples, “What kind of man is this?”

They asked the only question that really matters, “Who is this Jesus?”  It remains the eternal question of all mankind.  It is my question this morning, and yours.  May we know more of Him.

Anna Ruth produced these luscious cookies, her first try with this receipt, chocolate with a whiff of peppermint.  I voted them number one!  Come along and have some.

When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”  But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Matthew 8:18 – 22

I have pored over this little paragraph quite often.  Here are a few of my reflections.

The healings recorded in the beginning of Chapter 8 show people coming to Jesus.  He graciously heard them and healed their sick.  In this short story, we find Jesus on “the other side of the lake.”  This was far away from the familiar world of Jesus, on the western shores of the lake.

Our reading notes that a teacher of the law was so caught up in the miracles of Jesus, I do believe, that he confided with Jesus, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”  He did not want to miss a thing.  It seemed like everyone Jesus touched received healing.  This was marvelous!

Jesus had a word of caution for this enthusiasm.  He struck a somber note, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”  He did not even mention miracles in his response, but drove to a deeper, more profound level.  He made it clear that all who wish may follow him but they must be prepared to live like Jesus – without the normal securities of a Jew in Israel.  Healings are temporary, the reign of Christ is eternal. 

Now, dear reader, that is food for thought!  Am I ready to follow a person who has nothing?  Yet has everything!

Larch trees turn brown and drop their leaves in the Fall, unlike other conifers.  These two trees along the walkway of the  Greenfield Park amazed me with their beauty.

When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

Matthew 8:14, 15

I recall the day, a few years back, when I walked around what is left of the old town of Capernaum, imagining that Peter, the fisherman, lived there with his wife’s mother and probably others in the family.  What is reputed to be the place of Peter’s house was not far from the famed tabernacle.  Only the pillars and broken walls of that tabernacle remain.  I could almost see Jesus walking about in that village, touching the needy and helpless, blessing those who had problems.

Peter had a problem. His wife’s mother was suffering from a fever, maybe malaria, with which I have quite a bit of personal experience.  I recall the times in Africa when I just shook with fever and sweat as the fever soared.  Not pleasant.

Jesus simply touched her hand, without a word and the fever left her, in an instant.  This was another healing after the Sermon on the Mount.  This one takes us into the intimacy of Peter’s home and his close relationship with Jesus, now announcing his Messiah-ship by healing, a proof, so to speak, of his calling.

As I reflect on this healing, I note that Peter did not plead for Jesus to heal her.  Jesus saw her, that is it. Maybe Peter was just beginning to understand who this Jesus is.  He saw Jesus healing people, without medicines.  Who is he?  The question took on new meaning as Jesus healed a person very, very close to Peter and his family. She along with his wife ran the home.

I can see this dear woman, now healed, handing Peter a piece of bread to eat and a cup to drink, as she served all in the house.  Peter is receiving a blessing because Jesus heals.  From that day forward, for about three years, Peter saw Jesus healing and blessing.

Have we not also had our eyes opened as we began to understand how Jesus changes people, how he heals, makes new and gives hope?  So Jesus is not just an amazing teacher, but a compassionate healer.

I was impressed with Liz Hess’ painting of the nativity scene that captured the reality of all nations coming to the Light of the World, Jesus Christ. Liz always astounds me with her inspiration and finished product. I love this picture.

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”  Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”  The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith… Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.

Matthew 8:5, 6, 7, 10, 13

Having healed an outcast (a leper,) probably a Jew, Jesus then does this!  He heals a Centurion’s servant.

A Centurion?  Yes. What in the world is a Centurion?  Surprise!  He is an officer in the Roman army that was stationed in Palestine, to guard that nation from being conquered by an eastern power.  He was not even a Jew.  Living in Palestine he heard of Jesus as a Jewish healer so when his servant was paralyzed he confronted Jesus with a strange request, for healing for his servant.  Remember, this Centurion is a Roman, from who knows where?  He was stationed in Palestine as a Roman soldier, a commander of a group of 100 Roman occupying soldiers.

This Roman soldier was in trouble so, having heard that Jesus healed people, when Jesus passed by the soldier implored Jesus to heal his deathly ill his servant. The Roman acknowledged that he is impertinent, for who is he to think that God might heal his servant?  What he said is amazing, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

Jesus turned toward him and said, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”  Jesus, impressed with his faith, reached out to him, across cultural walls and healed the servant!

First an outcast leper, now a Roman soldier’s servant – what is happening here?  Do the Jews not have greater access to God than Gentiles?  It sure looks like that.

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Matthew 7:28, 29

As I understand it the greatest Jewish teachers were experts in examining all the religious laws and how they should be applied to daily living.  They offered their findings as “opinions.”  The scholars and students of the Holy Writings were highly honored and respected.  Often their opinions were adopted as requirements.

As the New Testament opens we note that the professional teachers of the Law, whether Sadducees or Pharisees, had a problem with Jesus.  He seemed to have no interest in dissecting and explaining the Law, he spoke of obeying God. This was just too ambiguous for such teachers who wanted it all spelled out – the more detail, the better.  Jesus seemingly had no time for that.  He had a higher law, “Come, follow me.”

Therefore, none of the major Jewish schools of thought, experts in Biblical interpretation, could incorporate Jesus into their teaching.  This list of Jesus’ “Blessings” simply did not fit into the world view of any of the contemporary experts. They saw no need for a person like Jesus, to teach them, because they were the experts, so be it.

I try to imagine how jarring Jesus’ teaching was for them.  Every statement seemed to undercut their belief that obedience to the Law was the way to salvation.  Jesus had none of that.

He taught that obedience to the Law was the way God’s people should live. But following Jesus Christ, the Messiah of God, called for something entirely different, walking with God, obeying Him with the whole heart.  The Jewish teachers of the Law could not even begin to think like that.  They were convinced that the way to please God was to obey the Law, as the teachers defined it.

They were aghast when Jesus spoke because he did so with authority, the authority of the Son of God.  They could not swallow that.  But they could not deny his compelling authority.