The FaithOfJesus2 Daily Devotional

Focus:

kjv@Revelation:14:12 @ Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

( FaithOfJesus thread begun by rRandyP )

Today's Verse:

kjv@Matthew:9:27-34

kjv@Matthew:9:27 @ And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.

kjv@Matthew:9:28 @ And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.

kjv@Matthew:9:29 @ Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

kjv@Matthew:9:30 @ And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.

kjv@Matthew:9:31 @ But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.

kjv@Matthew:9:32 @ As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.

kjv@Matthew:9:33 @ And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.

kjv@Matthew:9:34 @ But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.

Today's notes: Believe ye that I am able?

Context:

Before - Thy faith hath made thee whole
After - sheep having no shepherd

What is man believing/doing?:

two men - following Jesus, crying, asking for mercy
others - bringing to Jesus one possessed
Pharisees - attributing His authority over devils to a connection with Satan

What is making man to believe/do as he is doing?:

Fame of Jesus having done this before.
Rejection of the claims of Jesus and His divinity, suspicion of Him attempting mimic prophecy to establish Himself or Satan.

Notes:

Do they hold themselves as lowly needing His mercy or do they hold Him accountable asking for Him to let up on them? Notice there is no mention here of worship like with others.

Note now the missing phrase "thy faith has made thee whole" replaced by "according to you faith let it be done". Their faith is that He will do this not knowing the request that He would make of them that they would not be willing to keep. Their faith has not yet made them whole, their faith has caused them to disobey Christ even though a tremendous mercy was given them as requested. If an obstacle here toward saving faith then an obstacle future when required to receive the death and resurrection of Christ into their faith. Perhaps "Son of David" is as far as their approximation of Jesus ever went.

We should at the same time consider the difficulty a healed blind man would have when later asked how it is that he is healed not disclosing the work of Jesus. Surely Jesus would not of requested this of them had it been impossible for them to keep. Difficulty may have only required fortitude and appreciation for the scope of the deed done. The men may have thought it best, but then they are not considering the larger picture seen by Jesus such as the growing venom within the Pharisees.

(There is also a much debated interpretation by some Christians who read into the Talmud that the Pharisees were aware of Jesus having been taken to Egypt as a kid and the tale that He had there received a satanic incision on His person. Whether the reference in the Talmud has anything to do with Jesus is also highly suspect. It is included here not as a definite, but that it could be remotely possible to have been on someone present's mind... if you are going to make the accusation that He is connected to Satan you have to start thinking/explaining to others how this might be).

Another two blind men kjv@Matthew:20:30

Key Messages:

What does this say about our present condition?

Is there not a point where the fame of a person doing this closely mimics a more spiritually defined belief in the Son of Man being able to perform this? Where belief straddles entitlement? Where the more sincere faith of others make the faith of one or two more easy?
It should become more and more visible how different the messiah anticipated by the oral traditions is from the messiah anticipated by the prophets as fulfilled by Jesus. When the one can stand before the other and the other accuse Him/them acting on the behalf of Satan. Theoretical points are made to be debated, however this is not debate being encountered this is the internal repulsion. Modern critics can attempt to detach themselves from the polar extremes of gut sentiment preferring to tackle more academic differences, that looses virtual connection though to what is being alleged here.

Further Resources:

Comment Board:Matthew:9:27-34
index:FAITHOFJESUSDEVOTION - Devotional Index
strkjv@Matthew:9:27-34 rwp@Matthew:9:27-34 mhcc@Matthew:9:27-34
FaithOfJesus2 - Devotion Index

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