Matthew 4:12-17 (NIV)
Jesus Begins to Preach
[12] When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. [13] Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— [14] to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
[15] “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, along the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
[16] the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.”*
[17] From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
[23] Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. [24] News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. [25] Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,* Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
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What a stir He must have made.. healing everyone he came across. I find these 'types' of passages hard to read sometimes.
ReplyDeleteAs I consider John 14:12 "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." , I'm forced to ask myself " Why am I not doing this? My heart is broken for the sick and suffering. Why are we not doing this? Is it a lack of faith?
Marshall
Marshall,
DeleteI also think that this expression of the kingdom, where all are healed, to be very challenging. Could it be that the Kingdom of Heaven is a place where disease is no longer a killer? Where sickness does not end in death but rather in an opportunity for the kingdom to come in healing grace and power? This challenges me deeply. But I refuse to allow the enemy to beat me up about what is not happening. Instead, I press in to the heart of Jesus to see what He wants to do in my life and through my life. I am longing for this manifestation of the kingdom to become a reality for the church in this day.
I have no problem believing that the Kingdom of Heaven (in time) disallows death, in fact, I find it to be a point of great rejoicing. I have no problem seeing the redemptive work in - and the character development that comes from His refining fire. I too refuse to entertain the enemy's attempt to 'beat me up'... and perhaps I'm naive - although my life's experience would suggest otherwise :) but I tend to read the Word through a very simple filter and Yes... I sense that I'm somehow missing the mark. Of course, it's about grace and not works.. and yet, we're called to live a live worthy of our calling - many paradoxes in this life of faith . Please don't misunderstand me brother... it's just that the world's on fire... and I'm feeling the urgency of it all :)
DeleteMarshall
I've been studying the word kingdom. In fact, I gained some insight from our Greek Orthodox brothers. The word "kingdom" in Hebrew is not a noun, but it can be translated as a verb. There is action in the Kingdom of God. The by product of the active presence of Jesus was that people were being healed. Maybe the active presence of the Kingdom in our lives, our church, our city, etc., will manifest itself in ways we have yet to see?
ReplyDeleteJesus preached repent, John called to produce fruit suitable to repentance - repentance and the kingdom coming or being near are associated.
ReplyDeleteDave Fox
In thinking about things here, I looked up kingdom in Greek Interlinear...
ReplyDeleteSeemed to refer more to reign of a king then what we think of as kingdom. On having complete authorityand here was a twist, the one who reigns having the ability to past authority/ability on to next of kin. Cool heh! Are we not called heirs.
After reading this I went back and reread. Verse 16 then stood out. We may live in darkness, in the shadow of death, but His reign can reach there. His reign comes to where we are at.