Season 4 Podcast 145 The Stories of the New Testament, Matthew Ch 17:14-27, Pt 1I, “The Law of Miracles.”
Season 4 Podcast 145 The Stories of the New Testament, Matthew Ch 17:14-27, Pt 1I, “The Law of Miracles.”
Let’s examine verses 14-21. First we have a statement of the problem, verses 14-15
14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
The unnamed father is obviously a person of great faith for he sought out Jesus. The father is driven by his love for his son. Without second guessing the father, whom we know virtually nothing about, probably every parent who has a crisis in the family can relate to him. Not judging the father, many of us, however, are often crisis driven. We do not act until driven by necessity. As with the natural man, we seek Jesus only when we desperately need him. This is apply illustrated by Christ’s condemnation of those who put their faith in worldly things rather than in spiritual things. It reminds me of the curse recorded in Isaiah against the wealthy women who put their trust in temporal treasures.
Isaiah 3: 18-23
“In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, The rings, and nose jewels, The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils.
There is another striking analogy given by the Savior in Matthew 19:24.
24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
It isn’t the wealth of course that makes one unworthy to enter the kingdom of God. It is the confidence in the wealth rather than in God. Some who live in the security of their own wealth do not feel they need God. In James 2:5 we read.
5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
Those who are rich in wealth and rich in faith are twice blessed. It is not the rich who are excluded from the Kingdom of God. It is those who put their faith in their wealth. Proverbs 28 teaches:
11 The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.
As recorded in Revelation 2, John wrote to the Church in Smyrna,
9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich)
Sometimes when we are bemoaning our poverty, we should acknowledge our wealth. Christ considers wealth as only that which is eternal. There is, of course, absolutely nothing wrong with being crisis driven because frequently it has a humbling influence and provokes one to turn to God effecting a mighty change of heart. I suspect, however, that those who turn to God regardless of circumstances have the greater advantage. In the story of the father with the troubled son we cannot judge. We can only observe that because of his love for his son he came to Christ while he was near, and Christ perceiving his faith healed his son. However, before coming to Christ the father had first approached the disciples of Jesus.
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