Jesus was never one to fulfill the expectations of
others. He operated on the Father’s
agenda, not his own and certainly not the agenda set for him by anyone
else. Matthew 9:1-8 tells a story that
demonstrates this.
Friends carried a paralyzed man to see Jesus. Imagine the excitement of the man as stories
swirled around Israel
of the healing powers of this itinerant preacher. Maybe his suffering could be ended and his
legs would work again. This man had a
hard life. Had he experienced an injury
which caused his legs to stop working?
Was this an illness, a disease that paralyzed him? We don’t know. We do know that life was not easy in those
days for people with disabilities.
This man was fortunate in one way, though. He had a group of friends who cared enough
about him to carry him to see Jesus. They carried him to see Jesus with the hope
that Jesus would heal whatever it was that caused this man’s legs to be
useless. They had hope, a dream, an
expectation of what an encounter with Jesus would produce.
But Jesus did not do what the man expected. His first words were not, “Rise and
walk,” as most likely expected. Jesus said something
strange. “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.” Jesus forgave his sins
(and deeply offended the religious in the process). It was only after Jesus addressed his sin and
dealt with the scribes that he said, “Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” Jesus dealt with the physical need only after
he addressed the spiritual need.
This act expressed the heart of Jesus and his priority in ministry. He cared first about the spiritual, about a person's relationship with God and about the sin that separates us. He put the priority on the spiritual and took care of physical thereafter.
Too often, even in our prayers and Bible reading and other spiritual pursuits, we miss the heart of Jesus. Yes, he cares about your pain. Yes, it moves him that you are sad or sorrowful. He does not dismiss your financial needs or anything else. But first and foremost, he wants to bring to close to God. He wants to confront the sin that keeps you far away.
It's a heart issue, my friend. It always is!
Father, deal with my heart – my sinful, indulgent, uncontrolled, independent, procrastinating, lazy heart. Fill my soul with your Spirit so that you may control me, so that I may be in control of my body. Help me Lord to focus on what really matters, not that I get what I want from you, but that you have your way in me.
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and He said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. This is the verse for which I named my son, Matthew because all I want for my children is that they follow Jesus. I am now 12 years waiting for the fulfillment and praying each day for that.
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