healing

Seeing what others do not

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“…your faith has made you well.” Mark 10:46-52

As Jesus and his disciples passed through Jericho on their way up to Jerusalem, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus heard they were coming. He was sitting beside the road in his usual spot and began calling out “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

The people around him were upset at Bartimaeus and sternly told him to be quiet. Why would they do this? Were they afraid that Jesus would go another way to avoid this noisy beggar? Were they ashamed that they were standing next to a beggar? We don’t know. At any rate, Bartimaeus kept calling out, paying them no heed.

Jesus continues to come. He hears Bartimaeus and tells the people around him, “Call him here.” So, why didn’t Jesus address Bartimaeus directly? For one thing, it did force those people to have a change of heart. They went from preventing Bartimaeus from getting too close to Jesus to instead encouraging him to go to Jesus. In fact, they said, Jesus is calling for you!

Bartimaeus does not hesitate. He casts aside his cloak and approaches Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asks. Bartimaeus states the obvious, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” Jesus replies, “Go your way: your faith has made you well.”

Bartimaeus immediately received his sight and began following Jesus on the road. Was he disobedient for not doing what Jesus told him? No, I think not. His way was now Jesus’ way. How else could he respond but to follow him?

Bartimaeus, though blind, saw something the people around him did not see. He recognized Jesus for who he was, the long awaited Messiah. As a result, he calls him by his messianic title, “Son of David,” and humbly begs for mercy instead of asking for any specific thing. It is fitting that as Jesus approaches Jerusalem, the city of David, that he will be honored as the “Son of David.”

Copyright 2020 David J. Cooley

Trees walking

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“Do you see anything?” Mark 8:22-26

Jesus moves on to the next town and the people bring a blind man to him, asking him to touch him. That is what they expected, supposing this was part of his healing process. But then Jesus does something they may not have expected. He leads the blind man away from the crowd and out of the village and out of the public eye.

What follows may be described as Jesus coaxing the man to believe he can be healed. As we have seen from earlier healings, there is no need for Jesus to spit on the man’s eyes or lay his hands upon him (twice, in fact). Jesus could simply say the word – even from across town – and the healing would occur. It must have been, then, for the man’s benefit. It was important for him to have faith in Jesus and not just a spectacular event.

There are a couple of notable things about this account. First, it is the only time Jesus healed in baby steps. Healing did not occur in one dramatic moment. It took some intermediate steps and a progress report from the man that healing was beginning to occur.

Second, there is no commendation of faith by Jesus. In other cases Jesus made note of, if not marveled at, the person’s faith and healing occurred immediately. We may be seeing a bit of the spirit of Nazareth (where he could do no mighty works) evident here in this village.

But even though Jesus does not praise the man or the villagers for faith, he also does not berate them for the lack of it. However small this man’s faith may have been, it did not prevent Jesus from restoring his sight. The man did not settle for a partial blessing, of a miracle of seeing only unclearly, but persevered as Jesus again laid his hands upon him. When the man “looked intently,” he began to see clearly.

Jesus is always ready to bless us, no matter how we may try to limit his ability to do so. Don’t worry that you don’t have faith like the centurion or the woman with the flow of blood. Place what faith you have in Jesus and begin to trust him.

Copyright 2020 David J. Cooley

Opening ears and mouths

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“He has done all things well” Mark 7:31-37

Jesus is on the move again, but instead of heading back into Jewish territory he moves into Decapolis on the far side of the Sea of Galilee. This was predominately a Gentile area, with some Jewish settlements here and there. It also was where the former Gerasene demoniac was sent to proclaim what Jesus had done for him (see Mark 5).

The people bring to him a deaf man who also has difficulty speaking. They ask Jesus to heal the man by laying his hands on him. Jesus takes the man aside, away from the crowd. He puts his fingers into the man’s ears and mouth, then looks up into heaven, sighing. Finally he says, “Ephphatha! Be opened!” and the man both hears and speaks.

The specific details that Mark includes are interesting. Does he mean to present a sort of handbook to learn the “Jesus Method of Healing”? If so, the first thing a student would notice is that Jesus is not very consistent in his methods. He doesn’t seem to do the same thing twice in the same way. Actually, the last thing Jesus wants to teach is that he practices a superior sort of magic or wizardry. Healing has nothing to do with rituals and incantations and everything to do with the person of Jesus.

He emphasizes the need to focus on him, looking to him to provide all that is needed, from salvation to daily bread to healing. It is no different today. Divine healing certainly exists, but the divine healer is and always has been Jesus himself.

Look at how Jesus deals with this man who, remember, can neither hear nor speak. Obviously, verbal communication will not work. The crowd with their prying eyes does not help either and Jesus removes the man to a more private place.

Jesus then “speaks” to the man through his actions. He shows that he understands the man’s need by placing his fingers in the man’s ears. Then he spits and places the saliva on the man’s inoperative tongue. Finally, he looks up toward heaven, prompting the man to follow his gaze. Then he sighs. So far no words have been spoken but that does not prevent God from understanding the prayer. To demonstrate the healing, Jesus proclaims “Ephphatha!” which no doubt was the first thing the man heard.

Naturally, the reaction of the crowd was pure astonishment and they excitedly began spreading the news. Jesus, however, orders them not to say anything. And the more he demanded silence, the more they talked about it. There are a few guesses as to why Jesus would do this, but Mark leaves it unexplained.

One remarkable comment from this largely heathen crowd speaks (perhaps unwittingly) to the divinity of Jesus: “He has done all things well.” The Jews and later Christians could not help but to compare this saying with the creation account in Genesis, when God declares that all he had made was good.

Jesus is here!

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“…immediately the people recognized him” Mark 6:53-56

When Jesus and his disciples reached the other shore they tied up at Gennesaret. Immediately the people recognized Jesus and began to spread the news of his arrival. Today we would say the news went “viral.” Which is pretty amazing, since at that time there was no social media or other means of broadcasting important information or funny pictures of cats. All you could do was tell someone. It was literally word of mouth. Unless you brought along the cat.

But this reaction was no fleeting social sensation. It happened wherever Jesus went, in villages, cities and out in the country. And the people did not come just to see a celebrity. They had practical reasons to see Jesus which were largely related to sickness, injury and disease. They expected to receive healing from him for themselves and their loved ones. They gathered around him without hesitation, even carrying the sick to him on makeshift stretchers. There were too many of them to even think of having a private audience with Jesus. Yet they pressed forward, believing that if all they could do was touch his clothing, he would heal them. And of course he did.

Reading this passage today we might be disappointed that it is so general, without any specific cases detailed for us. This no doubt the same frustration that the apostle John expressed in closing his gospel account: “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25 ESV).

Those books are still being written, as Jesus has never ceased to speak and act. Are you prepared to fill the world with what he has done for you?

Copyright 2019 David J. Cooley

Faith training wheels

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“Don’t be afraid… only believe.” Mark 5:21-42

We now come to two more famous stories: Jairus and his daughter and the woman with the flow of blood. While neither is connected with the other, the stories do intersect and impact each other. The problem with well-known stories is simply that we think we already know what they say. We skip through them thinking we’ve pondered all there is to be considered, not expecting to find anything new. But the word of God, being living and active, should never be regarded as the agent of boredom.

Both Jairus and the woman acted in faith, though each had exhausted every other means of help before turning to Jesus. They each had decided that a specific means would accomplish their faith’s object: “Please come and lay your hands on her” and “If I just touch his garments…” As we know from the Roman centurion’s example, such conditions are not necessary for Jesus to work a miracle.

Yet Jesus honored their faith and fulfilled their requests, despite the way outside influences such as culture and tradition may have shaped their expectations. As usual, God sees past the externals and examines the heart and its true motivations. By granting healing to these two, Jesus improves their faith while increasing their knowledge of his nature. The woman can’t get away with sneaking up to him and taking a “stealth” healing from him. Healing requires a personal encounter with Jesus. There is no method or formula that works automatically. Jesus is always intimately involved.

Not much is said to reveal Jairus’ inner feelings. He seemes dazed, as if in shock, going through the motions of doing what he thinks should be done. Jesus agrees to come with Jairus, but then is interrupted by the woman in her need. Then the news comes – Jairus’ daughter has died. Jesus speaks to the turmoil Jairus had kept inside, “Don’t be afraid anymore, only believe.” That was the needed thing. Belief will overcome all obstacles and distractions. A belief that Jesus will make all things right for those he loves and that he will deliver us all safely to the end.

Copyright 2019 David J. Cooley

A great multitude

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“…for he had healed many” Mark 3:7-12

Jesus withdrew from the city to the sea with his disciples. What a change of scene! It’s hard to imagine what this must have been like from Mark’s brief description, especially to our present generation accustomed to the ever-present news camera bringing sights and sounds from every event imaginable.

Mark says Jesus “withdrew,” but to a casual viewer it must have looked like Jesus was leading an invasion. People from Galilee followed him, and from around Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and Tyre and Sidon. (What? No Pharisees?) The crowds were huge, so big that Mark refers to them as a multitude and then twice again as a “great” multitude.

What drew them was what they heard Jesus was doing, and they flocked to him hoping he could do the same for them. They crowded in closer and closer, trying to touch him and thereby be healed, for he had healed many people. The press was so great that Jesus had the disciples keep a boat ready, whether for the safety of a quick escape or to use as a convenient preaching platform we are not told.

Also caught up in the crowd were those with unclean spirits. They might have come on their own, but more likely were dragged to Jesus by desperate friends and family. These would fall down before Jesus crying, “You are the Son of God!” Jesus would always silence them and warn them to say no more. This was not the time for that, though that day will come.

The realization that Jesus is God does not come by swaying with the movement of the crowd or getting caught up in a thousand voices. He will make Himself known to each of us in his own time. We do not need to worry about missing him or being too late. He is coming in time, at the right time. Are you ready?

Copyright 2019 David J. Cooley

Watching and waiting

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“And they were watching Him… in order that they might accuse Him.” Mark 3:1-6

Jesus came into a synagogue. There was a man there with a withered hand. Why was he there? Mark makes it plain that he was to be the point of focus.

The Pharisees were also there. They were intently watching Jesus with a single purpose: to see if he would heal the man. Are they hoping to see a miracle that would end this man’s suffering? Are they joyous over the prospect that he would be made whole?

No. They want to accuse Jesus if He dares to heal the man on the Sabbath.

Jesus’ first concern is the man, but he also needs to make sure the Pharisees understand the depravity of what they are about. He calls the man forward, saying to the Pharisees, ” Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm? To save life or to kill?” They remain silent. To engage him would make it evident to everyone there that they were clearly in the wrong.

Jesus is angered by their callous silence. He is grieved by the hardness of their heart, their stubborn, willful resistance to God, their self-importance and pride. He presses forward despite them.

He tells the man to stretch out his hand. He does, displaying the first act of obedience and faith in this scene. His hand is fully restored. If jubilant rejoicing spontaneously broke out, Mark does not record it.

In fact, he notes just the opposite. The Pharisees have now seen what they came to see – a gross violation of their rules for the Sabbath. Without hesitation, they get up and leave to begin plotting to destroy Jesus. They meet with the Herodians, who they would otherwise have nothing to do with. But they would be helpful against One who was becoming too popular and too much in demand by the people, thereby destabilizing the system of power they had become comfortable with.

So what is the answer? To do good, or to do harm? To save life or to kill? Mark trusts his readers to draw the proper conclusion.

Copyright 2019 David J. Cooley

Seeing not believing

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“…in order that you may know…” Mark 2:1-12

The story of the paralyzed man and his friends is well known. It’s one of those stories that is too amazing to have been made up. The friends bring the paralyzed man to Jesus, carrying him on a makeshift stretcher. The place is so crowded they can’t come near Jesus, so they get the bright idea of coming in through the roof. We probably all have a friend or two who thinks like this, much to our embarrassment. To make a long story short, Jesus heals the man, who picks up the stretcher and walks home. That’s about it, except there were some grumpy scribes there, too. But, of course, there is more to it.

The paralyzed man and his friends are known only by their actions, not their words. We can surmise that they were driven to act, but Jesus sees deeper than us and reveals a motive we can’t see: their faith. He also sees in this man what we cannot: his need for forgiveness. Well, you say, that’s a pretty easy call. We all need our sins forgiven. And besides, Jesus is trying to make a point with those scribes in the front row. True, but I don’t think Jesus was using the man to win an argument. What we know about Jesus tells us that he puts people first, acting with compassion towards them. Then he deals with those who have a problem with it.

The scribes were neither vocal nor active, and kept their thoughts to themselves. Their fault-finding and nit-picking letter-of-the-law approach to life led them to teach that the degree of a man’s affliction indicated the degree of his sin. No wonder the paralytic had his sins on his mind! Jesus saw this. His first words to the man are “Your sins are forgiven.” The scribe’s first thoughts were “blasphemy!” and “only God can forgive sins.” How do we know this? Jesus saw it and exposed their thoughts to the crowd, who were now anxious to see a healing.

Jesus asks the scribes point blank: “How can you think like this? Is it easier to say ‘be forgiven’ or ‘be healed’?” He then issues a challenge: “So you will know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins…” He turns to the paralytic, “Rise, take up your pallet and go home.” Which the man did. The people were amazed, never having seen anything like it. The scribes? We’re not told what they thought. But the growing conflict between the official religious establishment and Jesus was now evident. Was he a fraud or the real thing, the Son of God?

Make me clean

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“And a leper came to him…” Mark 1:40-45

Who is there today that we recoil from in fear and revulsion? Those who we dare not touch or even go near? The only thing that comes to mind are those stricken with ebola. Imagine the reaction if half a dozen cases suddenly appeared at your local hospital!

Those afflicted with leprosy were regarded in much the same way in Jesus’ time. People were taught (and required) to shun lepers and to drive them away whenever they were encountered. But now Mark shows us a man who defies all social and religious convention by approaching Jesus, albeit humbly and meekly.

This man’s faith was remarkable. He had only heard the recent stories of healings and the casting out of demons. No lepers had yet been healed and history didn’t give much hope of that happening. The only question that remained in his mind was would Jesus be willing to do what this man hoped for?

Mark now tells us something new about Jesus. Up til now, he has focused on what Jesus did. Now he reveals something of what makes Jesus tick, what he is thinking and feeling. Mark says that Jesus was moved with compassion. So much so that he risked defilement by reaching out and touching the leper. To further reassure him, Jesus says plainly, “I am willing. Be cleansed.”

Immediately the man was cleansed of his leprosy. Note that Jesus touched him while he was still very unclean. Jesus then requires something curious of the man. He says to tell no one, but to go to the priests with an offering for examination as a testimony to them. The man’s natural response was to shout his good news to anybody and everybody he came across, which he did. But not to the priests, who held the opinion that leprosy was curable by God alone.

Before you judge this man’s disobedience, think about the times you may have failed to offer testimony of God’s faithful love and power to those he has sent across your path. We cannot know the extent that any disobedience hampers the spread of God’s kingdom. But in this case, we know the surge of publicity prevented Jesus from entering the cities where he desired to preach.

The fever left

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“And he healed many…” Mark 1:29-34

What is our normal response when someone is ill? Isn’t it something like “take some medicine” or “you ought to see a doctor” or “get some rest”? What gave these people the idea to come to Jesus for healing?

After the synagogue service, Jesus went to Simon and Andrew’s house right away. There didn’t seem to be any sense of urgency, it was just the next item on the list. When they got there, though, they told Jesus that Peter’s mother-in-law was ill. Mark doesn’t mention any plea for healing, just a statement of fact. Jesus immediately responds by going to her.

His manner is not remarkable: no waving of arms, special words or an imploring gaze toward heaven. He simply goes to her, takes her hand and has her get up. The fever left her and she began waiting on them. A completely normal response for a completely well person. After all, she had guests in the house!

Later, when the sun had set (signifying the end of the Sabbath and its prohibition on working) people began showing up at their door. They had brought their ill friends and loved ones and even some who were possessed by demons. How did they know to do this? Word travels fast, even without electronic devices. I remember when Mount Saint Helens erupted that a study was done to find out how people had heard about it. The answer? word of mouth. That’s how I heard.

Mark tells us the news traveled to all parts of Galilee immediately following the synagogue service. No doubt a second bulletin swiftly followed after this woman’s healing, though it was not done so publicly.

What was Jesus’ response to the gathered crowd? Did he tell them they should set aside any ideas of being healed until they had submitted to God’s will? Did he explain this really wasn’t why he came, but instead for a greater spiritual purpose? No. In fact Mark records no words of Jesus, just his behavior. He healed many and cast out many demons (while making sure they kept quiet).

The people needed to see and decide for themselves who this Jesus was and why he had such authority and power. Is there anything or anyone that we need to come to Jesus for? Do we trust him to act, to help us?

Copyright 2019 David J. Cooley