 January 13, 1999
EXPLORE THE BIBLE:
Jesus sets example for
living out a life of caring
___ Mark 5:21-43;7:24-37
___By Dillard Wilbanks
___Travis Avenue Baptist Church, Fort Worth
___God cares about all aspects of life and desires to demonstrate that compassion for life through his children. In the following miracles we see modeled by Jesus the love for others which he mandated  from his followers. (Mark 12:31)
___ Jesus cares for physical health (5:25-29). The woman in this story suffered from an illness which was common and difficult to deal with. The physicians of the day had tried unsuccessfully to heal her. She had exhausted both the remedies and her finances. Not only was her health affected but the illness left her ceremonially unclean, shut out of worship and shut off from fellowship with her friends.
___Additionally, the embarrassment of the illness made it difficult to state openly. At her wits end, she comes to Jesus and attempts to touch him secretly to avoid public exposure.
___Her faith was demonstrated in a desire simply to touch his garments. Jesus rewards her faith with immediate healing. She was driven to Jesus by circumstances. He responded to her faith with compassion, unconditional love and healing. Although healing is subject to God's will, Jesus still "rewards those who earnestly seek him" by faith (Hebrews 11:6).
___ Jesus cares for life (5:40-42). The healing of the synagogue ruler's daughter is a story of contrasts. It is a contrast between despair and hope. Despair is evident in the declaration of onlookers that "there's nothing anyone can do." Hope is contrasted in the response of Jesus, "Don't be afraid, only believe." Second, it is a contrast between unrestrained distress and the confident serenity of Jesus. The basis of such confidence is found in the words of Jesus: "My Father is always at his work ... and I, too, am working" (John 5:17). Jesus had perfect confidence and trust in God to meet the worst human disaster.
___Today, an unwanted pregnancy is seen by many who experience it as just such a disaster. The crowd laments that there's nothing to do but take the life of the unborn.
___The choice for life against all odds is perceived as impossible. The God through whom nothing is impossible is always at his work. There is nothing beyond conquest when it is faced and conquered in the love of God.
___It was he who spoke another relevant contrast. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10).
___ Jesus cares for spiritual health (7:26-30). In this story of the Syrophoenician girl, we find the second restoration of a child. At first, his response to the mother's request to cast a demon out of her child seems shocking. However, the word used for dog by the Jews in expressing contempt for those of other racial lines was not the word used by Jesus. In using a word which described a pet dog, Jesus took the sting out of it. In accepting even the scraps typically thrown to the household pet after members of the household were filled, her faith was found to be real and rewarded.
___ Jesus cares for wholeness (7:34-35). In this miracle Jesus brought wholeness to a man by restoring his hearing and difficulty of speech. Jesus demonstrated both power and compassion in taking the man aside from the multitude. To Jesus this man was not just another case but an individual with a special need.
___ We are never more like Jesus than when we see people through his eyes and respond with his compassion irrespective of their need.
Frontpage / Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!
|