It is an invisible disability. If you were in a crowded room looking around, you would not be able recognize those who were deaf. But a crowded room is the loneliest place for someone who has lost the ability to hear. People who cannot hear are often misjudged. Sometimes they are thought to be arrogant because they don’t respond when spoken to, when in reality they simply cannot hear what is being said. If they have the added disability of a speech impediment, often their intellect is questioned. Sometimes people avoid them because it can be so irritating to try to communicate with someone who is deaf or even hard of hearing. The deep desire to know and to be known often is denied. How do I know this? Because I am one of them, I am partially deaf.
When I first read the story about Jesus healing the man who was deaf and had speech difficulties, I confess I thought it was an odd story. In fact, when I was teaching it I had to simply confess that I had no idea why Jesus would stick His fingers in that man’s ears. I was puzzled. However, as I continued to meditate on this picture and pursue understanding, it came. And when at last I understood, I was humbled by a God who tenderly, compassionately, and uniquely healed this man’s disability.
“They brought to Him a deaf man who had a speech difficulty, and begged Jesus to lay His hands on him" Mark 7:32). The first thing that comes to my mind is, who were “they”? In Mark 2 we have the story of a group of friends carrying their friend to Jesus. But in this story I wonder if this deaf man was brought to Jesus because “they” wanted to see a miracle performance. I also wonder how the man felt. After all, he couldn’t hear, so how could he understand why he was being brought into this crowd of people?
When I began to look at this story through the eyes of someone who is deaf, it was like being given a key that unlocked a mystery. First of all, knowing that one of the most uncomfortable places you can be when you're deaf is in a crowd where you are unsure of what is going on, I see Jesus’ compassion. Jesus took him away from the crowd, He refused to make this man a spectacle. Next, Jesus used sign language! That is why Jesus put His fingers in the man’s ears. Jesus used His own DNA when He spit and touched the man’s tongue. When Jesus looked up to heaven He was using a visual clue for the deaf man about where the healing was coming from. I had also wondered why we have the Aramaic expression He spoke when He said “Ephphatha!” until I looked at it from the man’s perspective. The man could read Jesus’ lips! With a deep sigh of compassion Jesus released this man from the disability that had isolated him.
I think that the deep sigh of Jesus was not only for the physical disability of being deaf, but it was for our spiritual deafness as well. There is an ancient baptism prayer called “Ephphatha” (Be opened). The pastor touches the ears and the mouth of the one coming for baptism and says, “The Lord has made the deaf hear and the mute speak. May He touch your ears to receive His words and your mouth to proclaim Him to the praise and glory of God the Father. Amen.”
Saturday, November 10, 2018
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Not What He Expected (Mark 1:1-11)
When I was a teenager I was introduced to a pamphlet by Campus Crusade For Christ called “The Four Spiritual Laws.” One of the laws said, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” That sounded good to me! As a teenager I was pretty sure what that wonderful plan should look like. However, long before I reached thirty I realized that God’s plan wasn’t the same as mine. When I look at the life of John the Baptist I think there is a strong possibility that his life didn’t turn out how he expected.
At the height of John’s ministry, when crowds were flocking to him to be baptized, he pointed them to the coming Messiah. He told them that he baptized with water for repentance but the Messiah would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The imagery of the Messiah was drawn from the prophet Isaiah. “Then suddenly, in an instant, you will be visited by the Lord of Hosts with thunder, earthquake, and loud noise, storm, tempest, and a flame of consuming fire” ( Isaiah 29:5,6). John pictured Him coming with a winnowing shovel in His hand, ready to clear the threshing floor, gather the wheat, and burn the chaff with a fire that would never go out. Then suddenly Jesus appeared, having walked from the small town in Galilee called Nazareth.
Jesus asked John to baptize him. This wasn’t what John was expecting. John’s birth had been miraculous, foretold by an angel to his father Zechariah. The angel had told Zechariah that his child would, “turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people” ( Luke 1:16,17). John’s father was a priest who would have taught him all the prophecies concerning the coming Messiah. John was surprised by Jesus’ humble request to be baptized. However, John had been told by God that “The One you see the Spirit descending and resting on—He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33). John saw and testified that Jesus was the Son of God.
I’m curious if John had ever wondered what his position would be after the Messiah came on the scene? The day after Jesus’ baptism two of his disciples left him and began to follow Jesus. However, it was only after John was arrested that Jesus went to Galilee and began preaching. Why was John arrested? It was because John had been faithful to preach the message of repentance even to the reprobate King Herod who had taken his brother’s wife. I don’t think this was what John had expected to happen after the long awaited Messiah had finally come.
There is no account of Jesus ever going to see John in prison even though he was there during the height of Jesus' ministry. While John was in prison he heard about what the Messiah was doing, so he sent a message by his disciples and asked Him, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else” (Matthew 11:3)? Jesus responded by saying, “Go and report to John what you hear and see; the blind see, and the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news. And if anyone is not offended because of Me, he is blessed” (Matthew 11:1-4).
Jesus answered John by pointing to the prophets. “‘Be strong; do not fear! Here is your God; vengeance is coming; God’s retribution is coming; He will save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy, and water will gush in the wilderness, and streams in the desert” (Isaiah 35:4-6). That, however, wasn’t the only prophesy Jesus quoted. He added another quote from Isaiah. This quote referred to the Messiah as, “a stone to stumble over and a rock to trip over, and a trap and a snare” (Isaiah 8:14,15).
John had not expected to be in prison when the Messiah came. However, he didn’t trip over the Rock of offense but was faithful to death. Jesus said of him, “I assure you: among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared..." (Matthew 11:1).
At the height of John’s ministry, when crowds were flocking to him to be baptized, he pointed them to the coming Messiah. He told them that he baptized with water for repentance but the Messiah would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The imagery of the Messiah was drawn from the prophet Isaiah. “Then suddenly, in an instant, you will be visited by the Lord of Hosts with thunder, earthquake, and loud noise, storm, tempest, and a flame of consuming fire” ( Isaiah 29:5,6). John pictured Him coming with a winnowing shovel in His hand, ready to clear the threshing floor, gather the wheat, and burn the chaff with a fire that would never go out. Then suddenly Jesus appeared, having walked from the small town in Galilee called Nazareth.
Jesus asked John to baptize him. This wasn’t what John was expecting. John’s birth had been miraculous, foretold by an angel to his father Zechariah. The angel had told Zechariah that his child would, “turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people” ( Luke 1:16,17). John’s father was a priest who would have taught him all the prophecies concerning the coming Messiah. John was surprised by Jesus’ humble request to be baptized. However, John had been told by God that “The One you see the Spirit descending and resting on—He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33). John saw and testified that Jesus was the Son of God.
I’m curious if John had ever wondered what his position would be after the Messiah came on the scene? The day after Jesus’ baptism two of his disciples left him and began to follow Jesus. However, it was only after John was arrested that Jesus went to Galilee and began preaching. Why was John arrested? It was because John had been faithful to preach the message of repentance even to the reprobate King Herod who had taken his brother’s wife. I don’t think this was what John had expected to happen after the long awaited Messiah had finally come.
There is no account of Jesus ever going to see John in prison even though he was there during the height of Jesus' ministry. While John was in prison he heard about what the Messiah was doing, so he sent a message by his disciples and asked Him, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else” (Matthew 11:3)? Jesus responded by saying, “Go and report to John what you hear and see; the blind see, and the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news. And if anyone is not offended because of Me, he is blessed” (Matthew 11:1-4).
Jesus answered John by pointing to the prophets. “‘Be strong; do not fear! Here is your God; vengeance is coming; God’s retribution is coming; He will save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy, and water will gush in the wilderness, and streams in the desert” (Isaiah 35:4-6). That, however, wasn’t the only prophesy Jesus quoted. He added another quote from Isaiah. This quote referred to the Messiah as, “a stone to stumble over and a rock to trip over, and a trap and a snare” (Isaiah 8:14,15).
John had not expected to be in prison when the Messiah came. However, he didn’t trip over the Rock of offense but was faithful to death. Jesus said of him, “I assure you: among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared..." (Matthew 11:1).
Saturday, November 3, 2018
A Promise Kept (Mark 1:4-8)
They were being crushed by the iron heel of Rome. I can almost hear them crying out with the words of the psalmist, “Will the Lord reject forever and never again show favor? Has His faithful love ceased forever? Is His promise at an end for all generations? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger withheld His compassion” (Psalm 77:7-9)?
As if in response God says in Isaiah, “Comfort, comfort My people, says your God.” And how does this comfort come? It comes with a promise that they would hear, “A voice crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will appear, and all humanity will see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 40:1-5).
How would they recognize this messenger? In the closing words of the Old Testament we read, “Look, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:5). Then there was silence, and for 400 years they waited for God to keep His promise.
With a shout the silence was broken! John came into the wilderness just as the prophets had foretold. How was he to prepare the way for the Lord? He came preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And, just like a people who had been awakened from an enchanted sleep, they came. The whole of Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.
Just as in the time of Joshua the Jordan River had to be crossed to enter the Promised Land, so too, John came preaching a baptism of repentance. He called on all who listen to confess their sins. Their hearts were stirred; he held them spellbound, this man wearing a camel-hair garment, whose diet was locusts and wild honey. “Someone more powerful than I will come after me. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandal. I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:4-8). And so, with heightened anticipation, they awaited the Promise.
As if in response God says in Isaiah, “Comfort, comfort My people, says your God.” And how does this comfort come? It comes with a promise that they would hear, “A voice crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will appear, and all humanity will see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 40:1-5).
How would they recognize this messenger? In the closing words of the Old Testament we read, “Look, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:5). Then there was silence, and for 400 years they waited for God to keep His promise.
With a shout the silence was broken! John came into the wilderness just as the prophets had foretold. How was he to prepare the way for the Lord? He came preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And, just like a people who had been awakened from an enchanted sleep, they came. The whole of Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.
Just as in the time of Joshua the Jordan River had to be crossed to enter the Promised Land, so too, John came preaching a baptism of repentance. He called on all who listen to confess their sins. Their hearts were stirred; he held them spellbound, this man wearing a camel-hair garment, whose diet was locusts and wild honey. “Someone more powerful than I will come after me. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandal. I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:4-8). And so, with heightened anticipation, they awaited the Promise.
Friday, November 2, 2018
Come With Me (Mark 1:1)
I arose early in the morning to climb the mountain with Moses. I read. I studied. I saw the glory of the Lord as it rested on Mount Sinai. For days, weeks, and months I studied with my heart wide open. I didn’t just want to study it with my mind; I didn’t want to simply see with the eyes of my imagination; I wanted to bathe my spirit in the light and inhale the fragrance of the incense and taste both the bread and the wine of God’s presence. In this place where the eternal God made His dwelling with man I saw Jesus Christ.
I listened with Moses and inhaled the very breath of God. I saw and received the invitation to the feasts of God. Hour upon hour I poured over the words that I found in Leviticus 23. I saw the appointed times of the Lord. I looked at the celebration that began in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, with the Lord’s Passover. I opened each invitation until I came to the feast of tabernacles. When I came to the last and greatest day of the feast I found myself in Jerusalem. I saw Jesus as He stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.” In every feast that I had studied I had seen a picture of Jesus. In response to His invitation I cried out,” Fill my cup Lord!”
Next, my studies took me to the Island of Patmos. I was there with John when he was in the spirit on the Lord’s day and he heard a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet. I listened to the message that was given to the churches. I found myself praying that I would have ears to hear, that my heart would be tender, and that I would repent of the sins that I saw exposed in the churches. I also heard with John the voice that sounded like a trumpet saying, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” And so, with John, I went all the way to the end of time and heard the Spirit and the bride say, "Come.” I have heard the invitation to the one who is thirsty to come and take and drink the water of life without cost. I heard with John Jesus say, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” And everything within me cried, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
Year after year I have studied. I have taught the Word of God. I have looked through the eyes of Moses and listened with his ears to the instruction of the Most High God. I drew the visions that were given to John in Revelation because I wanted to see the visions too. What followed was a simple childlike desire to simply see Jesus. I wanted to encounter Him through the eyes and heart of Peter.
Would you like to come with me and travel in the well-worn sandals of Peter? Would you like to come and have the mystery revealed to you as it was to him? Would you like to see light penetrating the darkness? Do you need hope in the storms of your life? Do you need to hear good news? If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, then join me as I travel back in time to “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1).
I listened with Moses and inhaled the very breath of God. I saw and received the invitation to the feasts of God. Hour upon hour I poured over the words that I found in Leviticus 23. I saw the appointed times of the Lord. I looked at the celebration that began in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, with the Lord’s Passover. I opened each invitation until I came to the feast of tabernacles. When I came to the last and greatest day of the feast I found myself in Jerusalem. I saw Jesus as He stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.” In every feast that I had studied I had seen a picture of Jesus. In response to His invitation I cried out,” Fill my cup Lord!”
Next, my studies took me to the Island of Patmos. I was there with John when he was in the spirit on the Lord’s day and he heard a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet. I listened to the message that was given to the churches. I found myself praying that I would have ears to hear, that my heart would be tender, and that I would repent of the sins that I saw exposed in the churches. I also heard with John the voice that sounded like a trumpet saying, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” And so, with John, I went all the way to the end of time and heard the Spirit and the bride say, "Come.” I have heard the invitation to the one who is thirsty to come and take and drink the water of life without cost. I heard with John Jesus say, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” And everything within me cried, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
Year after year I have studied. I have taught the Word of God. I have looked through the eyes of Moses and listened with his ears to the instruction of the Most High God. I drew the visions that were given to John in Revelation because I wanted to see the visions too. What followed was a simple childlike desire to simply see Jesus. I wanted to encounter Him through the eyes and heart of Peter.
Would you like to come with me and travel in the well-worn sandals of Peter? Would you like to come and have the mystery revealed to you as it was to him? Would you like to see light penetrating the darkness? Do you need hope in the storms of your life? Do you need to hear good news? If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, then join me as I travel back in time to “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1).
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
”As Thou Goest...”
I woke up this morning remembering the poem she gave me and what she taught me. When I was 18 I was assigned a woman in the nursing home to adopt as a grandmother. I called her Grandma Frizzy. I can’t remember now how many times we actually met but it was at a pivotal point in my life and what she shared with me remains with me to this day.
I have been praying for many people who are facing challenges. I have talked to many young people are fearful of the future. Waking to the poem that Grandma Frizzy shared with me and finding comfort in it made me think that I could do for others what Grandma Frizzy did for me.
“As Thou Goest...”
Child of My love, fear not the unknown morrow,
Dread not the new demand life makes of thee;
Thy ignorance doth hold no cause for sorrow
Since what thou knowest not is known to Me.
Thou canst not see the hidden meaning
Of My command, but thou the light shall gain;
Walk on in faith, upon my promise leaning,
And AS THOU GOEST, all shall be made plain.
One step thou see—then go forward boldly,
One step is far enough for faith to see;
Take that, and thy next duty will be told thee,
For STEP BY STEP thy Lord is leading thee.
Stand not in fear thy adversaries counting,
Dare every peril, save to disobey;
Thou shalt march on, all obstacles surmounting,
for I the Strong, WILL OPEN UP THE WAY.
Wherefore go gladly to the task assigned thee,
Having My promise, needing nothing more
Than just to know, wher’er the future find thee,
In all thy journeying I go BEFORE.
—- From the notebook of Arthur E. Ritchie
I have been praying for many people who are facing challenges. I have talked to many young people are fearful of the future. Waking to the poem that Grandma Frizzy shared with me and finding comfort in it made me think that I could do for others what Grandma Frizzy did for me.
“As Thou Goest...”
Child of My love, fear not the unknown morrow,
Dread not the new demand life makes of thee;
Thy ignorance doth hold no cause for sorrow
Since what thou knowest not is known to Me.
Thou canst not see the hidden meaning
Of My command, but thou the light shall gain;
Walk on in faith, upon my promise leaning,
And AS THOU GOEST, all shall be made plain.
One step thou see—then go forward boldly,
One step is far enough for faith to see;
Take that, and thy next duty will be told thee,
For STEP BY STEP thy Lord is leading thee.
Stand not in fear thy adversaries counting,
Dare every peril, save to disobey;
Thou shalt march on, all obstacles surmounting,
for I the Strong, WILL OPEN UP THE WAY.
Wherefore go gladly to the task assigned thee,
Having My promise, needing nothing more
Than just to know, wher’er the future find thee,
In all thy journeying I go BEFORE.
—- From the notebook of Arthur E. Ritchie
Monday, August 27, 2018
The Second Page
An ocean separates me from my son. And sometimes I want to communicate more to him than I can by phone, so I’m writing a letter to my son. I’m filling him in, telling him anecdotes about daily life. But what I really want to share are my thoughts. I want to talk to him about my meditations on the Holy Spirit, the power of God. And so, after completing the first page where I spoke to him of family news and all that I have been doing, I start the second page.
Dear Andrew,
In Genesis I see the first mention of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. The earth at that time was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths. I see this connection with the Spirit of God and water, and my mind is drawn to when Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him” (John 7:37,38). This living water is the Holy Spirit. I believe this is the same living water that we see, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God in the last chapter of the Bible.
I also see a reference to the Holy Spirit in Genesis when we are introduced to the breath of God. After God spoke all things into being the Bible says that "the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection it says that He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). I think the Holy Spirit is not only found in the form of breath, but also by the violent rushing wind from heaven on the day of Pentecost.
On the day of Pentecost there was not only wind there was fire. In 2 Samuel 22:9 you find the breath of God is also a consuming fire. Hebrews 12 tells us that the voice of God is able to shake both heaven and earth, and that our God is a consuming fire. It was in the second chapter of Acts that the Holy Spirit came in the form of tongues like flames of fire and those on whom these tongues rested were never the same.
You know, Andrew, the picture of Jesus crying out, “If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink,” is very special to me. It’s what I saw when I woke up in recovery after my brain surgery. And then there is the powerful and intimate picture of the Spirit in both Jesus breathing on His disciples and as a violent rushing wind that shakes a building. Finally, I see the Spirit as a consuming fire.
So what does your mother do with these thoughts? I enter into each day fully embraced and fully surrendered to this mystery.
Love,
Mom
Dear Andrew,
In Genesis I see the first mention of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. The earth at that time was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths. I see this connection with the Spirit of God and water, and my mind is drawn to when Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him” (John 7:37,38). This living water is the Holy Spirit. I believe this is the same living water that we see, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God in the last chapter of the Bible.
I also see a reference to the Holy Spirit in Genesis when we are introduced to the breath of God. After God spoke all things into being the Bible says that "the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection it says that He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). I think the Holy Spirit is not only found in the form of breath, but also by the violent rushing wind from heaven on the day of Pentecost.
On the day of Pentecost there was not only wind there was fire. In 2 Samuel 22:9 you find the breath of God is also a consuming fire. Hebrews 12 tells us that the voice of God is able to shake both heaven and earth, and that our God is a consuming fire. It was in the second chapter of Acts that the Holy Spirit came in the form of tongues like flames of fire and those on whom these tongues rested were never the same.
You know, Andrew, the picture of Jesus crying out, “If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink,” is very special to me. It’s what I saw when I woke up in recovery after my brain surgery. And then there is the powerful and intimate picture of the Spirit in both Jesus breathing on His disciples and as a violent rushing wind that shakes a building. Finally, I see the Spirit as a consuming fire.
So what does your mother do with these thoughts? I enter into each day fully embraced and fully surrendered to this mystery.
Love,
Mom
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
The Perfect Prayer
The man ran up, and knelt at Jesus feet. What a beautiful picture. Then came his prayer, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus listed six of the ten commands. He responded by saying that he had kept all theses from his youth. After he said this Jesus was looking at him and loved him. Can you just imagine with me for one moment what it would be like to have Jesus looking at you that way? But was this the perfect prayer?
Jesus told the rich man that he lacked just one thing and to go and sell all he had and give to the poor. When he said this I think he was pointing to the first commandment. “You shall have no other gods before Me.” I think that the young man was stunned and went away grieving because Jesus had shown him his heart. I think that he sincerely wanted to be good. Jesus had already told him that no one is good but One—God. Now, Jesus had pointed out that even though he wanted to do something to inherit eternal life he was worshiping at the alter of wealth. I think he was stunned because at the feet of Jesus he saw into his own heart for the first time.
Peter was quick to respond that he and the apostles had left everything to follow Jesus. As they continued on their journey those who had left everything began to discuss what they would gain for their sacrifice. They came to Jesus with a request saying,”Teacher, we want you to do something for us if we ask you.” Jesus responded by saying, “What do you want me to do for you?”
Sometimes when I’m praying I picture myself with Jesus and I think about him asking me, “What do you want me to do for you?” John and James responded by asking to sit at Jesus’ left and right in his glory. Like the rich young ruler they to were thinking about eternal life and their prayer revealed their hearts. Jesus didn’t rebuke them but he did say that they didn’t know what they were asking for. They accepted Jesus’ invitation to ask him for what they wanted him to do for them. But was this the perfect prayer?
Finally, we come to a man lost in the crowd, a blind beggar, sitting by the side of the road. He heard that Jesus was passing by. He couldn’t get to him because of the crowd and because he was blind. He did the only thing he could, he began to cry out to Jesus for mercy. He was getting on people’s nerves so they told him to be quiet! But he just kept on crying out for mercy.
Jesus stopped and called for the bind man. Unlike the rich young ruler who was unable to give up his possessions to follow Jesus the bind beggar threw off his coat when Jesus called him. Jesus asked the blind man the same thing he’d asked James and John, “What do you want me to do for you?” He asked for sight.
So what is the perfect prayer? I believe it is the cry for mercy. It’s the prayer of the heart that he will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. I believe when he cried out “Rabbouni, I want to see.” That he received more than physical sight.
Jesus told the rich man that he lacked just one thing and to go and sell all he had and give to the poor. When he said this I think he was pointing to the first commandment. “You shall have no other gods before Me.” I think that the young man was stunned and went away grieving because Jesus had shown him his heart. I think that he sincerely wanted to be good. Jesus had already told him that no one is good but One—God. Now, Jesus had pointed out that even though he wanted to do something to inherit eternal life he was worshiping at the alter of wealth. I think he was stunned because at the feet of Jesus he saw into his own heart for the first time.
Peter was quick to respond that he and the apostles had left everything to follow Jesus. As they continued on their journey those who had left everything began to discuss what they would gain for their sacrifice. They came to Jesus with a request saying,”Teacher, we want you to do something for us if we ask you.” Jesus responded by saying, “What do you want me to do for you?”
Sometimes when I’m praying I picture myself with Jesus and I think about him asking me, “What do you want me to do for you?” John and James responded by asking to sit at Jesus’ left and right in his glory. Like the rich young ruler they to were thinking about eternal life and their prayer revealed their hearts. Jesus didn’t rebuke them but he did say that they didn’t know what they were asking for. They accepted Jesus’ invitation to ask him for what they wanted him to do for them. But was this the perfect prayer?
Finally, we come to a man lost in the crowd, a blind beggar, sitting by the side of the road. He heard that Jesus was passing by. He couldn’t get to him because of the crowd and because he was blind. He did the only thing he could, he began to cry out to Jesus for mercy. He was getting on people’s nerves so they told him to be quiet! But he just kept on crying out for mercy.
Jesus stopped and called for the bind man. Unlike the rich young ruler who was unable to give up his possessions to follow Jesus the bind beggar threw off his coat when Jesus called him. Jesus asked the blind man the same thing he’d asked James and John, “What do you want me to do for you?” He asked for sight.
So what is the perfect prayer? I believe it is the cry for mercy. It’s the prayer of the heart that he will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. I believe when he cried out “Rabbouni, I want to see.” That he received more than physical sight.
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