Be of Good Cheer; Thy Sins be Forgiven Thee: Jesus Heals a Man with Palsy

Early in his ministry, after Jesus heals Peter's Mother in Law, multitudes throng to their doorstep, desiring healing. From then until the cross, much of Jesus' ministry will be healing every disease known (only a few are described in the New Testament). Shortly before , he has healed a leper and the centurion's servant, and delivered from devils the madmen in the Gergesenes. (Mt 8:28-34). He has crossed Galilee by then, and comes to what is described as 'his own city (9:1), in a crowded house where he preaches to them. (Makr2:2; ) 'His own city' is Capernaum.

Whatever size the crowd, he is surrounded so much so, that the one in need of healing in these passages, a

"a man sick of palsy, lying on a bed;..."(Mt 9:2)

is lowered through the ceiling. In those days, even in stone or brick houses there was a section of roof, somewhat like a large skylight, which would be left open during pleasant weather and allow quick access to the roof, which was covered over other times by woven thatch or branches. Rooftops often were akin to rooftop 'patios' now, albeit more practical, where small gardens were grown or where people would talk house to house or even make announcements. [Recall in another place in scripture, Jesus refers to what is done in secret being shouted from the housetops]

Since the crowd is so great, and his friends cannot bear his bed close enough, they devise an ingenious plan to have him appear front and center at the feet of the Lord, by carrying him to the top of the roof and lowering him down. (Mk 2:4). It took a reasonable amount of faith to go to that trouble: they had to believe there was a real possibility Jesus could heal their friend. Rather than merely moving a few branches aside to lower the fellow, it is noted the 'break up' the roof:

Mar 2:4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken [it] up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.

Jesus remarks on the faith they demonstrate:

Mar 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. (also Luke 5:19; Mt 9:2)

Those standing around were dumbfounded: they were rather expecting a healing, perhaps, following what was probably the best teaching they had ever heard, and rather than the laying on of hands, or a word speaking healing, Jesus, Yshua, says
"thy sins be forgiven thee".

So often in Jesus's ministry, the large crowds were attracted not initially by a hunger for the things of God, but for seeing 'wonders'. Signs and wonders were indeed suppose to follow the Messiah (wonder-ful, Is 9:6) Isaiah notes in 8:18 that signs and wonders follow the 'rock of offense', and Jesus speaks himself to the reason many follow:

Jhn 4:48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

It was not that the signs and wonders were not good: they were works of God, it was merely that he wished a faith which would withstand a brutal world without signs and wonders. In the healing of the man with palsy, in response to a great faith that would tear open a tile roof and lower a friend on a bed, believing he would be healed, Jesus does not say: 'be made whole initially as in so many other healings, instead he says

...Son, thy sins be forgiven thee; Mk 2:5
...Son be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee Mt 9:2
...Man, thy sins be forgiven thee Lk 5:20

The requisite faith had been shown, not spoken, and a gift greater than earthly healing had taken place, the forgiveness of sins.

The Scribes and Pharisees among the crowd are immediately taken aback. It is interesting to note that the Scribes and Pharisees are present, indicating that at least some took him seriously, even this early and were present if not to believe then to attend to closely. There is often a mistaken notion that all Pharisees were opposed to Jesus, but the truth is, a few were followers such as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea, and others invited him after hearing him preach in synagogue to dine with them, e.g. the healing of the man with the withered hand. In any event, positive or negative they took Jesus seriously, constantly confronting him about doctrine and regulation, some of genuine interest and some to 'catch him in his speech'.

This healing of palsy though is unique because it points to :

1. Jesus as the Son of Man, Ben Adam, the Messiah
2. Jesus 's ability to remit or forgive sin.

If Jesus were not the Messiah, then saying to the paralyzed man 'thy sins be forgiven thee' might have even been construed as cruel, yet rather then dismissing or forgoing the healing, Jesus shows that with true faith, a greater healing is possible: the healing of salvation and forgiveness of sins, by God, the only one who could truly forgive and remit sin. If he were not the Messiah it would be blasphemous! The Pharisees and scribes though immediately confront him:

Mt 9:3 And behold,certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth."

Mk 2: 5-7 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their own hearts 7 Why doth this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?

Lk 5:21 And the scribes and the Pharisees , began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sin, but God alone?

We have mentioned before that a 3 fold mention of words or an event in scripture is significant. (In research we talk of statistical significance, here it is 'scripturally significant'.) In both Mk 2:5-7 and in Luke 5:21, the teachers of the Law answer their own question without knowing it: "Who can forgive sin but God alone?" and then they have the difficult task of comprehending 'what Messiah ought to be". ²

Jesus though perceives their hearts: He knows and can tell that they carry a sinister thought; he confronts them before they can respond, while still reasoning:

Mt. 9:4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say,Arise and walk?

Mark 2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? 9 Whether it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee;or to say Arise, and take up thy bed and walk?

Luke 5:22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts he answering said unto them What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?

The healing will pursue the above questing which Jesus addresses to the Pharisees and Scribes. Note that they were willing to see Jesus do a miracle of healing, which had to be from God, but not to hear him forgive sin. Some of the 'nabe' or prophets had healed, but none before had done more than either make a sacrifice for the people, or warn of sin. So I suspect they already had to know that Jesus was or at least possibly was the Messiah, because of signs, healings and miracles, but they were not prepared for the dept and breadth of Messiah incarnate, Messiah in the flesh: that he could forgive sin, or later put away and atone for sin, and still do the astounding act of making straight the limbs of one with palsy.

The Command of Healing

The great act of forgiving sin is unexpected and leaves the crowd baffled, but Jesus' next act is the healing itself, to help all understand (for all time,) that while healings are wondrous works of God, the far greater work is the forgiveness of sin, the breaking of the Edenic curse. In the healing Jesus declers himse by the Messianic title 'Son of Man' (also used of prophets), shows that he has power on earth to forgive, and that he can command his creation, before or after being made whole:

Mt 9:6 But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

Mk 2:11 I say unto thee Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine own house.

Lk 5:24 ... I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.

As in many healings, the command to 'ARISE' is used, a literal command lifting the person out of a static state, and taking hold of the thing that has so long taken ahold of him: the bed that bound him, a symbol of the palsied condition that held him in bondage. The son of man in healing, forgives sin, and delivers from bondage.

The Man with Palsy Arises
The healing is immediate, and the description simple:

Mt 9:7 And he arose and departed to his house.

Mark notes that it was seen of all:

Mk2:12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all;...,

and Luke 5:25 adds that he "...departed to his own house, glorifying God.

The healing is so complete that even atrophied limbs are no obstacle: he arises and goes forth as soon as the words are spoken and the healing is in full view even of doubters. The reaction is praise and amazement: God is real; His Son is real; His power is infinite: no one can think to do more than praise and glorify God.
Matthew 9:8 and Mk 9:12, as well as Luke 5:26 note the glorifying of God, but also remark on
A. The power given unto men
B. The uniqueness of it : 'never saw it on this fashion.'
C. The fearfulness at the new thing in Israel: 'We have seen strange things today."


All are amazed at 1) the novelty, 2) the power, 3) God, and Luke notes fear: not an unusual reaction to something out of ordinary experience.

The forgiveness of sin though, Jesus implies is an even greater miracle and gift of God which Messiah offers and marks Messiah: they can stand healed bodies, but they bulk at the healing of souls. The power of God forgiving sin, and curing the incurable with merely a word, leaves several present afraid, and unable to comprehend the height of what the Son of Man is doing.

As the man returns home walking for the first time in years, having dominion over his bondage by carrying his bed, his sins forgiven in the deliverance of the Messiah, what a day that must have been. Faith had been rewarded far above what man expected, but the power of God was terrifying to those of little or no faith. They had never, in Israel "seen it on this fashion". Upon leaving, Jesus calls his disciples, who will be empowered with the 'terrifying' and marvelous power of God.

The trying of Faith and the Casting Out of the Dumb Spirit in an Only Son

Jesus has just been on the mount of Transfiguration with his disciples, Peter, James and John. What they saw there was so astounding, that Jesus commanded them to say nothing until he would rise from the dead. This encounter with heaven so indescribeable at the time, was the backdrop for a healing yet to come: the Casting Out of a Dumb Spirit.

Coming down from the mount, Jesus encounters a father who is distraught about the condition of his son. The man pleads for Jesus to attend to his child, who has a deaf spirit, and calls for Jesus to attend to the vexed son.

And behold, a man of the company cried out, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son; for he is my only child,39 And lo, a spirit takes him and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again and after bruising him hardly departeth from him. Luke 9:38-39

While this healing is referred to as a casting out of a 'dumb' spirit, it is quite literally the casting out of a devil, and though these days one seldom hears a discussion of such things, deafness or dumbness on more than one occasion accompanied or was manifested in devil posession or 'vexation'. This grieving father is so overwrought with his son's condition, that he pleads with Jesus for the son's relief, since it is the father's only child. The healing bears such significance that it is written of in all three synoptic Gospels.

What Devils Do: The Torment of Possession

When we speak today of 'devils' or 'demons' or use concepts such as 'demonic possession' or oppression, we are often cast off as being given over to mythological concepts far too obscure for the sophisticated 'modern mind', and yet throughout all cultures, and at all times in history, there has held both the concept and reports of demonic possession. Even from a very unbelieving and unlikely source, a book, by humanistic psychologist Rollo May comes the idea of the demonic in a treatise called "Psychology and the Demonic" in which Rollo May posits the existence of a 'force' which overwhelms and overcomes a person. May uses the idea more as an 'archetype' but applies it to ideas of addiction or mental illness, e.g. depression, which so overtakes a person that it controls them, instead of them controlling it. So while most today scoff at the idea of 'devils' or demonic possession, many others are aware that even in the 21st century there are documented cases of 'devil possession' and that they follow suit the descriptions of demonic possession described in the Holy Bible.

One of the primary goals of anything to do with Satan in general, is the process of 'overthrow'. Satan sought to overthrow God's sovereignty and purpose in Heaven, and was cast out. He is noted as taking with him 'the third of the stars', and the doctrine most often taught is that the rebellion and division in heaven was so serious as to cast down Satan and his evil minions, and to condemn them for ever: but war occurs first. The war is not a war of this world, where God and his angels fight against Satan and his devils, nor the common concept of good and evil: this war never challenges God's Sovereignty, but until the appointed time, the battle for men's soul's continue, though the outcome was settled 'since the foundation of the world'. The battle for men is one of belief vs. unbelief, more than the battle for 'good'vs. 'evil' for the depth of wisdom to discern the two, belongs to God.

The presence then, of the 'demonic' or 'devils' or 'vexation' while dismissed in the current zeitgeist, nonetheless has been observed, described and met by theological investigations throughout all ages of recorded history. While today the most a humanist can muster is a psychological 'metaphor' for the demonic, most world religions even apart from Christian belief address and report it, and there are even several major motion pictures which have dealt with Roman Catholic accounts of 'demon possession'. Apart from what the world thinks, though, in an age of unbelief, the Holy Scriptures describe in detail Jesus's encounter with those possessed with devils, and his reaction in every case is to bring them under authority and cast them out. He never leaves a vexed or possessed person in the same condition, and the outcome is always the wholeness and wellbeing of those who had demons cast out, including the SyroPhenician Woman's daughter in the last study, the man from the Gadarenes, the possessed in the Synagogue at the beginning of his ministry, Mary Magdalene, and several others.

The Condition of Devil Possession

As Jesus encounters the father of the boy with the 'dumb spirit' (devil possession sometime has the accompanied characteristic of deafness or dumbness), the father, is in distress due to the terrible nature of the boy's condition:

Mark 9:17 ....Master, I have brough unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit and wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him; and he foameth and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away. and I spaketh to thy disciples that they should cast him out and they could not.

Note the nature of the demonic hold, is hell like, and forceful, and always harmful:

1. The demonic spirit 'takes him'
2. The demonic spirit 'tears him'
3. There is foaming at the mouth
4. There is gnashing of teeth (driven behavior)
5.There is pining, despair

We have learned from other studies in the Word that a demonic spirit or devil seeks to overpower and overthrow its 'host' and sees persons as 'hosts': Jesus tells of how devils when cast out, must stay out, or should they enter in again, bring back an even greater 'overthrow'

Luk 11:26 Then goeth he, and taketh [to him] seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last [state] of that man is worse than the first.

A few other things are noted about this little boy in this terrible state: he is described as lunatic and vexed:

...Lord have mercy on my son for he is a lunatik and sore vexed: for oft time she falleth into the fire, and oft into the water...17:14

The severity is not just emotional pain or 'oddness' but involves real physical assault by the controlling spirit: the child is being either cast into the fire and water, or at least toppled into them and with the previous symptoms of gnashing teeth, and pining, with an inability to speak in a normal fashion. It is interesting also, that the elements of fire and water appear, which still bear mention today in satanic cults.

The torment the child suffers effects all around him: it is apparent that his father is beside himself with anguish over the child's condition.

The Failure to Cast Out the Devil

The father does not go first to Jesus, he goes to the disciples who have been empowered with his Name, the Word, and his anointing. The disciples though are unable to cast out the devil, and the father, as well as the disciples are perplexed. Jesus though brings it all back to the primary issue of faith:

...and I spaketh to thy disciples that they should cast him out and they could not.

Mt17:16 And I brought him unto thy disciples, and they could not cure him

Jesus's direct response in the three Gospels that contain the passage is:

Matthew 17:17 O faithless and perverse generation,howlong shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

Mark He answered him saying "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him to me.

LUKE 9 And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.

Jesus's responses always bear an element of surprise: he does not often answer predictably. Throughout the healings while the Lord of love is after the wholeness of his creation, he is also after one premiere goal: faith, by which Salvation may be attained. This young man in question had been a long time in the condition. In Mark Jesus asks his father:

How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. Mk 9:21.

It was a lifelong affliction. The disciples responded to the affliction without finding out how severe the affliction was. The child was the father's only child. Yet all of this aside,and the remedy yet to come, the disciples are rebuked for being 'perverse' and 'faithless'. The word 'perverse' is diastrepho, which means to distort, turn aside,oppose, etc, or in this instance, to overthrow the plan of God and revert back.[BLB] Jesus's exasperation is with their lack of faith, and missing the target, so to speak. He later notes that "this kind comes only out by prayer and fasting." As in other healings, Jesus is after their wholeness, but the first order of wholeness is faith.

The Healing of the vexed Son

Matthew 17:18And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him and...the child was cured from that very hour.

MARK When Jesus saw the people come running together he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee come out of him, and enter in to im no more. 9:25)

LUKE And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean Spirit, and healed the child, delivered him again to his father.

Jesus in Mark 23-24 takes the issue of faith further for the father, and the father responds in the way of those genuinely desiring to have saving faith:

Jesus saith unto him If thou canst believe all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out and said, I believe, help thou my unbelief.

This is a classic statement of those whose heart longs for God and the things of God,but whose faith falls short: I believe,help thou my unbelief. It is not that we sometimes, like father of the vexed son do not have faith, only that our faith is insufficient to meet what confronts us. Jesus is out to save lost sheep, he is out to bring back the house of Israel, the children of Israel to the everlasting covenant and way of God. To have Abraham the father of faith, as one's father, one must walk in faith, for the true children of Abraham are not children of the flesh only. Abraham did not only give physical birth to a nation of 12 tribes, he gave birth to a nation who would walk in faith in relationship with their God and Messiah: a nation that would see what the world could not see, and which would win every war in which that faith was strong. So when Jesus calls the father of the child to a faith which makes all things possible, to belief that strong, the father, like Peter in the boat, takes the first step out, calling for the completeness of faith in Messiah.

The result is saving faith for the purpose in this case of curing the boy whom had been beset since birth with torment. The child was cured by Jesus immediately. Jesus healed the child and delivered him again to his father.

...the child was cured from that very hour. Mt 17:18
Luk 9:42 And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare [him]. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.

Note again the devil appears to know his time of tormenting and inhabiting the child is drawing short, and one cannot help but believe it is because as in other manifestations of the demonic that even they know who Jesus is and what he can do (e.g. Gadarenes). Before Jesus rebukes the spirit, the devil tears him violently one last time. Jesus speaks, Jesus rebukes the devil and the child is restored whole to the father, ending years of pain for both.

The people who see the wondrous cure become "amazed at the mighty power of God". Who else in Israel had ever delivered a child vexed with a devil? Who had cured the 'mentally ill' (a term used today). None: not even the prophets. This healing singles out the unique and sovereign power of the LORD.

The disciples did not deliver the child because of an underestimation of what they confronted. The war between God's children in this world, and the forces attempting to overthrow them, their families and their faith is strong and without mercy. Time in the Word, time alone with God, clearing oneself of everything of this world including food through fasting is sometimes necessary to block out all the impinging 'noise' and confusion which may abrogate the power of God in our lives. The disciples had to learn the depth of the battle.

More about Vexation

In the study on the SyroPhenician woman's daughter, we spoke a little of the idea of 'vexation': here it is only mentioned in Matthew 17:14 when the child is called 'sore vexed'. The word here is the Greek "pascho"

πάσχω

which means "to be affected, have a sensible experience, suffer sadly, to have a bad plight or be sick,and is used regarding a possession to healed of.) It goes with the idea of a peril to be delivered of. The scriptures speak of the enemies being vexed (Ps 6:10; Saul being vexed Ps 6:3, bones, or the stranger,fatherless ,widow,poor and needy. THe notion is that intense suffering is present which exhausts the ability of the sufferer to overcome by themselves. As the devil takes control of this young son, he displaces the personhood of the child, and we see not the child, but the bedevilment or demonic manifestation.

Another point of interest is the phrase 'cast into the fire': the word for cast is 'ballo' and fire is pyre, but the more fascinating note is that the kind of casting is a careless 'tossing' as in not caring at all where a thing falls ¹ and fire is noted in Thayer's lexicon as certainly the obvious element, but something that tears asunder, takes apart, and destroys. The insane vexation of devil possession is a horrible foreshadowing of what hell does to a person, such that the person in the end is so 'out of the way' that Jesus describes hell as a place 'where the worm dieth not', referring to the utter degeneration of the person when out from the presence of God.

"Casting into the fire" is an expression used to indicate total destruction and total judgment, since anything cast into the fire is totally destroyed. Things in the bible spoken ofas cast into the fire are Idols, (Is 37:19) enemies (Ps 140:10), the 'roll' in Jeremiah (Jer 36:23) theruin of resources (Jer 22:7), wood consumed for no work (Eze 15:4), trees which do not bring forth fruit (Mt 3:10, Mk7:19; Lk 3:9), Hell, and fire that shall never be quenced. (Mk 9:43,5;Jn 15:6) BLB (Thayers) notes its symbolism of dissension.

Following the healing of the father's son with the violent spirit, the child restored whole to life, Jesus expounds of his betrayal into the hands of men, and what will befall him. What Jesus teaches right after a healing is always worth noting for it is likely a direct reference to the healing that has just occurred and it's critical lesson. It is noted that the spirit 'cries out', and that it had so overpowered the child that he looked dead at deliverance:

Mar 9:26 And [the spirit] cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.

Mar 9:27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

As they leave the scene of the healing, discussing why the devil did not come out at first, and then Jesus explaining what must befall the son of man for their sakes, the eminent presence of this healing remains: Jesus holds a child up promising his special blessing and protection and noting that any who touches a child would be better to have a millstone tied around his neck. He begins upon passing through Galilee then, to teach on hell, and how it is better to even cut a limb off rather than use it to sin, and miss the mark of entering into God's Kingdom. The little son was delivered from a shadow of hell on earth: Jesus calls for a greater deliverance, which only he AND NOT EVEN HIS DISCIPLES can wrought.

cool stuff. ekb

The Syro-Phenician Woman's Daughter: Devil Vexation

In Tyre and Sidon, (Zidon) after leaving Gennesaret, Jesus is encountered by a woman of Canaan regarding her daughter who is vexed with a devil. The setting of Tyre and Sidon is an interesting backdrop for a healing which involves the casting out of a demonic spirit, because these were the 'twin cities' on the coast which were known for riches, world trade and a host of decadent practices and lifestyles, including slavery. In the Old Testament, Ezekiel warns Tyre and Zidon that they are to be so judged for the degree of their wickedness that only fishing nets left out to dry will remain, and other prophets note their wickedness as well such as Isaiah and Joel:

Eze 26:3 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.


Eze 26:4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.


Eze 26:5 It shall be [a place for] the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.

Yet it is here in the remnants of the once great cities, that a non-Israeli woman seeks and finds the healing for her daughter from the Savior who was the answer to the wickedness of those cities long before.

The woman is of Canaan, and she approaches the Lord with pleas for mercy:

....And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is greivously vexed with a devil. Mt 15:22

Jesus's response though, is initially one of non-response. It says he 'answered not a word', but the persistence of another gentile, would be used for an illustration to Israel, just as had the faith of the Centurion in the last study. She was apparently making quite a stir, begging for the well-being of her daughter, for the noisome woman caused the disciples to come to Jesus to send her away:

Send her away; for she crieth after us.

The clamoring and crying though showed the requisite faith which Jesus sought in all those he healed: she KNEW that Jesus could heal her daughter. In true form though Jesus does not give an expected answer, but answers from the depth of Heaven, saying

"....I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" 15:24

Is this an unkindness by the Lord? Is He telling the stricken mother that only Jews can be healed? There are a couple times in Scripture where it seems on the surface that Jesus is being less than kind, but that is a serious misunderstanding. The woman is a Canaanite: they were even in the day of Jesus idol worshippers. The woman is seeking healing from a Jewish man, a rabbi, a prophet (nabe), so her faith has already carried her over one boundary, for neither the Canaanitish people nor the Jews cared for a great deal of commerce among one another. Jesus's response though is very telling, because he does not first attend to the healing, but addresses his purpose, of being sent to Israel, and being for the sake of Israel. It is not that Jesus is unconcerned with the suffering of her daughter, but instead the passage emphasizes his concern with the lost of Israel. Salvation was of the Jews. The prophecies were of the Jews, the Jews were the oracles of God: the faith she had was being trained a step further.

The woman responds not with outrage or rebuke but enters into faith further, showing

1. worship

2.faith, and

3 supplication.

Then came she and worshipped him, saying 'Lord, Help me.' Mt 15:25.

This humility and heartfelt plea to the Lord, showed that she believed he was the Lord, or at least divine, because she fell in worship! While certain pagan groups occasionally treated a rare few as 'gods', such as Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:12) most did not fall in worship at a man's feet, yet this happens over and over in encounters with the Lord.

Some think this interchange between the Syro-Phenician woman and Jesus indicates prejudice or insensitivity but that is also not true. One must remember the predicament of first century Israel. The Syro-Phenicians with others farther north had:

1. Changed the ways of God
2. Intermingled with the Jews which was forbidden
3. Had a false system of worship, and
4. Were characterized by idolatry.

They were enemies of the Jews who hardly treated them well. Here though is not a political issue, but a grieving mom, begging for the true Lord's help and worshipping him. Yet Jesus replies what seems curtly:

"...It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." vs 26

While the word 'dogs' may seem abusive,and the word means exactly that, it was used in that day for 'evilworkers' and sorcerers (Ph 3:2; rEV 22:15) to refer to those to avoid who would ruin the faith of Israel, and were equated with murderers, adulterers and idolators who are kept outside the gate. He was noting that healing and the Gospel were for the more faithful Jews, at least first, but the woman continues in her plea for mercy:

And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbswhich fall from their Master's table.

She is tenacious and will not let go. She never rails, never takes offense, never ceases right humility before the Lord, but reasons with the Redeemer that she is aware of Truth, and that she will settle for the smallest crumbs of what the Lord will offer.

The Reward of Persistent Faith

Does Jesus turn away and ignore her? No, it was never the way of Jesus to ever turn away those begging to be let into fervent faith. Faith as we have seen time and time again, was what Jesus was after, even requiring for healing. He immediately turns away from the sharp response, to a reward of the woman's faith, who is pleading not for herself, but for her child:

"O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt"

The reward of faith for this non-Jew, this Greek-Canaanite-SyroPhenician woman isgreat and immediate:

"...And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. Mt 15:28"

This healing takes place right before the great multitudes are healed on a mountain beside Galilee.

The Vexation of a Devil

The parallel passage in Mark (7:25) speaks to the vexation as an "unclean spirit". The term appears 11 times in the Bible, 10 of which are in the New Testament and the Greek reads,
akathartos pneuma. Pneuma, as we have spoken of before in other bible studies is spirit with the connotation of air or breath; akathartos is rendered 'unclean' but applies to ceremonial uncleanness and/or moral uncleaness. The possession by 'devils' or demonic possession often carries with it a lewd characterization as well: whatever those walking in light and love and holiness are comfortable with, the demonic is equally uncomfortable with those things. Unclean spirits seem to love desert dry places (Mt 12:43) and are ferocious and violent, sometimes causing thrashing and unusual strength such as in the son who threw himself into a fire, or as in the Man of the Gadarenes whom chains could not hold, and found tombs a suitable habitat. An unclean spirit also, if cast out, wanders around dry places but with opportunity will return to a 'host'. The host we see in the New Testament is usually a person, and sometimes a child, but in one case, Jesus casts demonic spirits into a herd of swine who go charging over a cliff.

"Unclean Spirits" attend to the periphery of Jesus's ministry: from the announcement in the Synagogue of his ministry by the reading of Isaiah 61, his 'inaugural address' unclean spirits begin to occasionally cry out with howlings of 'i know who you are' but Jesus silences them.

In this healing, the daughter is not present, one of the few healings where merely the word of the Lord is spoken afar off, and the person is healed. This is one of the few where a devil is cast out without being directly in contact with the person. The mother BELIEVES and trusts, and the little Canaanite girl is completely well when her mother returns:

And when she was come to her house she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed. Mk 7:30

Immediately following the casting out, Jesus departs to the coasts of Decapolis.

Sidon was the first city founded in Phenicia: and was know for breathtaking views, fruits and a fertile plain. There were many ruins and even today the 'King of the Sidonians' tomb may be found verifying the location. It was a place of Asthoreth worship, and Dagon and Baal worship---so that a history of demonic activity cannot be thought of as unusual, and either the mother's practices or that of relatives or acquaintances may have set the stage for the 'vexation'. However, in 1860 an expedition to the area found little verifying the curse of the prophets: the great story of the daughter's healing has lasted far beyond the one of the wickedness of the cities. The Lost Sheep of the house of Israel had but to wait momentarily for Jesus to return to healing Israel: the cause of healing for this woman from pagan surrounds was her humility, love and faith combined with trust and supplication, to provoke Israel to what was rightfully theirs.

Till next time: many blessings in the Name of Yeshua:
ELizabeth K. Best
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note: this study is an updated version of an earlier study from 2005

Faith, In Israel: The Healing of the Centurion's Servant

Most of the healings done by Jesus were healings of the children of Israel. A few times though, and quite distinctly, Jesus heals non-israelis, even enemies of Israel, both in compassion, and to make a divine point. The healing of the Centurion's Servant is one such occasion.

The healing of the Centurion's servant takes place after the healing of the Leper, after the Sermon on the mount and before the healing of Peter's Mother-in-Law following teaching on Shabbat in the Synagogue. The healing is in Capernaum, Jesus' 'hometown' when he descends from the mount where He has taught the beatitudes.

The Roman Centurion who encounters Jesus seems an unlikely person to humble themselves before the Lord and Savior and ask for mercy for a mere servant. To begin with, the fellows chosen as centurions, were hardly chosen for their affability: they were brutal, strong and totally dedicated to Rome, and among the least likely who would ever approach a Jewish Rabbi and ask in faith for him to aid a suffering servant. On this day in Israel though, near the early part of Jesus' ministry of healing and preaching, the encounter both brought the Roman guard to trusting in the Redeemer, and to show all Israel, what God required in a people of faith, to exact the power and work of God in the nation .

This healing also bears another distinction: it is one of the few where the one who is healed, does not encounter Jesus. Yet ironically, the healing is one in which the Messiah points to the nature of faith behind all the healings: trusting in the Son of God.

The fact that the healing took place in the town Jesus lived is also remarkable, because even the divine Rabbi himself had pointed out that "a prophet is a prophet everywhere but in his own country". The Centurion, without us knowing why he was there on that particular day (they were all over Israel, but could have been sent to 'assess' this itinerate teacher), saw something in the Lord that impressed him so, that he confronts him about the healing of a servant sick at home. The request was simple:

"Lord my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented."

and the Savior's reply was equally simple:

"And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. Matt 8:7"

The Centurion's Act of Faith

Men of war rarely are concerned with the tender affection for a servant's suffering: they most often have a more brutal outlook on life, a 'matter-of-fact' approach to daily trivia. They also rarely see themselves as less than anyone, save for a superior officer, a higher 'order', and it was hardly a Roman stance to humble oneself before the Jews in general, much less before a 'country' preacher from Nazareth and the surrounds. The humility of the Centurion before God is eminent in this gentile soldier. Rome, most likely including himself, had been crucifying Jewish men, imprisoning others and some years before had set a group of zealots afire, burning them alive for protesting and taking down the Roman eagle insignia on the Temple, a sign of idolatry. The emphasis here on the man's humility needs to be seen in the context of the 'zeitgeist' of Israel in that hour. If one may speculate, it is not unlikely that the Centurion was of a slightly more humane sort, since he is noted in Luke as having built a synagogue for the Jews, and and that having most likely seen or heard of Jesus healing others, sent Jewish elders to Jesus on his behalf. (Not all of the healings Jesus did are recorded in the Scriptures). When the Centurion then espouses his 'unworthiness' for the great honor of the healing of a servant, it must be seen as the exceptional act that it truly is, and why Jesus later commends it.

"The Centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." mt 8:8

A Roman soldier noting his own 'unworthiness?' Think of how phenomenal that was to the crowd who attended. Rome did not bow to Israel, Israel was being required to bow to Rome. His request of the Lord was also one of utter trust: he was not looking for a sign or a miraculous act, or a feeling, but placed his faith in the WORD of the Lord. "Speak the Word only..." was the apex of his faith. It was faith in the Word of the Lord without requiring His presence or even his touch.

The Rationale of Rank and Order in Heaven and Faith

Faith is so critical among the virtues, in heaven's eyes, that nothing really surpasses it, save for Love itself: we are saved by faith, and faith alone, and the healings of Jesus are for the purpose of faith and salvation. The word 'faith' in the Greek is:

πίστις or 'pistis'

and it means belief, fidelity, or trusting in the truth, particularly of God. He is after our trust as He is after our Love. We can actually love God without really exercising life-giving faith: what's not to love? He saves, protects, keeps, provides and comforts. He is always there. But do we trust him? Even in daily life, we can love some one but not trust them, yet that is because people are not always trustworthy. God is. So to go to the depths of Love for God, the very thing He saves us for, is to go to the depth of faith and trust.

One of the reasons that the Centurion trusts the Lord is not merely because he saw other healings, but because he sensed the power of the Lord, and the authority of the Lord. Power and authority are two commodities which Roman soldiers understood. The Centurion understands implicitly Sovereignty, rank, order and leadership, as he conversely understands surrender to authority obedience and the necessity or quick obedience in battle. He is able to apply 'soldiering' to the divine order and battle as well. The Roman officer shows his understanding of sovereign authority and being under authority:

Mt. 8:9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

The Centurion expects obedience from those below him, so he expects to obey those above, and in Jesus he recognizes such power and authority, that it illicits utter trust, to the point that he does not even feel worthy to have him under his roof, this great Sovereign whom he has encountered in Israel this day. This happens elsewhere in the scriptures. When Jesus stands before Pilate, Pilate's premiere question is whether He is a King. Another Roman Ranking leader says

Mar 15:2 And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest [it].

Isn't it noteworthy that there is such a sense of kingship about Jesus among the leaders of Rome and the leaders in that day of the Jews (in Roman collusion). Those men knew authority and what makes a leader. Herod in Jesus' infancy sends to kill the newborn infant king, sensing his eminent overthrow. The leaders of Israel when Jesus is 12 listen to him attentively in the Temple. I used to wonder why Jesus was only questioned and not arrested or killed when He overthrew the moneychangers: the reason: it was His house, His rule, and they could sense it. They question him instead about WHERE his authority comes from, not whether he has it:

Mat 21:23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

And by the time He is given over to the death on the Cross, Pilate sets his charges over His head much to the consternation of the Pharisees who have just crowned him with thorns, placed a scepter of reeds in his hand

Mat 27:29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put [it] upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

and Pilate in unalterable Roman edict posts His crime:

Mat 27:37 And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

He does so in every language of the time and area. That the Roman Centurion then, recognizes immediately the greater authority of Messiah and the veracity of his word (the way, THE TRUTH and the life..), so much so that his entire trust is place in Jesus' word and command. It is such an impressive display of faith by a gentile, much less a Roman officer, that Jesus commends his faith and clear understanding of the divine nature of authority, rank order and obedience to Israel when he says,

When Jesus heard it, he marvelled and said to them that followed Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel.

Now, it is not unlike God to use Gentiles to provoke Israel to jealousy!

(".... I will move them to jealousy with [those which are] not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation." Dt 32:21)

Jesus certainly in the line of Jacob does not mean to 'supplant' Israel with Gentiles, but to invoke them to jealousy, that they may follow what is excellent in faith and other matters. He was sent first to Israel, to the '...lost sheep of the house of Israel' as had been all the prophets, because the Jews were sanctified and called out, set apart for a purpose to bear the Word of God, the Oracles of God, the Messiah, and the glory of God. The Jews were supposed to, at that point in history have been the leaders in faith, so when an excellent spirit in the form of a Roman Centurion exhibits that life-giving faith, not even for himself but for another at a much lower level of society, Jesus holds up his example before all Israel, that they might not be replaced by it, but take their rightful place in the doing of it.

Jesus Commends the Faith of Gentiles

Following the commendation of faith Jesus commends another well known account in the Tenach of great faith in a gentile woman encountering a prophet of God in the Widow of Zarepheth (Serpta) who was obedient to a prophet:

Luke 4:26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Serepta, a city of Sidon unto a woman that was a widow. (Her son was brought back from death,)

and the healing of the Syrian King Naaman:

...and none of them [Israeli lepers] was cleansed, saving Naaman, the Syrian.

Naaman the King of Syria was OBEDIENT. He was a little particular in obedience to get rid of his leprosy, in that he wanted to wash in 'better rivers' in Syria, but he obeyed the prophet and was healed. Likewise, the Widow encountering the Prophet of God obeyed and her son lived. Jesus commends the FAITH of these two non-Israelis, not to replace Syria for Israel, but for Israel to learn to take the lead. In the New Testament he also commends the faith of the Syrophoenician woman and seeks the faith and understanding in Samaria of the woman at the well. He was interested in faith above national and ethnic boundaries.

That faith is such a pre-eminent value is self-evident: Jesus commends it above even the Chosen status of the Chosen people, and the apostle Paul notes in Romans that 'they are not all Israel that are of Israel'. Love is the greatest value, but real love is integrated with faith. The Jews are His first and Chosen people, but the ways of God are eminent and not compromised. Right order is faith in the hands of the Jews, to teach the nations, but the Lord is not above a topsy-turvy example to rebuke Israel.

The heartcry of the Chosen is to have fulfilled the eternal covenant, the everlasting Covenant and be the children of Abraham Isaac and Jacob before God in Heaven. It is the end of faith. Jesus commends faith in a Gentile though over no faith in a Jew, who is one only of the flesh: that is his point, not 'replacement'. The Jews are being instructed to 'own that part of their inheritance.

Mt. 8:11 And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven.

In the Kingdom of Heaven, faith is first. The Jews are called the "Children of the Kingdom" and warned of eternal judgment in turning away from the God of Israel.

But the children of the Kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 8:12

Rebellion and carnal living is anathema to faith. They lead to separation from God and both lead to a diminishing or even eradication of faith, needed for salvation, healing and a walk with God.

The Reward of Faith: The Servant with Palsy is Healed

We have barely mentioned the 'type' of healing here, which is critical: it is 'palsy'. In an earlier study we looked at the healing of palsy by one of the apostles in the Book of Acts, but it is the 'incurable' Palsy, with muscular deformity and atrophy that makes this act of faith even more prominent.

And Jesus said unto the Centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, So be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed the same hour. 8:13

Here again among the healings of Jesus we note the 'immediacy': not weeks, days and hours of the palsy beginning to disappear with stiff limbs loosening up, but an immediate cessation of the condition and all symptoms. All because someone intervened and begged for mercy for another! Not even the Centurion had to enter his own house for the healing to occur. There is no mistake that Jesus was the agent of healing: this is not some mustering of faith as a sort of 'mind over matter' as New Agers would like to believe, but FAITH in the Healer, the Lord God. The Centurion trusted the 'King of the Jews' sensing His power and authority over even the 'unchangeable' things of the world, such as palsy. His word was enough.

The implications of this healing are varied:

1. Jesus speaks, and is not even present, but the man is healed, noting the ubiquitous power of God.
2. Jesus heals a Gentile's servant noting that God is no respecter of persons, or of lowliness of the state of a human being in his beneficence.
3. Jesus stresses faith over race and nations, while keeping the Jews first, as a separated and sanctified nation.
4. Jesus uses this healing to teach of eternal life and judgment
5. Healing can be as in this instance, by word, without touching, metting faith
6. Jesus points to rank and order in Divine authority and surrender, and
7. Vicarious requests for healing in faith are honored.

This healing of a palsied servant, without the request of the servant, without Jewish heritage, without even the faith of the servant (eminent in most healings) shows the power and authority of divine healing. Jesus is healer, but he is also 'Commander in Chief' and nothing is too hard for him, or beyond the loving touch of his healing, including the atrophied condition of a servant in Israel, nor the hard heartedness of a Roman soldier, of the order who would later crucify the healer.

Speak the word only, Lord, and we shall be healed.


Till next time.
Elizabeth K. Best
Judah's Glory Bible Studies
Healing of Christ Series: The Centurion's Servant.

(will post a pdf copy shortly).

Healing Virtue: The Power of Healing

In the study of the healing of the Lord and Savior, most read over the particulars of the individual healings, and preaching in the modern world tends to use the healings as a 'metaphor' or 'springboard' for other issues and doctrines. The power of God in healings is seldom more than mentioned: we praise God for His power, we talk about Holy Spirit healing and the gifts, and we sing songs which at least speak of the power of Almighty God, but only rarely is the power behind healing really attended to. Only thrice in the New Testament is 'healing virtue' truly dealt with by name, after the healing in Mark and Luke of the Woman who touches Jesus' garment, and also once again though not by name, it the Book of Acts, when it is noted that persons who saw the healings by the apostles desired even an item of clothing, and the report is that persons were healing by the touch of a handkerchief. The idea of clothing having 'power' of any kind is not reckoned in modern thinking, and it was not really the clothing per se at all, but the power of God which goes out in healing. That power, again is referred to as 'healing virtue'.

The two mentions in the Gospel are as follows:

Mar 5:30 And Jesus immediately, knowing in himself thatvirtue had gone out of him. turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?

Luk 6:19-And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed [them] all.

Luk 8:46 -And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.

Virtue: The Power of Healing

The word 'Virtue' used in the above passages, is not the same word 'virtue' as used when referring to a type of moral purity or excellence and honor. The word 'Virtue' used in these passages on healing is:

Dynamis

the same root as the word 'dynamite' and used in similar words to note an intense power, ability, miracle strength, abundance of power, and sometimes refers to the power of a ruler, or an 'administrative power'. The healings then that Jesus did, and later his apostles and disciples, can be fairly said to be pointing to His Kingly power and glory, in a divine sense, but also a very real 'power' that when Jesus lays hands on the sick, infirm,possessed or deaf and blind, causes them to be made whole, as though no impairment had ever been. The power of God in 'virtue', appears to be a work/power that heals human beings, but more than that, in Jesus and later Paul, there is something so great about it that it lingers even on the garment of the Lord, or of those indwelt by the Holy Spirit:

Act 19:12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

One must first consider, that the 'power' in the healing miracles is that of the power of the Holy Spirit: it is not a 'substance', not a 'method', not some electrical conduit as modern minds would prefer so they could dismiss it, but the living glory of God, the power of God, the 'existence' of God and one could carefully and not occulticly use the word 'force' in proper context, which emanates from the Holy Spirit. The power in Christ, and his disciples was so great that even touching the hem of a garment caused healing and the casting out of demons away from the physical presence of Jesus and Paul.

The 'healing virtue' is mentioned in the woman with the issue of blood, in Luke and Mark, and less clearly in Mt. 9:22, resulting in immediate healing, and peripherally in one of the 'healing of the multitudes' passages when the crowd clamors just to touch Jesus, because virtue is perceived as coming out of him. These were real healings, not placebo-effect acts of the imagination, or some desire-bent effect.

In other healings, where Jesus touches or commands the sick to arise, or devils to depart, there is a direct contact or verbal directive which one could see alone as some quality of the Savior alone, in his "administrative' authority. These passages though brief seem to teach though that the power of God in healing is

1. felt and known(e.g. Jesus perceives virtue has left him when touched)
2. affects the immediate garment that touches in the examples either Jesus or Paul,
3. the Virtue or dynamis-power heals, makes right, makes whole a dissensioned state of a human being.

While this is the clear teaching of the passages, and is self-evident, a note of caution must be added: today there is a 'miracles-market' in which a lot of feigned healings and power, or even worse 'emulated' power goes out claimingto be the same thing as the healing virtue of Christ. TV ministries try to entice with purchasable 'prayer cloths' or oils, or one mass mailing gimic sends out paper prayer rugs or other items that supposedly have a special blessing or healing effect, and these merchandising scams are despicable: they play on the longing of people in distress who are desperate for healings. NEVER in scripture is healing associated with a charge.

Gehazi and Naaman and the 'Cost' of Charging for Healing

While most consider healing a 'New Testament' phenomenon, a 'post-pentecost' gift, the healing by God's power is also mentioned in the Old Testament.

When Elisha is confronted by Naaman for the healing of leprosy, Naaman offers a reward of clothing, gifts and so on, which Elisha turns down flat. Throughout the Old and New Testament, no association could be made between healing or prophecy and the payment of fees, monies or reward for the free gift of God, the free healing 'virtue'. What could one reimburse God with for His power? The finest riches would never be sufficient. Elisha's servant Gehazi finds out, when he runs after Naaman on his way back to Syria and tells him he will accept the reward. When Gehazi returns to Elisha, the Prophet is abrupt and definitive, and the chastisement is severe for thinking there could be a reward or purchase of God's power of healing:

2Ki 5:26 And he said unto him, Went not mine heart [with thee], when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? [Is it] a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?
2Ki 5:27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper [as white] as snow.

Not only was the servant rebuked for asking or receiving a reward, but he was cursed with the same disease as Naaman, and not only himself but his generation. The Holy Spirit of God is exactly that: HOLY, and his gifts are HOLY. Earthly commerce is not to taint the meeting of God with man in any form.

The Outcome

As Jesus travels to raise Jairus' daughter, the healing of the woman with an issue of blood is parenthetical: she comes behind Jesus in the crowd touches his garment, and says,

"...If I may touch but hisclothes, I shall be made whole" MK 5:28.

There are a few elements worth noting in this and the healing of the multitudes:

1. They had faith that the touch of the garment was enough
2. The garment was worn by in this case the Lord, and in the other a believer
filled with the Holy Spirit and always in the Word of God
3. There was no cost nor reward
4. The outcome was healing: being made whole.

The requisite FAITH for healing was there. A meekness of spirit was there, as they were satisfied if they could touch only the garment of the healer, the healing/gift was carried out in the Way of God, and the outcome was the immediate healing of the woman with the issue of blood and other healings not specified.

The power of God was not some sort of 'magic' clinging to a cloth or handkerchief, but the power of the living God, present in the genuine, living existing Savior or His Holy Spirit, the 'parakletos', comforter whom He sent to indwell us and keep us and work through us. Some wish to dismiss healings and miracles or turn them into wishful magic or conversely into mere metaphor as if they could not be, but the power of God is real, and did not die in the first century. To dismiss healing is to dismiss the power of God, and the presence of the Holy Spirit, "Christ in us, the Hope of Glory". The very discussion and use of the term 'virute' in the Word of God, shows that it is not merely some 'invention' or 'happy thought' of Jesus in our hearts, like we speak of peace or love 'in our hearts' which are ideas and thoughts but a real power of the LIVING GOD in this century and until the end of time. Healing virtue in the days of Jesus as now, is the power of God among us.

Till next time.
Elizabeth K. Best
Many blessings.