The Healer In The House
In the gospel of Matthew (Chapter 9:27-30) we find the story of two blind men who followed Jesus into a house. Once inside He engaged them and asked them some questions. The result was both of them were healed and received their sight and Jesus ended the encounter with “Don’t tell anyone about this.”
When I was fresh out of Bible College this is one of the passages that always used to bother me. I was not questioning whether or not it was still the will of God to heal, in my mind that is a no-brainer. Although we may live in a cultural climate that is ever changing with the wind, God remains constant and unchanging. And, since He does not change, we can have confidence in His purposes and plans for us. If Jesus healed the sick during His earthly ministry then He must still do the same today (Hebrews 13:8). If He does not, then He has changed and we have a major theological crisis on our hands.
What intrigued me for some time was when He often told people not to tell anyone. That just didn’t make sense to me. I kept running into all of these references, when for example, leprosy would instantly vanish (Mark 1:44) and He would tell the recipient, “Shhhh, don’t tell anyone”.
After some time of study I finally got it. I was reading one day in Matthew (12:15-21) when Jesus went into the synagogue one morning and there was a man who had a deformity with his hand. The man’s hand was restored and then it seems as though the conversation shifts to plants and lighting fixtures, but it really doesn’t. The reference is to people. Matthew was quoting from Isaiah 42 and referring to broken, bruised, burnt out humanity.
The mission of the church has not changed in over 20 centuries. Just like Jesus, we are called to serve with compassion by preaching, teaching and healing. Jesus set the example and was more concerned about people’s lives than He was about His reputation. There is a lesson here we should all learn.
Thank God for all of the caring people in our community who reach out to serve in different ways, feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, aiding battered women and the less fortunate. The world is still full of broken people. When we are moved with compassion (the love of God in action) the Healer, who by the way is still in the house, will work with us to restore people’s lives.
Rev. Bill Young is pastor of Mt. Gerizim Christian Center
823 Cherry St. Erie, PA 16502