May 14

Text: Matthew 15:29-31

And departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up to the mountain, He was sitting there.  And great multitudes came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, dumb, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them, so that the multitude marveled as they saw the dumb speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. (NASB)

“I cannot believe what I am seeing!”  Have you made or heard that statement?  Usually it is made when we go somewhere expecting to see something unusual.  We imagined what we would see.  We visualized the experience.  We, with confidence and anticipation, may tell others that we are going.

We make the necessary preparation as we are filled with the confidence that we will see what we anticipate.  We get there and we see.  Yet, no amount of imagination or confidence could prepare us for what we see.  Even though we anticipated the sight, what we saw still profoundly amazed us!

Consider the trusting confidence that would be required to carry a sick, disabled person into an uninhabited area to see Jesus.  Remember, there were no motorized vehicles that were private, or public (like taxis), or medical (like ambulances).  When is the last time you carried a person for miles? It would take a large amount of faith and hope to carry any sick person to an uninhabited area!

You make it—you get there.  Then what do you do?  Did you anticipate so many other people would do the same thing you did?  Then there were the many sick people there that did not need to be carried—the crippled, the non-speaking, the blind, etc.  So many people came to receive attention from one man.  Could one man meet all this need—no matter how caring he was?

Then, one by one, it happened.  The crippled walked!  The blind saw!  The non-speakers spoke!  The diseased were perfectly well!  Can you imagine the noise?  Can you imagine the gratitude?

What you see constantly amazes you!  The sight never gets old!

Suggestion for reflection: When does God’s work in Jesus amaze you?  (Read Ephesians 3:20, 21.)