Doctrine of the Angelic Conflict, part 63 – The essence of God – Omnipotence (miracles

Title: Doctrine of the Angelic Conflict, part 63 - The essence of God - Omnipotence (miracles).     

 

21. Healing Canaanite woman’s daughter: God’s power will give the believer perseverance in prayer, MAT 15:21-28.

 

MAT 15:21 And Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon.

 

MAT 15:22 And behold, a Canaanite woman [Mark - Syrophoenician race; Gentile] came out from that region, and began to cry out, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed."

 

She calls Him Lord revealing her faith. She also calls Him Son of David as a Gentile meaning that she is approaching Him on Jewish ground. If she is trying to imitate being a Jew so that He’ll do this for her cannot be determined, but Jesus knows she has faith and that she will persist.

 

MAT 15:23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came to Him and kept asking Him, saying, "Send her away, for she is shouting out after us."

 

There’s good Christian compassion for you. Quick point: You’re not always going to find comfort and compassion from Christians.

 

MAT 15:24 But He answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 

 

He says no. God says no to your request and it may just be that He wants you to persevere in prayer so that you will see the power of prayer. If we got everything we asked for the first time we asked for it we wouldn’t see power in prayer, rather we would abuse it as spoiled kids who get everything they ask for, capacity or no.

 

MAT 15:25 But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"

 

She drops the Messianic title cause it didn’t work.

 

Now she’s on her knees, a broken sinner in need of help from her Lord. That is often right where God wants us. [thorn in the flesh]

 

MAT 15:26 And He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." 

 

MAR 7:27

And He was saying to her, "Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

 

First He says no and now He intimates that she’ll have to wait until the Jews are satisfied. So we could say that the fulfillment is getting closer. He’s not playing games, but rather He is desirous of her learning something.

 

MAT 15:27 But she said, "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."

 

This has to be the smartest reply the Lord ever got. She changed her request from help me to this is why you’re going to help me. Don’t always ask for the same thing in the exact same way. Persevere with the why’s and the how’s of your requests.

 

Perseverance in prayer will lead us to recognize the why’s and how’s of God’s will and not just the what’s, and we won’t always ask for the same thing in the same way.

 

Knowing the what and the why and the how of God’s will increases our faith in God’s will.

 

MAT 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, your faith is great; be it done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed at once.

 

It was this faith that Jesus acknowledged, and immediately He healed her daughter. It is worth noting that both of the persons in the Gospel of Matthew who had "great faith" were Gentiles: this Canaanite woman and the Roman centurion (MAT 8:5-13). In both cases, Jesus healed the one in need from a distance. Spiritually speaking, the Gentiles were "afar off' until Calvary, when Jesus Christ died for both Jews and Gentiles and made reconciliation possible (EPH 2:11 ff).

 

This woman's faith was great because she persisted in asking and trusting when everything seemed against her.

 

Certainly her race was against her. She was a Gentile. Her sex was against her, for most Jewish rabbis paid little attention to women. It seemed that the disciples were against her, and Christ's words might have led her to believe that even He was against her. All of these obstacles only made her persist in asking.

 

22. Healing deaf man. God’s power will be commuted to every believer with positive volition no matter what handicaps (genetic, environmental, or volitional) he has, MAR 7:31-37.

 

This is the only healing of deafness recorded. One of the major points for us to glean from this is that the man cannot hear any promises or commands. We’ve seen our Lord ask questions to others - do you believe I can do this, your sins are forgiven you, what shall I do for you, etc. but He asking this man anything would be futile. What He does speak, He speaks in prayer to the Father.

 

The Lord will come to all who believe and will reveal Himself to those who continue in His word in whatever capacity they need.

 

MAR 7:31 And again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis.

 

Decapolis = ten cities a very Roman province known as a Rome away from Rome.

 

MAR 7:32 And they brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty [not dumb, but probably deaf from birth or for a very long time], and they entreated Him to lay His hand upon him.

 

MAR 7:33 And He took him aside from the multitude by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva;

 

He took the man aside, away from the distraction of the crowd so that He could do something unique with Him so that the man would know without a doubt that all healing comes directly through the person and work of Christ.  

 

The man cannot hear the words of Jesus, but he can feel what Jesus is doing. We have seen two miracles to remove dumbness, but the two men were demon possessed so the Lord just spoke a word commanding the demon out and He did not touch them.

 

The two blind men were not demon possessed and He touched them. The leper He touched, the woman with the hemorrhage touched Him. He touched Jairus’ daughter. He touches this man. It seems that when demons are involved He commands and when it’s our own frailties minus demon influence He touches. We can count on both in our spiritual walk; commands that remove false doctrines of doctrines of demons and comfort in our personal relationship with Him when it comes to our frailties [no demon possession; but there is always the danger of demon influence].

 

MAR 7:34 and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, "Ephphatha!" [Aramaic] that is, "Be opened!" 

 

 “deep sigh” - groan of prayer [same word used for HS; ROM 8:26] with a grief for the blindness, deafness, and dumbness of fallen man deceived by the work of the KOD.

 

The deep sigh is a groan, same word used of the HS praying for us. Yet is has the connotation of grief, but of course our sinless Savior wouldn’t have grief for Himself but for the blindness, deafness, and dumbness of the human race resultant from the fall and the work of the KOD.

 

MAR 7:35 And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly.

 

MAR 7:36 And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it.

 

Makes one wonder if the Lord has been using reverse psychology, but probably not.

 

MAR 7:37 And they were utterly astonished, saying, "He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak."
 

23. Feeding the 4000. The reality of God’s power will only be inculcated after much repetition, MAR 8:1-10.

 

It turns out that at about the close of His Galilean ministry He fed 5000 and here at around the close of His Decapolis ministry He fed 4000 - first and second suppers so to speak. His Judean ministry would close with the last supper. The first supper was mostly Jews and the second supper was mostly Gentiles while the last supper is the blood of the lamb for both. The two will be made into one wall through the cornerstone, Eph 2.

 

People looking for contradictions in the Bible like to choose this miracle and the feeding of the 5000 in order to point out contradictions. Though there are similarities, they are definitely not the same.

 

The first miracle took place in Galilee, near Bethsaida, and involved predominantly Jews [didn’t wash hands - Mar 7]. This miracle took place near Decapolis and involved mostly Gentiles. In the first miracle, Jesus started with five loaves and two fish, while here He had seven loaves "and a few fish." The 5,000 had been with Him one day, but the 4, 000 had been with him three days. Twelve baskets of fragments were left over after the 5, 000 were fed, but only seven baskets after the 4,000 were fed. There were even two different kinds of baskets used: for the 5,000, small wicker lunch baskets (kophinos); for the 4,000, large hampers, big enough to hold a man (spuris, same type of basket used to lower Paul out the window in Damascus, ACT 9:25).

 

MAR 8:1 In those days again, when there was a great multitude and they had nothing to eat, He called His disciples and said to them,

 

MAR 8:2 "I feel compassion for the multitude because they have remained with Me now three days, and have nothing to eat;

 

MAR 8:3 and if I send them away hungry to their home, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a distance. " 

 

MAR 8:4 And His disciples answered Him, "Where will anyone be able to find enough to satisfy these men with bread here in a desolate place?"

 

Seriously? Despite all they’ve seen they still turn to human viewpoint solutions. These are a crowd of Gentiles whereas the 5000 were Jews, but that still doesn’t warrant human viewpoint.

 

After witnessing the Lord deliver us so many times we still may look for human solutions in the next test. The Lord delivers anyway and patiently waits for us to look only to Him.

 

2PE 3:9

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

 

ISA 30:18

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,

And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.

For the Lord is a God of justice;

How blessed are all those who long for Him.

 

There is no rebuke or question of faith this time. The Lord knows they will turn away from human viewpoint when the time is right (when they start their ministries).

 

Eventually we must come to a place where we don’t forget His benefits to us.

 

PSA 103:1-2

Bless the Lord, O my soul;

And all that is within me, bless His holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget none of His benefits;

 

And this gives us another principle:

Human viewpoint never stops the Lord from doing what He righteously intends to do.

 

MAR 8:5 And He was asking them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven."

 

MAR 8:6 And He directed the multitude to sit down on the ground [same as before - rest and be served by your Lord and then in gratitude you will serve Him and His people - you’ve got to sit and receive Eph 1-3; before you can walk Eph 4-5]; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve to them, and they served them to the multitude.

 

MAR 8:7 They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well.

 

MAR 8:8 And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces.

 

MAR 8:9 And about four thousand were there; and He sent them away.

 

MAR 8:10 And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples, and came to the district of Dalmanutha.

 

It is amazing what He says to them next. It’s not a part of the miracle but the fallout after the miracle if the believer remains under falsehood and human viewpoint.  

 

MAR 8:11 And the Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him.

 

MAR 8:12 And sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, "Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation." 

 

His hour is soon approaching. The feeding of the 5000 was done at the Passover before His final Passover. It is now around summerfall and He will leave the northern territory of Galilee and Decapolis for the last time. Only a few more months remain. Not only is He grieved because this generation in Israel doesn’t get it, but also because His hand picked disciples are still just as lost.

 

Since Mark was writing primarily for Gentile readers, he did not include our Lord's words concerning the sign of the Prophet Jonah (Matt 16:4, and see Matt 12:38-41). What is "the sign of Jonah"? First it is the warning of the destruction of the city unless there is repentance. Secondly it is the three days in the belly of the fish, representing Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. The proof that Jesus is what He claimed to be is the fact of His own death, burial, and resurrection in the first gospel messages at Pentecost (Acts 2:22-36; 3:12-26).

 

MAR 8:13 And leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.

 

MAR 8:14 And they had forgotten to take bread; and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them.

 

It’s serious discussion time.

 

MAR 8:15 And He was giving orders to them, saying, "Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."

 

Leaven represents sin, evil, and falsehood.

 

In this context, Jesus warned them about the false doctrine and legalism of the Pharisees and the followers of Herod. The Pharisees honored God with their lips but their heart was far from Him. They practiced and encouraged hypocrisy. The Herodians were a worldly group who catered to Herod Antipas (Herod the Great’s son), accepted the Roman way of life, and saw in Herod and his rule the promised kingdom for the Jewish nation.

 

The Lord warns them against the infection of legalism and false doctrine [leaven of Pharisees] as well as hope in worldly rulers for deliverance [leaven of Herod].

 

If this false teaching got into the hearts and minds of the disciples, it would infect them and pollute the truth Jesus Christ had given them to proclaim about Himself and His kingdom.