Nougat 31

Greetings

With all that is playing out in this season of pandemic; economic crises; racial tensions, ethnic conflicts, and domestic abuse globally; it is easy to be overcome with doubt. Remaining steadfast in our Faith May be challenging; but I urge us to heed the implications of today’s Holy Nougat for each of our lives.

“And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”” Mark‬ ‭8:26‬ ‭AMP‬‬

The background to this miracle is somewhat intriguing. The person whom Jesus sent home was previously blind. But, unlike other healing miracles involving blind persons, the man was taken to Jesus by townsfolk who asked for Jesus’ intervention. One would thus have expected Jesus to simply heal the msn there and then; and send him home summarily. It doesn’t follow that trajectory, however.

Instead, Jesus took him away from the crowd, and having healed him; sent him home with the caution we see today. This aberration from the expected invites a bit of background study. Bethsaida was a seaside town; home (birthplace) to Andrew, Philip and Simon; and even carried partial connections to royalty through Absalom. In the course of Jesus’ ministry, it featured as the site of the miracle of loaves and fish; possibly where he walked on water and healed Peter’s mother in law. The people there were plenty familiar with Jesus and His miracles, and many believed in Him and His divinity.

But Bethsaida had another side in biblical lore; it also the city of die-hard skeptics. In Matthew 11; Bethsaida is the second city named in Jesus’ reprimand to unbelieving cities. Jesus cursed their skepticism in the face of all they had seen and professed them to be even more spiritually lost than the Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon. That was a serious indictment.

To fully appreciate Jesus action, we may consider 3 other factors:

A) Jesus’ avoidance of skeptics (Mark 5:40),

Jesus could NOT perform miracles in spaces of unbelief, and also

C) His directive to ‘shake the dust off your feet’ where one is not welcomed

This suggests to each of us that

1. Skepticism is sin – it is the rejection of Christ‘a divinity and authority
2. Exposure to God or Jesus is NO guarantee of salvation, it is only by Faith
3. There comes a point when each of us has to make our own confession; others can’t do it for us.

So where are we in Bethsaida?

• are we the skeptics;

• are we following Jesus for fish and bread;

• are we transporting the sick to Jesus for healing; or

• are we the newly healed and converted? The day of reckoning is soon approaching; Lord help our unbelief.

In Christ’s love and grace . . .