The Life of Jesus: Session 4 The big idea
The Life of
Jesus: Session 4
The big idea
Your faith is
often part of the healing process.
Key passage
Mark 5:25-34
The woman had
been bleeding for twelve years, no doubt an affliction that was painful and
caused her to be weak. She had spent all that she had, but no physician could
cure her. According to Leviticus 12:1-8 and 15:19-30, she was ceremonially
unclean due to her bleeding and for as long as she was bleeding. This meant
that no one could touch her, or they would be unclean as well. Everything she
touched would become unclean. Like a leper, she was like an outcast in her
community. What is extraordinary about this passage is the faith of the woman.
v28 “For she
said, ‘If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.’”
So she went up
behind Jesus, probably hoping to go unnoticed in the crowd, and “touched His
garment.” (v27)
v29 “Immediately
the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was
healed of the affliction.”
The result was
healing, and immediate healing at that. She was healed even before the rest of
the story, when Jesus, knowing that “the power had gone out of Him” (v30),
looked around to ask who had touched Him and called the woman “daughter” after
she presented herself to Him. (v34)
What exactly are
we talking about here? That’s right! Faith.
What is faith?
Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen.”
“Evidence”?
v3 “By faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things
which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”
Romans 1:20 “For
since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and
Godhead, so that they are without excuse,”
We were not
there to see the act of creation, and even if we were, we would not have
physically seen creation by the Word of God, which is not visible. So, then,
faith is the spiritual perceiving, seeing, understanding of God’s works in
creation. By faith, you clearly see His invisible attributes in what is
visible. Though not all see God in creation, it does not discount the fact that
you see it when you do. This then is evidence. Your believing does not bring
anything in existence, as some might believe faith to be. You do not see
because you believe, but you believe because you see. This is a matter of wishful
thinking versus faith based on truth. This is important to note.
“Substance”?
Whilst this
could and probably does mean that faith is confidence in God’s fulfilment of
His promises, “things hoped for”, I think it also refers to something deeper,
especially if you look at the woman in Mark 5, to whom no explicit promise of
healing was made. In fact, Hebrews 11 goes on to describe men and women, who
“all died in faith, not having
received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced
them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (v13,
emphasis mine)
If these people
of faith had faith while they had not
received the promises of God, it begs the question: what is the object of their
faith? What is the object of our
faith?
The object of
our faith is Jesus Christ, and Christ alone. Our faith is in Him, fully God,
fully man, having died, been dead, and is risen, in Him who is fully righteous
and fulfilling the law for us. In the words of Charles Haddon Spurgeon:
Mark that your faith has nothing to do with anything
within yourself. The object of your faith is nothing within you, but something
outside of you. Then believe on Him who, on that tree, with nailed hands and
feet, poured out His life for sinners. There is the object of your faith for
justification: not in yourself, nor in anything that the Holy Spirit has done
in you, or anything He has promised to do for you. You are to look to Christ
and to Christ alone.(Charles Spurgeon’s Faith, p11)
“But Jesus had
not yet died and risen while this woman was healed, while those people lived,”
you say.
Bear with me.
The people died
without receiving the promises, but while they lived they nevertheless had
every assurance that the promises would be fulfilled. In order to answer the
question, “What is the object of their faith?”, let us look at...
2 Corinthians
1:20 “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory
of God through us.”
In who? In
Christ!
Astonishingly,
the object of their faith was also Christ. Yes, they did not see Him (though
neither have we), but we must remember who Jesus is. He is the Incarnate, Son
of God.
John 1:1-3 “In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He
was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without
Him nothing was made that was made.”
Colossians
1:15-17 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or
powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all
things, and in Him all things consist.”
Hebrews 1:1-4
“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the
fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom
He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who
being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding
all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins,
sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better
than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than
they.”
John 8:56-58
“’Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.’ Then
the Jews said to Him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen
Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham
was, I AM.’”
Indeed, the
people of old believed the promises of God, that Christ the Messiah would come.
But more than that, I think, is their faith in Christ Himself.
Perhaps this
commentary by Matthew Henry on Romans 4:13-22 might help:
The
promise was made to Abraham long before the law. It points at Christ, and it
refers to the promise, Genesis 12:3. “In Thee shall all families of the
earth be blessed.” The law worketh wrath, by showing that every transgressor is
exposed to the Divine displeasure. As God intended to give men a title to the
promised blessings, so he appointed it to be by faith, that it might be wholly
of grace, to make it sure to all who were of the like precious faith with
Abraham, whether Jews or Gentiles, in all ages. The justification and salvation
of sinners, the taking to himself the Gentiles who had not been a people, were
a gracious calling of things which are not, as though they were; and this
giving a being to things that were not, proves the almighty power of God. The
nature and power of Abraham's faith are shown. He believed God's testimony, and
looked for the performance of his promise, firmly hoping when the case seemed
hopeless. It is weakness of faith, that makes a man lie poring on the
difficulties in the way of a promise. Abraham took it not for a point that
would admit of argument or debate. Unbelief is at the bottom of all our
staggerings at God's promises. The strength of faith appeared in its victory
over fears. God honours faith; and great faith honours God. It was imputed to
him for righteousness. Faith is a grace that of all others gives glory to God.
Faith clearly is the instrument by which we receive the righteousness of God,
the redemption which is by Christ; and that which is the instrument whereby we
take or receive it, cannot be the thing itself, nor can it be the gift thereby
taken and received. Abraham's faith did not justify him by its own merit or
value, but as giving him a part in Christ
Hebrews 11:27
“By faith he (Moses) forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he
endured as seeing Him who is invisible.”
(emphasis mine)
This, is what I
believe “faith is the substance of things hoped for” means. Faith, being seeing
and believing, not only in God’s fulfilment of God’s promises, but in Christ
Himself, His character, everlasting, never changing. The focus is therefore not
on the promise, but on the Promiser.
What exactly did
the woman have faith in? Not a promise, but in Jesus the Healer.
Why is faith important?
Matthew 13:58
“Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”
Hebrews 11:6
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must
believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek
Him.”
Certainly, it
does not honour our Lord if we do not believe in Him, and surely, He has not a
reason to do mighty works in our lives if we are unbelieving.
Often, we have some faith, but not as much as we’d
like. What can we do?
Mark 9:14-29
Pray the prayer
of the father of the child, as in v24. “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Luke 22:32 “But
I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have
returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
Hebrews 12:2
describes Jesus as “the author and finisher of our faith”. Indeed, we can rely
on Him for everything, including the strengthening and refining of our faith.
What happens when a promise is, at best, partially
fulfilled?
For example, you
might have a loved one who is sick, perhaps a terminal illness. You, and many
others, pray and pray and believe that God can heal her. (There is an example
in the book, page 65.) Maybe, she gets better. Maybe, she lives longer than the
doctors said she would. Then, maybe, she dies.
Did Jesus not
promise to answer our prayers? Is God not the Healer?
Yes, and yes.
Remember what we have discussed. Faith is not seeing because you believe, but
believing because you see. In other words, you are not the healer. God is. Your
faith is not (or should not be) in your faith, but in Christ. Remember that not
our will, but His be done. He answers prayer, but is not our genie.
1 John 5:14-15
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And
if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we have asked of Him.” (emphasis mine)
Remember also
that our God is a generational God. What He promises to Abraham, He fulfills in
Isaac; what He promises in Moses, He fulfills in Joshua. Remember the men and
women of faith in Hebrews 11, who died not
having received the promises, but nevertheless believed the Promiser:
“but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (v13)
Questions
How trustworthy
do we believe God to be?
How much do we
actually trust God? (Faith without works is dead. See James 2:20-22)
What are the
areas in our lives that we are not surrendering to Him? Why? (This indicates a
lack of trust, lack of faith, irrational fears, irrational because God said do
not fear, etc) What are we going to do about it?
Thank God for
His Word through John Piper (http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/what-faith-knows-and-hopes-for),
Charles Spurgeon, Matthew Henry (http://www.christnotes.org/commentary.php?b=45&c=4&com=mhc)
and Judah Smith that helped me with this lesson plan. Praise God for such men
of faith!
May our Lord
Jesus strengthen all of our faiths in Him. Amen.
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