A New Beginning

1 day ago
3 min read

Today, a new Church and Academic year has dawned. God, who is altogether faithful, has ordered it this way and we bow to His Sovereign Will. We come to this time, in the Light of hope in Jesus, Light of the world who, regardless of all the darkness around, remains our One True Light. With hope in our hearts and a hunger to receive all that He has promised us, we continue in this most solemnly sad, yet totally hopeful walk and talk with our Master and Friend. Here is our informative text.

Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. Mark 6: 5.

Now here is the amazingly sad thing. Jesus has come to His own people, expecting to help them, using the mighty, unlimited power He possesses. His is power for which nothing is impossible. He had been using that power in several places where He was not well-known. He did mighty miracles among people who were strangers, yet He could do nothing of the kind where He was well-known. His Hands are tied.

Whatever His mighty works were, laying His Hands on a few sick and healing them was not among them. Two images are being plastered on my mind. Laying His Hands on the sick and healing them, was not all that Jesus came home to do. I liken it to this most inadequate example, yet it does give a taste of what I mean.

You have been living away from your town, receiving an education and working conscientiously. You have gained much knowledge and have amassed quite a substantially healthy sum of money. You have been helping with charities all over various places and your name is becoming well-known. You decide to return home, to build a new school, and a new hospital. You have big plans to help your people and you go home, taking your team with you. With all your financial power, your people do not welcome you. They treat you as one who has come to laud it over them. You are unable to do any of the great works you have come prepared to do.

However, a few, just two or three people who needed bills paid, and had accepted you, received your financial help. Will this not make you extremely sad and very deeply hurt? You leave your people and your hometown, taking with you all your financial power.

Is this not similar to what Jesus experienced in His hometown among His own people? He departed from His own people, with all His Spiritual power, and they knew none of it. Nevertheless, there is good news for those who believe. You will still receive Jesus’ help and healing.

The other image that is plastered on my mind, comes from the word, few. He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. Jesus and the word few, where healing is concerned, do not mesh. We never ever hear of many people coming to Jesus and He only healed a few of them. Look at this scene as recorded in Matthew 15: 30 – 31. Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down there. Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Few people being healed is not synonymous with Jesus. Yet, among His people only a few were healed. I can assure you that there were much more than a few people needing healing in Jesus’ hometown, yet only a few were healed.

We are Jesus’ people, His dear, loved people and He has come to us to shower us with His mighty miracles, in limitless abundance. Jesus is present, but are we receiving in no meagre measure, of His mighty works? The problem is not Jesus, neither His power. He is present with all His power intact. He is with us, willing and excited to work His mighty works in us and for us. We are present also, but with all our pride, pompousness and dishonouring attitude. Jesus is present, prepared and ready to do His mighty work, but He can do nothing mighty there.

The good news for us in this new beginning is this. In spite of such widespread unbelief, there are a few who believe and come to Jesus for help and healing. Though you are but a few believers, in the midst of gross, widespread unbelief, Jesus will help and heal you in your need.