Dishonoured Deity

Brought over from yesterday’s receiving is this swelling question. Can we in all good conscience, deny the fact that in many of our Churches and among many believers, the onus is on Jesus no longer doing mighty miracles, and not on our poor, sick, dead, unbelieving faith? However, our hope to keep us relevant and not deceived in any way, is the Holy Spirit.

May we receive and respond with spirit-filled hearts and minds, as the Holy Spirit enables us, to bow and to rise to all truth. Amen! 

Jesus just could not believe what He was seeing among His own and He marveled because of their unbelief. Mark 6: 6a.  He was so rejected, so dishonoured, so not believed that He, could do no mighty work there, except that He laid hands on a few sick and healed them. Jesus only was able to lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them. There is so much going on here, our heads are being turned around, yet, we are being made to face some uncomfortable, faith-convicting and deeply challenging facts. Jesus went to His own people, to lavish on them all that He had, to give them His best as it were, but they refused Him, and to refuse Him is to refuse who He is and what He has to give. It is to refuse His Deity.

Is this what is happening in the Church today, in our time, where His people, professed believers, are? If we would for a moment, take Nazareth as the Church, then what are we seeing? What are we seeing in ourselves as we are each the Church? There is no doubt that Jesus has come to His beloved, His Church. He has come with His full Word and full Works, but has His very people rejected His Words and His Works, whether in full or part? Do not be fooled in any way. To disbelieve Jesus is to disbelieve what He says and this guarantees no mighty works from Him. The response of Jesus’ own people to Him being with them, was unbelief. So total was their unbelief that all Jesus could do was, He laid hands on a few sick and healed them.

Now consider this. In a place of unbelief, where no mighty works of Jesus can be done, some works of Jesus are done. A few sick people are healed when He places His hands on them, when He touches them. I’m deeply stirred and uncomfortably curious about many things, but this one seems to be most pressing. Is Mark suggesting to us that this work of a few sick people being healed, is not a mighty work of Jesus? What does he mean by using the word except? He could do no mighty work there, except, those few healings.

Did Jesus come, excitedly happy and most prepared to do mighty works, stupendous works, especially wondrous works for His own, works as never before seen in Nazareth? In simple faith, we are led to listen to what is spoken about Israel’s God, when He did a mighty work among them. Then Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses. Exodus 14: 31. This is brought to us as a mighty or great work of God, where the people fear Him more.

This fact of mighty or great works is beautifully captured and vividly expressed in Moses’ Song, in Exodus 15. I have chosen to bring to you just these few verses, but it will be most heart-warming to read the entire song, and have registered and re-registered upon your mind and heart who your unchanging God really is and what He can do.

I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! Exodus 15: 1.

Your right hand O LORD, has become glorious in power, Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces. And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You. Exodus 15: 6 - 7a.

Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Exodus 15: 11. 

Remember, these are God’s people who have been seeing the works of their God, but this work of saving them from Pharaoh, to them, is a stupendous, glorious wonder. 

If Jesus is God! If He and the Father are One, will not Jesus be able to do such mighty works also?

We follow through tomorrow.