May 4, 2022
(Singing)
Your love is unbelievable. Your love is so amazing! You still love me. You still love me
I am just speechless so many times by your love for me. What you have brought me through and what you will bring me through. There is no obstacle that I can’t overcome with you by my side. Thank you for your love, your presence in my life. For the strength to make it through each day. Not just make it as in come to the daily finish line barely – dragging my feet and wishing it was over. But made it to the finish line with rejoicing and singing in this one man, correction one woman race.
You are not putting me against anyone else but myself. You are not comparing me to anyone else. You’re training me everyday to run this race (or maybe it’s a track) on your terms and to make it.
Thank you for seeing me as an individual and not a dot in a million dots that make up one solid colour if you glance at it. You see each of us up close and personal and you love us.
Thank you for your everlasting love. Thank you for your goodness and mercy, for your awesome self.
Luke 8:56 – They were amazed. Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened
This instruction comes after Jairus’ daughter was awoken from “sleep.” Jesus instructs that no one be told what has happened.
Mark 1:43-44 – Jesus sent him away at once and warned him, “Don’t tell anyone about this! Instead, show yourself to the priest. Then offer the sacrifices which Moses commanded as proof to people that you are clean.”
And when the man left he spoke freely about what had happened to him.
Mark 7:36 – Jesus ordered the people not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them, the more they spread the news.
I guess at heart my question is this: why order them not to tell anyone? In the recounting of what happened in Mark 7:31-36, Jesus took the deaf man with the speech impediment away from the crowd and healed him.
Matthew 9:27-31 – When Jesus left that place, two blind men followed him. They shouted, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” Jesus went into a house, and the blind men followed him. He said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they answered. He touched their eyes and said, “What you have believed will be done for you!” Then they could see. He warned them, “Don’t let anyone know about this!” But they went out and spread the news about him throughout that region.
What is interesting is that there are instances where his command not to tell was followed.
Mark 3:11-12 – Whenever people with evil spirits saw him, they would fall down in front of him and shout, “You are the Son of God!” He gave them orders not to tell people who he was.
And strangely enough (well not that strange), they obeyed.
Mark 8:29-30 – He asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah!” He ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
Matthew 16:20 – Then he strictly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
When it came to what he had done, the news was spread far and wide. When it came to who he was, it was kept close until after the Son of Man had been brought back to life.
I’m not even sure why I’m fascinated by this, but I’ve always wondered: why the instructions not to tell but yet everybody knew?
Still I wonder if it was truly a command that Jesus expected them to follow or did he understand human nature so well that he knew telling them to tell no one would cause them to tell?
Jeremiah’s Revelation
The truth is, I may never know (though I pray for revelation some day), but another scripture came to mind.
Jeremiah 20:9 – I think to myself, “I can forget the Lord and no longer speak his name.” But his word is inside me like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I wear myself out holding it in, but I can’t do it any longer.
Now Jeremiah had a special commission from Yahweh. One for which he was ridiculed, insulted and thrown into prison for. His hometown took out a contract on him. But he had been touched by Yahweh to speak his words and even when he tried to keep quiet he could not.
The people that Jesus helped, that he touched could not keep quiet. They had a fire shut up in their bones when they thought about what Jesus had done for them. How could they keep silent? When you think about it, even their lies after healing would have said something even if they had not spoken any words.
It’s not possible to keep silent once you’ve been touched by Jesus. Even now, the most vocal people about Jesus are those who have felt his touch. Those who have been healed by him. It’s not very possible to get them to be quiet about the goodness of Yahweh in their lives. I think this is one instruction that Jesus gave that he did not expect to be followed. He knew that it would have been like fire shut up in her bones, but I also think that he wanted us to experience that. He wanted us to experience the desire to speak of him for ourselves without him asking us to.
We have to want to talk about him from our own personal interaction with him and not out of obligation. Many people kept the commandments out of obligation, not love. The good news was spread out of love and not obligation, which was a major contrast especially when Jesus was here.
I felt the desire to find a way to tell others what happened when Jesus held me and I believe that’s how others felt too. “How can I release this fire in my bones?” I have to tell someone and keep on telling until the fire is quenched. Except the fire doesn’t, the more you keep in contact with Jesus.
Yahweh, thank you for the fire. Thank you for the outpouring of your Holy Spirit that makes us whole, and encourages us to speak and to sing of your goodness. You are good. And the whole world needs to know.
