In The Word
Read: Matthew 8:23- 9:8
Jesus Calms the Storm
23 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And behold, a violent storm developed on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. 25 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” 26 He *said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. 27 The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
Jesus Sends Demons into Pigs
28 And when He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men confronted Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. 29 And they cried out, saying, “What business do You have with us, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding at a distance from them. 31 And the demons begged Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” 32 And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the pigs; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 And the herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they pleaded with Him to leave their region.
A Paralyzed Man Healed
9 Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee and came to His own city.
2 And they brought to Him a paralyzed man lying on a stretcher. And seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man who was paralyzed, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!” 4 And Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He *said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and go home.” 7 And he got up and went home. 8 But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Today, we read about the extremes of faith. Surprisingly, the disciples who were with Yeshua all the time had little faith in this account. So, just because you are in His presence doesn’t mean that you have great faith. We see a whole city with no faith in Yeshua even after they witnessed a miracle. They didn’t know Him and were afraid of what they saw. Finally, we see dedicated friends that have great faith in Yeshua. Their faith is contrasted by the religious people that were more worried about rules than about people.
We all have faith in something. Maybe, like the people of the city, you don’t know Yeshua, and you are afraid to be in His presence. Or maybe, like the religious people that thought they knew God, you believe that just because you attend a church, you really know Him. Their faith was in their religion and not in their Savior. They wanted to tell Jesus how He was supposed to operate and what He was supposed to do. We do not order God around. He is Lord, and we serve Him. It is not enough to only know about Him, to be around Him, or even just go to His house. We must have a real, personal encounter with Yeshua where we surrender and believe that He is Lord of all. We must submit our lives to Him and believe that He alone can forgive our sins, heal us, and save us. Walk by faith in Him today.