Matthew 8:1-4 (NKJV) When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
A large crowd had been following Him and saw Jesus responding to the man with leprosy. The man asked Jesus to heal him. Jesus responded willingly. Immediately he recovered.
This is a very simple story and easy to take at face value. The reality is that in a matter of seconds, which is what the writer suggests, there is incredible biological changes. Nerves that had lost their function were rejuvenated, they could feel again.No longer could he put his hand in a fire and not feelthe pain and the damage that it would do. He could look after himself like a normal person and mix with people. He would be no longer ostracised.
Tissue recovered and cells changed or replaced. It is an amazing happening. WhatJesus achieves in seconds, doctors, with all their knowledge, cannot achieve today. Not only thatmuch of what happened was visible for all to see and recognise. Those that are there see it happen and it leaves such a significant impact those present remember story and pass it on. They call it a miracle. All the little things that had to happen, did. Scientific things that scientists could only wish to understand happened with incredible speed. All these things were hidden behind the term ‘miracle’. The truth about how this miracle happened was far beyond the understanding of the onlookers; and perhaps even today’s scientists. So it is simply recorded as a miracle.
We can never underestimate the creativity of God and we need to look inside the story. We need to understand two things, one was the historical accuracy of the Scriptures; which much is been written about. Second thing we need to do, is to understand what John knew when he wrote the first chapter of his book. The person doing the miracle, is the personification of the person that created in the beginning. The science of that story is also two incredible for us to understand and may be even to read. Jesus is in control of even the smallest particles known to man and can affect these.
In the passage, we can see that a thorough consideration the world about us should give an idea of God and should encourage us to begin the search in the right direction.
An example of of the primacy of the bible is in the following. In a current affairs discussion on the television, a scientist with miles of doctorates after his name came to discuss some scientific relevant issues. His first statement was that “science has proved that there is no life after death.” Now, on what grounds could he say that. What experience or experiments has shown this. It was a ridiculous statement. On the other side, the bible is very specific. We can believe in theresurrection because Christ rose from the dead. This is recorded within ten to fifteen years after it happened and was preached and supported within weeks of its occurrence. It was contemporary. In comparison the life of Julius Caesar was first recorded 100 years after his death. Another contrast is that there is more historical evidence for Jesus and his resurrection than Julius Caesar. The bible is primary and other evidence like records of people who have been revived from death due to medical intervention is secondary. Helpful but not primary. The bible sees the difficulty, and Paul points out that there were still living a group of five hundred people all of whom were part of a large group who has seen the risen Lord at one particular time.It just like the bible story of the time when Jesus changed water to wine at the wedding feast someone noted that the wine provider had saved the best till last. That informs us that it was real wine.
Before I go onto the next part of the discussion of the first verses in the Bible, I would like to reinforce what I have suggested in the above discussion. The point I am trying to make is that each of the topics in the Bible verses is just a simple picture which is a front to a far more complex process. In other words the story in the scriptures is of prime importance and that the detail that could not be understood is not mentioned. I would like to demonstrate this with three pictures in the New Testament.
I love history. However, the history of the latest migrations to Australia are not that old. One place where that short history is reflected in detail is the Flinders rangesin southern Australia where you can go into the rather remarkable WilpenaPound and read the stories of people that lived there.
In this context, my wife and I were in a town called Quorn in the North of South Australia. Quorn is in the Lower Flinders Ranges, south of the Wilpena Pound.
One of the fascinating places to visit in these old towns is the railway station. Quorn is an old railway town. Now the railway has shifted, and the station is only visited when the historical train society run their steam train trips towards Port Augusta through what is called the Pichi Richipass. Every now and then there is a train from Quorn that will stop at the pass but continue on to Port Augusta; a major town south of Quorn. All goods, carried by trains from west coast to east coast of Australia pass through PortAugusta. To catch the train to Port Augustaand back again was the reason we were staying at Quorn.
Quorn is a small town and it is certainly easy to hear the whistle of the steam train as it enters the station. So I listened for the sound of a steam train coming into the station in readiness to take us on our trip. Unfortunately, I didn’t hear it. When we arrived at the station, we found there was no steam engine but a fairly old diesel engine. The engineers at the railway workshop had been unable to get the steam engine ready in time and had resorted to using the old diesel engine.Some people who were going on the trip with us became so upset that they withdrew. My wife and I decided to continue and enjoy the trip regardless of the engine. After all, diesel engines are now part of railway history.
It seems to me, that some people, get onto the Christian train only to find that it was being towed by the wrong engine. And they become dissatisfied with the Christian faith, and fade away, dissatisfied with God. There are others who have decided to keep on going despite the engine. A persistence that God rewards. I would like to make clear what kind of train is really pulling the Christian faith and what is in the carriages. There are times in my life when I have needed to ponder the carriages and the train. As an observer, you can only see passengers inside the train only if there is light within the carriages or when people are sitting close to the windows. So as the train goes by we can only ponder and wonder who or what is inside. In a similar way light needs to be shed on the message within the Christian scriptures; so we can understand what is in the Christian carriages.
I think that it is easy to misunderstand the nature of the Christian call and what God is providing. What I would like to do is to give some insight to the pictures that are given in the Scriptures to show exactly what happens when we believe.
The train picture isa very good analogy because in the process of discussing the pictures presented in this first three chapters we will see that each one is like a carriage, and in each carriage there are many different things,most of them, incredible in terms of the complexity and design.
As we look at the beginning of the bible I would like to explain a key issue that we must understand before we start. Science is only possible because the world was created by God an intelligent designer. The predictability of the creation is absolutely essential. In a random world that comes from nothing there is no predictability. So the lawsof nature would not exist. As a result many have suggested that nature itself is the 67th book of the bible.
The Bible is a remarkable collection of writings; it has foreseen all the issues that people will raise in any proceedings against it. In this passage, what it says is that the world is such, that people should be encouraged to look towards God or for Him, but it is not the full representation of Him. Understanding that there is a designer does not give us a full comprehension of the character of that designer. The Bible gives an understanding of the character and the motives of the creator. So the point is this; the bible is the primary source and what we see in the world about us is the secondary source. The picture of God we see in the bible is embellished as we see the world about us. The bible is primary, and the world about us is secondary.
Romans 1:18-26 (NKJV) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 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, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonour their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up.