Category: Daily Prayers

 

 

Man’s steps are ordained by the Lord, how then can man understand his way?

–Proverbs 20:24

The sovereignty of God means He has a plan for our lives. Should it surprise us that the architect of the universe has a precise plan for everything that happens in His world? The apostle Paul said it this way in Ephesians 1:11: “We have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” God has a plan, and He works all things together to accomplish that plan.

That means the selection of rulers is under God’s control. Daniel 2:21 says, “He removes kings and establishes kings.” The change of seasons is under His control. Jeremiah 5:24 says God is the one “who gives rain in its season, both the autumn rain and the spring rain, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.” Even the roll of the dice is under His control. Proverbs 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”

God also has a detailed plan for your life. Psalm 139:13 says, “You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.” God planned everything about your physical and emotional makeup. Now, we can accept that God is in control over the things we can’t control, such as our genes. But we assume that we control other areas of our lives, such as how we spend our time. We think it’s solely our decision whether to watch television, take a nap, or mow the lawn. But look at Proverbs 20:24: “Man’s steps are ordained by the Lord, how then can man understand his way?” Every step we take has been ordained by God. I don’t know about you, but I’m comforted by the fact that someone wiser and more powerful than me controls my steps.

Jeremiah was a prophet in the waning days of the kingdom of Judah. He was imprisoned, beaten, and threatened with death, yet he never wavered in his prophetic calling. What gave Jeremiah such confidence in his assignment? The fact that God had chosen him and predestined his life. Look at Jeremiah 1:5: God said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Eugene Peterson wrote, “Before Jeremiah knew God, God knew Jeremiah. . . . Jeremiah’s life didn’t start with Jeremiah. Jeremiah’s salvation didn’t start with Jeremiah. Jeremiah’s truth didn’t start with Jeremiah. He entered the world in which the essential parts of his existence were already ancient history. So do we.” God’s sovereignty means God has a plan.

 

Continued from yesterday…….

4. The masquerade. Writing to the Corinthians, Paul must embrace the “foolishness” of defending his apostleship in light of the “super apostles” who have infiltrated the church (2 Cor. 11:1, 5). These “false apostles” and “deceitful workers,” who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ, proclaim “another Jesus,” “a different spirit,” and “a different gospel” (11:4, 13).

Paul writes that such attacks on the body of Christ should not shock us: “And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be according to their works” (11:14-15).  Just as the evil one masquerades as the good guy, false teachers ride the Trojan Horse of eloquent persuasion to gain entrance into the church, and then proceed to destroy it. Satan employs not only evil spirits to do his bidding, but willing unbelievers. Professing themselves to be Christians, they weasel their way into unsuspecting churches and, from the inside, teach what Paul describes as “teachings of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). Jesus also warns about these false prophets, likening them to ravaging wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15).

5. Lying signs and wonders. Paul describes the last days with these words: “The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with every kind of miracle, both signs and wonders serving the lie, and with every wicked deception among those who are perishing …” (2 Thess. 2:9-10).  Jesus also addresses this subject in the Olivet Discourse: “For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:24).  At final judgment, some unbelievers protest Christ’s sentence of hell, arguing, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?” Unmoved, Jesus responds, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!” (Matt. 7:22-23).

6. Enticement.  He strikes hard and low at Jesus in the wilderness, although he fails to entice the Son of God to abandon the path of suffering and death (Matt. 4:1-11). He proves more successful in his pursuit of Judas Iscariot in the hours leading up to the apostle’s betrayal of Jesus (Luke 22:3-6).  Paul worries aloud for the Corinthians, admitting, “But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). Sure enough, the local church Paul had planted in Corinth a few years earlier is now embracing false teachings about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the gospel (2 Cor. 11:4).  James warns how subtly and pervasively sin overtakes us. God cannot be tempted to sin, and he never tempts us. But the evil one sows seeds in our thought processes and – unless we immediately take these thoughts captive – we start down a slippery slope that ends in sin: “But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death” (Jas. 1:14-15).

7. Accusation. In the first recorded encounter with humans, the evil one accuses God of denying Adam and Eve what’s rightfully theirs: to become like God (Gen. 3:5). We see Satan again in the Book of Job, alleging that Job’s loyalty to Yahweh hinges on the hedge of safety God has built around his servant (Job 1:9-11). When the Lord allows Satan to kill Job’s children and destroy his property, Job maintains his integrity.  So, Satan returns to Yahweh to seek permission to strike Job’s flesh and bones, certain that Job will curse God to his face (Job 2:5). Job endures painful sores from head to toe, along with self-righteous moralizing from his friends, before experiencing a humbling encounter with God, who restores Job’s wealth two-fold and grants him seven sons and three daughters – a number equal to those who had perished. Satan appears again in Zechariah 3 to accuse the high priest, Joshua. This time, the angel of the LORD comes to the rescue, rebuking Satan, forgiving Joshua’s sin, and clothing the high priest in fresh garments. The evil one’s accusations continue today. His ultimate defeat is certain, however, and his days of finger-pointing are numbered. In Revelation 12:10, the apostle John writes: “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been thrown down.”  Until that day, the evil one continues prosecuting the people of God. But, just as the high priest, Joshua, had an advocate – the angel of the LORD, or the preincarnate Christ – so we have an advocate, the Lord Jesus, who “is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them” (Heb. 7:25).

8. Institutional leverage. Satan leads the world astray through false religions, as well as cultural, political, and economic institutions (cf. Rev. 13). For example, major world religions like Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism express a high regard for Jesus. Yet their Jesus is strictly human, or mysteriously divine, and totally unable to address mankind’s greatest need of redemption. Even more damaging are today’s counterfeit forms of Christianity, most notably the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses).

 

 

The Book of Revelation identifies Satan as “the deceiver,” or “the one who leads astray” (ho planon; see Rev. 12:9; 20:10; cf. 20:3, 8). The idea behind this term is to entice someone to wander, like the sheep in Jesus’ parable (Matt. 18:12-13) or the saints of old forced to wander through a world not worthy of them (Heb. 11:38). As Peter Bolt writes, “The title ‘deceiver’ reflects Satan’s endeavors to lead people away from the love and security of our holy God.

Satan’s role as deceiver is grounded in his character as the father of lies (John 8:44; see Chapter 5). His nature – his every tendency – is to distort the truth so that people made as God’s imagers miss the very purpose for which God designed them. But how, exactly, does the evil one accomplish this? He sports a quiver of fiery darts and launches them strategically. Let’s briefly examine eight arrows the evil one hurls to deceive us.

1. The well-placed question. We see this in the garden of Eden, where the serpent challenges Eve’s understanding of God’s clear command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). This question subtly misquotes God – who made every tree in the garden available to Adam and Eve, except one – and leads Eve to wonder about God’s transparency. Did the Lord speak too hastily? Overstate his intentions? Or maybe try to keep Adam and Eve from enjoying the one thing that would truly make them God’s imagers?

We see the well-placed question in contemporary society. How often do we hear these questions: Doesn’t God just want me to be happy? Is Jesus really the only way to eternal life? How can my desires be wrong since God made me this way? Hasn’t society advanced beyond outdated biblical commands? Why shouldn’t I live my truth and let other people live theirs? And on it goes.  Often, the first step to wandering away from God is questioning his word. When Eve allows herself to question the Lord, she ends up fallen and then banished.

2. The outright lie. Jesus makes it clear that Satan “does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). After his well-placed question to Eve, the serpent slings his barefaced lie: “No! You will not die” (Gen. 3:4).

When told forcefully and often enough, a lie may become an acquired truth. An unborn child becomes an expendable blob of tissue. The aged and infirm become pitiable objects of euthanizing in the name of “quality of life.” Gender becomes fluid. The covenant of marriage becomes an open-ended agreement. And sexual immorality becomes a liberating right that all enlightened people must celebrate. The outright lie shocks us at first. But over time, we become desensitized and, finally, accepting. The evil one wields blunt-force lies to wear us down.

3. The blinded mind. This is especially true with regard to unbelievers, about whom Paul writes: “But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:3-4).  Jesus describes this tactic in the parable of the sower. Like birds who swoop down to pluck seeds from a footpath, Satan snatches the word of God’s kingdom from unbelievers’ hearts before the truth can take hold (Matt. 13:1-9, 18-23).  As John Piper notes, Satan “not only speaks what is false. He hides what is true. He keeps us from seeing the treasure of the gospel. He lets us see facts, even proofs, but not preciousness.” While the evil one keeps unbelievers in the dark, he also strives to obscure our thinking. In this way, we fail to be effective witnesses for Christ.

Tomorrow we will see the other five.

 

Colossians 4:6.   Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Matt 12:34. Brood^[a] of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Proverbs 4:23.  Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

Proverbs 10:11   The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

Psalm 14:1. The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.

Proverbs 24:12.  If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?

Let your speech be always with grace,…. “In grace, or concerning grace”: let grace be the subject matter of your speech and conversation. When saints meet together they should converse with each other about the work of grace upon their souls, how it was begun, and how it has been carried on, and in what case it now is; they should talk of the great things and wonders of grace, which God has done for them, which would be both comfortable and edifying to them, and make for the glory of the grace of God; and also, they should confer together about the doctrines of grace, and so instruct, establish, and build up one another in them; and at least their conversation should always turn on things graceful and acceptable, such as may minister grace unto the hearer, and be useful and edifying; wherefore all obscene words, unchaste expressions, filthiness, foolish talking, and jesting, ought not to be used. Or this may regard the manner of the speech, and language of the saints; it should be in the exercise of grace; it should be in truth, faithfulness, and sincerity, without lying, dissimulation, and flattery; it should be in consistence with the grace of love, therefore evil should not be spoken one of another; nor should there be whisperings, backbitings, or anything said that is injurious to the character, credit, and reputation of another; for this is contrary to love, and so not with grace: and whatever is said should be spoken in the fear of God; the reason why so many evil things proceed out of the mouths of men is, because the fear of God is not before their eyes. Moreover, the speech of the saints ought to be in a graceful way, with a cheerful and pleasant countenance, in an affable and courteous manner, and not after a morose, churlish, and ill natured fashion: and this should be “alway” the case; not that they should be always talking, for there is a time to keep silence, as well as a time to speak; but the sense is, that when they do speak, it should be both graceful things, and in a graceful manner; so that there is never any room and place for vain discourse, unprofitable talk, and idle words, which must all be accounted for in the day of judgment. (Gill)

There is way too much influence from the world in our hearts and minds in regards to being able to speak with grace and wisdom. First, the food which feeds the heart is what comes out of the mouth. “For out of the heart the mouth speaks.” Second, we are to be mindful of our hearts. “Keep your heart with all diligence.”

What are we allowing into our hearts? How does it get there? The answers to these two questions are quite simple. What is it that you are feeding your heart with? Is it the Word of God, or things of this world? The scourge to the heart of most believers comes from the world. Social media, news outlets, and other articles not only influence but consume the hearts of those who approach being a believer as a singular means to eternal life rather than endless reasons to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all thoughts, words, and actions.

What we put into our hearts will affect our thoughts, words, and actions

 

 

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

–Psalm 1:1

Our thoughts control our actions, and our actions control our destiny. So how do we strengthen our minds to obey God? Let me share some practical principles for strengthening our minds.

Principle number one: avoid ungodly input. In Matthew 12:34, Jesus said, “The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart”—that is, what fills the mind. Your brain is like a supercomputer, storing for future use all the sights, sounds, tastes, and experiences you input into it. That’s why advertisers spend billions of dollars every year—they know that what you store in your mind eventually affects your actions. If you’re serious about obeying God, you won’t fill your mind with things that lessen your resolve to follow Him.

Principle number two: avoid ungodly people. Psalm 1 is a great passage to memorize if you want your life to be characterized by productivity and stability. The psalmist began, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” (v.1). Notice the three things that a person blessed by God refuses to do:

• “Walk in the counsel of the wicked.” In Hebrew, the word translated as “wicked” literally means to loosen oneself. A wicked person has loosened himself from God to do whatever he wants to do. If you want to be blessed by God, you won’t allow your value system to be shaped by those who have loosened themselves from God.

• “Stand in the path of sinners.” Jesus taught in Matthew 7:13–14 that there are two paths in this life: a broad path that leads to destruction and a narrow path that leads to eternal life. If you want to be blessed by God, you won’t go in the same direction as the people on the broad path. Your actions should never be confused with those of ungodly people.

• “Sit in the seat of scoffers.” A scoffer is somebody who ridicules the things of God. It doesn’t have to be an unbeliever—there are some Christians who have become so cynical about the church or the things of God that everything is a big joke to them. If you hang around people like that, their cynicism will rub off on you.

The Bible says if you want to remain strong in your faith, you’ll avoid ungodly input and ungodly people.

Principle number three: read God’s Word regularly. Psalm 1:1–2 says, “How blessed is the man . . .  [whose] delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” One reason Christians fall into sin is they are so spiritually malnourished that they don’t have the strength to say no to temptation. If you’re suffering from spiritual starvation, don’t try to gorge yourself with God’s Word; start small. Read a single psalm or a paragraph from a practical book such as James or Philippians. You’ll discover that the more you read God’s Word, the more you’ll develop a hunger for it.

Principle number four: make regular deposits in your spiritual bank account. Not long ago, I found my first bank book from an account I opened when I was seven years old. All the deposits I made to that account are gone now. I don’t have a clue where that money went. But I’ve made another kind of deposit through the years that continues to pay dividends: depositing God’s Word in my heart. It’s amazing how sections of Scripture I memorized years ago have come to mind at the right time. I encourage you to make Scripture memorization part of your routine as well. And if you’re a parent, teach your children to memorize God’s Word. Psalm 119:9, 11 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. . . . Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.”

Principle number five: confront wrong thoughts with the truth of God’s Word. You can’t control all the thoughts that come into your mind, but you can control what you do with those thoughts. You can allow them to linger in your mind until they metastasize into sin, or you can confront them with the truth of God’s Word. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul said, “We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” God’s Word is like a spiritual lasso that allows us to capture wrong thoughts, subdue them, and dismiss them.

That’s the reason we read and memorize Scripture. We are in a struggle against evil that is being played out on the battlefield of our minds, and the only way to win is by strengthening our minds with God’s Word.

 

 

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

–Philippians 4:8

When you hear the term positive thinking, you might think about self-help gurus or “health and wealth gospel” preachers. Nowhere in the Bible does God promise that believers will be healthy and wealthy in this life. But the Bible continually extols the importance of right thinking.

For example, in Romans 12:2, Paul wrote, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” In Philippians 4:8, he said, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

Several years ago, a church member told me he watched cable news every night, but it made him so anxious that he had trouble sleeping. So he stopped watching the news and started listening to sermons instead. He said, “Pastor, I’ve been listening to your sermons at night, and after five minutes, I am out like a light.” I’m not sure what that says about my sermons, but it demonstrates the importance of controlling what you put into your mind. The mind is command central for everything we do. Our thoughts determine our actions.

We see the connection between mind and actions in the first sin ever committed. Long before the garden of Eden, the archangel Lucifer (now known as Satan) decided he was tired of playing second fiddle to God. So he rebelled against God, and he and his followers were cast out of heaven. In Isaiah 14:13–14, God pinpointed the cause of Lucifer’s rebellion: “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. . . . I will make myself like the Most High.’” Notice that the seed of rebellion began in Lucifer’s heart. Remember, in the Hebrew culture, the heart was the center of thought. Lucifer’s rebellious actions began with a rebellious thought. And that rebellious thought ultimately led to every other sin in history.

That’s why Paul prayed that the Colossians’ hearts—in other words, their minds—would be encouraged (Colossians 2:2). If you want to remain steadfast in your faith, you have to strengthen your mind with the Word of God.

 

We live in a sin-sick and dark world. This statement shouldn’t come as a surprise to you, especially if you’re reading it as a follower of Jesus Christ. All around us are people—from family to co-workers to celebrities—trying to push a sin-filled, post-Christian worldview.

Sadly, many in our churches are also falling for the lie that there are no consequences to our sin. After all, if Christ died for our sins, why can’t we just go on sinning? The price has been paid.

Of course, sin does matter. Our sin—yours and mine—is what drove Jesus to the cross. It’s hard to consider the suffering He endured on our behalf and not recognize the gravity of sin.

The first chapter of Jonah is a prime example of the consequences of our sin. We all know the story:

God commanded the Prophet Jonah: “Arise, go to Ninevah, that great city, and cry out against it” (Jonah 1:2).

Nineveh was at one time considered the largest city in the world. However, it is not called “great” simply because of its size, but also because of its sin. The city was notorious for its violence. It’s no wonder that when Jonah got the message, he went in the opposite direction.

Was he scared? Maybe, but we also know that he did not want Nineveh to experience God’s forgiveness (Jonah 3:10, 4:1-2). Instead Jonah ran away from Ninevah, ultimately ending up on the sea and being tossed overboard, finding himself in the “belly of the fish” (Jonah 1:17).

What can we learn from Jonah’s tumultuous journey?

First, sin causes us to flee from the Lord. Twice in verse 3 alone, we are told plainly that Jonah was trying to escape the “presence of the Lord.” It is alluded to again in verse 10. Jonah went to Joppa, paid the fare, and got on the boat.

It’s interesting that this prophet, who conversed with Almighty God, thought he could escape the presence of the Lord by physically moving from one place to another. How often, however, do we do the same thing spiritually? Sin causes us to spend less time studying the Bible and less time in prayer, moving away from the presence of God in our lives.

Second, our sin will affect others. Jonah’s sin so impacted the experienced sailors that they were scared to death. They had never seen a storm such as this, and they were forced to throw their cargo (i.e. their income) into the sea as the ship was breaking apart. Further, when they learned that Jonah was the cause of the storm, they were forced into the position of having to make a heartbreaking life-or-death decision.

Similarly, you may think that your sin isn’t harming anybody, but that’s not the case. Your spouse, children, colleagues, or church are likely being impacted, whether you or they realize it.

Third, sin can bring a false sense of peace. Even in the midst of the huge storm—as the sailors frantically unloaded their ship and cried out to pagan gods—Jonah slept soundly in the bottom of the boat.

One of the worst things we can do is to use “peace” as a determining factor in judging if we are in the middle of God’s will. You may feel like you’re getting away with sin, or that it’s no big deal, but it will eventually rear its ugly head.

Finally, sin will take us where we don’t want to go. Because Jonah disobeyed God, he found himself in the midst of a storm in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Ultimately he was thrown overboard into the sea, and—by verse 17—he was in the belly of a fish. Not good.

I have a friend who says that sin will take you where you don’t want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you can afford to pay. When we stay in sin, sin tightens its grip on us and makes it harder for us to get away. Consider this: If we never have our sins forgiven, then it will be our sins that will take us to hell—a place where no one wants to go.

The city of Ninevah was infected by sin, but once Jonah proclaimed God’s message, they immediately repented and cried out to God. “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it” (Jonah 3:10).

The same can happen for us. Rather than taking pride in our sin or minimizing its impact, we must see the gravity of it and repent as well. When that happens, the chains and bondage of sin can and will be broken through Jesus, our Savior.

 

I was recently asked, “when Jesus healed people and told them not to tell anyone, and they did, was this a sin?”  I was a bit upset by the question coming from a friend who had been a Christian for close to 60 years. I should not have been, but I was. I could understand it coming from a new believer who always has questions like this. However, coming from a long time Christian upset me. What difference would it make to know the answer? Why would this be important to know? How would knowing the answer grow and mature you?

Paul admonished people when he said; “Though you ought to be teachers you are in need of being taught”, “You are babies eating baby food and should be eating solid food”, “You need to be continually growing and maturing”. Jesus spoke to the church in Revelations, “you are lukewarm”.

I was wrong by getting upset and my expectation of this man in this regard. He has many fine examples of being led by the Holy Spirit in gentleness, kindness, generosity, love, mercy, and grace. He is an example of living in the presence of God and listening to and following the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I guess the question I would have expected was, “Why did Jesus tell them not to speak?” I want my friend’s desire to grow in God’s Word. He could easily look at me and want me to grow in being led by the Holy Spirit more.

We all have gifts for the growth of each other so as to spur each other on in this life. I did no good getting upset with my friend.

However to answer the question, “Why would Jesus tell those healed no to speak of it?” I found these comments.

Mrk 5:41-43  Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.  And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Mat 9:27-31  And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

Mrk 1:40-45  And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.”  Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

Mrk 7:31-36  Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue.  And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.

Today’s question has to do with the methodology of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Why did Jesus tell those whom He healed to remain quiet and not to tell anyone about what He did? Why would the Lord want us to proclaim the Gospel now but those who were made well back then to be quiet? What is going on with this methodology of the Jesus’ ministry? Although we don’t have a direct answer in Scripture, there is some solid evidence that we can look to in Scripture in order to understand the Lord’s methodology.

Before we can get a grasp on this question, let’s take a look at the cultural expectations in Israel during the ministry of Jesus. Most of the nation was looking for a political revolutionary as Messiah. This expected king would free Israel from Roman rule and establish a dynasty that looked like a lot like Solomon and David’s kingdom. Distracted by this expectation, Israel looked past the clear prophecies about the Messiah that point to salvation accomplished through the atoning death of the Christ (Is. 53, Ps. 22). Since the political and religious environment in Israel was saturated with this kind of anticipation for the Messiah, Jesus was very careful to distinguish the real work and message of the saving work of the Christ from the populous’ way of thinking.

The first thing we observe about the practice of the Lord in the matter of commanding those who were healed to remain quiet is that the Lord didn’t mean to keep people away from coming to Him to hear Him preach the gospel. In fact, Jesus desired for the people to come to Him and hear the Word of God in His preaching and teaching (Luke 4:18). So why not advertise His power to heal? Because the primary purpose of the Lord Jesus was not healing but preaching the good news of the gospel (Mark 6:34). The fame of Jesus due to His compassionate healing ministry actually served to make it difficult for the Lord and His disciples to preach the gospel because of the crowd’s frenzied focus on healing and miracles. We get this kind of flavor from Jesus in John 6:26, “…you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” The people became more interested in the immediate benefits of being healed or fed than hearing and obeying the Word of God.

His acts of healing that the individuals tell no one what had happened, because He was performing those acts out of love and mercy, and not for the purpose of publicizing or bringing glory to Himself

Surprisingly, observing supernatural miracles did not typically lead people to repent and follow Jesus’ teaching. Throughout his ministry, Jesus showed annoyance with crowds who flocked to see a popular leader do something supernatural. He wanted from the spectators not applause, but commitment. 

When we notice in the gospels, gradually, Jesus relied more and more on parables, which he explained to his disciples in private.

In the course of His ministry, however, Jesus did use miracles simply because He had compassion on people. But physical healing is always a temporary matter. Knowing the truth of the gospel has eternal consequences. The teaching was always the point. Unfortunately, sometimes the miracles got in the way of the teaching. Such was the case when He healed the leper who told so many people Jesus couldn’t even teach in town anymore. Humans are shallow creatures who often choose the immediate good over the eternal great. While a few individuals called on Jesus specifically to hear His teaching, mobs came to Him seeking healing. Some stayed to hear His teaching. But the vast majority who heard of Jesus’ miracles betrayed Him in the end because He didn’t perform the one miracle they wanted—independence from Roman rule. 

This situation has direct application to us today. Many ministries feed on stories of the miraculous. Accounts of healing, wealth, and deliverance draw people to the door. But all the healing in the world is useless if the people refuse to listen to how they can be spiritually healed for eternity. When we experience miracles in our own lives, we must be careful. Sometimes telling others will encourage them to find out the truth about Jesus for themselves. But sometimes it will lead to bitterness when God doesn’t give them exactly what they want. We need to have the wisdom of Jesus to know the difference.