When he left there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up a mountain, where he sat down. Then large crowds came to him bringing with them the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them. As a result, the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised the God of Israel. (Matthew 15:29-31 NET)
Mark, in his gospel, identifies this region along the Sea of Galilee as the Decapolis, a place that was in Gentile territory, as was the previous story in Matthew about the Canaanite woman. Various times throughout the four gospels Gentiles (unbelievers) responded to Jesus with more faith than Jews (believers), just like the large crowds in this passage that brought all sorts of sick people to Jesus. The sick were healed, the people were amazed, and praised God.
This is such an important message for us today. No matter who we are, how long we’ve been Christians, how much we know, or how spiritual we think we are, we need to watch out for pride and complacency. At any time we can lose our close connection with God if we are not careful. What matters is how healthy our faith is today; the condition of our faith yesterday, last week, or ten years ago no longer matters. If we are not hungry for God’s presence and power, others who know much less than we do, and who are only beginning in their faith, will overtake us and experience God and His power while we are left dry and empty—“satisfied” with tired, old lives, or content with religion.
God’s power to heal and transform is greater than any of us can imagine. But that great tidal wave of power can be neutralized by our doubts and unbelief. If those people along the Sea of Galilee experienced such amazing power, why aren’t we? We have the same God, the same faith, the same promises. Let’s not make excuses. Let’s fight to see the same amazing power today.
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