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| Matthew 17:14-15 |
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Lesson # Matt. 17:14-15 Study Material - Matt. 17:14-15 You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Matt. 17:14-15 14 And [kai] when they [autos] were come [erchomai] to [pros] the multitude [ochlos] , there came [proserchomai] to him [autos] a certain man [anthropos] , kneeling down [gonupeteo] to him [autos] , and [kai] saying [lego] , 15 Lord [kurios] , have mercy [eleeo] on my [mou] son [huios] : for [hoti] he is lunatick [seleniazomai] , and [kai] sore [kakos] vexed [pascho] : for [gar] ofttimes [pollakis] he falleth [pipto] into [eis] the fire [pur] , and [kai] oft [pollakis] into [eis] the water [hudor] . KJV-Interlinear Matt. 17:14-15 14 And when they came to the multitude, a man came up to Him, falling on his knees before Him, and saying, 15 'Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic, and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. NAS Jesus has just come down the mountain and finds the nine apostles in heated argument with some scribes among a large crowd, Mk. 9:14+ and more info is in Lk. 9:38+ with respect to this event. They have been preaching to the crowd and healing but with apparently little success. Their lack of success opens the door up for all manner of criticism. Especially criticism from those who would be more than happy to put them down - publicly. Of course those scribes are unable to cure the mans son themselves but they aren't there to cure anyone, only to publicly ridicule and embarrass Jesus and his disciples. This is not unusual for those who are not in power. An open mouth and public criticism comes easy and is cheap. People do not remember the critic. They focus on the target of the critic. If the target succeeds, then the critic just looks for another angle from which they can attack. They change the subject and find another area to criticize. If the target fails, then the critics gloat and attempt to bask in the light of their 'wisdom' even though they have not come up with any better solution to the problem they were criticizing. The problem remains. All good critics use time and their absence of authority to regain the authority they perceive they deserve, and to escape any responsibility that might be directed at themselves. When they get back in power, then they quickly look to subjects they can address and deal with. The original problem still remains and generally grows. But it is just ignored. The good example of this was the way the world dealt with Hitler in the 30's. Appeasement, stupidity, and cowardice along with probably various profitable arrangements kept those in power from doing what should have been done. Selfish interests overruled moral responsibility. The consequence? Many millions suffered world wide. Do you suppose this could 'ever' happen again? Naaa, it's the 21st century, after all!! From this point on and through the 20th chapter, Jesus begins a series of instructions to the twelve apostles, and others that happen to be with them. The first lesson is on faith. Heb. 12:1-2, 'Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.' All faith comes from the Word of God. We obtain it through learning, through possessing and through applying Gods Word in our daily lives. We learn by faith. We cannot see the object of our faith. We live by faith. We trust in the one we cannot see. When they came down the mountain, they found the nine in heated argument. Faith was weak and therefore their other resources (human resources) were inadequate in standing against the scribes. Anyone without faith will ultimately fail in their task. The man had a son. The son was possessed and had a rather cruel demon inside of him. The son had tendencies to fall in fire - probably had burns on him - probably was somewhat repulsive because of the burns - probably was ostracized. After all who would want to be around him? He had tendencies to fall in water, therefore the risk of drowning. The son most likely had to be watched constantly. This is or should be by now, a routine healing process for the disciples. Jesus has already given them the power and authority to remove demons and even to heal folks. Yet while Jesus was up on the mountain the nine were bogged down in useless argument with the scribes, rather than doing that which they should have been doing. Critics enjoy engaging their victims in argument. Doesn't solve anything. They just enjoy in preventing others from taking their positions of authority away from them. Their own ego (self image) is of greater importance to them than solving the problem. The man has a problem and no one can help him. Most probably didn't even try. The child had been possessed since childhood. Spiritually negative people ignore problems for years. They are helpless to solve them anyway, so they ignore them. Hummm, maybe they will simply go away??? 
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
