Atlanta Westside Presbyterian Church
Authority to Forgive
Prince Against Darkness
Ruler of All Nature
Insiders Out
Outsiders In
Baby Pictures
The First Three Days
Prepare the Way
Worry and Wonder
by Walter Henegar
Jesus healed a paralytic in front of the religious leaders, which, perhaps unexpectedly, sparked a controversy. This is because Jesus healed the paralytic by saying, “your sins are forgiven,” which the scribes felt was a right only ascribed to God. Exactly. Jesus is clearly revealing that he is God, not just some teacher or healer. Moreover, we won’t see Jesus is God if we fail to believe that God forgives for the same reason he heals: out of mercy and kindness. His authority is not only powerful, but merciful. This also means that if you’ve experienced one form of God’s kindness, believing in Christ means you can depend on him to provide the other.
Jesus’ healing of two demon-possessed men illustrates his authority over the forces of darkness. It also raises some sticky questions about the reliability of the Bible and the reality of evil. By wrestling with them we learn that Scripture is reliable and trustworthy, even if it keeps us a bit off-balance with some of its little riddles; that demons are real and active in the world, but they are created beings destined for destruction; that until then, their main goal is to divert our worship using lies about God and accusations about us; and that Jesus has absolute authority over evil, and he exercises it to deliver us not just from evil and suffering, but from sin and death itself.
Jesus' calming of the storm reveals his authority over all of creation, not just sickness and evil spirits. His disciples' surprise suggests that even they hadn't fully grasped who he is—and Jesus' gentle challenge confirms it: "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" (v. 26). Our faith in Jesus, then, can be little or great, weak or strong, and everywhere in between. Ultimately, though, the question is not "How big is your faith?" but "How big is your God?"
Jesus' healings remind us that his grace always comes first, and our faith is always a response to it. Faith means confidence in the absolute power of Jesus and a willingness to follow wherever he leads. Actually following him in the details of our lives is harder. Learning to trust him requires us to name our own internal obstacles and compare them to the soaring promises of Jesus to those who follow him.
When Jesus heals people, it's not just about their bodies. The leper needs more than being restored to community, and the centurion needs more than a healed servant. Like us, they both need a deeper kind of inclusion that only Jesus can give and only Jesus can ensure. That's why faith—trusting in the absolute power and wisdom of Jesus—is the instrument for entering into his new kingdom reality, both now and for eternity. Then, once we have entered in, he gives us the privilege of drawing others in with us.
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An imaginative exploration of what Jesus’ first three days might have looked like, to help us understand the mystery of the incarnation.
The familiar images of Isaiah 40 surprise us with a powerful duel message: God wants to comfort us with his coming, and he wants us to prepare for his presence.
Isaiah 11 has three peaks of prophetic fulfillment: in Isaiah’s time, in the first coming of Jesus, and finally in his second coming to make all things new. When we put our hope in the God of this story, he enables us to live lives marked more by wonder than worry.
God tells us that he desires to bring peace to us - not just the end of the conflict, but the full flourishing of all things. That's why he sends the Messiah, Jesus Christ, to us. To be a King over us who brings endless boundless peace. God wants to make you whole, but to do it, he has to rule over you. Refusing to let God rule will lead to a self-wrought ruin and darkness that comes from rejecting God's truth. Accepting his rule gives you access to more peace than you could find by ruling yourself. But we can rejoice, God's own zeal will establish his gracious rule.