THE LIMITATION OF UNBELIEF AND THE SUCCESS OF FAITH
Matt. 13:53-58; 14:1-36
Morning Meditation 10/8/16
Jesus left Nazareth in Matthew chapter 4 and we are told in this passage “and when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, When hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?” Nazareth is not that far from the Sea of Galilee and the surrounding areas where He had been ministering. So He returns. The people of Nazareth are astonished at His teaching but they cannot get past their familiarity with Him and His family (this can be a hindrance to those who cannot see beyond a pastor’s humanity and see him as a man of God. Many have stumbled in unbelief over the humanity of the preacher). He had been reared there. And because they could not get past rationalizing from a completely human viewpoint He said, “ . . . A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.” Here Jesus makes the claim of being a prophet. The Jews had been promised and were looking for a prophet like unto Moses. Acts 3:22 says, “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.” Jesus is Prophet, Priest and King. He makes claim to all and He is all.
Matthew 13:58 says, “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” We see in this statement an indictment against Nazareth. It was evidently caused because they could not lay aside their human reasoning and accept the evidence that recommended Jesus to them as the true Messiah. Unbelief limits God. This is clearly taught in Psalm 78:41: “Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.”
Jesus predicts a lack of faith on the part of professing Christians at the time of His return. There is a parable of the unjust judge recorded in Luke 18:1-8 in which this is brought out. Verse 8 states a conclusion to the parable when it says, “ . . . Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” The apostasy that is taking place today is having an effect on all of us. We need to discipline our thinking and focus on BELIEVING and walking by faith in these last days. It is one thing to claim to believe, it is quite another for one to rely on the Lord THROUGH THE SCRIPTURES as he faces the details of life. This means that there is no detail in our lives that we do not submit to Him for His direction. And when He reveals His will, we do what He says no matter what the cost or the problems that it causes. Jesus was limited concerning what He could do in Nazareth because of their unbelief.
In chapter 14 John the Baptist is beheaded by Herod, and when Jesus hears of it, we are told that He departed by ship into a desert place apart. He is back now at the Sea of Galilee. There is no rest for Jesus and His disciples. The multitudes come with their sick, their lame and their demon possessed. Verse 14 says, “And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.” Jesus could not turn them down. He never said, “I am too tired. You will have to wait until another time.” But He did try to retire for rest. But it was not to happen. Verse 13 tells us when Jesus tried to find a place of rest that the multitudes found out where He was going by ship and ran around the sea by foot and found Him. Verse 14 says that when He saw the great multitude, He was moved with compassion toward them, and healed their sick. Well, what would you have done if you had a terminally sick son or daughter and you thought there was a chance of getting them restored to health? I’ll tell you what I would have done. I would have been with that multitude that ran around the sea and found Jesus. I’m just being honest. I would not have been as concerned with His need of rest as I would have getting my loved one healed. That is just the way we are. And the amazing thing is that Jesus did not blame the people. He knew their need. I am thrilled to announce to you that He has not changed. Hebrews 4:14-15 says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” The word “touched” is the translation of “sumpatheo” from which we get our word sympathy. It means “to be affected by the feeling of another.” Jesus in His glorified state, as our High Priest, is affected by the pain we feel as we come before Him for help. The word “infirmities” translates “astheneia” and means, “want of strength.” The weakness that causes us to fail is what this is talking about. We do not have to feel guilty over our weaknesses. But we do over the failures the weaknesses cause. He has provided the strength for success. When we attempt to do what He says in our own strength and fail, we come to the Lord for forgiveness and restoration and He feels the pain of our need. And Hebrews 4:16 says, “Therefore let us come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” It is first “mercy” and then “grace.” Our failure is a faith failure. Therefore, we are responsible. So we need the mercy of forgiveness. Once forgiven, then we need grace to help in the time of need. We go from our weakness to His power. God forgives then helps even though we do not deserve it. Amen!
After the multitudes throng Him with their sick, He preforms a great miracle and feeds them. They wear Him out but He does not complain. Rather, He will not send them away hungry. I quote Ryrie here: “It was only four or five miles directly across the lake from the area of Tiberias where the group had been ministering to Bethsaida. And it was not further than ten miles by land around the north end of the lake. So when some people saw the Lord and the disciples getting into the boat to cross the lake, they spread the news and gathered this large group of thousands of people who ran overland to meet the Lord when He landed on shore.” - quoted from Miracles of Our Lord by Charles Ryrie, p. 104. One of the most enjoyable times for my wife on our recent trip to the Holy Land was the trip by boat across the Sea of Galilee from Capernaum to Tiberias. We knew we were on the same body of water that Jesus was on when He walked on the water in Matthew 14:22-36.
After Jesus had fed the five thousand, He told the disciples to get into the ship and go to the other side. It was evening when Jesus sent the disciples by ship to the other side. And if Ryrie is right, and it is only about five miles across, the contrary winds were really contrary. When Jesus came walking on the water it was the fourth watch of the night and this means that it was between three and six in the morning. They had been out there all night. Now it doesn’t take nearly that long to go five miles by water. Jesus planned their problems. Did I really say that? There is nothing that happens to us that is not the plan of God. This was a teaching opportunity. First, He revealed His power over nature to His disciples. This is a private lesson. Next, He revealed Himself as the “I am” of the Old Testament Scriptures. Jesus said, “Be of good cheer; it is I: be not afraid.” The words “it is I” translate “ego eimi.” You can say “I am” by just saying “eimi.” It means “I am.” But when you add “ego,” to this verb the emphasis is on “I..” This helps us to understand a little about what God said to Moses in the burning bush. When you have “I am” with you, you don’t do have to be afraid. You don’t have to be afraid of a storm-tossed sea. In fact, you don’t have to be afraid of anything. He is more than adequate for any situation that you will ever face. Not only can He calm the sea and get you out of the trouble that the wind and waters cause you, He can enable you to walk on that water that has just given you such a problem. Here is where Peter walks on the water. We were there. But to be honest with you, I did not try to walk on the water! I know what would have happened. So, I don’t think I will criticize Peter for sinking. I think I’ll glory in the few steps he did take under the power of “I am.” Major Ian Thomas says, “What Jesus has put under His feet, should not be over our heads.” I like that.
But Peter did go down and had to cry for help. Jesus did have something to say to Peter: “ . . . O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” I could say more. But my time is up. The failures in the lives of Christians is a faith failure. Jesus didn’t say to Peter, “You know Peter, you did not put you feet down right. You did not walk lightly enough.” He asked Peter why he doubted.
In this meditation we learned that unbelief limits God. We learned that Jesus never gets too tired to help us. He will never send us away hungry. We learned that Jesus plans our difficulties in order to manifest Himself as the “I am” which is all we need. We also learned that even though we may start well (Peter on the water), if we begin to doubt, down we will go. Finally, we learned that when we fail, He uses it to put His finger on our POINT OF FAILURE and lift us up and restore us to the miraculous walk.
May God bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
