Daily Reading: Matthew 15
And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. (Matthew 15.30-31)
Devotional Thought: The people who made up the great crowds coming to Jesus were desperate for help. Their friends and loved ones were sick and dying. They were handicapped and helpless. They needed a Healer, a Savior. So desperate were their friends' situations that the crowds simply laid them at the feet of Jesus. “I can’t do anything more for him! I don’t know what to do with her!” The people laid at the feet of Jesus were not the movers and shakers of society. They were not the wealthy and influential. They were poor and destitute, hopeless and insignificant. That’s where Jesus started.
We say we want great crowds to come to Jesus. I’m sure – if we dared to be honest with ourselves – we would like to get people to come whose lives are all put together, people who have great influence, people who don’t really need much healing. But that’s not what kingdom building is like. At least that’s not how Jesus went about it, where he started. He touched the sick and made them well. He came to the poor and enriched their lives. He called the insignificant and gave them great influence for his eternal kingdom. It was messy business, and the people who came were very “needy.” But that’s why Jesus came – to clean up our messes and give us what we need.
And that’s just what verse 31 indicates. They brought the lame; he set them to walking! They brought the blind; he opened their eyes! They brought the crippled; he made them well! They brought the mute; he loosed their tongues! That is what Jesus wants to do today – in your church, through your witness. But we need to bring to Jesus the most desperate, the most needy. Will we do it?
Prayer: Lord, forgive me for wanting to save people who are like me to the exclusion of others. Help me to invite "the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others." Amen.
Psalm of the Day: Psalm 89:14-18
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face,
16 who exult in your name all the day and in your righteousness are exalted.
17 For you are the glory of their strength; by your favor our horn is exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel.
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