Intercession And Evangelism
What a beautiful picture of intercessory prayer! Notice that Jesus wasn't necessarily inclined to heal e paralyzed man because of his faith, but the faith of his friends. They are the ones who loved him to Jesus. They went through the effort of binding him, carrying him, and pressing through the crowds in order to get close to the Messiah. And the Master healed him!
If only we would do the same for our friends, loved ones, and even our enemies, by bringing their names up in prayer - and often - before Christ our Mediator. And then, as a result of our consistent Christ-glorifying witness before them, we could be ready to bind their wounds and lead them to the feet of the Messiah when they are ready to turn to Christ.
Christ wants the unclean! We must answer the call Jesus gives as this chapter closes - pray that workers will be sent into the harvest to retriev these precious people. Just observe who Jesus ministered to in this chapter (Matthew is trying to tell us something!):
The paralytic, Matthew the tax Collector, Matthew's tax-collecting friends, the religious leader's dead daughter (who was ritually unclean to touch, yet Jesus touched her anyway), the woman who was lawfully unclean due to her issue of blood (yet she was healed after she touched Jesus - notice he didn't rebuke her for touching him!), the two desperate blin men, and, finally, a demon-possessed man.
Matthew's point? No one is beyond God's touch. Let us, Saints, go get them and bring them to his feet!
Created 11 months ago
