Low Expectations

And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee, and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them: insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel. Matthew 15:29-30.

This is one of those passages that we just skim over while we are reading. It is one of a few summaries of mass miracles that Jesus worked. It’s as if even Matthew has gotten a bit bored with the topic, but not quite. The summaries fit into larger contexts and serve to remind us of the fact that Jesus is the promised redeemer (see Isaiah 35, particularly verses 5 & 6, compare Matthew 11:7-15).

What strikes me about this particular summary is the fact that the crowds are surprised Jesus healed those who were brought to him (the multitude wondered). Presumably they brought him the lame, the blind, the mute (dumb), and the maimed for just such a result. It teaches us that faith is rarely found without a (large) share of doubt. The multitudes didn’t really trust Jesus to work genuine miracles. They probably thought he would give them some inspirational mumbo jumbo and sleight of hand and send them on their way. They were used to magicians and wonder workers, they were not used to him who caused the speechless to speak, who made the maimed whole, who caused the lame to leap for joy, and opened the eyes of the blind that they may see. Here was he who was sent by the God of Israel.

There are lessons here for us as well. As I mentioned above, it teaches us that our faith is often marred by a great deal of doubt. How many times does that lack of trust cause us to, as it were, stay home and not seek the Lord’s mercy. Think of your prayer life. We often struggle with prayer because we lack faith in the results. We don’t really believe that the Lord is interested in our burdens and struggles. Low expectations in prayer is an affront to the Lord’s liberality. If we don’t have faith, prayer will do us little good. We’ll never ask or seek, and so we will never find:

Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and ye shall find: knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth: and he that seeketh findeth: and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Matthew 7:7-11.

Faith that Won't Let Go

Genesis 32:24-32, records the odd way in which Jacob becomes Israel. After sending his family ahead of him he finds himself alone. Then he is met with a mysterious opponent. They wrestle together all night long. Interestingly, though the man is identified as God (see the implication of the name Peniel in verse 30), the man must injure Jacob to try to get Jacob to let him go. What is more, Jacob refuses to let the man go until he wins a blessing from the man that Jacob obviously recognizes as God. In verse 28, Jacob receives the Lord’s blessing: “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” Jacob becomes a prince of God (Israel) by his refusal to lose out on the Lord’s mercy.

Matthew 15:21-28, we get another picture of our Lord that seems strange. Jesus retires to the region of Tyre and Sidon (Mark 7:24 makes it clear that Jesus did not intend his visit to be a part of his public ministry). He is met with a local Canaanite woman who desperately wants him to cast a devil out of her daughter. Strangely, he ignores her. The disciples just want Jesus to get rid of the woman. Instead of saying no, Jesus explains that his ministry is to be among the lost sheep of Israel. She is not deterred, “Lord, help me.” Shockingly, Jesus answers, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.” Her faith catches the opportunity, “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Jesus commends her faith and grants her desire; her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

The woman’s faith is commendable for a number of reasons: it is humble and modest. She has no sense of entitlement to the Lord’s blessing, and she is content with what he will give. Yet she will not let off until she gets that blessing. She knows that he is the Lord of mercy, and she will not be put off any appearances to the contrary. In this she is also Israel, a princess of God.

The Lord often acts in such ways that his gracious nature is hid from us. To us sinners, trusting God is not a self-evident thing. In a general sense we acknowledge that God is trustworthy. It’s in the specific promises that we find faith hard. Nonetheless faith, if it is truly faith, perseveres, especially when it looks as if the Lord has forgotten his promises. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11:1).

These are not isolated incidences. Job experiences the Lord in exactly the same way. So too, did the Hebrews during the exile. It is the reason why Christ, in illustrating the persevering prayer of faith, uses the picture of a persistent woman before an unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8). In none of these events is the Lord’s mercy denied. The lesson is faith.