If I Can See it, I Can Explain it

That’s Confusing

What absolutely confuses you? What can’t you see in your head to be able to do, much less explain it to someone else?

Do you remember back in the day, going into a classroom the first day, and syllabus shock?

High school physics, trigonometry, literature and composition?

College calculus, statistics, genetics, chemistry?

Grad school? All of it. Greek, Hebrew, OT theology.

That first day when you get the syllabus from every class and cannot see any way you’re going to get it all done before Xmas.

Glance ahead at the assignments, and are lost and confused immediately.

Part of the deal is, the teacher’s going to teach. And, if the teacher is teaching the learners going to learn. So, once we see it explained, drawn out on the board on the slide, then we should be able to understand it, do it, and maybe even explain it to our friends who might still be confused.

You look at the vocabulary of any of these classes. It may not even be a language class, but it has its own vocabulary.

Sir Isaac Newton. What was he thinking. I get the whole apple dropping on the head and gravity. But, calculus? Formulas?

And Euclid, geometry. Area. Angles. Sine and cosine functions? What?

This was school for me. I had to be able to see it to do it. Then, eventually I could explain it.

Some of these classes I never figured out and struggled. My GPA was never horrible but never great. In fact, my goal in school was to figure out how to put forth a ‘B’ effort and still make ‘A’s. There was the all too often and occasional ‘C’.

I’m never the smartest guy in the room, and usually not dumbest. But I need to see what it is I’m trying to do before I’m able to do it.

Today, computer problems. I am lost. I have no idea where to start. I am fortunate that I have Dan Wittig across the street. He’s an IT guy, hardware guy. Very helpful. I use him for all he’s worth.

One of the creeds I live by...

Software issues are a challenge. Microsoft or Monterey. If there’s a problem, I’m confused and in trouble.

Recently Tom and I had an email issue w/ our Microsoft Office 365. I’m the admin of this. I tried all I knew to do. That took about 5 minutes.

I called support. One of the cool things they can do is, log into my computer so the tech can see my screen and walk me thru what to do. He can see what I’m looking at and I can see.

He stepped me thru the process. What I had to do was renew the deal we had. We don’t lease it, we own it. But I had to renew it. I don’t get it. I’m confused. But, I did it.

It’s a free version b/c we are a small non-profit. It cost us nothing. But I had to ‘buy’ it again. Put the software in our cart, go to checkout, click ‘buy’. I owed $0. It is free. But I had to buy for $0. I got a receipt. It said $0. I’m still confused, but our email works.

There’s no way I could do this again w/out calling support.

Things are always changing. New operating systems, upgrades to applications, new windows and tool bars, with different clickable icons. If, once I learned it, saw it, understood it, could explain it; if it would just stay the same. But, it doesn’t.

You know the old adage, the only constant in life is change. And that describes computers and software better than anything.

While these things change often and rapidly, God’s program has not.

Israel did things the same way for over 1500 years. From the time Moses led Israel out of Egypt and got the law until Jesus showed up on the scene, the instructions never changed. The application of the instructions by the ppl changed and they weren’t supposed to.

The more they changed the applications to the wrong things, the more confused they got.

Then Jesus came along and showed them new fundamentals. He changed so much. And then He had to teach these changes to the ppl. 1500 years of habits, good and bad, needed to change in 3 years while Jesus was here. Talk about cramming and confusion!

They needed to be able to see it to understand it, apply it, then explain it.

If you are confused b/c you can’t see what’s going on here, ask Jesus to help you and He will give you the ability to see it. If you don’t know what to say about it, ask Jesus and he will give you the words and the opportunities to use them.

Jesus will help us see what we need to see, so we can apply what we need to apply, and then explain what we need to explain. We are not on our own in this.

He is building His kingdom and using us to do it. Not even the gates of Hell can prevent it.

The kingdom plan has changed. We need to know how to live our lives in this age until Jesus returns. We need to understand the parables. We to be able to see what He’s asking us to do so we can understand it, apply it, and explain it.

The miracles we’ve studied that past few weeks have been about living the life of faith w/out fear. To do that, we must understand Jesus’s teaching. He helps ups with that. Where we are today. We’ not on our own to figure it out.

Two more miracles today where Jesus illustrates how he helps us do what He’s asking us to do.

We’re going to be in Matthew 9 today. But first, we need to look back at Isaiah who predicted what Jesus would do 600 years before He did it. This was one of the ways people should have known Who Jesus is when He got here. Isaiah wrote that this is what was going to happen when the Messiah showed up.

How to Know

Isaiah 35:5–6 NIV

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

This is part of a list of what the guy will do who God sends to be our Messiah. So, when these happened, they should have known this is the guy.

The blind will see.

The deaf will hear.

The lame will leap.

The mute will speak.

Water will gush out of the desert.

600 years before Jesus came, Isaiah wrote these words.

Then, this is what Jesus did when He was here. He had changed course in his ministry and teaching. He started using parables about a life of faith and sharing that faith.

He sent the disciples into a storm, took them w/ Him to confront a legion of demons, they saw him heal a woman who was as good as dead, bleeding to death, no social life; and they saw Him raise a dead girl back to life.

They were afraid of Him. Who is this guy? He commands and controls the weather, the demons, death and disease. What can He do to us?

They didn’t understand. They needed help. So Jesus illustrated the help that he offers by helping 3 more ppl. They were both recipients of miracles and tangible illustrations for the disciples.

I Can See it Now

Matthew 9:27–31 NIV

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.

All of these events, the miracles, the parables, the teaching indicate Jesus is the One. He is the one God sent to save us.

After Jesus brought Jairus’ daughter back to life, He was followed by many ppl. Among them were two blind men who called out to Him. Significantly, they called Him, “Son of David.”

This is Jesus’ Messianic title. They recognized Him for Who He is. They revealed that they had heard Jesus’ presentation of Himself as Messiah and were appealing to for a Messianic miracle. They were persistent and followed Jesus indoors to continue to plead w/ Him for help.

There were times when Jesus was helping ppl when there was no faith apparent in the recipients of His help. Jairus had great faith. But his daughter was dead. Dead girls have no faith.

But in this case, in the case of the these 2 blind men, Jesus asked them directly, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

In their response, they addressed Him with the Messianic title of Lord, and said, “Yes.”

Their faith was genuine in Who Jesus is and what He could do. They believe in His Person and His power as they affirmed their belief in his Deity.

So, as a result of their faith He miraculously restored their sight. This miracle is not only a revelation of the Person of Christ, for only God could restore sight to blind eyes, but also indicates what Messiah came to do for Israel.

The Jews were spiritually blind and did not know God. Messiah came to reveal God to them. B/C they did not turn in faith to Him, Israel’s blindness was not removed. But for these 2 men, they declared their faith in Jesus as their Messiah and He removed their blindness.

Then, after He healed them, He warned them to tell no one. It wasn’t time, yet. The time will come when they could broadcast to the world what Jesus had done for them. But, immediately after was not that time.

Jesus’ concern was the gathering crowds. Too many ppl mobbing Him, coming for physical healing and Jesus could not accomplish as great of a ministry for spiritual healing; which was His priority.

As it was, He was swamped by ppl. Most certainly, most of them came w/ maladies to be healed from and missed the point of the healings. The miracles were with the purpose to authenticate the message and Jesus as the Messenger.

The miracle is never the point. It has a point. But its point, points to the point of the message Jesus is teaching at the time.

But too often, too many ppl get hung up on the idea that they could be cured from a certain disability and do not care who did it or why. They just knew there was a healer present and they wanted to be healed

These ppl prevented Jesus from from getting to as many ppl who genuinely wanted spiritual healing as He might have desired.

Just as in the case of the leper, after the warning to remain quiet, the men went out and spread the news freely and liberally. Just b/c they exhibited faith in Jesus’ Person and Power, did not make them perfectly obedient.

Just like us, when we know enough to be saved, it does not remove all of our bad habits from our lives right away. That’s a process that takes time. It is still a struggle to learn, grow, and become more obedient to Jesus.

When Jesus arrived, the blind regained their sight. In this case literally. But for those who were watching, who could already see. And they saw the storm calmed, the demons sent into the pigs, the woman healed from her fatal disease, and the girl raised from the dead.

They saw these things but the didn’t understand at the time. Jesus was showing them what it all meant so they could understand it and accurately apply their faith to it. These two blind men were their Youtube video. Watch Jesus and learn, step by step so you can do it yourself and be a close follower of Jesus.

Jesus wasn’t done, yet, w/ this series of lessons.

Another man came along and his miracle coupled w/ this one took their understanding and application to the next step where they could explain it.

I Can Explain

Matthew 9:32–34 NIV

While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”

First of all, Isaiah 35, you see what’s going on here. The blind see and the mute can talk. Beyond just the obvious, the message for the disciples would be getting clearer. Literally and figuratively they could see better and explain things better.

As the two former blind men were leaving the house, a demon-possessed man was brought to Jesus. The demon had prevented the man from speaking. This demon said nothing, for it was a mute.

The other demons that Jesus had cast out had all called out to Jesus as the Holy One or Messiah. This one did not. But, it was not necessary for it to speak or say anything for Jesus to get His point across to the ppl present.

Jesus is the Messiah and He will help you speak when you called upon to speak to explain the Power of Jesus in your life.

The crowd reacted w/ amazement. They marveled at what they saw and heard.

This was among the first things the last 2 guys say and the first thing anybody heard from this guy.

Immediately the man who had been mute, spoke once Jesus cast out the demon.

The ppl in the crowd responded w/, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

They acknowledged that never in Israel’s history had any such thing occurred by anyone they had ever encountered. Their response indicated a willingness to accept Jesus for what He claimed to be. For they were exactly correct in their history. No one else had ever done this.

The leadership should have known right away who this was b/c of Isaiah’s prediction of what to look for. There was only one Messiah and Jesus is it.

The fact that He performed these miracles this day was proof. No one els had, and He did. The only conclusion they could have accurately come to was that Jesus had to the be the One God sent to save them.

But, they were inaccurate in their recognition.

They should have seen Him for Who His right away. Amazingly, the men who were blind could see better than the Pharisees who never lost their sight.

They were seeing the fulfillment of Is. 35 right before their eyes. But their eyes were still blind. They had already begun to plot w/ the Herodians to kill Jesus (Mk. 3:6).

They were offended that He cared to call into question their laws and motives. They were so furious at Him by this point they could not recognize the truth of the fulfillment of the messianic prophecy even if it was as plain as the nose on their face.

They could only accuse Him of casting out demons w/ the power of Satan. It was an old, tired argument that Jesus has already refuted. Satan would not cast out Satan. A house divided could not stand. And, Satan’s house was definitely standing at that time. Still is. It will be taken down when Jesus returns.

B/C of their blindness, they insisted upon attributing Jesus’ power to Satan and not God and their rejection of Him continued unabated in spite of such obvious evidence before them.

Jesus’ lessons are layered. Layer upon layer, tier upon tier. The 2 blind men could see and mute, demon-possessed man was delivered and could talk. These, by themselves are remarkable enough.

The Power of the Person of Jesus on display to attract ppl to His message to believe and be saved was only the beginning.

Predicted centuries earlier and accurately performed as Isaiah wrote. We can’t accurately predict tomorrow’s weather. We have no idea if the D-Back or Cardinals will make the playoffs. Well, maybe we already know. The Cardinals are playing hard for the first pick in next year’s draft.

Anyway. It’s amazing that Isaiah was even close enough to be in the ballpark. But he nailed it. There is One God who has one plan and provided One man to be our One Messiah.

On top of all that, there is the illustration Jesus used these situation for that is the application to what he said next.

Who can see the truth of what’s happening? Who will apply it accurately and place their faith in Him? Then, who will be able to explain to to those who are not here to see if for themselves?

We Can Do It

Matthew 9:35–38 NIV

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

There are ppl who are ready to hear. Jesus will lead us to ppl and into opportunities to tell our own story of His power in our life.

Who will be the workers in the field where the fruit is ripe for the picking?

It will be those who have been able to see the truth. We can see Jesus for Who He is. We understand what He is calling us to be and do.

Everyone has faith. We just choose to place it in different places believing in different things.

Atheists have faith. It requires a great deal of faith to believe there is no God. And all of creation is a cosmic accident where planets and stars find themselves in precise locations, never to even wobble a minute amount out of their current orbit or else chaos would reign in the skies.

The belief that we are the result of impossible odds of chemistry, biology, physics and electricity. Our ancestors are amoebae and apes. How much more faith does that take than to believe in a divine Creator who created us w/ a purpose.

He gave us free will to decide if we want to believe what we see or not. Many do not. But if we do, then we have a place reserved for us in His kingdom when he comes to establish it on earth.

Who will help others understand what they see? Who will help them apply their faith in the right place? It will be those whose blindness has been lifted and tongues been freed by Jesus.

He will show us what to do and tell us what to say. We can do this. And the work goes on long after Jesus ascended to Heaven and until He returns and it’s us doing it w/ His power ahead of us, behind us, and in us.

Jesus performed these miracles so that all who were present at the time would recognize that He was fulfilling the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 35. He was surrounded by Jews, having just come from Jairus’ house where He gave life to his daughter. The discs were present and had heard him teach and seen Him authenticate His teaching with other signs.

For those of us who were not present, we can look back and see the truth of Who Jesus is and the Power w/ which He proved it. We can see well enough to apply our faith in the right place and explain it anyone else who is seeking what we have found.

W/ a word Jesus calmed a storm, cast a legion of demons into a herd of pigs, and raised a girl from the dead. He didn’t say a thing and a woman who was bleeding to death was healed when she snuck up behind Him and touched the hem of his cloak.

If you can’t see what’s going on here, as Jesus to help you and He will give you the ability to see it. If you don’t know what to say about it, ask Jesus and he will give you the words and the opportunities to use the.

Jesus will help us know what we need to know, understand what we need to understand, apply what we need to apply, and explain what we need to explain. We are not on our own in this.

He is building His kingdom and using us to do it. Not even the gates of Hell can prevent it.

That’s the message of this section of Jesus’ training the disciples, and us, what to do during this age until He returns.

Applications

Obedience

Jesus calls us to be obedient. The Word of God has a lot to say about what we are supposed to do. That said, Jesus does not expect perfection.

Jesus is not surprised when we directly disobey his instructions. He does not withdraw His miraculous power to save us. His crux paid for all of our sins; past, present, and future. He knows we will still mess up and did what He did anyway.

You don’t have to do anything to be saved. Just believe.

Once you believe, learn more and work harder with the strength Jesus provides to do better.

We can all do better. What do you need to be better at?

Do a little digging

You know enough to be saved. You can see the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. No one has ever done that stuff He’s done except Him. Isaiah predicted it and Jesus did it 600 years apart.

Now that you are saved, maybe you don’t know enough. But you do have the resources to learn it. The HS will help you. The Bible was written as a workbook, about God and about how we can live our lives successfully in this age until He returns.

It might take some digging and studying, but your life’s answers are found in the pages of your bible and you are capable, with the resources He provides, of finding them, seeing them, understanding them, accurately applying them, and helping explain them to those around you looking for the same answers.

Do some digging in the bible and you will be able to see your answers.

Shout it out!

Prior to being saved we were mute b/c we had nothing to shout about. Now, w/ the assurance of eternal life, shout w/ joy and let the world know that Jesus has given you the ability and reason to speak.

He will give it to whomever you shout it at if they will believe it, too.

For those of us who were not present when He did these things, we can look back and see the truth of Who Jesus is and the Power w/ which He proved it. We can see well enough to apply our faith in the right place and explain it anyone else who is seeking what we have found.

W/ a word He calmed a storm, cast a legion of demons into a herd of pigs, and raised a girl from the dead. He didn’t say a thing and a woman who was bleeding to death was healed when she snuck up behind Him and touched the hem of his cloak.

If you are confused b/c you can’t see what’s going on here, ask Jesus to help you and He will give you the ability to see it. If you don’t know what to say about it, ask Jesus and he will give you the words and the opportunities to use them.

Jesus will help us see what we need to see, so we can apply what we need to apply, and then explain what we need to explain. We are not on our own in this.

He is building His kingdom and using us to do it. Not even the gates of Hell can prevent it.