Thursday, August 2, 2012

Thursday, August 2 ~ Miriam

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is 2 Kings 20-21.
Today's scripture focus is Matthew 9:14-26.


Jesus Questioned About Fasting

14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman

18 While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment.
23 When Jesus entered the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that region.


So, the first section of today's reading talks about fasting.  This is something I had never EVER given any thought to until the last couple of years.  No one I knew fasted.  It's not something I ever grew up hearing about or seeing demonstrated.  I don't recall ever hearing a sermon about it or talking about it at Bible study. Quite simply, it wasn't even on my radar screen in any way.

I don't know if it is necessary or even desirable to incorporate it as something to be done on a scheduled basis.  It may then become a duty, something legalistic that we do because we think we are supposed to, instead of with the right attitude. I think prayer and fasting go hand in hand.  It seems to me that fasting, in and of itself, isn't of much value unless it is accompanied by prayer and spending time with God, although I can't speak from personal experience here as I've never fasted for spiritual reasons.  Does anyone have any experience with fasting?

To me it seems that if you have an issue about which you are really prayerfully seeking an answer from God, fasting would be appropriate.  Or grieving over the loss of a loved one.  Or from a desire to truly show penitence for something you've done against God or haven't done though you knew it was His will (once again, together with prayer).  Anyone else?

I vaguely remembered reading something interesting about the wineskin verse in the first year of this blog but I couldn't remember what it was, so I went back and looked it up.  This is an excerpt from Tammy's post on this passage from 2010.

I found out that new wine expands as it ferments and as it does so, it naturally stretches the wineskin bag that it's kept in. If you tried to put new wine into previously stretched bags, they would burst when the win expanded because they had already been stretched and could take no more. Ok, that all makes sense (and I think I've even heard that explanation before), but what does it mean? What's the relevance? (And maybe I've heard the application too and just don't remember it - not sure what is worse, never bothering to find out, or not paying attention when it is explained!) Anyway, my Life Application Bible has 4 different applications to this parable.

1) Jesus did not come to patch up the old religious system of Judaism with its rules and traditions. His purpose was to fulfill it and start something new (though this "new" thing had been prophesied for centuries). Jesus Christ, God's Son, came to earth to offer all people forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. This new Good News did not fit into the old rigid legalistic system of religion. It needed a fresh start. 

2) The message will always remain "new" because it must be accepted and applied in every generation. When you follow Christ, be prepared for new ways to live, new ways to look at people, and new ways to serve.

3) The Pharisees had become rigid like old wineskins. They could not accept faith in Jesus that would not be contained or limited by man-made ideas or rules. Your heart, like a wineskin, can become rigid and prevent you from accepting the new life that Christ offers. Keep your heart pliable and open to accepting the life-changing truths of Christ.

4) Our church programs and ministries should not be so structured that they have no room for a fresh touch of the Spirit, a new method or a new idea. 

The first one is the meaning of the parable, and the remaining three are different ways we can apply that meaning to our lives.

I don't know that I ever paid much attention to those verses before because I didn't understand what Jesus was trying to say.  It makes a lot more sense to me now.

Following are two more miracles of healing performed by Jesus.  The first is remarkable because the woman had so much faith that she believed that even to touch Jesus' garment would be enough to heal her.  The second is remarkable because it clearly shows that Jesus has power over death, setting him apart from any other physician or healer or prophet to whom he might be compared.

Tomorrow's scripture focus:  Matthew 9:27-37.
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage:  2 Chronicles 32-33.

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