In This Issue

• JESUS SILENCED THE DEMONS BECAUSE THEY KNEW HIM
• HUMILITY
• HE LOST HIS FRIENDS
• UPCOMING GOSPEL MEETING SCHEDULE
• MORE INFORMATION...

JESUS SILENCED THE DEMONS BECAUSE THEY KNEW HIM

Many Jews who lived during the time of Jesus' earthly ministry had been influenced by the Pharisees' doctrine that it was a violation of the Sabbath to heal the sick on that day. As the Jews counted time, the Sabbath ended at sunset, thus Mark tells us that after Jesus had taught in the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath, cast a demon out of a man there, and gone home with Peter and healed his mother-in-law of a high fever, "Now at evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons, and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. (Mark 1:32-34).

Jesus, of course, shows in other places that to heal and do good on the Sabbath did not violate God's law. See Mark 3:1-6, etc.

In Matthew's account of this incident, the apostle informs us that these healings took place "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet." He then quotes from Isaiah 53:4. See Matthew 8:17. We learn from Philip's sermon to the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-39 that the entire 53rd chapter of Isaiah was a detailed prophecy of the character, personality, and work of Jesus, though it was written more than 700 years before His birth.

Note that our text in Mark 1 tells us that Jesus forbade the demons to speak and identify Him as the Christ, the Son of God. Frequently, when Jesus healed those who were sick or blind or lame, He requested that they not reveal His identity. Why did Jesus make such a strange request?

The Bible indicates two reasons for Jesus' not revealing His complete identity early in His ministry. In Matthew 12:16-19 we learn that in this way Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 42:1-4 that the Messiah would not cry aloud in the streets attracting attention to Himself. A second reason, not as clearly stated, can be gathered by a combination of statements that the proper time had not yet come for Jesus' identity to be publicly proclaimed. In Matt. 17:9, the command was "tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead." To proclaim Jesus as the Christ publicly too early in His ministry would be to arouse His enemies against Him before He had been able to accomplish His mission. See John 2:4; Mark 5:19.

Once Jesus had given Himself as a sacrifice for sin and come forth from the dead, He instructed His apostles to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:15-16).

--CRJ

HUMILITY

The need for godly living by every Christian is sorely needed in the world today. In this age of confusion, doubt, and despair the world is sadly in need of the shining lights of Christian example. Christians can and should be lights by living as the Word directs. Matt. 5:16; Phil. 2:15. In our preaching and teaching today we often speak of Christian living in very general terms. Yet, we often need to study in detail the various aspects of this manner of living. A basic part of a life pleasing in God's sight is humility. Humility truly should characterize every child of God. The lack of humility has and will lead to rebellion.

The Need For Humility

The need for humility is expressed in many places in the Word. Only one of these is Micah 6:8, "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" To walk humbly with God is to possess humility. Humility is defined as "the state or quality of being humble of mind or spirit." To help us to see clearly what this is, let us observe the definition of the word humble. Humble is defined as "1. having or showing a consciousness of one's defects or shortcomings; not proud; modest. 2. low in condition or rank; lowly; Unimportant; unpretentious."

The promises of God are for the humble. Matt. 23:12: "And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted." To be exalted in heaven man must humble himself while upon the earth. Those who exalt or elevate themselves in this life shall be abased in the life to come. Let us learn "that no one of you be puffed up for one against another." I Cor. 4:6.

Bible Examples Of Humility

We all realize that one of the best ways to teach is by example. The Lord has given us many examples of humility in His Word. Let us examine only a few.

Joseph, the son of Jacob, was a humble man. We are familiar with the various trials that preceded his imprisonment. In prison he interpreted the dreams of the servants of Pharaoh. Because of his ability to interpret dreams he was called before Pharaoh to interpret the dreams that none of the Pharaoh's advisers could explain. When called Joseph made this acknowledgment. "It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace." Gen. 41:16.

Joseph was quick to give credit to the God of heaven, where it rightfully belonged. He was not presumptuous to take the glory for himself. We need to remember as we count our wealth in this world that it is God who gives us the power to obtain it (Deut. 8:18), just as it was God who gave Joseph the power to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh. Better to be penniless than to be rich if the riches will cause us to forget to acknowledge God who gave us all we possess. Likewise in our efforts for the Lord in his vineyard, be it remembered that of ourselves we can do nothing. It is God that giveth the increase. I Cor. 3:7. Often we speak is if we were the means of converting the sinner rather than the gospel being that means.

Solomon in his early years was a man of humility. Observe his confession to God. "And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father; and I am but a little child; I know not how to go out or come in." I Kings 3:7. Solomon was able to recognize his weaknesses and his dependence on God. He admitted his ignorance and helplessness without the guidance of God. He showed his humility in asking for knowledge. Should not this attitude possess us to the same degree? It is a proud and arrogant person who thinks he knows all he needs to know, and is not in need of the guidance from above. Sad to say that Solomon became puffed up and forgot his dependence on God. When we launch out into worldly knowledge, and depend upon our own intellect for guidance, we will be as Solomon in his last years. Let us ever be humble and realize our need for the word of truth. Christ has promised the kingdom of heaven to the poor in spirit. Matt. 5:3.

The greatest example of humility is that of our Lord. Of himself he said, "I am meek, and lowly in heart." Matt. 11:29. Of him the apostle says, "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Phil. 2:8. Notice that obedience is coupled with humility. The man who will not obey the Lord's commandments is not humble in His sight. True humility will cause us to recognize our need for God and his way. It will cause us to obey Him without the excuses we so often offer. May we ever look unto Jesus and in humility obey his Word. May we ever follow the one who "also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps." I Pet. 2:21.

Solomon said, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18. Let us seek only the will of the Father in heaven and walk humbly in his sight. In humility let us serve Him all the days of our life that we can hear those wonderful words, "Well Done."

--Bill Echols, Truth Magazine, May 1958

HE LOST HIS FRIENDS

The man lost something more valuable than his legs he lost his friends.

I saw a documentary about people with spinal cord injuries. One man was paralyzed from the waist down and had to work hard to regain the use of his upper body. As he was discussing the emotional ups and downs of the first weeks after his injury, his eyes filled with tears and he said, "I wish I had my friends. Some called and told me they couldn't bear to see me like this, others never call or visit. It would have helped me so much if they would have come to see me and told me they loved me."

This happens quite often to the ill and injured and it happens among God's people. Friends become so afraid that the say the wrong thing or not know what to say that they decide it is best if they say or do nothing. This ends up being the most harmful thing they can do because their ill/disabled friend feels neglected and unloved. This is, by far, more painful than having a friend sit who stays quiet for fear of offense.

In fact, the ill/disabled is never offended when someone cares enough to call and visit and may not find the right words to say. Instead, they feel loved and they understand that their friendship is not based on the external. If the injured man's friends would have realized that a loss of legs does not mean a loss of the individual, they would have gained an even greater relationship with a man who now has much more understanding of the value of friendship.

Little did the friends know how much they needed this man, Their separation caused anxiety in their friend and he could identify with David's feelings in Psalm 142:4, "Look on my right hand and see, for there is no one who acknowledges me; refuge has failed me; no one cares for my soul."

--Pat Gates, The Proclaimer, Salinas, CA, October, 2002

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