The Marvel of Marvels
Posted by: biblenotes <biblenotes@...>
From: Martin Overfield
Date: 25 Jun 2002
The Marvel of Marvels
"And he could there do no mighty work, save
that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk,
and healed them. And he marvelled because
of their unbelief." (Mark 6:5, 6a)
That the very Son of God is so able and willing to
help us in every way we need help is a wonderful
thing.
That God became man and dwelt among us
was a marvelous thing!
That Jesus would so lavishly love, teach, preach,
heal and give of Himself is beyond human comprehension.
That He not only COULD but WOULD give sight
to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the dumb,
the ability to walk to the lame, raise people from the
dead, work miracles of nature, deliver men from the
bondage of Satan, and even get up out of His own tomb
-- these all are great marvels that baffle the minds of men.
But, in the light of all this the greatest of marvels is
something quite different though remarkably related
to them. The Infinite One Himself, the very God of
gods, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords actually
marvels that people still persist in unbelief -- the very
unbelief that ties His hands so that He "cannot" do the
"many mighty works" that He so desires to do for them.
Let us not ask, "Why doesn't God do something?", but
rather we should be asking, "Why do not God's people
believe Him to do the things that He has so abundantly
promised that He would do?"
Has he not said, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee,
and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou
knowest not."? (Jeremiah 33:3)
The problem is not that there is any lack in the love of
God for His children, nor is there a lack in His ability.
Of course, during the life of Christ we see
well-illustrated the fact that some of the things
that people want, expect, or demand of Him, or
even believe to be the will of God, are actually
things that God knows are not best for us.
I especially have in mind the fact that the Jews
expected their Messiah to be an earthly king who
would annihilate their oppressors and immediately
usher in a glorious supremacy of their nation above
all others.
Is it not so with people today? They want to have
everything rosy, all the bills paid, everybody liking
them, all circumstances falling into place without a
struggle; and they want it NOW!
Jesus gave His people a sign, though not the one
that they might have dictated. He said in so many
words that He would die and rise again in three days.
They instigated His death, asked Pilate to secure the
tomb as they remembered the sign, paid the Roman
guards to lie about it when it happened, and they
persecuted and killed those who proclaimed the
reality of its occurrence.
Is it any wonder that He marveled at their unbelief?
Is it any wonder that He marvels at unbelief today?
Why, so many of the people who say they believe God
seem to be constantly engaged in such a negative,
"can't do" attitude that it is no wonder to me that He
cannot do many mighty works in their locality. This is
a rather Biblical reason for the deadness in many local
churches. Many who say that they accept Jesus and
believe Him are merely paying lip service and doing
religious exercises. All the while, there is in them "an
evil heart of unbelief ... departing from the living God."
(Hebrews 3:12)
Oh, let us not tie the hands of God by unbelief!
Let us rather seek Him, obey Him, and believe Him.
How appropriate here is the exchange between Jesus
and the man whose son was demon-possessed.
Remember that the disciples' little faith, along with
their lack of prayer and self denial, had failed to bring
deliverance to the boy (Mark 9:29). Now, hear the
plea of the boy's father and Jesus' answer to him:
"If thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us,
and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe,
all things are possible to him that believeth."
(Mark 9:22, 23)
Are not people today saying the same thing -- if not in
word, in their attitude and lack of faith: "Lord, if you
can, please help us." Is not "Jesus Christ the same
yesterday, and to day, and for ever."? (Hebrews 13:8)
It is for this reason that "all things are possible to him
that believeth": Jesus is able to do all things; nothing
is impossible to Him.
Oh, that we would cry out as this man did "with tears,
'Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief '." (Mark 9:24)
For, such desperation, such exercising of what faith
we have, such determined opposition to the spirit of
unbelief, and such true prayer our Lord never fails to
hear and to answer according to His wonderful will.
"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think, according
to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory
in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages,
world without end. Amen." (Eph 3:20, 21)
Yours In Christ,
Martin Overfield
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