Good News - December 2019

www.goodnewsfl.org 63 DECEMBER 2019 OUT AND ABOUT “On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal” (Luke 5:17). Jesus was having “one of those days.” There hewas trying to ac- complish a goal, get his work done, and fulfill the tasks at hand, and all the while he had to deal with complainers, inter- rogators, and interrupters. “As he was teaching,” the large group gathered from all over the region were apparently waiting for him to say some- thing they didn’t agree with so they could hijack his lesson.At the first opportunity they swarmed Christ like vultures, picking at his words, tearing his character to shreds. Before their eyes, Jesus had confronted a paralytic who had just appeared in the roomby surprise. In this famil- iar narrative we know that the jam-packed house where Jesus stood had been inca- pable of receiving one more occupant. Because four friends had an enormous amount of faith inChrist’s abil- ity to heal, they went to ab- solute lengths to ensure the paralytic was placed squarely in front of Jesus. Christ ac- knowledged theman as a sin- ner, and extended his all-encompassing forgiveness toward him Unfortunately, the Phar- isees and teachers of the law were not moved by the faith of the four friends, or by the au- thority Jesus displayed in for- giving the sins of the crippled man on the cot. Instead they became agitated and indig- nant. Lacking the courage to say it out loud, they thought to themselves, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:21). “Jesus who exactly do you think you are and what exactly are you daring to do?” Jesus was having “one of those days” where hismotives were questioned, where his authority was being under- mined, where a group of intel- lectuals thought they had the right to dispense accusations, but he took it all in stride. With pointedwords which revealed that he read their miserable thoughts, Christ simply acted with decorum and grace. Jesus acknowledged that the four interrupters who had stormed his classroomwere a welcome intrusion, and he ap- plauded them for theway their faith propelled them to ex- treme action on behalf of their broken friend. In turn, he ad- monished the incensed com- plainers, put them in their place, and went on to do ex- actly what he had planned all along. Christ raised the sick man from his bed, and low- ered the boomon the religious experts whose eyebrows were raised in disdain. The Scriptures tell us: “And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, ‘We have seen extraordinary things today’” (Luke 5:26). When Jesus was asked to handle inter- ruptions and disapproval, he did what he was born to do – he brought glory to the Father. When we have up- side-down situations and unexpected confrontations, may we remember that our Lord understands our pres- sures, and look to him for grace for every “one of those days.” Prayer My Lord, you always pro- vide away for us to get to you. You are never too preoccu- pied to hear from us, to heal us. You are a loving, gracious God and so very worthy of worship. Thank you for letting us know that you understand exactly how we feel when we are having “one of those days” as well. Elizabeth K. Mitchell serves at Boca Raton Com- munity Church along with her husband Pastor Bill Mitchell, and is part of the faculty of WorldLead, mentoring and training leaders worldwide. Visit her blog at Journey- fortheheart.com Interrupters Elizabeth Karram Mitchell Boca Raton Community Church