It takes more than Casual Interest to get something from Jesus

In some ways things are just like they were in the days of the life of Jesus on earth that we read about in the Gospel stories. I find the gospel stories very relevant and true-to-life regarding the way people and God interact. There are a lot of lessons we can learn.

In the gospel accounts there were of course people who never saw Jesus at all, just as there are today. But there were also plenty of people in Israel that had some kind of exposure to the presence and ministry of Jesus. Maybe they heard Him sometimes as he was teaching the multitudes. Or maybe they knew someone who got healed through his ministry. They were interested enough to go and hear Jesus. They might have been part of the crowd as Jesus passed by. But a lot of them still didn’t get much from God.

A lot of the gospel stories in Matthew, Mark and Luke tell about some special individuals who got a miracle from Jesus. I’m sure there were others like them whose stories were not recorded for us – but these ones were recorded because they teach. These people were different to the others – and the difference was their faith, their boldness and their focus. They did more than the others in the crowd – and somehow they got Jesus’ attention.

It is like that in church today. You can be in a service where Jesus is there through the Holy Spirit in a special way, and you or others might even sense His presence physically or emotionally. But that doesn’t guarantee you will get a miracle.

Sometimes Jesus passes by and nothing happens. Why is that?

I am sure Jesus passed by a lot of sick people who didn’t get healed. Sometimes you had to get Jesus’ attention in order to get anything from God.

If you come to a church where God moves, and you only have a casual interest in God – you will probably leave without any real change happening in your life. You might say, “Yes, I believe God was there” but the impact on your life is not huge. Its like what happens to a lot of people who attend good churches week after week. Maybe you are satisfied with just doing the right thing of coming to church, or maybe you are 90% there to meet your friends. But God is looking for people who will grab hold of Him.

There are two ingredients at least which can make a difference. The most important is bold FAITH which takes action. Jesus said to a sinful woman who came to Him:

Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:50)

To the woman with the issue of blood it is recorded as follows:

And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” (Mark 5:34).

What was special about these women?

Each of these women in their own way got to Jesus by taking desperate action and stepping beyond social conventions. The woman with the issue of blood would be considered unclean and by the strict letter of the law should not have put herself in a place where anyone else would touch her body by accident – for example in a crowd. Yet somehow, in her desperation to connect with Jesus, she defied social norms and pushed her way through the crowd to touch the edge of Jesus’ garment, fully believing that would be enough for her to get healed. She got her miracle because of her bold faith.

The sinful woman who got to the Pharisee’s party had to get past the disdain and disapproval of the religious leaders who knew all about her. We know from the record that the man who invited Jesus was saying to himself

“If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” (Luke 7:39)

Jesus allowed this woman to anoint his feet, weep over him and dry his feet with her hair. He appreciated her devotion, while the Pharisees thought it was just wrong and that it proved that Jesus didn’t know who was coming to him.

The thing is though, this woman got something real from Jesus whereas as far as we know Simon the Pharisee was unchanged. You will get more from Jesus by stepping out of the box than by being concerned about protocol and what other people think of you.

I want to suggest to you that if you are looking for a real miracle from Jesus you can’t just adopt a cautious approach or even just a casual interest. You need to cry out. You need to reach out with your heart and your passion. You do this because you believe in Him but you realise its going to take something for you to get heaven to pay attention to your cause.

Need doesn’t obligate God. Neither does obvious need. God owes us nothing. If we get what we have earned by our behavior, we’d be shut out, banished and punished forever. Just because you have an awful situation doesn’t mean God is going to act. Just because your mind or body may be in tremendous pain doesn’t mean God is going to fix it. Don’t blame God. Just realize that He is moved by BOLD FAITH – He might feel for you in a way, but his sympathy alone will usually not cause him to act.

One time Jesus had sent the disciples to cross to the other side of the lake, but they got stuck in a storm. They thought they would die. Then Jesus came out to them, walking on the water. Amazingly, the Bible says that “he would have passed them by”. (Mark 6:48). The disciples were in danger of death. If they had not cried out in fear and desperation (v49), maybe Jesus would have left them to fend for themselves … who knows?

It is like this for us when we are in a serious crisis. God wants us to call out to the Lord. “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Salvation is not only receiving God’s forgiveness. It includes deliverance from danger and trouble. We are all going to face trouble in life, whether we are seeking to please God or not. But not everyone has the right attitude towards God in the face of trouble.

At the very least we need to learn to call out to Jesus in desperation. At a higher level of faith, we could ourselves speak to the storm in faith and calm it. But whatever we do, let us not be among those timid and passive souls who have learned just to accept whatever happens. Our boldness and faith make a difference, and without these qualities, things may not turn out well. So let us learn the lesson the gospels are teaching us about how to relate to Jesus.

Break out of the box and the social expectations.

Believe with all your heart that Jesus can make a difference.

Act boldly and with strong desire