Lucas 5
A.T. Robertson · Citado em PreceptAustin
Lucas 5
Robertson- Then and there. They had already become his disciples. Now they leave their business for active service of Christ. The conduct of this group of business men should make other business men to pause and see if Jesus is calling them to do likewise. Mark 1:17, 18 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.18 ”Immediately they left (aphiemi) their nets and followed Him...20 Immediately He called them; and they left (aphiemi) their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him. Robertson - With the hired servants (meta tōn misthōtōn). One hired for wages (misthos), a very old Greek word. Zebedee and his two sons evidently had an extensive business in co-operation with Andrew and Simon (Luke 5:7, 10). Mark alone has this detail of the hired servants left with Zebedee. They left the boat and their father (Matthew 4:22) with the hired servants. The business would go on while they left all (Luke 5:11) and became permanent followers of Jesus. Many a young man has faced precisely this problem when he entered the ministry. Could he leave father and mother, brothers and sisters, while he went forth to college and seminary to become a fisher of men? Not the least of the sacrifices made in the education of young preachers is that made by the home folks who have additional burdens to bear because the young preacher is no longer a bread-winner at home. Most young preachers joyfully carry on such burdens after entering the ministry. THE CALL AND COMPLETE SURRENDER When they had brought their boats to land they left (aphiemi) everything - After a tremendous catch of fish like this, which was worth so much, they left them. Luke does not tell us, but both Matthew (Mt 4:20, 22) and Mark (Mk 1:18, 20+) tell us they left everything immediately (see in depth discussion of "immediately"- main note, additional note) This is one of those "hard sayings" of Jesus, one that challenges all who desire to follow hard after Jesus (just maybe not this hard)! Everything means everything in Greek! And this would include their boats, their only means of making a living! Compare the call to Levi in Luke 5:28 "And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him." And in Luke 14:33+ Jesus said "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." Left (aphiemi) Literally means to send from one's self, to forsake, to hurl away, to put away, let alone, disregard, put off. It conveys the basic idea of an action which causes separation and describes total detachment and separation from something. In the present context of course it was literal separation of fishermen from their nets, their boats, their means of making a living and thus a separation from their earthly source of security! It would seem to be a "key word" in describing how one becomes a disciple for it is used 5 times in the synoptic accounts of Jesus' call to follow Him! (Mt 4:20, 22, Mk 1:18, 20, Lk 5:11)! It is worth noting that one secular use of "aphiemi" in the sentence "drop the pot" gives us a vivid picture of how radical their leaving really was. It is also fascinating that in the NT aphiemi is often translated forgive, which gives us a beautiful picture of how thorough, completely and forever God "severs" us from the guilt of our sins because of the atoning blood of Christ. One of the men called, Peter, would later use this same verb in warning Simon who sought to buy the Holy Spirit to repent and be forgiven (Acts 8:9-10, 22+) The radical act of the disciples is an illustration of what Jesus was calling for in Luke 14 when He declared... "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." (Lk 14:33+) ILLUSTRATION - When the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez landed at Vera Cruz, Mexico in 1519 he was intent on conquest. To assure the devotion of his men, Cortez set fire to his fleet of eleven ships! With no means of retreat Cortez’s army had only one direction to move, into the Mexican interior. Cortez understood the price of commitment—and he paid it. F B
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Robertson - If You are willing ( [ean thelēis]). The leper knew that Jesus had the power to heal him. His doubt was about his willingness. “Men more easily believe in miraculous power than in miraculous love” (Bruce). This is a condition of the third class (undetermined, but with prospect of being determined), a hopeful doubt at any rate. Jesus accepted his challenge by “I will.” The command to “tell no one” was to suppress excitement and prevent hostility. Mark 1:40-44+ And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. 43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, 44 and He *said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Comment - Moved with compassion is used only by Mark in this story of the leper. Moved with compassion is the verb splanchnizomai from splagchnon bowel, viscera - see splagchnon note below) means to experience a deep visceral feeling for someone, to feel compassion for, to feel sympathy, to take pity on someone. Compassion is the sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it. This verb expresses an outward flow of one's life in contrast to our natural tendency toward self-centeredness. It is notable that 8/12 NT uses describe this deep seated emotion in Jesus. It follows that if we desire to imitate Jesus, we need to be men and women of deep compassion! Numbers 5:2-4+ “Command the sons of Israel that they send away from the camp every leper and everyone having a discharge and everyone who is unclean because of a dead person. 3 “You shall send away both male and female; you shall send them outside the camp so that they will not defile their camp where I dwell in their midst.” 4 The sons of Israel did so and sent them outside the camp; just as the LORD had spoken to Moses, thus the sons of Israel did. Man Covered With Leprosy JESUS IS WILLING TO TOUCH THE UNTOUCHABLE Brian Bell entitled his sermon on this section "SEE SPOT RUN!" While He was in one of the cities - This is probably on the edge of the city because lepers were shunned in Jesus' day (Mosaic requirements Leviticus 13:45-46) and thus were not generally seen inside the cities. THOUGHT- The point is that you may feel isolated, alone, apart from the populace, but Jesus knows where you are and He is ready to meet you wherever you are! Will you call out to Him as the despised leper did? Rest assured that He will respond! Hendriksen has these thoughts on the time and place of this miracle - The time and place are indefinite, both here and in the other Gospels. Most natural, however, is the theory according to which this meeting took place during the Galilean circuit to which the more chronologically arranged Gospel According to Mark has just referred (see Mark 1:39, 40+). If so, the incident occurred shortly before the healing of the paralytic (Luke 5:17–26+; cf. Mark 2:1–12+), which, in turn, was followed by the call of Levi (Luke 5:27–32+; cf. Mark 2:13–17+). All this transpired sometime before the calling of The Twelve (to apostleship) and the preaching of the Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:12–49+; cf. Mark 3:13–19+; and for the sermon cf. Matt. 5–7). (Borrow Baker NT Commentary: Luke) There was a man covered (pleres - "full of") with leprosy (lepra) - Luke could just have said a leper approached and we would have understood. But he adds an interesting detail telling us the man is covered (pleres - used of Jesus in Lk 4:1+) which means full of and speaks of the totality of this man's body which was "wholly filled" with the disease and with no skin surface lacking the effect of the disease! One can just picture the sight! (You don't have to imagine - look at this picture of a man "covered" with scaly skin lesions of leprosy). It may have been the worst case of leprosy in all of Palestine, but this leper would soon find that Jesus' power is enough for even the worse case! THOUGHT - You may be covered with the leprosy of some unconfessed sin as you read this note. You can take comfort in the fact that your Jesus is the Healer (cf Jehovah Rapha) Who does not reject even those with the most horrible case of "leprosy!" Fall on your face and implore Him and He will make you clean today! He can turn your mourning to dancing, loose your sackcloth and gird you with gladness! (Ps 30:11) Our sin before a holy God is like a case of "advanced leprosy" and needs a miraculous cure and cleansing by the precious blood the Lamb! Praise the Name of Jesus that the price for our cleansing has been "PAID IN FULL!"
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Robertson notes "The faith of the four men and of the man himself. There is no reason for excluding his faith. They all had confidence in the power and willingness of Jesus to heal this desperate case."
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Robertson - These scribes and Pharisees were there to cause trouble, to pick flaws in the teaching and conduct of Jesus. His popularity and power had aroused their jealousy. There is no evidence that they spoke aloud the murmur in their hearts, “within themselves” (Matt. 9:3). It was not necessary, for their looks gave them away and Jesus knew their thoughts (Matt. 9:4) and perceived their reasoning (Luke 5:22). Instantly Jesus recognized it in his own spirit (Mark 2:8 "Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit"). The Master at once recognizes the hostile atmosphere in the house. The debate (dialogizomenoi) in their hearts was written on their faces. No sound had come, but feeling did. Who is this man who speaks blasphemies (blasphemia) - They did not speak these words but this is what they were reasoning in their heart. Their assessment would have been correct if He were not God incarnate. (cf Mt 9:3 "And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.”) The importance of this fact is that they knew that blasphemy was punishable by death (Lev. 24:10-23-note; Nu 15:30–31) Mark 2:7 has "Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?” In Luke 7:49 "Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” “The prophet always is a scandalous, irreverent blasphemer from the conventional point of view” (Bruce). Blasphemy is a frequent charge leveled against Jesus (Mk 14:64; Jn 5:18; 10:33, 36) and would eventually become the basis of Jesus’ conviction and crucifixion. Jesus would repeat this “crime” of declaring "Your sins are forgiven" in Luke 7:48–49+ (as He was dining with one of the Pharisees). It is notable that this first charge finally became the fatal charge for in Mark 14:61-64 we read "But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” 63 Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? 64 “You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death."
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Robertson - They justify the charge with the conviction that God alone has the power ([dunatai ]) to forgive sins. The word [blasphēmeō in Mk 2:7] means injurious speech or slander. It was, they held, blasphemy for Jesus to assume this divine prerogative. Their logic was correct. The only flaw in it was the possibility that Jesus held a peculiar relation to God which justified his claim. So the two forces clash here as now on the deity of Christ Jesus. Knowing full well that he had exercised the prerogative of God in forgiving the man’s sins he proceeds to justify his claim by healing the man. Spurgeon on the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason - The gentlemen I alluded to just now began to reason. It was just like them; instead of beginning to praise God, they “began to reason,”- who can forgive sins but God alone - Most true, O Pharisees; and, therefore he is God, for he can forgive sins, and he has forgiven this poor sinner! (Luke - exposition) Scribes (1122)(grammateus from grapho = to write) was one skilled in Jewish law and theology scribe, expert, scholar (Mt 2.4). Grammateus also referred to a chief executive officer of a governmental entity such as a town official secretary, town clerk (Acts 19.35). Jesus gives a long rebuke including 8 WOES primarily to the Scribes and Pharisees which should be read to help understand how this group of Jewish religious men functioned (See Mt 23:1-39, 13, 14, 15, 16, etc). Most sources consider the lawyers (nomikos - meaning one skilled in the Mosaic law) to be scribes specialized in the jurisprudence of the Law of Moses. Finally the scribes in Lk 5:17 (nomdidaskalos) were teachers of the Jewish law who were equal to the lawyers and scribes. In the Septuagint grammateus frequently used for a political officer who assisted kings or magistrates by keeping written accounts of public acts and occurrences or royal revenues (2 Ki 12:10) (See Brown-Driver-Briggs definition of saphar). NET Note on scribes - The traditional rendering of grammateus as "scribe" does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean "professional copyist," if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus "expert in the law" comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.
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Robertson says Matthew was "sitting at the toll-gate (telōnion) on the Great West Road from Damascus to the Mediterranean (click map - see purple path with Hazor about the site of Capernaum)(see Via Maris) To follow (closely) was used of soldiers, servants and pupils. To go after someone or something (not as a true disciple however as we see with the crowds who physically followed Jesus, following however without a willingness to commit wholly to Him! cf John 6:60-65, 66) Early in the history of the Greek language akoloutheo came to mean to imitate or follow someone's example. This dual meaning colored the New Testament use of our word akoloutheo. Akoloutheo is a technical term in Hebrew and Greek for the reactions and relationships of a disciple to his teacher. The essence of Christianity in fact lies in the words "to follow Jesus." When we walk with Him, He promised we would never walk in darkness! (Jn 8:12). He is our Lamp wherever we walk, always walking with us, His Spirit within us enabling us to "Walk by the Spirit." (Gal 5:16) Paul expressed walking after Jesus as being His imitator (1 Cor 11:1) When He say's go, I go. When He says stop, I stop. His sheep know His voice and follow Him (Jn 10:27) Sadly , some declined to follow (Mt 19:21-23). Play and ponder the words of Chris Tomlin's poignant song "I will follow you, Jesus!" Where You go, I’ll go Where You stay, I’ll stay When You move, I’ll move I will follow You... Who You love, I'll love. Who You serve, I'll serve. If this life I lose, I will follow You
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Robertson comments "It is the philosophy of the obscurantist (one opposed to spread of knowledge), that is here pictured by Christ. “The prejudiced person will not even try the new, or admit that it has any merits (ED: WE ALL KNOW FOLKS LIKE THIS TODAY. THEY THINK THEY ARE SAVED, HAVE A GOOD "FIRE INSURANCE POLICY" AND DON'T WANT TO HEAR THEY ARE A SINNER WHO NEEDS TO REPENT AND BELIEVE IN JESUS). He knows that the old is pleasant, and suits him; and that is enough; he is not going to change” (Plummer). This is Christ’s picture of the reactionary Pharisees." For (term of explanation explains why they don't want the new wine of the Gospel) he says, 'The old is good enough - This declaration reflects the degree of deception of the Jews. They thought they had the "best" wine and stubbornly refused the "new wine" Jesus offered, not realizing that each time they refused His offer to come and drink, their hearts became progressively harder to the truth of the Gospel. This reminds me of the passage in Isaiah which says "Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, My servants (THE FAITHFUL REMNANT) will eat, but you will be hungry. Behold, My servants will drink ("THE NEW WINE," SO TO SPEAK), but you will be thirsty. Behold, My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame. 14 “Behold, My servants will shout joyfully with a glad heart, But you will cry out with a heavy heart, And you will wail with a broken spirit. 15“ You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones, And the Lord GOD will slay you. But My servants will be called by another name ("SONS OF THE LIVING GOD" - Ro 9:26+). (Isa 65:13-15) Wishes (2309)(thelo see study of derivative thelema; see synonyms boule and boulomai) refers to exercising of one's will with the underlying sense of to be willing or to desire, to want. Thelo "expresses not simply a desire, but a determined and constant exercise of the will." (Vine), this definition presenting quite a picture of the determination of the Jews to not even take a sip of "Jesus wine!" Thelo in Luke - Lk. 1:62; Lk. 4:6; Lk. 5:12; Lk. 5:13; Lk. 5:39; Lk. 6:31; Lk. 8:20; Lk. 9:23; Lk. 9:24; Lk. 9:54; Lk. 10:24; Lk. 10:29; Lk. 12:49; Lk. 13:31; Lk. 13:34; Lk. 14:28; Lk. 15:28; Lk. 16:26; Lk. 18:4; Lk. 18:13; Lk. 18:41; Lk. 19:14; Lk. 19:27; Lk. 20:46; Lk. 22:9; Lk. 23:8; Lk. 23:20; Good (5543)(chrestos from chráomai = furnish what is needed or from chresteuomai = to act kindly) has a basic meaning being well adapted to fulfill a purpose and so describes that which is useful, suitable, excellent, beneficial. The tragic irony is that the Jews thought of as aged "chrestos" "wine" would in the final day be shown to be as if one had drunk wined laced with "spiritual hemlock!" THOUGHT FROM Pastor Gene Brooks applying these truths of the new and the old - As we let the Gospel message infuse our lives, it gives us a fresh, new shape, chosen by God’s Spirit, in which the new wine of God’s work within us matures toward beauty and holiness. Jesus must be accepted on His own terms. He is a transformer, not a reformer. He doesn’t come to your life simply to help you live better. He comes to revolutionize it. He does not come to you to be a part of your life. He comes to be your life (Col 3:4). He does not come to augment your ego and strengthen your self-esteem. He comes to crucify your sinful self and teach you replace it with His Christ Life. He is not interested in entertaining you. He comes to take over. He comes to lead. He comes to rule. He comes to reign. In surrender to Him lies true joy. (Luke 5:27-39 - Common Sinners & New Wine) D L Moody - FAITH REWARDED “And it came to pass on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judæa and Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy; and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before Him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in, because of the multitude, they went upon the house-top, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when He saw their faith, He said unto him, ‘Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.’ ” (Lk 5:17-20) All the three evangelists, Matthew, Mark and Luke, record this miracle. I have noticed that when any two or three of the Gospel writers record a miracle it is to bring out some important truth. It seems to me that the truth the Lord would teach us here is this: The honor He put upon the faith of these four men who brought the palsied man to him for healing. Whether the palsied man himself had any faith we are not told; it was when He saw “their faith” that His power was put forth to cure the sick of the palsy. I want to say to all Christian workers, that if the Lord sees our faith for those whom we wish to be blessed, He will honor it. He has never disappointed the faith of any of His children yet. You cannot find an instance in the Bible, where any man or woman has exercised true faith in God, where it has not been honored. Nothing that the Savior found when He was on this sin-cursed earth pleased Him so much as to see the faith of His disciples; nothing refreshed His heart so much. We read in the Gospel narrative that there was a great stir in the town of Capernaum at this time. A few weeks before, the Savior had been cast out of his native town of Nazareth. He had come down to Capernaum, and the whole country was greatly moved. His star was just rising, and His fame was being spread abroad. Peter’s wife’s mother had been healed by a word. The servant of an officer in the Roman army had been raised up from a sick bed, and the Savior had performed many other wonderful miracles. Men had come to Capernaum from every town in Galilee, and Judæa, and from Jerusalem. They had gathered together to look into these wonderful events that were occurring. The voice of John the Baptist had been ringing through the land, proclaiming to the people that a Prophet would soon make His appearance, whose shoe latchet he was not worthy to unloose. While the Baptist was telling out this message the Prophet Himself made His appearance in the northern part of the country, and all these wonderful things were transpiring. The Pharisees and doctors (scribes) of the law had come to Capernaum to look into the reports that were spread abroad. The house where they were gathered was filled to overflowing, and these (ostensibly) "wise" men were listening to the Savior’s teaching. Many of them hardly believed a word that He said. It may be there were some believing ones among these wise men. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea may have been there: if so, they were not yet known as disciples of Jesus. The writer of the Gospel says: “The power of the Lord was present to heal them.” We are not told, however, that one of them was healed. So it is very often now. The power of the Lord may be present to heal in these gatherings; yet many will come and go, wondering what it all means, and without being healed of their spiritual diseases. What we need is to have the power of God in our midst.... These four men were real workers. They were worth more than a houseful of these Pharisees and doctors of the law who came merely to criticise and look on. I do not know who the four men were, but I have always had a great admiration for them. It may be one of them had been blind and the Lord had given him his sight. The other may have been lame from his birth; when the Master restored him to strength, he thought he would like to use it in bringing some one else to be healed. The third man may have been a cured leper, and he wished to help in getting some other afflicted one cured. Perhaps this palsied man was his next-door neighbor. The fourth man, it may be, had been deaf and dumb, and he thought he would employ his hearing and his speech in helping some one else. These four young converts said to themselves: “Let us bring our sick neighbor to Christ.” The palsied man may have said he had no faith in Christ. But these four friends told him how they had been cured, and if the Master could heal them surely He could heal a palsied man. Now it seems to me nothing will wake up a man quicker than to have four persons after him in one day. People are sometimes afraid that they will entrench on each other’s ground if more than one worker happens to call at the same house. For my part, I wish that every family had about forty invitations to each meeting. I lately heard of a man, a non-churchgoer, who did not believe in the Bible or religious things. Someone who was distributing tickets asked him if he would go to the meetings. He got quite angry. No, he would not go; he did not believe in the thing at all; he would not be seen in such a crowd. A second man came along, not knowing that any one had been before him, and asked if he would accept a ticket for the meetings. The man was still angry, and, as we would sometimes say, he “gave him a piece of his mind.” He told him to keep his tickets. By-and-by a third man called and said: “Would you take a ticket for these meetings?” The man by this time had got thoroughly waked up, but yet he declined to receive the ticket. He went into a shop to buy something. The man in the shop put a ticket for the meetings into the packet; when the customer got home and opened it, lo and and behold there was a ticket! He got so roused up that he went, not to our meeting, but to a neighboring church. I do not know that he has come clean out, but I believe he is, at any rate, in a hopeful condition. If one visit does not wake up a man whom you want to reach, send a second visitor after him; if that has no effect, send a third, and a fourth, and a fifth, and a sixth, and a seventh; go on in that way day after day. It is a great thing to save one man, to get him out of the pit, to have his feet set fast on a rock, and a new song put in his mouth. Nothing will rouse an indifferent man quicker than to have a number of friends after him. If you cannot bring him yourself, get others to help you. These four men found an obstacle in the way. The door of the house was blocked and they could not get near the Master. They may have asked some of these philosophers to stand aside; but no, they would not do that. They would not disturb themselves about a sick man. Many people will not go into the kingdom of God themselves, and they will throw obstacles in the way of others. After trying probably for some time to get in, these four men began to devise another plan. If it had been some of us, most likely we would have got quite discouraged, and carried the man back to his home. These men had faith, and perseverance too. They are going to get their friend to Christ some way. If they cannot get him through the door, they will find a way through the roof! “Zeal without knowledge,” people say. I would a good deal rather have that than knowledge without zeal. You can see them pulling and tugging away at the burden. If you have ever tried to carry a wounded man up a flight of stairs you will know it is not an easy matter. But these four men were not to be defeated, and at last he is up there on the roof. Now, the question was, “How can we get him down?” They began to tear up the tiling. I can see those wise men looking up and saying to one another: “This is a strange performance; we have never seen anything like this in the temple or in any synagogue we were ever in. It is altogether out of the regular order. These men must be carried away with fanaticism. Why, they have made a hole large enough to let a man through. Suppose a sudden shower were to come, it would spoil the house.” But these four workers were terribly in earnest. They let the bier, on which the man was lying, down into the room. They laid their friend right at the feet of Jesus Christ; a good place to lay him, was it not? Perhaps some of you have a sceptical son or an unbelieving husband, or some other member of your family, that scoffs at the Bible and sneers at Christianity. Lay them at the feet of Jesus, and He will honor your faith. “When He saw their faith.” I suppose these men were looking down to see what was about to take place. Christ looked at them, and when He saw their faith He said to the palsied man: “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven thee.” That was more than they expected; they only thought of his body being made whole. So let us bring our friends to Christ, and we shall get more than we expect. The Lord met this man’s deepest need first. It may be his sins had brought on the palsy, so the Lord forgave the man’s sin first of all. The wise men began to reason within themselves: “Who is this that forgiveth sins?” The Master could read their thoughts as easily as we can read a book. “Is it easier to say, ‘Thy sins be forgiven thee,’ or ‘Rise up and walk?’ But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, He said unto the sick of the palsy, ‘I say unto thee, arise; take up thy bed and go into thine house.’ ” The man leaped to his feet, made whole. He rolled up the old bed, swung it across his shoulders, and went to his house. Depend upon it these philosophers who would not make way in order to let him in stood aside pretty quick to let him go out. No need for him to go out by way of the roof; he went out by the door. Dear friends, let us have faith for those we bring to Christ. Let us believe for them if they will not believe for themselves. It may be there are those here who do not believe in the Bible, or in the Gospel of the Son of God. Let us bring them to Christ in the arms of our faith. He is unchangeable—“the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.” Let us look for great things. Let us expect the dead to be raised, the harlots reclaimed, the drunkards saved, and the devils cast out. I believe men are possessed of evil spirits now, just as much as when the Son of God was on earth. We want to bring them right to the Lord Jesus Christ, that He may heal and save them. Let this cursed unbelief be swept out of the way, and let us come to God as one man, looking for and expecting signs and wonders to be done in the name of Jesus. He can perform miracles to-day, and He will if we ask Him to fulfill His promises. “He is able to save to the uttermost. And let me say to any unsaved man that God has the power to save you from your sins today. If you want to be converted, come right to the Master as did the leper of old. He said, “Lord, if Thou wilt Thou canst make me clean.” Christ honored his faith, and said, “I will; be thou clean.” Notice—the man put “if” in the right place. “If Thou wilt.” He did not doubt the power of the Son of God. The father who brought his son to Christ said, “If Thou canst, have compassion upon him.” The Lord straightened out his theology then and there; “If thou canst believe.” Mother, can you believe for your boy? If you can, the Lord will speak the word, and it shall be done. It will a good thing for us to get right down at the feet of the Master, like the poor woman who went to Elisha and told him of her dead child. He asked his servant to take his staff and lay it upon the dead child. But the mother would not leave the prophet. He wanted her to go with the servant, but she would not be satisfied with the prophet’s staff, or even with his servant; she wanted the master himself. So Elisha went with her; it was a good thing he did, for the servant could not raise the child. We want to get beyond the staff and beyond the servant, right to the heart of the Master Himself. Let us bring our palsied friends to Him. It is said of Christ that in one place He could not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Let us ask Him to take away from us this cursed unbelief, that hinders the blessing from coming down, and prevents those who are sick of the palsy of sin from being saved. “The faith that works by love, And purifies the heart, A foretaste of the joys above To mortals can impart; It bears us through this earthly strife, And triumphs in immortal life.”