The Present Situation:
Imagine for a moment that you are a physician; not just any physician but one of the foremost in all of medical history. Through some of your research you stumble upon a previously undiscovered virus. After further study you find out that this virus has infected 100% of the human population. You stand shocked as you realize that every man, woman, baby, and child has been infected by this virus.
Even more disturbing is that you realize that this disease is 100% fatal! Your heart begins to shudder as you realize that even you sit here at this very moment with this disease infested into your body. Family, friends, loved ones-everyone near and dear to you is infected. As you continue to study you realize that the symptoms can be very different from person to person. Sometimes the symptoms are barely recognizable, but nevertheless, although different throughout cultures or locations, the disease is still a killer.
You realize what you must do now. You cannot divulge this information to the world without having some kind of ¡§Good News¡¨ of a cure. So you begin an exhaustive world of research to find one. Finally, after much work you find what you believe to be a cure. Nervously and apprehensively you try the cure on yourself. Eureka! It works!
So you tell yourself that you must pass this information onto the world. You schedule a press conference to tell all of your colleagues about your recent discovery. In all you invite about 150 people, ranging from professors, to colleagues, to even your family and friends. To your amazement, however, when the day comes for the press conference only about 15 people arrive.
Word has somehow gotten out of you and your mystery virus and unfortunately people have begun to belittle you and question your credentials. A virus that has affected 100% of the world¡¦s population doesn¡¦t sound real. Nevertheless, you present your findings to the conference and people even begin to walk out halfway through your talk. It seems as if everyone takes you for a joke.
You leave the conference and return to your hotel room dismayed and saddened for the world that has cast you out. But there is a knock at your door¡Xit is a team of three physicians you previously taught who believe you and ask to receive your cure. They, too , are cured and you have hope. You resolve to spend the rest of your life talking to others and personally trying to spread the cure through yourself and those whom you administer the cure to¡Xperhaps you cannot reach everyone, but you can reach many!
Our Present State:
Does this story remind you of anything? In the Book of Genesis we learn of this sickness that has invaded each and every person to be born upon this earth¡Xits name is sin. In some people we are quick to say that it is very noticeable, but in others it¡¦s so subtle and incognito that we cannot tell. Many people do not even know that they infected with sin, even though they may recognize the symptoms, and know that their conduct is not as it should be. The disease called sin has infected every human being upon this earth regardless of location, sex, or anything, and it claims everyday. If left untreated, sin becomes a terminal illness with the consequences being death and eternal separation from God.
But the Bible presents us with the¡¨Good News¡¨ of a cure¡Xsalvation through Jesus Christ. We accept Christ as our personal Savior, we, in turn, have taken the cure and become physicians responsible for following in the footsteps of the ¡§Great Physician¡¨ and spreading the gospel to all who might receive it. And so, my question is: Are we spreading the cure?
I am an avid Star Wars fan, I must confess. Throughout the series there is a character named Yoda. He is a Jedi master, possessing great skills and experience. In the ¡§Empire Strikes Back¡¨ there is a situation where the trainee, Luke Skywalker must use the force to lift a great spaceship out of the swamp. Yoda looks at Luke and tells him to use his power to lift the space ship from the swamp. Luke looks and says to himself, there is no way this can be done and answers to Yoda in a seemingly unbelieving way, ¡§OK, I¡¦ll try.¡¨ Yoda responds back: ¡§There is no try. Either do or do not.¡¨ I believe this can be applied in the case of spreading the cure. Are we spreading the cure? There is no trying. Either we are doing it or not doing it.
The Text:
As we look at the Scripture we see that Jesus had entered the town of Capernaum. Capernaum was a key military center for Rome and also a thriving business community as well. The city also had major intersections to cities some hundreds of miles away to the north and south. You might say it was something like the Raleigh Durham area with a major military base thrown in. Levi, whose name is Matthew, the disciple who may have written the Gospel of Matthew, was a tax collector in this city. The IRS had nothing on the tax collectors of that time. The tax collectors had the power to collect taxes from the citizens in Capernaum as well as the travelers who passed through. Tax collectors typically worked from commissions, and in many cases lived very richly due to high commissions they charged to people. Thus, the tax collectors were despised by the Jewish people. The Jews viewed them as being loyal to the Roman government, and many times the taxes would have went to the construction of heathen temples and shrines. As Jesus is walking through town he comes across Matthew, and says ¡§Come on¡¨. So Matthew looks at all his tax records, inventory lists, calculators, and to do list, gets up, and follows Jesus at that instant.
Jesus must have had a profound effect on Matthew because when we look back at the text we see that Matthew threw a party at his house for Jesus and invites all the tax collectors and sinners. The Scriptures record ¡§many¡¨ tax collectors and sinners. You can¡¦t help but think that Matthew knew a lot of ¡§good¡¨ people. As they are eating and having a good time, the scribes and Pharisees see Jesus sitting there in the midst of them and say, to the disciples ¡§Look at him! Why is he eating and drinking with the tax collectors and sinners?¡¨ Hearing this, Jesus must have had very good hearing, Jesus, our ¡§Great Physician¡¨, says those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick do! I didn¡¦t come to call the righteous folk; I came to call the sick.¡¨
As we look into the text there are a few questions we are confronted with that we must ask ourselves in relation to spreading the cure.
Who really needs the cure?
Oh yes, we can definitely answer this question. We know the answer is everyone. It¡¦s clear to say and to know; however there always seems to be a difference between what should be and what does be. I know the English is incorrect but let me say it again, there is a difference between what should be and what does be.
We are born into this life needing the cure and at different times we come to the realization of our present state and accept the cure of Jesus Christ¡XAmen. However, a problem results sometimes because as more and more time passes living in Christ, we begin to unknowingly distance and separate ourselves from those who are still in need the cure. We unknowingly prescribe to the ¡§better than thou¡¨ mentality.
My family roots are in Philadelphia. My father served throughout my growing years in the Navy, for 21 years. As a child our family traveled many times to and from Philadelphia to visit our extended family and relatives. In making this trip, sometimes even 12 hours as when we lived in Charleston, SC, my parents would make the back seat of the Chevy Blazer into a bed. My brother, sister, and I would have to lay stretched out throughout the duration of the trip. Now you must understand, I loved my brother dearly. We played games together, shared a room together, and even got in trouble together, but I could not stand to touch him when we were in ¡¨bed seat¡¨ traveling to Philadelphia. I hated the way his feet looked and felt. E never used lotion or moisturized his feet so they were rough and dry and when they touched my skin I would shudder!
Now on the other hand, I recall yesterday taking my two cats, Tiggur and Jasmine, to the veterinarian. Now I know that they hate the vet more than anything in the world and even though they love each other, play with each other, and, yes, even get together with each other, they are both scared when I must place them in the carrier together to travel to the vet¡¦s office. When Tiggur gets afraid, she just locks up and freezes, refusing to move at all. When jasmine gets afraid, she on the other hand gets mad and growls at anything and everything that comes her way. But I notice something. Even though they both are afraid, and could care less about traveling together, they remain calm and even though their bodies are pressed together in a confined are about 24 inches long by 10 inches wide by 10 inches high they do not get mad and fight; they don not bicker and kick each other because they are touching feet or tails, they in fact draw upon each other¡XTiggur draws on Jasmines strength in becoming more aggressive about her surroundings; Jasmine draws on the strength of Tiggur in remaining still and observing their surrounds.
When it comes to administering the cure we have to get close sometimes. As with a real injection we have to get close enough, sometimes even holding onto the arm or wrist (hand) of the person we are giving the sure to¡Xand sometimes the person we are giving the cure to may not seem to be one who is likely to receive it. My brother and sisters I ask the question
Are we adamant about spreading the cure to everyone regardless of how they may look or appear to us.
are we adamant about spreading the cure to everyone regardless of how it feels when they touch up against us,
are we acting like I did with my brother in the car on the way to Philadelphia-yes, it¡¦s ok to play, yes it¡¦s ok to have fun, yes it¡¦s ok to joke and jest, but the moment we are called to get close and intimate enough to administer the injection we get mad, or frustrated, or disgusted because they don¡¦t measure up to our expectations.
Or are we willing to have the love that I see demonstrated in these two little scared creatures; willing to be close, to touch, to become close enough to draw on each other for that powerful injection of Christ to change our lives.
The cure is for everyone. It¡¦s not something that we hold and place in this vault; waiting for those who are worthy enough, pretty enough, dressed up enough, cleaned up enough, righteous enough, upstanding enough to partake of¡Xit¡¦s something that Jesus shows us though Matthew¡¦s conversion can save anyone: the hated, the unjust, the unrighteous, the un-religious, the unfaithful, the untruthful, even the unclean.
Are we spreading the cure? Either we do or do not!
Why should we spread the cure?
Perhaps the most important point about spreading the cure is that we are commanded to do so!
Matthew 28 18And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19Go therefore[1] and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
Acts 1:8, says that when the Holy Spirit comes upon us we shall have power and be witnesses to Christ in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and all the world.
The Scriptures tell us that we are to GO! GO and Shall are actions not of the past but of the present. They are not past tense verbs, implying that it¡¦s been already been done, but they are verbs of NOW; it is to be happening now.
When we realize that if we are members of the body of Christ we are commanded to do so and we realize that we can spread the cure. So many times we feel as if it must be our profession to evangelize. Evangelists, preachers, you must be called to those professions to spread the cure. If we look into the origin of the word profession we see that it was a name given to those who were well versed in a particular area, considered knowledgeable and professed what they knew.
However, I believe that if we have something to profess, then we must profess it! If we are members of Christ¡¦s body then we know what Jesus has done for us and we should profess it. Witnessing for what Christ has done in our lives is our profession. Spreading the cure is our commandment. Spreading the cure! Either you are doing it or not!
What happens when we receive the cure?
The day that Levi met Jesus and left his tax collecting job he threw a party to introduce Jesus to other people. That day he began to witness! So many people hide behind the walls of thought that says new believers have to undergo serious maturity and training before they can go out and tell others about Jesus. We should understand that new believers, just like Levi can share their faith, can tell what Jesus has done while using whatever knowledge, skill, or abilities they already have. You may say, ¡§well how can that be?¡¨ If we look throughout the Scriptures we can see how so many times that whenever someone¡¦s life was changed by Jesus they went forth and told other people about what Jesus had done and many were saved!
ƒá In Mark 1, Jesus touched a leper ¡Vhe became ceremonially unclean- and healed him. The Scripture says that the man told so many people that Jesus had to go outside the confines of the city because the people ¡§having heard the man¡¦s witness ¡§ were interested in the cure!
ć In the previous verses of this chapter, Jesus healed a man who could not walk. As the man rose up he went forth and told all he knew about Jesus. The Word says that the people were amazed because they had never seen anything like that and were interested in the cure.
ƒá In John Chapter 4, Jesus meets a woman by the well who he tells about the cure. After a five minute discussion with her she becomes so excited that she goes back and tells everyone she knows about her witness, as they begin to get excited about what this ¡§cure is.
ć In Acts chapter three, a man who had been lame since birth was healed by God through Peter and John, and got so excited and made such a fuss that the Word says he leaped and ran around the temple praising God and must have also got the people so excited because they ran to find Peter and John to hear about this cure that was available.
Telling people about how Christ has changed your life is a means of how it can be done.
Are we spreading the cure? There is no try either we are doing or not!
As we look at the behaviors of the Scribes and the Pharisees we see that they were sick and did not know it. As we heard in the story, many people are sick and do not even know it! They are terminally ill and think they have been vaccinated yet have never really taken the cure. The Scribes¡Xprofessional interpreters of the law (the preachers of the day) who emphasized the importance of traditions, who were committed to God, yet rejected Jesus because he did not interpret the Law as they had. The Pharisees¡Xstrict group of religious Jews who believed in strict observance of the Jewish law and traditions, who ere committed to obeying God, yet missed the point because Jesus did not observe their strict traditions of staying away from ¡§bad¡¨ people. The greatest of church folk they were, yet on a quick trip to hell on the terminally ill list because they would not accept the cure of Jesus. We should ask ourselves what kind of use is a cure that is only useful for ¡§good¡¨ people. How can we label certain folks certain folks as ¡§righteous¡¨ if ¡§all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.¡¨ Are we spreading the cure? Either we are doing it or not?
Imagine being saved and if Christ were to call you to be with Him right now. You would feel good and excited. Your loved ones would morn and cry, yet they would know that you had entered eternity with Christ as He tells you those words you so much have waited to hear, "Well done my good and faithful servant." Now imagine as you are standing there with Christ, someone whom you¡¦ve know all you life is next to you about to be sentenced to hell for eternity. They look at you with more tears and sadness than you have ever seen and they plead these words to you ¡§Why in all my life on earth, did you never tell me about this Jesus? We shared graduated from college together; we shared lunches togeher; we went over each other’s family house for Christmas and Easter; we spent so much time together. Why did you never tell me? Why?¡¨ How would you feel? Are we prepared to handle that experience?
We all need to ask ourselves¡KAre we spreading the cure; either you¡¦re doing it or not!
