Dr. Rick Mandl - September 17, 2020
Two Ways To Amaze Jesus
Devotional Manuscript: Two Ways to Amaze Jesus
By Dr. Rick Mandl, Thursday, September 17, 2020
Hey church family, I’ve got a question for you that you may never have considered before and the question is... Is it possible to amaze Jesus? The answer is... YES
The Greek word for marvel or amaze (thaumazō) is used often in the New Testament and most often it's used in the context of how people responded to Jesus. That's probably not a surprise. They were amazed by him. But that's not the only time the word is used. There are TWO times that we are told Jesus was amazed.
One was an encounter that Jesus had with a Roman soldier and it’s recorded in Matthew chapter 8. And there we read that...
"When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, 'Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.'
Jesus said, 'I will come and heal him.'
But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!" (Matthew 8:5-10 NIV)
Great faith amazes Jesus. He notices with joy when we trust Him in the midst of impossible circumstances, believing that He is in control and will provide what we need.
The second passage is found in Mark 6:5-6. "And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief." Great unbelief also amazes Jesus, but not in a positive way. The word “stunned” could be an appropriate substitute. We allow what we see and how we feel to place limitations on the Lord. When we doubt His goodness and power, it grieves His heart and potentially even ties His hands.
When you and I come up against situations that are seemingly impossible, how do we respond? Will we throw up our hands in despair, because it is all too impossible? Or will we throw up our hands in surrender and trust? We have the potential to amaze Jesus. My prayer is that it won’t be because of our lack of faith, but instead because of our great belief in who He is and what He can do, and our illingness to simply trust Him no matter what.
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