I wish you had been there

Matthew 15:29-31

I am a Gentile, not a Jew, and this man, who is called Jesus, the Son of David has come to the east of the Jordan River, it is not a Jewish area, why would a Jewish prophet and his disciples come to our land?  It is not lawful by their religion for a Jew to even speak to a Gentile, they think of us as dogs, and it has been reported about a Canaanite woman’s daughter being delivered from demons by this man. 

It has been reported to us that this same Jesus has moved on from Tyre and Sidon and has passed along the Sea of Galilee.  He went up on a mountain and is sitting there, and many of the Gentiles and I, within the Decapolis area, have brought to Him our lame, the blind, the deformed, those unable to speak, and many others.  We put them at His feet, and I must admit we just watched as He began to heal them.  I’m sure I speak for the thousands that were there, we were amazed when we saw those unable to speak talking, the deformed restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing!  And we all gave glory to the God of Israel! 

We have been here three days, and my stomach is beginning to make strange noises, I’m sure that no one has thought about eating, it’s been one miracle after another, mothers have been able to talk with a child who has never spoken, many who were blind are amazed at the faces of people whom they have known all their life, and the deaf are hearing for the first time, O how I wish you had been there.  I saw many who were deformed become whole, now who can do that but God?

It was reported by many who were close to Jesus that he told His disciples that He had compassion on the crowd, it was a big crowd, 4000 men, besides women and children, and He wanted to feed us before He dismissed us.  But His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in this desolate place to feed such a crowd?”  It was reported that Jesus ask; “How many loaves do you have?”  “Seven,” they said, “and a few small fish.”  Jesus ask the crowd to sit down and He blessed the seven loaves and the fish and the disciples began to give the bread and fish to us, we all ate and were satisfied, and when it was all over Jesus had His disciples pick up the left-over pieces – seven large baskets full.  Then He told us to go home, and He got into the boat and it is reported that He went to the region of Magadan.

We had heard from people who travelled to the other side of the Jordan River, telling about Jesus, many were wondering; is He the Messiah, is He the one?  Could it be that today He has sent a message to the whole world, He is the “Bread of Life” that all who come to Him will have their spiritual needs met.  That in Him is the gift of life, life in the now and by believing in Him, the gift of eternal life is offered to all who will come and sit at His feet, to all who will follow Him.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice