One-liners of faith

The secret to a good joke, they say (whoever “they” are), is the timing and the twist (unexpected ending).  I suspect Jesus was known for His sense of humour.  He was a master of both timing and the surprise one-liner.  Hanging around Jesus must have been an uplifting experience.  Plus, if you stayed with Him consistently, there were the benefits of free health-care and free food!

Jesus used His communication skills to present a new way of thinking, a better way.  All of human history was about to change.  He knew it;  His followers did not.  For many of them, being with Jesus was just a good day out.  His message of hope and renewal was gentle rain for their parched souls. 

The biblical author, Matthew, narrates a series of events for us in rapid-fire succession.  It is hard to tell how much time passes from Jesus getting out of the boat (Matthew 9:1) to His challenge to His disciples (9:38) You can read the whole story here.

Knowing His audience (a lot of religious scholars), Jesus addresses a lame man with a one-liner that offended the elite: “Your sins are forgiven.”  When challenged, He replies with evidence of His authority, telling the man, “Get up and walk.”  The guy did.

Jesus’ next set of one-liners is to a mixed audience of the religious elite (Pharisees) and sinners (tax collectors).  When questioned why Jesus would associated with “sinners,” Jesus’ reply was “The healthy don’t need a doctor but the sick do.”  The Pharisees clearly understood they were “the sick.”  Subtle, yet offensive.

This is followed by some homespun wisdom:  don’t patch old clothes with new cloth;  don’t fix old wine skins with new material.  Everyone would have been impressed albeit confused at this point.

Jesus is then presented with two more challenges:  an official from the local synagogue tells Jesus his daughter has just died - but he is confident Jesus can raise her from the dead.  Meanwhile a lady with a 12 year hemorrhaging problem pursues Jesus as He walks to the official’s home.  She touches the edge of His clothing and is instantly healed.  Another great one-liner:  “Take heart;  your faith has made you well.”

Upon arriving at the official’s home, Jesus sends the mourners away:  “The girl is not dead;  she is just sleeping.”  Clever, but an unexpected one-liner for those overwhelmed with grief.

Of course, Jesus raises her from the dead.  From there, Jesus heals two blind men (noting, “According to your faith . . .” and casts out a demon (the Pharisees have their own one-liner:  “The devil let him do it.”).

Matthew wraps up this collection of narratives of Jesus’ acts amongst the people with this editorial comment: “Jesus kept on doing these kinds of things all over the area, teaching, proclaiming the Kingdom, and healing all kinds of illnesses.”

The jaws of those who were with Jesus and witnessed these things must have been sore from falling open all the time.  Their neck muscles ached from constantly shaking their heads.  No one had ever seen this before.  What was happening?

Matthew is not recording these “day in the life of Jesus” events to spice up his best-seller.  He curated these stories together to draw attention to a central point of Jesus’ teaching:  the priority of faith in this One who is Messiah, the Son of God.  We are easily distracted by the “fixing” Jesus does.  Who doesn’t love a good healing?  However, Matthew’s focus is not on the “fix” but the faith that marked each individual’s encounter with Jesus.  Why was Jesus a legitimate object of these peoples’ faith?  They understood that these miraculous acts were evidence of His authority to forgive sins - and that was the greater need.  

Here are some other outstanding one-liners from Jesus’ ministry:  To Peter, “Feed my sheep.”  To Thomas, “Touch my hands.”  To all of us:  “Are you weary?  Come to me for rest.”  “Do you want to enter my Kingdom?  Have faith like a child has faith.”  And to the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

The common denominator in all of these?  His gracious forgiveness/reconciliation with all those who have faith in Him.  Matthew’s record of Jesus’ activities says it well:  Fixing life’s issues is good.  Being forgiven of sin is eternally better.  Have faith in the Son of God.