Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Greetings, good people.

11:03am. What? It can’t be that late. But it is. Well, I guess we have been engaged in some time-consuming matters already—talking at length on the topics of the devotional, delivering my truck to our mechanic to have the muffler replaced, looking at a little Honda car he has for sale, dealing with the fact that Thano fell in love with that car, discussing options, and finally settling on a plan that will allow him to get it. That will call for getting his pickup up and running, then sold.

Thano came in and took more time. Now it’s 11:20am. Hope I can get this off before lunch.

We’re glad that the dog tensions are fairly minimal. We mainly have to deal with Dandy’s jealousy. It was interesting having both dogs on our walk excursion—trying to throw two balls in two different directions. If not Dandy will go after the one thrown for Hondo—which Hondo yields to Dandy—but then, Dandy can’t get two balls in his mouth at once—which leaves one there on the ground to be easily lost. All kinds of fun.

Hope you can have a little fun as you knock out the rest of your day.

Love, Dad/Ray.

What is involved in this particular healing? Processing that question and answering correctly can only add further evidence to the huge pile of data that confirms JESUS IS GOD. There is, in my mind, no other reasonable explanation for the miracle.

I’m not sure how significant it is that this woman was a Gentile—or that Jesus, at first, appeared to join in the contempt that traditional Jews had toward Gentiles. It’s at least interesting to note that the first words Jesus speaks concerning her are, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (v. 24). Then when she pleads her case before Jesus He drops scathing prejudice-sounding words on her—“It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs” (v. 26). Wow! That would most likely trigger an angry reaction from most of us. But there is something special going on in the mind and spirit of this lady that Jesus had to know about. It caused her to initiate her request with, “Lord, Son of David” (v. 22)—verbiage which can only mean that she recognized Jesus as the Messiah—her only hope—and she would not be easily dissuaded.

If this lady’s diagnosis of her daughter’s condition was correct—“My daughter is suffering terribly from demon possession” (v. 22)—then the condition was not entirely physiological. Therefore it’s not just a matter of correcting matter—it’s a matter of eradicating spiritual evil. In order to do that, it only makes sense that superior spiritual power is required. Be reminded that Jesus later states in no uncertain terms, “All authority (power) in heaven and earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). “ALL” is a lot. In that case, I guess it should be no big surprise as to HOW Jesus healed this girl and evicted the demon(s). It was by remote control!—that is, she (with her demon cargo) was not even there in front of Him—yet He had power to have those creeps kicked out from a distance. He may never have even physically seen this girl.

To be sure, Sovereignty is not limited by distance—or, for that matter, by any other barrier that limits us. So you and I are wise and blessed to embrace His limitlessness—right here where we are in time and space. All we need do is persevere in recognizing our desperate need along with His all-sufficiency. He must not only be THE Messiah, but MY Messiah. He is not just A shepherd, He is “MY SHEPHERD—therefore I shall not be in want” (Psalm 21:1).