03/09/2016 S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G OUT – Part III
Matthew 12:9 And HE [JESUS] went on from there, and entered their synagogue. And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. And they asked HIM, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” so that they might accuse HIM. HE said to them, “What man of you, if he has one sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So, it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.” Then HE said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, whole like the other…. [Revised Standard Translation]
Matthew 9:20-22 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind HIM and touched the fringe of HIS garment; for she said to herself, “If I only touch HIS garment, I shall be made well.” [Revised Standard Translation]
Matthew 14:31 And Peter answered HIM and said, LORD, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water….And HE said, come…And when Peter was down out of the ship, he walked on the water…But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid and beginning to sink…And immediately JESUS stretched forth HIS hand, and caught him….
Summary
The bible is full of people who stretched and experienced miraculous results. Some were healed. Some walked on water. They reaped great rewards.
Matthew 12:9 is the account of the man with a withered hand. Rather than reaching out to the man, having compassion for his condition or helping him, the religious leaders saw the man as a mere tool to try to “trip up” JESUS to win a “religious argument about the interpretation of the Mosaic law.” But, JESUS saw “the man” and the man’s plight. When JESUS asked the man to stretch, the man stretched out. In faith, the man stretching out, the man was healed.
Matthew 9:20 is the account about woman “with an issue of blood.” Like many of the homeless, outside the “church” and rejected by society, Matthew didn’t even know her name. She was “just some woman on the street” who no one really wanted to see. No one really cared about her plight either. She was just someone you walked by and tried not to get too close, because everyone thought the woman “unclean.” But, this woman had spirit. And, she had faith. And, this woman had a “spiritual” conversation with herself, that if she could just stretch out her hand to JESUS, who she heard was a healer, she too would be healed. And, so the woman stretched.
Matthew 14:31 is an example of ONE stretching and someone not stretching. Peter’s walk on water is akin to what it must be like for a baby to take its first few steps: After months of stretching its legs by crawling, the baby stretches out its legs, lifts its head higher to get the head higher than its bottom, then slowly stretches out its hands on wobbly legs and takes a step. Usually mommy or daddy is saying encouraging words (like “come to mommy and daddy”) also holding out encouraging hands too, stretching out so the baby will look at them and not look down or drop its hands, loose its balance or fall. Like the baby, Peter took a first of a kind few steps on water. Peter stretched out his hands, looked a JESUS who was encouraging HIM to come and started walking. But at some point, Peter stop stretching and looked down, lost his balance and started to sink “or fall.” JESUS stretched forth HIS hand not only caught “baby Peter” but also saved Peter, despite all of Peter’s flaws, including his wavering faith.
The Bible’s has lots of lessons on stretching. We just need to read, learn, pray, have faith and stretch.