Continuing from a previous post with chapter 5 of his book “A Praying Life,” Paul E. Miller taught:
You’d think if Jesus was the Son of God, he wouldn’t need to pray. Or at least he wouldn’t need a specific time because he’d be in such a constant state of prayer. You’d expect him to have a direct line to his Heavenly Father, like broadband to heaven. At the least you’d think Jesus could do a better job of tuning out the noise of the world. But surprisingly, Jesus seemed to need time with God just as much as we do.
On the first day of his public ministry Jesus is teaching in the Capernaum synagogue on the Sabbath (see Mark 1:21-29). While the audience marvels at his authority, a demon-possessed man cries out, “I know who you Are—the Holy One of God.” Jesus rebukes the demon sharply and effortlessly casts it out. The crowd is stunned.
After the synagogue service, Jesus returns to Peter’s house for the Sabbath meal, only to discover that Peter’s mother-in-law is in bed with a fever. Jesus takes her by the hand and instantly heals her. She gets up and prepares lunch.
Word of the healing and the exorcism races through the seaside city of Capernaum. But the tradition of the elders doesn’t permit healing on the Sabbath unless it is life threatening so the town waits until evening. Mark tells us that as soon as the sun went down, “the whole city was gathered together at the door” (1:33). It is easy to imagine the street in front of his house illuminated by the soft glow of hundreds of flickering oil lamps. Jesus heals far into the night. That’s why he came—there aren’t supposed to be mute children, abandoned wives and thoughtless bosses. .
The next morning, before sunrise, Jesus wakes up, makes his way out of town to a desolate place, and prays. He is gone long enough that crowds gather again, prompting the disciples to go searching. When Peter finds him, he tells Jesus, “Everyone is looking for you” (Mark 1:37).
It is a remarkable day—the evening and the morning of the first day of new creation. The new Adam rolls back the curse and cuts through evil. Demons and sickness flee the presence of life. Aslan is on the move. ~~~Paul E. Miller (NavPress, The Navigators, Colorado Springs, CO, 2009,2017) p.31-32
PS — It has become more difficult to send out these posts. With new parameters, this “old dog” is finding it harder to stay current. This will be the last post from this venue. Any suggestions on how I might continue without cumbersome intervention / parameters would be appreciated. tks
