Jesus and Faith (edn2)

As I went by there was a team clearing a block. The picture is what I saw...

I hope they ended their day safely!The man in the orange shirt might have been attaching the rope to a limb? The chain saw is beneath him. No doubt the worker believed he would go home as uninjured as when he came to work. He trusted his skill. He was not putting faith in his "safety equipment" (helmet; boots?). The next time I passed it was all over*. 

Hope, doubt, belief, trust, faith...

Does Jesus just do good, needy recipient's faith, or not? Is personal choice the key? I will look for the instances where recipient faith is not mentioned, or not made explicit.

However: Can you imagine Jesus encountering a need, someone in trouble, and just passing by because the person did not express faith?

Secondly: Could faith be real, but unstated in the record?

Jesus apparently did not meet every sufferer in his territory. I have to recognise that, after his crucifixion and resurrection, sick or maimed people remained in the land, even after suffering for years. (See, for example, Acts chapter 3.)

Simple or complex matter? I do not wish to engage in guesswork... 

But, it may be useful and helpful to start in this post by examining the many instances where faith is explicitly mentioned.

What is it, anyway?

A search in Bible Gateway yielded 251 uses of “faith” in the NRSVUE “Canonical” Bible, including 16 in the Old Testament. In addition, 10 uses are listed for the OT “Apochryphal” books.

Yes? What does it mean?

Here I examine the uses of the word “faith” in the Gospels. Did they all use it the same way? Do they all use it? (The references are quite different when we look at the verbal form, "believe". GNT has about 130 instances, mostly in John - see extension below -, and Paul's writings.)

Jesus urged hearers to trust God’s kindness, and care, for the practical aspects of a person’s life: If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith? (Matthew 6:30, CSB). Does he mean simply sit under yon tree and take your ease and "let God". Surely there is more to it?

"of little faith" - a compound word, which might be rendered here as "little-faiths". It is found 3 more times in Matthew - see below; Luke (chapter 12) is identical, using the word that once. (How significant is its absence from Mark, and especially from John?)  

In the incident of the Roman soldier, Jesus was moved to make a remarkable comparison: When Jesus heard this, he was so surprised that he turned and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you in all of Israel I've never found anyone with this much faith! Many people will come from everywhere to enjoy the feast in the kingdom of heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But the ones who should have been in the kingdom will be thrown out into the dark. They will cry and grit their teeth in pain.”
Then Jesus said to the officer, “You may go home now. Your faith has made it happen.”
Right then his servant was healed. (Matthew 8:10-13, CEV) Whilst the translators introduce the idea of quantity into faith, I notice that Jesus appeared to be surprised at what he found that day. He was able to compare the Roman's response with that of "all Israel". Although only the second "faith" occurrence in the text, this statement comes well into the period of Jesus' journeyings. Leaving aside the hyperbole of "all", the saying indicates Jesus was(is) aware of experiencing faith or no faith, whether the word was used or not.

The Officer was a stand-out case of faith. He simply and humbly took Jesus at his word.

In view of the potential significance of this event involving the Government representative, I am struck by the absence of this pericope from Mark. That seems surprising. John has a comparable report (without the word) which varies from Matthew and Luke. I think the mysteries have to stand as they are. 

One frightening near-drowning episode found Jesus being either critical of, or puzzled at, his close followers. The followers reckoned they were done for, but Jesus slept on!: And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm (Matthew 8:23-27, ESV). "faith"? There Jesus again has the word with the prefix. Using the original word, Mark and Luke simply say faith was missing. How did they show "little faith" (or no faith)? Were they safe all along? How could they know that? Did they wake Jesus seeking his help and what did they expect? Did they just want him to be awake to their disaster? (Lots of questions for your reflection!)

In his own town one time Jesus scandalised some important "preachers": Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven” (Matthew 9:1-2, NIV). The leaders must have been incensed, their powerlessness adding to their frustration. The "patient" seems here to have been a young man. Jesus saw faith. What? How? The fuller account makes it clear the group had to make a real effort; their work was not in vain. Wherein the faith? Asking to be taken to Jesus? Persuading the sufferer to go to Jesus? Agreeing to take? Facing down resistance? Notice the plural, "their faith". Surely it at least refers to the willingness of the men (four?) to bring the needy man.

The author includes a contrasting example just a few lines further on, this time Jesus addressing a woman: Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment (Matthew 9:22, NLT). She had come secretly with a "shameful" bleeding problem. (She would expect to be excluded.) Jesus connects her healing (being made whole, or, saved) to her faith. (In what way, faith? Boldness in coming? Trust in Jesus' ability, in Jesus' willingness to help?) All three Synoptics report the same commendation and explanation from Jesus to the woman.

Matthew a few lines further on has healing for males: When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you have faith that I can do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith, let it be done to you” (Matthew 9:28-29, NRSVUE). Onlookers would likely have thought they were bad men, who had been suffering what they deserved! (Note that Jesus' question actually uses the verb form for "faith" but his command has the noun.) Yes, they did believe. Matthew (20) has another report of sight restored. Mark (10) and Luke (18) report a healing near Jericho, which was at least similar. 

Many lines later Matthew included a particular moment which could be seen as unflattering to Peter. He had been ending a walk on water! But when he saw the strength of the wind,[a] he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:30-31, CSB). Does Jesus' question imply a double-mindedness in Peter's prayer, I wonder? Nonetheless, the situation ended well for Peter.

An "outsider" woman from the coast showed remarkable faith when Jesus seemed to be turning her away "empty-handed": “Lord, this is true,” the woman said, “but even puppies get the crumbs that fall from their owner's table.”
Jesus answered, “Dear woman, you really do have a lot of faith, and you will be given what you want.” At that moment her daughter was healed (Matthew 15:27-28, CEV). The incident is confronting - see previous post. The woman would not be put off. She let nothing stop her bringing to Jesus her need for help. (The translators prefer "a lot", rather than "great".)

One time the inner group of followers were listening to Jesus but they seem to have got on the wrong track. And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? (Matthew 16:7-8, ESV). Why were they confused? How was their faith lacking? Were they unable expect Jesus to look after them? Should they expect him to make good their error? Or, was it they were not taking him really seriously, and thoughtfully contemplating what he actually said?

In a previous post I examined the incident of the boy needing help but being failed. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” Matthew 17:19-20, NIV). Now that is a hard saying!? I must allow for hyperbole, unless I am to imagine a serious need to change the view in the landscape. It seems that faith was simply lacking in their response.

But that was not the only mention of mountain removal. We come to the death of the fig tree, as reported variously by Matthew and Mark (11). The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”
Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it” (Matthew 21:20-22, NLT). If we accept that nothing is impossible with God, does this saying cast doubt on the reality of prayer? Jesus using hyperbole? I think of the sick who sadly are not physically healed. However, it surely is absurd to think of physical death being permanently kept at bay and a world filled with believers lasting centuries, and millennia. Certainly, the saying encourages a genuine asking of God.

Jesus' last use of the word in Matthew makes it clear that faith is essential: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others (Matthew 23:23, NRSVUE). The teaching may seem unexpected as the OT does not have the same use of "faith". There are references to faith being broken. There is also some poetry: 

Therefore, the Lord heard and became furious;

then fire broke out against Jacob,

and anger flared up against Israel

because they did not believe God

or rely on his salvation (Psalm 78:21-22, CSB).

Those who supposedly gave their allegiance to God were in fact unwilling to believe God.

A similar word comes in this saying of Jesus: Who are faithful and wise servants? Who are the ones the master will put in charge of giving the other servants their food supplies at the proper time? Servants are fortunate if their master comes and finds them doing their job (Matthew 24:45-46, CEV). This is part of Jesus' instruction about the age in which we live; the age preceding his return. As so often, Jesus is illustrating a point. Can the master rely on a particular servant? The master will not want to give someone the job if they are unreliable - he wants to depend on that person. So it is the word indicates trust, confidence and reliance. Can Jesus be trusted? Whom can Jesus trust?

Faith in action brought/brings people to Jesus for his aid, and he gives it. Sometimes, but not always, it is made clear that faith is involved. So, for example, consider the encouraging message for (doomed prisoner) John: Jesus said to the messengers sent by John, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard. Blind people are now able to see, and the lame can walk. People who have leprosy are being healed, and the deaf can now hear. The dead are raised to life, and the poor are hearing the good news (Luke 7:22, CEV). We have some detail of a couple of the raisings to life. Was faith involved? Hardly by the deceased! The word is not used. Note the case of the young man at Nain: Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus[a] gave him to his mother (Luke 7:14-15, ESV). Luke gives me the impression that in passing Jesus simply gave his aid to the grieving widow, bereft of her only son.

And the others? Mmmm...

Consider the case of the "dobber": This more (most?) awkward, but relevant account, unique to John, comes from one day at Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda: Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. [a] One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” (John 5:3-8, NIV). And so it was. Leaving aside the matter of any other sufferers present, and how Jesus learned the story, I focus on the man whose story we do have. Did he want to be healed, do you think? Was he mobile enough to get himself to the pool? Did he come often? After Jesus spoke those words, what was the situation? Did he have to make a decision to believe what Jesus said, or not to believe? Did he feel his body had changed and he was no longer an invalid? John tells us the man did as Jesus said to do.

The man seemed to have no personal attachment to Jesus; he did not even know it was Jesus. Soon after he was accosted about Sabbath breaking (mat-carrying). As quickly as he could he passed the responsibility to Jesus: The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

So the Jewish leaders began harassing[a] Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules (John 5:13-16, NLT). Did Jesus expect loyal gratitude? The man readily turned Jesus in. Perhaps this moment marked a new phase in the relation of the "righteous brigade" to Jesus. They would not sully themselves by giving aid on the Sabbath; their rules told them what to not do. (Specifically, and unusually - that man's suffering is connected to his sinning.)

The "leaders" certainly showed no faith in Jesus. It is hard to think the healed man did, either. (He did obey; did he trust?) It is sad but true, Jesus' followers do fail him; I fail him. His followers are offered his mercy and forgiveness. The man would have been able to trust Jesus for mercy and forgiveness, if he wanted to do so.

(Faith in Jesus is the internal relationship of trust held by the believer. What is in my "heart" may be shown in actions [see above] but the actions are not the faith. Here I should pause to consider the verb form of the concept - "believe".  Perhaps re-visit? See previous post - "Jesus: Disappointed")  

The absence of the word does not necessarily demonstrate the absence of faith. Arguments from silence are always inconclusive. Jesus, like his Heavenly Father, and like the Holy Spirit, may from our viewpoint simply act without a trusting request from us. Then, does he want us to ask?

Quick answer from Jesus about asking: “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“Pray, then, in this way:

Our Father in heaven,

may your name be revered as holy.

May your kingdom come.

May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.[a]

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And do not bring us to the time of trial,[b] but rescue us from the evil one.[c] (Matthew 6:7-13, NRSVUE)   

Jesus looked for faith. He wanted something, and the something was trust. Genuine trust in Jesus, lived out, leads to living his way.

Luke has a unique and challenging report of some of Jesus' teaching: Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up. “There was a judge in a certain town who didn’t fear God or respect people. And a widow in that town kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’

“For a while he was unwilling, but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or respect people, yet because this widow keeps pestering me,[a] I will give her justice, so that she doesn’t wear me out[b] by her persistent coming.’”

Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says (Luke 18:1-6, CSB). God is not like that judge! Surely shows us the need to take care with interpretation of parables. God does want us to continue...

The next lines in the text show the meaning and bring us back to "faith": Won't God protect his chosen ones who pray to him day and night? Won't he be concerned for them? He will surely hurry and help them. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find on this earth anyone with faith? (Luke 18:7-8, CEV). What will Jesus find? Will he find the real thing? How easy is it for you and me to continue, to persist, and persist and ....? 

Jesus now wants to find  - faith. Trust in himself. Keep asking.

EXTENSION

John's Gospel uses different language. Here are some of the instances. In some of the specific cases it is reasonable to say an encounter led a recipient of Jesus to put faith in him, even though that word (noun) is not used. So, a very dismissive Nathanael allowed himself to be brought along. Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you,[plural] you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:46-51, ESV). The verb form "believe" is there. How clear is it that Nathanael about turned, and came to believe? How clear was it to Nathanael that he was going to learn a lot more about Jesus? An unfinished story.

The very next pericope in John gives more food (or wine!) for thought. His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[a]

Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him (John 2:5-11, NIV). Perhaps the servants were simply following directions? The upshot was Jesus' disciples becoming learners and believing. What did they believe in, or of, Jesus?

All belief is not saving belief. After a record of Jesus' violent action in the Jerusalem Temple, but not miraculous healings, John includes this: Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart (John 2:23-25, NLT). The same trust/believe word is used, but in the case of the trust of that "many", it is a completed action, something like "he's the one!". Jesus, on the other hand, continued to weigh the heart, ie, look to the inner depth of relationship with himself. Was there faith in this?

Still looking at Jerusalem, Jesus had a private conversation with a puzzled Jewish religious leader: Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, yet you[a] do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.[b] And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life[c] (John 3:9-15, NRSVUE). We later learn that Nicodemus did throw his lot in with Jesus; Nicodemus was there after the cross did its work. In time he revealed his faith in Jesus. Did he need to think and pray for a long time? I wonder. It was a big step, if not a giant leap.

The text goes on to say: For God loved the world in this way:[a] He gave[b] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it,[c] so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by[d] the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God” (John 3:16-21, CSB).

It may be hidden evil which prevents a person believing in Jesus; cuts them off from trusting him.

A little further on we find solemn and salutary words:

The Father loves the Son and has given him everything. Everyone who has faith in the Son has eternal life. But no one who rejects him will ever share in that life, and God will be angry with them forever.

Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that he was winning and baptizing more followers than John was. But Jesus' disciples were really the ones doing the baptizing, and not Jesus himself.

Jesus left Judea and started for Galilee again. (John 3:35-4:3, CEV). The CEV layout (like others) shows that the critical summary was ascribed to the witness.

But, is there a condemnatory strand in Jesus' own message? The answer above must be, yes. However, there is a need for caution - these words are addressed to those who hear and reject. Where was Jesus going? To his own people (see chapter 1, verse 11), that is, to his co-religionists. News for the church people, as it were.

So also the gift of eternal life is offered and the offer stands. Still, believing is the key, with rejecting Jesus as its sad, and unnecessary, fatal opposite to life.

(Six weeks later)

 

Experienced? Pitch within limits? Hopefully that day this week also ended well for him...

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