ALIVE: Chapter 140, Blood v. Faith

Jesus and His men functioned like a family with Jesus as the head of the household, everyone had his chores and everyone answered to Jesus as the Master of their house, as the parent they were to honor and obey. They were a family. Jesus, by His example taught not only with words, but most especially by His behavior, living a life of deep contemplation and prayer. The words He spoke in His teachings, whether healing or shocking, were sourced by the Source of everything, His Father.  He was bold and fearless because the breadth of His knowledge was beyond any other human. The disciples followed Jesus not just physically but in Spirit. They listened to all of His teachings, His Wisdom was contagious. His worship of God, His power over nature, especially the healings assured them that He must be who He said He was, and who the Voice said He was, that is, the Son of God. For Himself, Jesus in those days was initiating His role of being the Master not just of His family of disciples, but of the children of God, His Bride, the Ecclesia.

Soon, the days in Capernaum drew to a close and it was time for the journey to Tyre. Peter and Andrew managed to gather and sell enough fish to keep their family comfortable until they could return with enough money and smoked fish left for the trip. They were even able to take the caravan to Tyre. The men were all excited to go where they had never been before, to the great Mediterranean Sea. 

Jesus had His own reasons for wanting to go to Tyre and Sidon. He went as an emissary of His Father God to see with His own human eyes the cedars, cypresses, and stones like those sent to Jerusalem to build the House of God, the Temple, on earth. 

In the ancient days, Jesus had observed from heaven the transition from the Kingdom of David rife with war, intrigue, and turmoil to the reign of his son Solomon who would build God a house, a temple, on the site of Abraham’s sacrifice of his precious promise of a son, Isaac, the test of Abraham’s trust in God. The temple, this building, would establish God’s kingdom on earth, like planting a flag on the moon, to claim God’s physical presence and ownership of His creation. It was to be the place where Abraham’s children as many as the stars in the sky would gather to worship God and to be the evidence of the covenant fulfilled. The wood came from Tyre and Sidon as a precursor of the foreign nations that followed to be grafted onto the family of Abraham, in fulfillment of the covenant. 

“As for Me, this is My covenant with you. You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations.” Genesis17:4

The backstory.

From Tyre to Sidon by the sea the cedars grow tall and straight, exuding a fragrance that kisses the salty breeze as it wafts by and carries its sweet smell for miles around. King Hiram of Tyre had been a good friend of King David. When Solomon became king, Hiram sent his servants to visit Solomon and congratulate him. Solomon sent word back to Hiram “You know my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him. But now the Lord God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune. So I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God as He told my father David that I should do. So please, command that cedars from Lebanon be cut for me. My servants will join your servants, and I will give you whatever wages you set for your servants; for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidoans.” 

Hiram enthusiastically agreed to cut down cedars and cypresses for Solomon for his Temple. Solomon traded food for the wood, and conscripted over thirty thousand of his own men into forced labor, ten thousand a month in shifts. One month in Lebanon and two months at home. Besides the woodsmen, there were stone cutters to cut stone for the Temple. It had been 480 years since the Jews came out of Egypt and centuries since Abraham was willing to sacrifice his most beloved son Isaac  on Mount Moriah.  

Jesus went to Tyre and Sidon to thank them symbolically for all they did to build the Temple to honor His Father, God. But also for another reason. 

The journey took two and a half days and three nights. When they wielded their way out of the coach, the men were glad to stretch their legs and walk around the city of Tyre and over to the sea. The air was thick and breezy and felt soothing as it ruffled their beards. John and Thomas built a fire on the shore while Peter and Andrew went to buy fruit. Jesus explored the town alone to escape the kind of inquisitive attention He got when surrounded by His men. During that exploration to find a solitary place to pray Jesus met a man, Faisal, who invited Him to visit his home. When He returned to camp, they enjoyed a delicious meal and set up their bedrolls for the night.

The next morning, when Jesus returned from His prayer time and found the camp packed up He announced that He was going to visit a new friend. “I don’t want to draw a lot of attention, so James and John come with me; others do whatever you want.”

Everyone was agreeable to the plan, in fact they relished the idea of going to the beach. Peter was interested in seeing fishermen to compare notes between fishing on the Galilee compared to the Mediterranean.

Nevertheless, it was impossible to be anonymous. The word about Jesus had spread, even as far as this foreign region. After meeting Jesus, the day before, Faisal had mentioned to his wife and a friend that he met the miracle worker who may be coming to visit. By the time Jesus, James and John arrived at Faisal’s home they found several people already waiting for the Jewish miracle worker. 

No sooner had Jesus walked in the door and was greeted by Faisal, a woman rushed up to Him and said, “My Lord! I have a daughter, a beautiful child who had been so joyful and precious to me, but in the last several months she changed, she will wake up in the night screaming in fear. She is never happy, she yells at me and torments me over everything. I’m afraid she has an unclean spirit. Please kind sir, please cast out the demon from her.” Then the exhausted tormented mother collapsed at His feet and began to weep repeatedly mumbling, “I want my daughter back.”

Jesus looked down at this woman and thought for a moment. She was obviously not Hebrew, but most likely Greek from her manner of speaking, perhaps even a Syrophoenician by the looks of her and her speech. This foreign woman was crouched down on the ground weeping and moaning, “Please, I beg of you please cast this demon out, only You can do this no one else. Please don’t let her and me continue to suffer the tyranny of this demon.”

This was an awkward situation. Jesus knew that He had travelled into this foreign territory in Lebanon, but for His own purposes. He did not come to heal, but rather to see the birthplace of the materials of the Temple. This was not their time, so as respectfully as He could present the cold truth Jesus said, “My dear woman, let the children be filled first, it isn’t right to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs.”

James heard Jesus say that and felt embarrassed. He knew that these people, in fact all of humankind who do not know the one true God, who obey Him as only the Jews know how, are as ignorant as animals. James thought that selecting a lovable dog obedient and kind was actually better than calling her an equally devoid animal like a snake or a rat, but still he thought that Jesus sounded harsh. He nearly held his breath while waiting to hear how the poor woman would respond. 

She pulled herself together and wiped her wet face with her hands, looked up while still crouching at His feet and in humility and desperation said, “Yes Lord; but even the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.”

When she said this Jesus saw that even without training in the law and obedience to the commandments and temple sacrifices, and following their holy traditions, she nevertheless had faith in His Father given to her by the Holy Spirit. With this human experience Jesus suddenly understood that the other reason to come to Tyre was to fulfill the covenant with Abraham that other nations would be grafted into his family. That from this woman would grow the fact that Abraham was indeed to become the father of many nations. Jesus smiled in His heart and welcomed this woman into the fold.

He said with compassion, “For saying that, go your way woman; the demon is gone out of your daughter.” She bowed down and sent a kiss to His feet. Then stood up gradually. Lifted her bowed head, then lifted it and wiped her newly wetted face again. Jesus saw her brightened and beautiful eyes. This woman knew in faith, that it was done and cried. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Go! See your daughter and thank God!”

The woman turned and rushed home. When she arrived, she pushed the door open and heard, “Good morning mama. Where have you been? I’m hungry.”

“I’ll tell you later my dear. I have some eggs, would you like me to boil them, for you?”

Her whole house felt lighter and cleaner. She looked around with a full and happy heart and went right to work making breakfast for her purified daughter after saying, “Now get out of bed and get dressed!”

Back in Faisal’s home, no one knew about the exorcism of the woman’s daughter. They just saw the old lady rush out. Faisal served his guests hot tea and sweets. Jesus, James, and John, enjoyed the hospitality, and the chance to look inside this beautiful home by the sea. Other demands for healing were not made of Jesus. They stayed no more than two hours and excused themselves. Faisal was a gracious host and thanked Jesus for blessing his home with His presence. That evening, when Faisal and his wife were alone and resting after an eventful day, in contemplation Faisal felt as if an angel had been in his home. He felt warm and comfortable as if he were asleep, but also alert to reality. It was strange; he had never felt that sensation before, and indeed never felt it again for the rest of his life, but he could easily recall it when he wanted to, and that was good enough. 

Jesus, James, and John went to the center of town and found the rest of the disciples there. They decided to head north to Sidon and camp by the sea that night. The glorious setting sun cast red streaks in the sky, telling them it was time to set up camp before darkness set in. They knew the ropes. Each man had his job, look for the right place to set up; look for wood; start a fire, others pulled out the food that they packed and prepare a camping meal. 

The sound of rolling waves soothed them. Soon after supper they decided to get to sleep early for they would have a long walk up the coast to Sidon the next day. The men all woke up at sunrise and jumped into the sea to bathe. The sea felt cold but invigorating. They ate some of the figs and bread and packed up to continue their trek to Sidon, the borders of Decapolis being around them. 

When they arrived at the next village Jesus and His troupe, went to the center and looked around to get a feel for the place. Street vendors selling their their fruit and vegetables, a bread maker in his shop with an open door tending the oven, the aroma of fresh bread baking wafting through the air, children chasing each other laughing and screaming. A young man, Elias and his brother Joachim had just returned from Capernaum where they went to sell their ceramic vessels. They were talking with the shoemaker about what they missed while they were away, and about the weather when Elias looked over to see Jesus whom he had recognized from when he heard Him teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum and saw Him heal.

“Joachim look!” said Elias pointing to Jesus. “Isn’t that the healer we saw in Capernaum?”

Joachim stared for a few moments. “Yes! I’m sure it is, I recognize that tall man (meaning Peter) who was with Him.” 

“I’m sure it is. Let’s ask Him to heal Timothy!” The brothers had just left poor deaf Timothy and went back to look for him and grab him. Timothy was confused, but hoisted himself off the dusty ground. Joachim grabbed his arm and yanked him over. 

Timothy was deaf from birth and could hardly talk, but he was a hard worker and a kind man.

The friends, with Timothy in tow, finally reached Jesus who intuited that they were coming and stayed where He was. “Jesus, we saw you in Capernaum and know that you can heal, please heal Timothy here. He is deaf but a good man. Please lay your hands on him.” Begged Joachim.

Jesus said, “Come follow me.” Which of course they did with great curiosity. The disciples with Joachim, Elias and Timothy provided good cover for Jesus as he wielded His way through the small crowd and kept going to the outskirts of the village and beyond. About twenty minutes later Jesus stopped under a sycamore tree with a big wide cover. Elias pushed Timothy forward as everyone else stood back. 

Jesus looked into Timothy’s eyes with a comforting expression. He was looking at Timothy’s face expressing perplexity with a tinge of fear of the unknown. Then Jesus did something He had never done before, He placed each of His pointing fingers into Timothy’s ears and stood there for a few moments with His own eyes closed as if taking a reading of the internal workings. Then Jesus pulled His fingers out and worked up spittle in His mouth and spit onto on his right finger. With His left hand He held Timothy’s cheeks and opened His own mouth to show him what He wanted him to do. Timothy got the message and opened his mouth very wide. 

The men were mesmerized watching this operation. 

Jesus, with His right finger on Timothy’s tongue, His left hand on the man’s shoulder He looked up to heaven and made a deep loud sigh and then said, “Ephphatha!” (which means Be Opened!) 

Only Timothy knew immediately what had happened. It was a miracle. His ears popped as if opening, as if corks had suddenly popped out of a bottle of champagne. Timothy’s eyes opened as wide as they possibly could from the surprise of it. The surprise of hearing birds squawking overhead, of even hearing the breeze rifle through the leaves of the Sycamore tree that they were standing under shocked poor Timothy.

Then he spoke plainly, “My Lord! My God, thank you! I can hear! I can hear you! I can hear the birds!” Tears of joy spilled from his eyes and he hugged Jesus with a bear hug and he didn’t want ever to let go. Joachim and Elias were shocked to hear Timothy speak so clearly. Jesus held the man in His arms, rejoicing and thanking His Father. He felt Timothy’s joy in the core of His own heart. 

When the men finally released each other from their embrace, Jesus said. “Now that you can speak, please don’t tell anyone anyone.” Then they all chuckled, knowing that it would be obvious to all that a life altering miracle happened for poor Timothy. 

Joachim and Elias were overwhelmed with amazement, they too chuckled at that great Jewish sense of humor. Joachim said through his broad smile, “He has done everything well. He even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.”

Peter asked, “Well where do you want to go from here?”

Because Jesus really didn’t want to attract a crowd, He replied. “lets continue north to Sidon and let Timothy and his friends go back home,” and He looked at the three men and added, “okay?”

Timothy said, “I can’t promise that I won’t tell anyone, because I won’t be able to stop talking, so Lord, if You don’t want the attention, You should go on, but I will thank God for my healing every day of my life. My new life. 

Jesus smiled and said, “Okay, but no more hugs.”

The disciples all shook hands with the three and said goodbye. Then the two groups split off with Jesus and His disciples going further into Lebanon by the sea.