Scraped Knees and Bruised Pride
Matthew 17:14 And coming towards a crowd, a person drew near to Him falling upon his knees.
Desire, and it will be given; pursue, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7 holds three of the Twenty sacred commands spoken by Jesus when He fulfilled the former holy and hallowed Ten. He set a new standard for hallowing the Name of the Father.
The common English rendering of Matthew 7:7, ‘ask and seek’ leaves little to be desired for terminology meant to express yearning, longing, chasing after. The man who fell on his knees before Jesus demonstrated this idea of yearning and longing.
The crowds who followed Jesus typically longed for fleshly fulfillment; a sandwich here, a cure there. The disciples, the few to rise above some personal discomfort, learned that Jesus is more than a quick bite to eat, rather, is the Bread of Life; and He is more than a sip at a fountain, but rather is Living Water that will quench any dusty, dry thirst. His is the gate, however agonizing, which leads to life. The rest of the Twenty Commands are His Truth which shows the way to that life.
A hot, desired pursuit for Jesus doesn’t typically culminate in a nice meal and a massage. The invitation to come behind Him, hot or otherwise, will climax with a cross-barred yoke to learn the walk of Jesus:
Matthew 11:29-30 “Take up my yoke upon yourself, and learn from Me, because I am mild and humble of heart, and you will find rest in your soul.”
Jesus’ soft-sell in chapter eleven ramped up a huge notch in chapter sixteen, Matthew 16:24 “If you want to come behind me, he renounced himself, his cross is raised, and imitate Me.”
The kid gloves definitely came off. Only those with a strong desire and hot pursuit for Jesus will accept that invitation. The dangling carrot is found in a later chapter, Matthew 23:12 “The one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Ah, so there is a payoff.
The man who fell at Jesus’ feet wanted Jesus to cure his son of seizures. The real faith test for this guy is if he jumped at the chance with the same knee-bending enthusiasm to raise that Jesus-imitating cross.
Just curious.
