Luke 8:48-50 (ESV)
[48] And he said to her,
“Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
[49] While he was still speaking,
someone from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not
trouble the Teacher any more.” [50] But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do
not fear; only believe, and she will be well.”
On his way to heal a dying girl
Jesus stopped to assure a woman who had touched the fringe of his garment that
she was healed. He then went on to the house despite being told that the girl
had died. He raised her from the dead even as people laughed at him. He told
the woman her faith had made her well. He told the girl’s parents not to fear
but to believe. Yet the key in this passage is not their faith, but the object
of their faith.
Jesus stopped in the middle of
the crowd to speak with the woman even though she had touched his clothing
secretly because he knew power had gone out from him. She believed, but the
power was not in her faith but in Jesus. Jesus healed the girl even though
people in the house laughed at him, certain that the girl was dead and would
remain so. He told her parents to believe, but again the power was not in their
faith but in Jesus.
We too often read these passages
and assume that power is in faith. Yes, we are to believe. We are to trust. But
the power is not in the faith itself, but in the object of our faith. Just
believing something does not make it true. The people in the house firmly
believed that the girl would not be healed, yet she was. Peter firmly believed
that there was no way to know who touched Jesus, yet the woman revealed
herself. Faith is at the heart of becoming a Christian, yet it is the object of
our faith that saves us. Never confuse faith with the object of your faith. The
power is in Jesus, not in your faith.
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