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V Faith

3. FAITH AS HUMAN ACT

And behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood fortwelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment. Matt. 9:20.

The Evangelist makes it clear that the issue of blood had lasted continually for twelve years. She had neglected no remedy, and had even spent everything she had on doctors. The glory of the miracle shines all the more brightly, because an incurable disease was cured suddenly by the mere touch of a garment; and this was obviously not a human accomplishment. However, we must not generalize from the woman's notion that if she touched Christ's garment she would be immediately healed, because it came to her under a special impulse of the Holy Spirit. We know how superstition presumes thoughtlessly and stupidly to play at imitating the saints. But those who try to follow a unique example without the command of God, moved by their own fancy rather than by the Spirit, are not imitators; they are apes.

It is even possible that the faith of this woman was mixed with some sin and error, which Christ was generous enough to endure and ignore. Certainly, when afterwards her conscience troubled her, so that she feared and trembled, her doubting, which was the contrary of faith, was without any excuse or justification. Why did she not rather go straight to Christ? If it was reverence that kept her back, why did she not trust his mercy, which alone was to be her help? And why was she afraid of giving offense if she really believed in his kindness?

And yet, Christ acknowledged her faith with high praise. And this agrees with my previous statement that God deals kindly and gently with his people; that even though their faith be mutilated and sickly, he accepts it, without holding against them the sin and defect which run through it. Therefore, the woman came to Christ as guided by faith. When she clung to the garment, instead of asking Christ to heal her, the force of her thoughtless zeal pushed her somewhat off the right way, as soon became especially evident when she made her venture with such doubt and perplexity of spirit. Even though her behavior was enjoined by the Spirit, it still remains a fixed rule that we must not allow special cases like this to cause us to waver in our faith. Faith needs to be bound directly to the Word of God; for, according to Paul,faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God(Rom. 10:17). And this is a useful warning, that we may not dignify every opinion, picked up one way or another, with the title of faith.

But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. Matt. 14:24.

Readers will find my exposition of this story in my commentary on John 6. Here I shall be brief. When Christ permitted his disciples to be tossed about for a while during a dangerous storm, he intended to fix their attention upon the wonderful help which he provided for them. For the adverse wind began to blow about midnight, or a little before. But Christ came only at the fourth watch, or at the earliest, three hours before sunrise. By this time their faith was shaken by terror even more than their arms were tired by rowing. In this predicament they were sorely in need of their Master's presence; and yet, when they saw him, they were seized with a gross stupor, as though they had seen a ghost.

For this reason Mark says that their heart was blinded and they did not understand about the loaves; for that miracle might have taught them well enough that there was no lack of divine power in Christ for helping them, and that he cared for them and would come to their aid when they needed him.

Therefore they are rightly condemned for feebleness of spirit in forgetting the power of God which they had seen the day before and which should have been still right before their eyes. They were surely blameworthy to have been struck with such stupidity that they had failed to profit from the earlier miracles they had witnessed. But they are reproached mainly for their blindness, which wiped out of their minds the memory of so recent and striking an event, or rather for their failure to acknowledge the Deity of Christ which had been obvious when he multiplied the bread.

But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. Matt. 14:27-28.

Since Christ is not known as a deliverer until he comes forward as one, it is by his Word that he invited his disciples to know him. Besides, he set forth his own presence among them as the real basis for the trust to which he called them. It is as though he said that, since they know he is there, they have solid ground for good hope. But since terror had already taken possession of their souls, he took them under his care, to keep their dread from hindering or destroying their confidence. Of course, he did not expect that they would be emptied of all fear and filled instead with sheer joy. He sought to break down the strength of their fear, that it might not crush their faith. Whereas the voice of the Son of God is deadly to the wicked, and his presence terrifying, its effect upon believers, as described here, is altogether different; it makes our inner peace and living faith triumph within our hearts, so that we may not succumb to the fretting of our flesh. If we are alarmed and agitated blindly and precipitously, it is because we are ungrateful enough and wicked enough not to take up the shields of God's countless benefits, which, properly wielded, would fortify us against all evil. Now, even though Christ appeared in good time for help, the tempest continued to rage, so that the disciples might be roused to rest their hope and expectation in his grace. From this we know that the Lord often delays the deliverance, which he has in the palm of his hand, for some good reason of his own.

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. The condition which Peter lays down shows that his faith is still immature.If it be thou, says he,bid me come! But he had already heard Christ speak! Why then does he, doubtful and perplexed, argue with him? Such a rash desire burst out of him because his faith was both little and feeble. He should have estimated himself rightly, and prayed for an increase of faith sufficient to lead and guide him across seas and over mountains. As it was, he was trying to fly without wings; or, without having the voice of Christ firmly in his heart, he desired to turn the water under his feet into solid land. And even though Peter's zeal was doubtless good at its source, yet, since he overdid it and so corrupted it, it is not worthy of praise.

But Peter soon began to pay for his rashness. Let his example teach believers to avoid too much haste. When the Lord calls, we should of course run. But anyone who overreaches himself will find out, from the unhappy consequences, what it means not to know one's limit. Yet, it may be asked, why did Christ comply with Peter's wish? For, in so doing, he seems to have approved of it. The answer is easy. God often helps us better by denying us what we ask of him; and at other times, he is indulgent with us, so that we may see our folly by experience. It happens every day that God, by giving his faithful people more than they need, trains them for sobriety and modesty in the future.

Thus, Christ's dealing with Peter on this occasion was profitable to him and to the other disciples; and it is profitable for us today. The power of Christ appeared to better advantage in the person of Peter when, rather than walk upon the water by himself, he took Peter along with him. In this way, Peter understood, and the others saw plainly, that when he did not rest in and lean upon the Word of God with a solid faith, the secret power of God, which had previously solidified the waters, disappeared. Nevertheless, Christ dealt kindly with him and did not let him go under and perish. Both of these things happen to us: as Peter began to sink, when fear seized him, the passing and the unstable thoughts of the flesh soon make us lose our foothold when we should be firmly occupied with our calling. Meanwhile, the Lord deals kindly with us in our weakness, and stretches his hand out, that the water may not suck us in altogether. But we should notice that Peter, seeing the unpleasant and unhappy effect of his temerity, throws himself upon the mercy of Christ. And we also, even while we are receiving our overdue punishment, should seek help from him, unworthy as we are, that he may bring us help in our misery.

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?Matt. 14:31.

While Christ was kind enough to save Peter, he did not justify his behavior. The weakness of his faith is properly rebuked. But one may ask, Is every kind of fear an evidence of defect in faith? For, Christ's words seem to imply that, where there is faith, there is no place for doubt. I answer that the doubt which Christ condemns is the precise opposite of faith. It is possible for a man to doubt when there is no Word from God to give him certainty. But Peter's case was quite different. He had received Christ's command and experienced his power; and yet, letting go of such a double mainstay, he fell prey to a fear which was at once foolish and perverse.

Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give to thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. John 11:21-24.

She begins with a complaint, even though in this way she tells him shyly what she wants. What she means is: " If you had been here, you could have snatched my brother from death. You can do it even now, because God denies you nothing." But speaking in this manner, she gives vent to her feelings more than is proper to a believer. I admit that these words were spoken partly by faith; but I submit that they were mixed with a confused feeling which pushed her to speak improperly. For, what is the ground of the confidence which leads her to assume that if Jesus had been there, her brother would not have died? Surely, it was not based on a promise of Christ. It must therefore be that she was rash enough to follow her own wishes rather than yield to Christ. It is [the nature] of faith to attribute all goodness and power to Christ; but it is alien to faith that she believed more than she has heard from Christ. We must recognize that the Word and faith agree the one with the other, so that we dare not presume to invent more than the Word of God allows. Besides, Martha was far too attached to the physical presence of Christ. It follows that her faith was mixed and confused with excessive desire; not being free from superstition it could not shine with full brightness. Hence her words exhibited only a few sparks of faith.

Your brother shall rise again. The kindness of Christ is amazing. He simply ignores Martha's faults, which we spoke of above, and promises her more than she dared ask openly and in so many words.

I know that he shall rise again. Here Martha's lack of courage is evident because she weakens Christ's words. We said above that she went too far when she devised a hope out of her own desires. And now she falls into the opposite error; when Christ stretches out his hand to her, she draws back with trepidation. This is why we should avoid both errors. On the one hand, we should not fill ourselves with hopes which, being empty of God's Word, are like so much wind. On the other hand, when God opens his mouth to us, he should not find our hearts closed and shut firmly against him.

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