The Kingdom of God grows by people marvelling at Jesus, meeting with Jesus, and telling others about Jesus.
Jesus was in Decapolis, the area where He had formerly healed a demoniac and and told him to go and share the word about what had happened to change his life. So the people in this area had heard about this, and now some of them brought one of their friends who could neither speak nor hear to be healed by Jesus. And when he was healed, they all sang a doxology and proclaimed how Jesus has done all things well! The joy of the Christian life is to marvel at the work of Christ. Has He healed your soul and opened your spiritual eyes and ears?
The focus here in this narrative is not on the deaf man; it's on the "they's" and "them's." The deaf man could never have heard the news of how Jesus had healed the demoniac. But his friends had. And they loved their friend enough to bring him to Jesus, because that was the only way in which he could be healed. Pastors can preach all they want, but only you have the direct contact with the spiritually deaf people in your life. God has given you the blessing and privilege of evangelizing and discipling these people.
How will the Kingdom of grace expand? By people coming in contact with Christ, marvelling at what He has done, and sharing the good news of the Gospel with others. |
