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Jesus

and the Sure Mercies of David

Ed Corley

When I first read the Scripture in which two blind men began calling out to Jesus saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us (Matt 9:27), I felt they were just ignorant people calling out to Him. And then again, a woman of Canaan came... and cried unto Jesus saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil (Matt 15:22). Here again I thought the same thing except this woman was a Canaanite, a heathen. It was to be expected, she was simply ignorant. And then, yet again, ...two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, Thou Son of David (Matt 20:30). I came immediately to the conclusion that they too were simply ignorant beggars calling Jesus the “Son of David.” Indeed! I thought if any of these people had any idea of the Truth they would have called Jesus “Thou Son of God.”

But, one day, I happened to observe that all of them were delivered of their oppressive burdens. Miracles happened. It is apparent they knew something about Jesus I didn’t know.

It still seems strange to me that I never learned from all those Doctors of Theology at whose feet I sat in all my theological training. No one ever told us what was meant by Jesus being called “the Son of David.” This was one among many things never mentioned to us who were preparing to be ministers.

Since “Dr. Holy Ghost” has become our teacher, we are learning of things we never even gained a hint of in our early training. We are learning of matters important for this hour, especially as we see the beginning light of the Day of the Lord coming over the horizon.

There are two reasons I believe we never came to know certain important matters in those early days of “training.” One is that many things were never mentioned in those seminary class room sessions about the Kingdom of God. We should have been learning about this. But probably the most significant reason we didn’t come to know these things is that we did not know God’s Spirit dwelling in us. He would have guided us into all truth like Jesus said in John 16:13. As for myself, I’ve spent over fifty years catching up.

There is one thing some of us did have early on, however. That was a hunger to know Him Who would guide us into all Truth. We believed Jesus was true when He said, ...when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all Truth (John 16:13).

There was a glitch, however, in what we were led to believe. We were taught the Spirit of Truth did come, two thousand years ago. Since then people have become much smarter, we have the Bible published in many languages and interpretations—and, there are endless publications from which we might gain the knowledge for which our hearts have so earnestly yearned. We were led to believe that would be enough.

Even with all that release of knowledge, there remained things in Scripture that we could not, or did not, find it necessary to know. Oh, how much was explained away, or ignored! We were led to believe that much of what is in the Bible is only there for historical reference, bearing little or no relation to us. Perhaps it belonged to Israel, to the early church, or to the age to come, but certainly not for us in this present age of enlightenment. We were left to believe that the Church is God’s afterthought, brought on when Israel rejected the Kingdom. We were left to believe that the coming of the Holy Spirit and the accounts of miracles hold very little, if any, relevance for us today, except to illustrate some motivational topic delivered from our Sunday morning pulpits. I remember searching the Bible for stories to illustrate my own rather pathetic sermons.

It’s been nearly fifty years now since the Holy Spirit came upon some of us who hungered for more. This has caused us to break through the spiritual barriers placed before us. I remember that first day after the Holy Spirit came upon me. He instructed me to start reading the Bible as though I had never read it. Things I had read before began entering my heart. With that, I begin believing even when my mind could not readily grasp it all. I’ve since learned it is ...with the heart man believeth (Rom 10:10).

The coming of the Holy Spirit upon us, among other things, brought a renewed spiritual hunger. With some of us who are still living, that hunger for Truth has continued. To be truthful, it is becoming more exciting and relevant now than in the beginning. One thing we are still in process of learning is to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into Truth. It is not our curiosity that is to guide us. The Holy Spirit is ready to take us into the Word of His choice. What a spiritual delight it is to follow Him. Every morning I awake with more spiritual desire than the day before.

I began to see that the Holy Spirit takes His time in bringing the Truth of God’s Kingdom into who and what we are. Even though I started learning His ways over half a century ago, it is as though it was only yesterday I began learning that Jesus came to bring a Kingdom. My heart still trembles with excitement at the very thought of it. Oh, the wonders that are yet unfolding! Even if you don’t immediately see it, there are things in this article that are even now opening to my heart.

Now those blind men of Matt 9:27 were in all probability, ragged beggars. But they came calling Jesus the Son of David. That woman from Canaan whose daughter was possessed by a demon did the same. Even though she was a Gentile, she recognized Who this man Jesus was. What did they do that finally got His attention? They called Him the Son of David and they begged for His mercy. This resulted in the release of the power of God’s Kingdom unto them.

We are now seeing that what happened in each of those instances flowed out of the Covenant God made with David. Certainly the miracles coming into the lives of those people were examples of the ...sure mercies of David (Isaiah 55:3).

In Psalm 72 we see a prophetic insight into the Son of David responding to the likes of those desperate people. Oh, how great was the mercy God demonstrated toward them! He let the omnipotent healing grace of His Kingdom flow unto the least likely. It was reaching the ...needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper—Psalm 72:12. David proceeded to tell of the anointed One Who would reign, saying, He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy—Psalm 72:13. That powerful, far-reaching, Covenant God made with David told of David’s Seed which would ...stablish the Throne of His Kingdom for ever. (II Samuel 7:12,13).

Many people argued about Jesus instead of receiving what He was bringing. See here how some of the people disregarded Him, while others who were desperate for His merciful power received what He brought. The Apostle John tells us the following in John 7. 40On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” 41Others said, “He is the Christ.”

Still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? 42Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.NiRV® But, see how the people who were hopeless and helpless regarded Him, calling Him the Son of David. What a difference! See this in Matt 9. 27And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying (incessantly with a loud unpleasant voice), and saying (on and on), Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. 28And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to Him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? (Are you believing that I have the enabling power to bring this to pass?) They said unto Him, Yea, Lord. 29Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you (Let it “come into being” for you).

The word be in the above verse 29 is from the Greek gin’omai.It means “to become” or “to come into being.” It is recorded here as an Aorist Imperative form making it mean “let it come into being instantly.” And thus took place a creative miracle.

By the commotion surrounding Him, those men must have perceived the Son of David was passing their way. Considering this might be so, they had some knowledge, mixed with faith, that He could heal them. Having had no previous hope that they might ever see the light of day, the presence of Jesus brought forth in them a greater than ordinary measure of faith. They knew they had nothing within themselves on which to base their cry so they let out a loud, incessant cry that He might show them His mercy.

Their desperation, visited by the presence of God’s Spirit, proved a wondrous setting for the miracle that gave those blind men hope, resulting in their newfound sight.

The way in which they were crying and saying, reveals that they were following after Jesus with no regard for His convenience, but only for their own condition. Perhaps it was desperation—mixed with newfound hope—that caused them to thus approach Jesus, like the widow and her continual coming before the judge in Luke 18.

The way those men followed Jesus crying and saying what they did is also an example of the importunity in prayer of which Jesus told in Luke 11:1-8. It exemplified the parable of Luke 18:1-8 in which He presented the strong lesson ...that men ought always to pray, and not to faint. What Jesus told in the Parable and the way those men cried after the Son of David is a demonstration of the faith and supplications that will be a necessity of true believers at the time of the end.

Consider now the question Jesus put to those blind men as to whether they believed He was able to do what they so earnestly requested of Him. We might miss the tone of the word able unless we observe it in the Original. It is from that word dunámei, the base word from which we gain the word dúnamis. This was enabling power, the power of miracles. So, Jesus, in responding to the supplicants, asked if they truly were persuaded that He had within Himself the enabling power to do this thing they were asking of Him. Their simple answer was, Yea, Lord.

Now, take note of this: After they were healed, Jesus did not say the restoration of their sight came because of Who He was. Rather, their healing came according to their faith. Oh, dear reader, see this! As we go into the accompanying “prayer starters,” we will see time and again those words from Jesus, Thy faith hath made thee whole.

There are two more occasions in Matthew’s Gospel where we find desperate souls crying out to Jesus for mercy, calling Him Thou Son of David.

One occasion took place just after Jesus had been compelled to admonish some Jewish religious leaders, calling them hypocrites.He said of them: This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoreth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me—Matt 15:8.

But here came a woman who was a Gentile, a Canaanite who met the description Paul gave in Ephesians 2:12. She was alienated from the commonwealth of Israel. She was estranged from the Covenants of promise. She had no hope and was without God in the world. Matthew Henry, an 18th Century Bible commentator, makes note that she was probably one of the descendents of those accursed nations doomed by Noah’s word when he said, Cursed be Canaan (Genesis 9:25).

See now what this woman went through to reach the healing mercy she so urgently needed. This comes from Matt 15. 22And, behold, a woman of Canaan came... She cried (shouted loudly) unto Him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. (A demon is controlling my daughter! She is under a terrifying attack!)23But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought Him (begging Him time and again), saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us (She is croaking after us in a most offensive voice). 24But He answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Her pleas did not immediately move Him toward helping her.)25Then came she and worshipped Him (by falling on her knees in front of Him), saying, Lord, help me (please come now to my aid). 26But He answered and said, It is not meet (it is not a good thing) to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs (the little dogs that scrounge for food). 27And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the (little) dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. 28Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt (Let it come into being for you even as you continue so earnestly begging, yearning for your child’s deliverance). And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. She was healed at that exact time.

This woman broke through from the outside. She was a Gentile who had no rights, but she had something many of the Israelites did not have. She had faith. That moved Jesus.

It’s significant to note the girl was not present when her mother was making her plea before the Lord. The woman’s supplication was with importunity, that kind of rude disregard for His convenience, like the man begging for bread in the Parable of Luke 11:1-13. Her’s was a kind of rude presumption in praying. Oh, but it reached the heart of Jesus!

There are some words in the Covenant the Prophet Nathan delivered from the Lord to David regarding David’s Son. Unless interpreted properly, they leave us with a question that will lead to confusion and doubt until they are properly explained. There is but little space here to accomplish this but we will address it more when in the “prayer-starters.”

The question arises from a part of the Covenant recorded in II Samuel 7. 14I will be His father, and He shall be My Son. If He commit iniquity, I will chasten Him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men... The term commit iniquity is from the Hebrew word avah which like many words from the Hebrew have their exact meaning interpreted by the context in which they occur.

This word, while it could mean “commit iniquity,” may also carry the meaning “to bear the punishment for the iniquity of others.” Hebrews 1:5 relates the first part of this verse to the Lord Jesus. If the first relates to Him, then also must the latter part of the verse. See this: For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee? And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son?

The Prophet Isaiah saw this and said, Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted—Isaiah 53:4.

We can but glimpse at this now but we gain enough to establish that Jesus was chastened with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men. This brings us the sure mercies of David that effect for us our deliverance from sin’s power and our healing.

 

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