Q: Isnt it rather absurd that Jesus, in Matthew 10:8, tells His disciples to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out devils? Werent these just some kind of tricks?
A: No, and no. Theres no justification for such an interpretation in the text. Plus, the disciples, as they were being sent out on this journey, did not have the luxury of the kind of special preparation that some so-called faith-healers have used. When a disciple offered healing or exorcism in a city they were visiting, he had no way -- as far as one can tell from the text -- of separating the easily-healed, or those whose afflictions were psychosomatic, from other cases.
We dont have a record, in Matthew 10, of the effectiveness of the apostles administration of cures and exorcisms. But since the objection seems to be aimed on the very idea of the performance of this sort of activity, one might benefit by considering Matthew 11:4-5, where Jesus attested to the effectiveness of His actions. There, He appealed to John the Baptists messengers senses of sight and hearing: they saw these things occur themselves. So, at the very least it would seem that people who were on the scene did not share the opinion that these things were tricks, or that it would be absurd to suggest that such things could be done. That's not proof that a single miraculous deliverance was accomplished, but I think it helps show that there's nothing in the text to suggest that text's statement about the contents of Jesus' statement is absurd.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
A: No, and no. Theres no justification for such an interpretation in the text. Plus, the disciples, as they were being sent out on this journey, did not have the luxury of the kind of special preparation that some so-called faith-healers have used. When a disciple offered healing or exorcism in a city they were visiting, he had no way -- as far as one can tell from the text -- of separating the easily-healed, or those whose afflictions were psychosomatic, from other cases.
We dont have a record, in Matthew 10, of the effectiveness of the apostles administration of cures and exorcisms. But since the objection seems to be aimed on the very idea of the performance of this sort of activity, one might benefit by considering Matthew 11:4-5, where Jesus attested to the effectiveness of His actions. There, He appealed to John the Baptists messengers senses of sight and hearing: they saw these things occur themselves. So, at the very least it would seem that people who were on the scene did not share the opinion that these things were tricks, or that it would be absurd to suggest that such things could be done. That's not proof that a single miraculous deliverance was accomplished, but I think it helps show that there's nothing in the text to suggest that text's statement about the contents of Jesus' statement is absurd.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
