When Christ Marveled

Christ marveled at two people in the gospels—at least that is all that the writers of the gospels recorded. He marveled at the faith of a Gentile—the centurion with the sick servant (Matt 8.5-13), and he marveled at the unbelief of some Jews (Mark 6.6). Christ was astonished or astounded or marveled at the unbelief in his hometown. They should have seen enough in order to believe in him. By his words and by his works, he was demonstrating that he was God's son, come in the flesh. However, they refused to believe because he was just the son of a carpenter; they knew him; they had seen him grow up. They missed their opportunity for salvation.

Help My Unbelief!

Mark 9.24 is one of my favorite verses. I love it because it so eloquently communicates the human condition. The father wanted to believe that Christ could cast the spirit out of the child, but knew that his own heart struggled to believe. It is a genuine and heartfelt cry for help. Calvin beautifully captures what is going on here: "He declares that he believes and yet acknowledges himself to have unbelief. These two statements may appear to contradict each other but there is none of us that does not experience both of them in himself."

Just so. Especially when it comes to promises. Do we really have faith to move mountains? If we ask anything in Christ's name, will God really do it? My heart is just like this man's...only more so.