PODCAST
Grace For Even Them?!
February 1st, 2021
Mark 7:24-37
Naaman was a brave soldier and influential man. He traveled to Israel to be cleansed of his leprosy. He didn’t expect the instruction, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored” (2 Kings 5:10).
The soldier was incensed. It was embarrassing enough to have to beg for healing from the hated Israelites, but this?! The Jordan River was the dirtiest in the region, and to dip seven times was pure overkill.
Naaman ended up following the instructions, and—no surprise—he was healed. Even those people and that river could bring healing.
But there’s a twist. Jewish hearers of this story would have thought the opposite: even a despised soldier of our enemy Aram was healed by God? That’s not fair! He doesn’t deserve it! Have we ever thought the same? They’re from that country, that religion, that ethnicity!
Who would you be astonished to see receive God’s healing and salvation? Why do you think witnessing God’s grace given to someone of that “other” group is so hard to stomach? What would you like God to change in you today?
Author: Scott Armstrong
