(Text and Audio)
Title: Jesus and the Werewolf Rabbits
Any of you guys have a friend, or relative that is a great rabbit chaser? What I mean by that is that they have an almost incurable curiosity about them. If something catches their eye they will pursue it relentlessly until they better understand it?
This can lead to conversations that often veer off course for minutes or hours at a time? This person would be like my wife’s uncle Larry. Larry can’t take any road trip of any distance without exiting the interstate for any and every brown road sign that signifies a monument, historical site, scenic overlook, or state park.
It takes Larry’s family a long time to get anywhere. His wife and daughters have been known to purposely route their trips to go several miles off of the most direct route in order to avoid any and all brown road signs.
Any of you have a friend or relative that likes to chase rabbits?
Any of you have a pastor that is the same way when in comes to things that catch his eye in scripture?
I chase rabbits because I care, and I want you to care as well. I want to use today’s passage to teach an extremely practical theological lesson on modern medicine, translation difference, and how we ought to understand the Bible that we read.
Anybody else here excited?
How about scared?
Good!
(read/pray)
- A Note on Transition
Today we dive back into Matthew and we see that Matthews transition from the Transfiguration next brings us to Jesus healing a man’s son. And there is an important transition that occurs today that I don’t want us to miss.
One of the things that we all need to do to be good students of the Word is to consider the context and audience of each teacher and teaching that we come across in Scripture.
Because of the way Matthew states the transition, “And when they had come to the multitude…” we are not sure how much time has passed since the transfiguration.
But what we do note is that they have rejoined “the multitude” so Jesus is entering into a time of public ministry. And this is significant to note because Jesus has been in private ministry for quite a while by the time that Jesus, with Peter, James, and John come down off the mountain after the transfiguration.
Way back in the beginning chapter 16, right after Jesus rebukes the Pharisees in verses 1-4, Jesus entered into a time of private teaching with just the disciples.
Even though that is only a chapter and a half ago in Matthew, it’s been a while since we taught through that section. In fact, I looked it up this week. When Jesus makes that transition to private ministry with the disciples in 16:5, I preached that sermon at the end of June. So it’s been four months of us in Matthew studying Jesus as he teaches privately.
To refresh your memories, some of the things we looked at during that timeframe of private ministry were Jesus warning the apostles about the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, Peter’s great confession of Jesus being the Christ, Jesus predicting his own death and resurrection, and the Transfiguration.
And now, Matthew transitions his Gospel account back to a time of public ministry by noting that Jesus and his group of disciples have “come to the multitude…”
II. What was the ailment?
It’s worth noting the various ways English translations have attempted to communicate what, exactly, this afflicted son’s condition was. I want to first look at some various English translations, and then take a look at the original Greek so you can see why there is some variance in the English translations.
“epileptic” (NKJV, ESV, RSV)
“has seizures” (NLT, NIV)
“lunatic” (KJV, NASB)
The Greek word in question is seleniazomai(suh-lay-knee-ahh-zo-my), and, the various English translations tell us a lot about the intent of the translation team that is working to translate the original language into an understandable version of English.
The first group, translating the word as “epileptic” is attempting to provide the clearest parallel meaning to the English language. First century Greeks, Jews, Romans, Christians did not understand what Epilepsy was. They recognized the symptoms (seizures, foaming at the mouth, clenching the jaw, eyes rolling back into the head) but they had no claim of medical expertise as to what was happening with this young man. The reason this group chooses the word “epilepsy” is because that would give modern English reading audiences today the clearest picture of what this young man was suffering with. (CLICK)
The Second group is by far the weakest of the translations. I would call them the “vanilla” translation. Their concern is making the text as easy to read as possible. Listen, I’m not going to slam the NIV, I know a lot of people here use it, but for the purposes of language study and exegesis, it is not a strong translation. (CLICK)
The final group, is actually the most accurate translation, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best translation. Unlike the first group, which is focused on the clearest parallel meaning, this last group of translators is focused on the most accurate translation to the original language. (CLICK)
In that sense, the English word “Lunatic” is quite accurate. The actual meaning of the word seleniazomai is “Moon-Struck” or “Lunatic” quite literally meaning “Luna (moon) and Tick (uncontrollable twitching).
They believed that people with this ailment got worse during a full moon, and that the lunar cycle had something to do with the frequency and severity of their illness. These superstitions were the basis for the legends that grew over the years and included the myth of werewolves and increased evils around a full moon, hence, the unusual title of today’s sermon.
So I would argue that NONE of these English translations are wrong, although the middle section are a bit too vanilla for intense study. It’s very helpful to know the intent of the translators because: All translation IS interpretation.
Each group has its own focus. The first group is focused on the clearest parallel meaning.
The second group is focused on the easiest way to read it.
The last group is focused on the most accurate translation from the Greek.
- Possession vs. Sickness/Mental Illness
As we close this morning, I want to take just a moment to focus on a question that often comes up in modern Christian thought and apologetic.
We will get into what actually happens in this passage more next week, but for now, we do see that the TRUE source of this man’s ailment. In verse 18 we read, “And Jesus rebuked the demon.”
So we have a man with these symptoms and we have seen three possible explanation for these types of ailments:
- Medical/Scientific (epilepsy)
- Myth (lunatic)
- Spiritual (demonic possession)
So the question becomes: When we see people with these symptoms today, which is the correct diagnoses?
I think we can all agree to dismiss option number 2.
The question focuses around the medical and scientific answers vs. the spiritual answers, and I don’t think that these two areas are at odds nearly as much as we think they are.
It is possible for a real, true believing Christian to be suffering from the medical disease of epilepsy. In fact, I know someone in this very situation, and I believe they are a believer. For these people, seeking the advice and treatment of medical professionals will usually lead to them getting better, if that’s the Lord’s will for their life.
On the other hand, I also think that there can be a spiritual component to some of these cases that is not curable by medicine, and if often misdiagnosed as as severe mental illness when these people are truly suffering from a spiritual affliction such as possession or oppression from demonic forces. In their cases, nothing outside of the intervention of the power of Christ can help them.
What’s the solution?
Christian physicians.
Christian physicians who are honorable enough to be excellent in their respective fields of medicine and practice. But Christians physicians who are also humble enough, fear the Lord enough, to know, realize, and recognize that there are things in this world that are not explainable or treatable by our understanding, but can only be conquered by our faith!
Have you ever wondered why there are so many more accounts of demonic possession in third world countries? There are three possible explanations for this.
- Myth
- Lack of Christ
- The United States Prideful Misdiagnoses?
I want us to know, that before we can know any real wisdom, we must know and rightly fear the Lord.
Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
If you are rolling your eyes privately right now, if you think that demonic possession is a myth, if you think the scientific community doesn’t need a dose of Godly humility, and that spiritual forces are not at work in the medical realm, you need to repent, and remember Psalm 111:10.
Anything that we have come to know, or will know is in itself a gift of God.