Even today, there are many people who hear

the true gospel of Jesus Christ and yet do not believe.

When the four lepers repented of their wrongdoing and turned back,

they went from the Syrian camp to Samaria.

There, they told the gatekeepers about what they had seen at the Syrian camp.

The gatekeepers relayed this news to the palace, but the king did not believe them.

Instead, the king thought that the Syrians had left their camp and hidden in the fields,

waiting to ambush them if they came out of the city to surrender and capture them and enter the city.

As I reflect on this passage, I recall when the apostle Peter, imprisoned,

miraculously escaped with the help of an angel and went to the house of Mary, t

he mother of John, also called Mark.

When Peter knocked at the outer entrance, a servant girl named Rhoda recognized his voice

and was so overjoyed that she ran back without opening the door

and announced that Peter was at the gate.

The people praying inside, however, did not believe her and said,

"You are out of your mind." When she kept insisting that it was true,

they said, "It must be his angel"

(References: 2 Kings 7:9-12; Acts 12:11-15).

The commonality between King of Samaria,

who did not believe the news of the four lepers,

and the many people gathered in prayer at the house of Mary,

the mother of John (also called Mark),

who did not believe the words of the servant girl Rhoda,

is that they did not believe the facts they heard.

Even now, there are many people who hear the gospel of Jesus Christ,

which is the fact, but do not have faith in it.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves,

it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast"

(Ephesians 2:8).

"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message,

and the message is heard through the word about Christ"

(Romans 10:17).