Jesus did many miracles while
upon the earth, the greatest of which was His own
resurrection from the grave
in three days, as He prophesied. Prior to the cross He performed miracles
related to mankind and nature. The apostle John stated:
“Jesus did many other things
as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole
world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21:25)
Concerning miracles of
healing, the Bibles says that He healed them all, referring to all those who
were present at a particular time. For example:
“Aware of this, Jesus
withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.” (Matthew 12:15
emphasis mine)
He healed many types of
physically related maladies. For example:
“News about him spread all
over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases,
those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and
the paralyzed; and he healed them.” (Matthew 4:24)
“Great crowds came to him,
bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid
them at his feet; and he healed them.” (Matthew 15:30)
“The blind and the lame came
to him at the temple, and he healed them.” (Matthew 21:14)
As we read through the
Gospels, we see many such acts the people of that day received from their
Messiah, who by the way, most did not recognize as their Messiah.
Jesus healed the dying, the demon
possessed, those with fever, those with leprosy, those who were paralyzed, those
with withered hands, the one with an issue of blood (discharge), the blind, the
deaf-mute, those with epilepsy, those with a spirit of infirmity (bent over), the
one with dropsy (swelling from accumulation of excess water), the one who lost
his ear, and He raised to life some who had died. All of these may be found
throughout the Gospels, and as John said, there were many other things Jesus
did that are not recorded.
Why did Jesus perform so many
miracles in that day? The number one reason was to prove to them His
authenticity as Israel’s promised Messiah.
“For the Jews require a sign …”
(1 Corinthians 1:22)
As we have noted, He gave
them many signs, many more I haven’t mentioned and many more not recorded in the
Bible. However, Jesus came to earth to be our sacrifice for sins. It wasn’t to
perform miracles, but to die on our behalf so that all who call upon Him to be
saved may live eternally with Him.
Unfortunately, man in the
first century was more interested in the flesh (as Paul would say) than the
spirit. We are no different today. We still, as a whole, seek after the flesh
and have little to no interest in the spirit.
Parenthetically, does that
mean we should not seek physical healing from God? Of course not. I have seen
God heal many folks because of the earnest prayers of His children. Also, I
have seen God move in the lives of people in other ways than just physical
healing, and so have you. So let us continue to pray for each other.
“Therefore confess your sins
to each other and pray for each other so
that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and
effective.” (James 5:16 emphasis mine)
Going back to Jesus’ miracles
of healing for the folks in that day, note that in most cases He simply spoke
and the individual was healed. Whether the person was a leper, blind, dying, or
whatever the case, Jesus simply said the word and they were healed. Sometimes
He would cure the person’s problem a little differently, but in every case He could
have just said the word and they would be healed. That was proven over and
over.
Now I get to my point. Why
have I brought all this up about Jesus performing miracles of healing? Why have
I emphasized that He could just say, “Be healed” for example and they would
immediately be healed? All of these healings concern the flesh, but what about
the spirit? Jesus wants to see us saved, but He can’t say on our behalf, “Be
saved.” We must be the one to open our mouth and confess Him.
“If you declare with your
mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the
dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are
justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
(Romans 10:9-10)
Jesus has done everything
Godly possible to provide the only way to be saved so that any who come to Him
can have eternal life. All that remains now is for each one of us to decide if
we want to be saved. Probably all of us would wish to be healed from our
physical problems. Our bodies are being constantly attacked, but so is our
spirit. Our bodies will live a short time then die. However, our soul will live
on forever either in Heaven or hell with a new body.
People are suffering today
from many different types of fleshly problems. They are suffering from
addictions, failures, rejections, and troubles of all kinds. As a Christian we
can pray about all these issues and turn them over to Him, but especially if we
are not a Christian, our greatest problem isn’t physical. It is spiritual. Jesus
is the answer.
“All that the Father gives Me
will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do
My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
“This is the will of the Father who sent Me,
that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at
the last day.
“And this is the will of Him
who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have
everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:37-40)
Now He waits for our
response.
Grant Phillips
Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html
