Do you believe in miracles? Have you seen miracles happen? Have you been on the receiving end of a miracle?
Let’s look at a few passages in Scripture of some folks who did witness miracles.
Our verse of the day comes from Luke 7:18-22
“The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’”
In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
Let’s break it down a bit.
Who is John? John the Baptist.
Where was John the Baptist when this occurred? He was in prison and had been there a few months. Upon hearing the report of all that was happening, he decided to send a couple of his disciples to Jesus to ask a very important question – are you the one we have been waiting for?
John the Baptist needed a little reassurance. After all, he had been proclaiming the coming of the Messiah. Jesus, the Messiah, wasn’t exactly doing the things people thought the Messiah would do when he came.
Jesus doesn’t discount their question or dismiss the inquiry but instead points to what he has done. He invites John’s disciples to give an eyewitness account of what they have seen. They can’t ignore the miracles they have seen. They can testify to what Jesus has been doing because Jesus has given them observable evidence of his ministry.
What was the evidence?
-the blind receive sight
-the lame walk
-the leper’s are cleansed
-the deaf can hear
-the dead are raised
-the good news is proclaimed to the poor
Notice that Jesus lays out his works in the order of importance. He starts with physical ailments and ends with the good news. John should recognize that this is why the Messiah came.
Jesus did not want John to be discouraged. These were all things the Messiah was prophesied to do in Isaiah 61:6. It was predicted in the Scriptures.
What’s wrong?
Is there something wrong with this man Jesus who performed miracles and proclaimed the good news?
No. He is the promised Messiah spoken about many times throughout the Old Testament Scriptures.
Jesus wasn’t what others thought he should be, and he gives a warning of sorts in verse 23 when he says blessed is the one who doesn’t get offended. In other words, don’t let where he came from, family background, or childhood education distract you from the truth.
Be careful you don’t discount Jesus just because he isn’t who you think he should be.
Blessings!
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