SIGNS/MIRACLES
John 5:6-9
6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
KJV
Because Christ had done this, the Jewish people looked upon it as a violation of the law of the Sabbath, and they sought to slay Him:
John 5:16
16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
KJV
Then, Christ commenting on the matter and equating Himself with God in the process, they sought even more to kill Him:
John 5:17-18
17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
KJV
This action of Christ surrounding a man being healed on the Sabbath day was a sign (the third of seven signs in the first eleven chapters of John’s gospel), which pointed to something beyond the person being healed. This sign – the healing of an individual – pointed to the healing of the nation. It pointed to that which the entire nation could experience, if the nation would repent, in accord with the message being proclaimed. What message is this? It’s the message of the kingdom.
Matt 3:2
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
KJV
John 5:6-9
6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
KJV
Because Christ had done this, the Jewish people looked upon it as a violation of the law of the Sabbath, and they sought to slay Him:
John 5:16
16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
KJV
Then, Christ commenting on the matter and equating Himself with God in the process, they sought even more to kill Him:
John 5:17-18
17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
KJV
This action of Christ surrounding a man being healed on the Sabbath day was a sign (the third of seven signs in the first eleven chapters of John’s gospel), which pointed to something beyond the person being healed. This sign – the healing of an individual – pointed to the healing of the nation. It pointed to that which the entire nation could experience, if the nation would repent, in accord with the message being proclaimed. What message is this? It’s the message of the kingdom.
Matt 3:2
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
KJV
Matt 4:17
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
KJV
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
KJV
That was the reason for Jesus’ precise directive to His disciples:
Matt 10:5-8
5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
KJV
The seven signs recorded in the first part of John’s gospel begin with the marriage in Canaan of Galilee in chapter two and end with the resurrection of Lazarus in chapter eleven. These signs were directed to the Jewish people, and for a specific reason. Paul explained that as he clarified a confusion that was brewing among the Corinthian believers.
1 Cor 1:20-22
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
KJV
It was to these Jews that the offer of the kingdom of the heavens was extended – given to them during Christ’s earthly ministry to call Israel’s attention to things surrounding the message being proclaimed which should have resulted in belief:
John 20:30-31
30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
KJV
The Gk word for “sign [semieion]” appears seventeen times in John’s gospel. However, in thirteen of these seventeen times, the word has been translated “miracle” [KJV], which, for the purposes intended by the use of the word semeion, is misleading. The sign was a miraculous work; but the word semeion means “sign” not “miracle,” and should have been so translated throughout this gospel.
Spiritually, Israel was sick – a fact which the signs being performed directly addressed. Israel had been sick for centuries, which was a matter dealt with extensively in the OT. The prophet Isaiah, over seven hundred years before Christ appeared to Israel, possibly described Israel’s condition at the beginning of his prophecy as well as any other prophets:
Isa 1:4-6
4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
KJV
Isaiah’s prophecy, part of the Scriptures in Israel’s possession at the time this sign was manifested, described Israel’s condition during Isaiah’s day, looking towards the future captivities of (the Assyrian [722 B.C.] and the Babylonian [605 B.C.]). But this condition (resulting from Israel’s disobedience [Lev. 26; Deut. 28]), for lack of Israel’s repentance, remained unchanged during the centuries which followed; and this was the condition in which the nation Israel found itself when Messiah appeared.
When Israel’s Messiah appeared, He, through a manifestation of signs, showed the Jewish people what they could have, if the nation repented. The nation could experience this healing (though spiritual) which individuals were experiencing, if they repented. The entire nation, if the nation would repent, could experience supernatural healing and provision within the proffered kingdom. The Jewish people, not understanding their own Scriptures, failed to grasp and understand both their true condition (sick, “from the sole of the foot even unto the head”) and the significance of the manifested signs in connection with the message concerning the kingdom (proffered healing and provision within the kingdom).
Beyond that, this healing of an individual occurred on the Sabbath day, pointing within the sign to that future day when Israel will be healed. Had the Jewish people understand the significance of their own Sabbath (given by Moses as a sign [Exo. 31:12-17]) and the significance of a man being healed on the Sabbath day (a sign in connection with the sign of the Sabbath), would have been able to understand exactly what was occurring. Instead, they saw only what they wanted to see – a person breaking the law of the Sabbath; and sought to slay Him for the act.
A sign dealing with this same thing is also seen in John chapter nine (the sixth sign in John’s gospel), where reference is again made to Moses. In this chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus is again seen healing a man on the Sabbath day – pointing again to that which the entire nation could experience, if….(vv. 6-14).
This time though, there was an open division among those observing the sign, and this division was within the ranks of the Pharisees themselves. Some questioned the sign on the basis that it was done on the Sabbath; but others couldn’t overlook the miraculous work itself, openly questioning, how this man, if a sinner, could do such things:
John 9:16
16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
Note, according to Nicodemus’ earlier statement [John 3:1, 2], all of the Pharisees were probably aware of that which only part of them confessed – the true identity of Christ. And those who didn’t want to acknowledge the validity of that which had been done, sought to counter the sign through viewing it as a violation of the Sabbath, as had been done by those observing the earlier sign performed on the Sabbath, recorded in chapter five.
At this point though, rather than attack Christ (as He had been by those recorded in chapter five) they attacked the one who had been healed – first through the individual himself (vv. 10-17), then through his parents (vv. 18-23) and then through the individual again (vv. 24-33).
Seeking to discredit that which had been done through both the individual and his parents proved unsuccessful. But, still knowing that the miraculous sign had been performed by “the heir” of the vineyard, the Pharisees attempted the only thing that was left. They attempted to do away with the sign itself by taking the man who had been healed and casting him outside: John 9:34
34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
If one is to properly understand the offering of the kingdom of the heavens to Israel, he must understand the place of signs, wonders, and miracles; in both the first offer as well as the reoffer in the Book of Acts.
Signs, wonders and miracles have to do with two things – (1) Israel, and (2) the kingdom – and both Israel and the kingdom must be in view at the same time for signs, wonders, and miracles to exist. If there is an absence of either one (Israel or the kingdom), signs, wonders, and miracles, as seen throughout the gospel accounts and the Book of Acts, cannot exist. Signs/miracles in the Church today are manmade and not according to Scripture.
Matt 10:5-8
5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
KJV
The seven signs recorded in the first part of John’s gospel begin with the marriage in Canaan of Galilee in chapter two and end with the resurrection of Lazarus in chapter eleven. These signs were directed to the Jewish people, and for a specific reason. Paul explained that as he clarified a confusion that was brewing among the Corinthian believers.
1 Cor 1:20-22
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
KJV
It was to these Jews that the offer of the kingdom of the heavens was extended – given to them during Christ’s earthly ministry to call Israel’s attention to things surrounding the message being proclaimed which should have resulted in belief:
John 20:30-31
30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
KJV
The Gk word for “sign [semieion]” appears seventeen times in John’s gospel. However, in thirteen of these seventeen times, the word has been translated “miracle” [KJV], which, for the purposes intended by the use of the word semeion, is misleading. The sign was a miraculous work; but the word semeion means “sign” not “miracle,” and should have been so translated throughout this gospel.
Spiritually, Israel was sick – a fact which the signs being performed directly addressed. Israel had been sick for centuries, which was a matter dealt with extensively in the OT. The prophet Isaiah, over seven hundred years before Christ appeared to Israel, possibly described Israel’s condition at the beginning of his prophecy as well as any other prophets:
Isa 1:4-6
4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
KJV
Isaiah’s prophecy, part of the Scriptures in Israel’s possession at the time this sign was manifested, described Israel’s condition during Isaiah’s day, looking towards the future captivities of (the Assyrian [722 B.C.] and the Babylonian [605 B.C.]). But this condition (resulting from Israel’s disobedience [Lev. 26; Deut. 28]), for lack of Israel’s repentance, remained unchanged during the centuries which followed; and this was the condition in which the nation Israel found itself when Messiah appeared.
When Israel’s Messiah appeared, He, through a manifestation of signs, showed the Jewish people what they could have, if the nation repented. The nation could experience this healing (though spiritual) which individuals were experiencing, if they repented. The entire nation, if the nation would repent, could experience supernatural healing and provision within the proffered kingdom. The Jewish people, not understanding their own Scriptures, failed to grasp and understand both their true condition (sick, “from the sole of the foot even unto the head”) and the significance of the manifested signs in connection with the message concerning the kingdom (proffered healing and provision within the kingdom).
Beyond that, this healing of an individual occurred on the Sabbath day, pointing within the sign to that future day when Israel will be healed. Had the Jewish people understand the significance of their own Sabbath (given by Moses as a sign [Exo. 31:12-17]) and the significance of a man being healed on the Sabbath day (a sign in connection with the sign of the Sabbath), would have been able to understand exactly what was occurring. Instead, they saw only what they wanted to see – a person breaking the law of the Sabbath; and sought to slay Him for the act.
A sign dealing with this same thing is also seen in John chapter nine (the sixth sign in John’s gospel), where reference is again made to Moses. In this chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus is again seen healing a man on the Sabbath day – pointing again to that which the entire nation could experience, if….(vv. 6-14).
This time though, there was an open division among those observing the sign, and this division was within the ranks of the Pharisees themselves. Some questioned the sign on the basis that it was done on the Sabbath; but others couldn’t overlook the miraculous work itself, openly questioning, how this man, if a sinner, could do such things:
John 9:16
16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
Note, according to Nicodemus’ earlier statement [John 3:1, 2], all of the Pharisees were probably aware of that which only part of them confessed – the true identity of Christ. And those who didn’t want to acknowledge the validity of that which had been done, sought to counter the sign through viewing it as a violation of the Sabbath, as had been done by those observing the earlier sign performed on the Sabbath, recorded in chapter five.
At this point though, rather than attack Christ (as He had been by those recorded in chapter five) they attacked the one who had been healed – first through the individual himself (vv. 10-17), then through his parents (vv. 18-23) and then through the individual again (vv. 24-33).
Seeking to discredit that which had been done through both the individual and his parents proved unsuccessful. But, still knowing that the miraculous sign had been performed by “the heir” of the vineyard, the Pharisees attempted the only thing that was left. They attempted to do away with the sign itself by taking the man who had been healed and casting him outside: John 9:34
34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
If one is to properly understand the offering of the kingdom of the heavens to Israel, he must understand the place of signs, wonders, and miracles; in both the first offer as well as the reoffer in the Book of Acts.
Signs, wonders and miracles have to do with two things – (1) Israel, and (2) the kingdom – and both Israel and the kingdom must be in view at the same time for signs, wonders, and miracles to exist. If there is an absence of either one (Israel or the kingdom), signs, wonders, and miracles, as seen throughout the gospel accounts and the Book of Acts, cannot exist. Signs/miracles in the Church today are manmade and not according to Scripture.
No comments:
Post a Comment