Jesus, the Miracle Worker
Scripture Reading — Luke 7:18-23
Your God will come. . . . Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.
It was not always easy to see that Jesus was the Messiah. Even John the Baptist needed confirmation that Jesus was the promised one.
To assure John’s disciples, Jesus quoted phrases from Isaiah 35, emphasizing that he clearly showed the mighty signs of God’s coming kingdom, and that he had come as the Savior.
Jesus fulfilled many of the miracles of the Old Testament. He fed multitudes of people just as God provided manna to the Israelites in the wilderness (see Exodus 16; Mark 6:30-44; 8:1-9). Jesus healed and even raised people from the dead, as the prophets Elijah and Elisha had done (see 1 Kings 17; 2 Kings 4; Luke 8:49-56; John 11). Jesus’ greatest act of healing took place at the cross, when he paid the price for our sins (Hebrews 9:28; 10:11-14); “he took up our pain and bore our suffering” (Isaiah 53:4).
Jesus is still among us to open our eyes and unstop our ears so that we can leap in gratitude and shout for joy. God still does miracles today. We just need to open our eyes to the wonder of creation. We need to unstop our ears to the wonderful testimonies of believers about God’s healing. We need to leap for joy that our sins are forgiven and shout this good news for others to hear.
Mighty healer, awesome miracle working Jesus, both your life and your death brought transforming power to us. Continue to pour out your healing for our bodies, souls, and spirits. Amen.
About the author — Dean Deppe
Dean Deppe has been a pastor in inner-city, suburban, and rural churches. Currently he teaches New Testament theology at Calvin Theological Seminary. His courses include one on the parables of Jesus. He and his wife have four grown children.
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