Jesus utters these words in Luke 4; 18- 19 from the prophet of Isaiah “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favourable year of the Lord.” And Jesus said, “While you heard these words just now, they were coming true!” Jesus was saying in the clearest possible manner that He was the Messiah of Israel. He came to set the captive free, and He presented Himself as the answer to all the ills that torment us, whether you think of these ills in a physical sense or in a spiritual sense. Since Jesus proclaims these words either he was a prophet or God Himself, since He declared these concerning Himself. The stakes were higher Him.

 

His prediction had to be one hundred percent precise, or He would be declare a false prophet and would have been stone according to the Torah. Even thou the people spoke will of Him; however, they wondered isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph. Jesus was aware that being popular was short lived. To the people in Nazareth Jesus was one the hometown boys not the Messiah of Israel. Bishop Ryle wrote, “Man bitterly hates the doctrine of the sovereignty of God which Christ had just declared. C S Lewis utters these words concerning Jesus “You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.”   

The people living in Nazareth got up, forced Jesus out of town, and took him to the edge of the cliff on which the town was built. They planned to throw him off the edge, but Jesus walked through the crowd and continued his way. The cliff is found south of Nazareth, it called Mt Kedumim (397M), 1,302.16 feet overlooking the Yizrael Valley. No small cliff, if the townspeople would being successful they would’ve killed Jesus before his time and He wold have been declared a false prophet.  Jesus had only two choices over the cliff or walking through the people, and they had no intension letting him pass by, There intended was to kill him. The question is how did He walk through this incensed mob without getting severally injured?

 Jesus had display that He was God , and backup His words that He just declared. Believer Commentary penned these words, “But Jesus miraculously walked through the crowd and left the city. His foes were powerless to stop Him. “  Matthew Henry wrote these words, “ Yet he escaped, because his hour was not yet come: He passed through the midst of them unhurt. Either he blinded their eyes, as God did those of the Sodomites and Syrians, or he bound their hands, or filled them with confusion, so that they could not do what they designed; for his work was not done, it was but just began; his hour was not yet come, when it was come; he freely surrendered himself. 

 

• To preach the gospel to the poor.
• To heal the brokenhearted.
• To proclaim liberty to the captives.
• And recovery of sight to the blind. To set at liberty those who are oppress.

 Jesus Healing And Miracle  

John MacArthur in sermon on Blind for the Glory of God spoke these words concerning Jesus healing powers, “People with deformed and diseased organs were given new organs.  People with blind eyes given new eyes.  People who couldn’t hear given new ears.  Each is a creative work.  This consistent, John introduces the gospel by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  Nothing that was made was made without him; all things were made by Him.  He is the creator, and we see Him create.  All of these healing miracles are supernatural acts of creation, taking something corrupted, something deformed, something diseased, something infected, and replacing it with something brand new.  The works of God through Christ. “

• Healing of Simon mother In Law Luke 4;38- 39.
• Healing of Leper Luke 5; 13- 14.
• Healing of paralytic Luke 5; 25- 26.
• Healing centurion’s slave Luke 7; 10 
• Rising young man who was dead Luke 7; 14-15.
• Forgiving a Immoral woman of her sins. Luke 7; 40- 50
• Casting out demons Luke 8; 32.

 

 In Luke 7; 18 -23; Summoning two of his disciples, John sent his disciple to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?” When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?’ At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.  And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them. Blessed is he who does not take offence at Me.”

 

 John Healed Many People Of The Affliction

Despite Jesus the miraculous healing and over the whelming evident Jesus healing powers. The Pharisees still did not believe that Jesus came from God or was God Himself. They believe His healing power came from Satan. For example, Jesus performed a healing on the Sabbath where a man who had paralyzed hand, and also cast out a demon who was blind and could not speak. The man could speak and see. When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “The man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”

Another example the beggar that was born blind in John nine where Jesus healed him of his blindness. By Jesus spitting into mud putting into eyes and told him to wash in the pool of Siloam. He was instantly able to see. The people took him to the Pharisee, and they ask him how he was healed? He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So when I went and washed I received my sight.” Like the crowd, the Pharisee did not believe he was the beggar.

So they asked for their parents, and they uttered these uttered these words, “ We know he is our son. Even thou the beggar parent told the Pharisee that man born blind was his son and the beggar himself said he was the man himself Despite all the prove the man was the beggar, and born blind. The Pharisees still did not believe Jesus was from God and was a sinner because He healed the man on the Sabbath, and many other healing on the Sabbath. The man declares these words to the Pharisees, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.  We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.  Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.  If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” Despite the common sense from this man. displayedThe Pharisee still tosses him out of the temple out of blind hatred. The hatred was so deep rooted they failed to see the man was once blind, but now he can see!

What was so sad about this narrative. The man who was born blind had spiritual insight, and the Pharisees had physical sight and yet were spiritual blind. While claiming to be serving God the Pharisee were helping Satan himself. 

 

 

 

Jesus Brought Lazarus Back  From The Dead

 

Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead after being dead for four days. According to Martha, his brother Lazarus was in the grave for four days. Martha said these words “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days since he passed away.

From discovery curiosity.com In Applied Anthropology  they wrote this report how a body decaying after death ”Much faster than decomposition is, of course, death itself, when the body goes through a host of grisly changes in a relatively fast time frame. When a person’s heart stops beating at death, the body’s cells are deprived of oxygen and die. Blood then begins draining from the circulatory system and pools in the low-lying areas of the body. Stiffening of the muscles– rigor mortis– sets in after about three hours, and by the time 24 hours have passed, the body will have lost all of its internal heat. The muscles will begin to lose rigor mortis after about 36 hours, and the stiffness will be completely gone after 72 hours. In other study found Human Death and Decay web page http://science.howstuffworks.com/body-farm1.htm  As the cells die, bacteria within the body begin breaking them down. Enzymes in the pancreas cause the organ to digest itself. The body soon takes on a gruesome appearance and smells. Decomposing tissue emits a green substance, as well as gasses such as methane and hydrogen sulfide. The lungs expel fluid through the mouth and nose. “ In short Lazarus was dead. Everyone from the community Bethany was there to offer comforting and support to Martha and Mary. 

 

According to John gospel Jesus instructed them to removed the stone from Lazarus Then Jesus began to pray “Father, I thank You that You heard Me.  I know that You always hear Me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so they may believe You sent Me.” Than He shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him and let him go.

In Calvin commentary He wrote these words, “He cried with a loud voice. By not touching with the hand, but only crying with the voice, his Divine power is more fully proven. At the same time, he holds out to our view the secret and astonishing efficacy of his word. For how did Christ restore life to the dead but by the word? And therefore, in raising Lazarus, he exhibited a visible token of his spiritual grace, which we experience every day by the perception of faith, when he shows that his voice gives life.”

 

 Remember the words God spoke with Adam in the garden of Eden. When Uttered these words to Adam on the day you eat the forbidden fruits you will surely die. The curse of sin was spiritual and physical death. 

 

Jesus display His power over death by rising Lazarus from the dead. Later on Jesus Himself would conquer death by raising from Himself from the grave and did not returning to the grave.and ascended into heaven. According to Warren Wiersbe Bible Study Series, “The experience of Lazarus is a good illustration of what happens to a sinner when he trusts the Savior (Eph. 2:1-10). Lazarus was dead, and all sinners are dead. He was decayed, because death and decay go together. All lost people are spiritually dead, but some are more “decayed” than others. No one can be “more dead” than another.

 

New International Encyclopedia of Bible Characters address why Lazarus’ resurrection was essential. It showed Jesus divine life-giving power and foreshadowed his authority over the promised general resurrection in the future. Lazarus; however, was only resurrected to a renewed earthly life, while Jesus’ resurrection formed the prototype of the resurrection awaiting Christians.”  John MacArthur Study Bible he said, “This was a preview of the power to be fully displayed in the final resurrection when all the dead hear the voice of the Son of God and live.”

 

Despite wonderful miraculous event many believe in Jesus yet some reported the event to the Pharisees. The chief priest called a meeting. They uttered these words, What are we accomplishing? “Here is this man performing many signs.  If we let him continue like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” 

 

Even the Pharisee and Chief Priest could not disprove what Jesus did, however, they were more afraid of the Roman Empire who had the power to destroyed the temple and their nations. Than Jesus who was God would gave eternal life. Their concern was external not internal. As scripture declares,” Therefore, we do not give up. Although our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day.

 

Later on, Chief priests and Pharisees plotted to kill Lazarus on the account many people believe on the account of Lazarus. The hatred of Jesus increasing accelerates and plotted to have him executed.   

 

John MacArthur March 09, 2014 in sermon called A Plan on for Dying In Your Sins spoke these words, “Amazing, unheard-of miracles were going on a daily basis through the duration of His ministry, unparalleled teaching, sufficient evidence to prove that He was whom He claimed to be, the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God. Now, by the way, John in his purpose of giving us evidence, only gives us samples, only samples of the ministry of Jesus.  In John 20 30-31 Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it. John 21 25 There are so many other things Jesus did. If they were all written down, each of them, one by one, I can’t imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books.  

 

While some believe God still performed miracles everyday while other believes that miracle ceased in the apostle age. To those who still believe that God still performed miracles like he like Jesus and the Apostle did. They should consider several things; One where is the over whelming evident of these miracles that display so everyone can see them. Secondly since Jesus healed every person that everyone brought to Him. Why are so many people who attend these healing rally wishing to be healed are not being healed and turn away.  

 

Consider Joni Eareckson Tada story who is a quadriplegic because of diving an accident.  After two years of rehabilitation she able move her arms, and went home; however, she had a strong wish to be physical healed. One day while she and her sister were watching tv, and an ad about Kathryn Kuhlman was coming to Washington a faith healer who claimed to healed the sick, the physical disable and the lame. Joni and sister went expecting, and believing God would heal her. At the end of meeting to her dismay, she still in her a wheelchair, and the usher wheel her along other the disable people to the elevator. When seeing all the disable people were still invalid. She asks this question what wrong with this picture?  Again she develops a bitter root and wanted to die, and went into her room and was miserable to those who were trying to help her.  One day her sister opens up the drapes and gave her a Bible to read. While flipping through it she read Mark 1; 38 Jesus stated, He said to them, { disciples} “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.”  It hit her like a ton bricks that Jesus mission was to proclaim the gospel not healed people. According to Joni the real problem was her sin in her live in which it separated her from God, in which eventually would lead her to hell. While sickness, the disable, and the lame was cause and effect of sin. It was not paralysis condition in which it left her in a wheelchair. It was bitter spirit that indwells her soul, it was sin in her life that separate her from God.

 

Even they are charlatan who uses Jesus name to deceive the masses in thinking when they performed miracles and healing comes from God. Yet, God still performed does perform miracles and healing even today to open the door to the gospel where there no Bible. Yet, many countries like Canada and USA have the scriptures in which it clearly explains the gospel. As Bible declares, “And we {the apostles} heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with Him on the holy mountain. . So we have the prophetic word strongly confirmed. You will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dismal place, until the day dawns, and the morning star rises in your hearts.” Yet and other scriptures declared, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them. No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.“ 

 

When gospel first start out The New Testament was not written yet. So apostles needed to authenticate the gospel message and that came from God. As scripture declares.” He {Jesus} gave them power and authority over all the demons, and power to heal diseases.” Jesus display and prove that He was God Himself, As Jesus declares,” I and My Father are one; furthermore, He states,” I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

 

John Calvin says in explaining that.  “Although Christ does not expressly say whether He intends this gift, referring to miracle working, to be temporary or to remain perpetually in His church, yet it is more probably that miracles were promised only for a time in order to give luster to the gospel while it is new… it was new and in a state of obscurity.  I think that the true design for which miracles were appointed was that nothing which was necessary for providing the doctrine of the gospel should be wanting at its commencement.”

Furthermore he wrote, “Yet those who came after them that they might not follow it to be suppose that they were entirely destitute of miracles were led by foolish aberrance or ambition to forge for themselves miracles which had no reality.  Calvin is saying the claims that they are making for miracles have no reality to them whatsoever, that they are just foolishness. 

 

In short, Jesus came to die for mankind sins and to take their place. In short, Jesus mission in life was to our place sin and replace it with His righteousness. As scripture declares,” He made the One {Christ} who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. In short, Christ became the sinner and those who confess , repent, and believe in Christ atoning, and He will save you from the pit of hell.

Expositor’s Bible Commentary wrote these words, “That Christ, treated as if he were a sinner, became the object of God’s wrath and bore the penalty and guilt of sin.”  Furthermore they wrote, “Just as “the righteousness of God ” is extrinsic to us, so the sin with which Christ totally identified himself was extrinsic to him. He never had a sinful attitude or did a sinful act.”