The just shall live by faith.
The reason the Bible records so many miracles of Jesus is “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.” John 20:30, 31.
The teachings of Jesus and the disciples tell you the way of life; but in the miracles which God worked by them you can see the reality of the life, and its power. Every spiritual truth from the Bible is illustrated by the miracles that were performed on people’s bodies.
God gave Jesus “power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life” to all who come to Him. By His power to deliver our bodies from disease, He shows His power to release our souls from sin. “For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith He to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitude saw it, they marveled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.” Matt. 9:5-8.
Some of the most striking miracles of Jesus were done on the Sabbath day, and we wish to call special attention to them now.
The Man Blind from Birth
“And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man which was blind from his birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day; the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When He had thus spoken, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.” “And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.” John 9:1-7, 14.
By this miracle Christ gave visible proof of the fact that He is the light of the world. The blind beggar believed the words of Christ, and so received his sight. From this we may know the truthfulness of Christ’s assertion: “I am the light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12. When the blind man’s eyes were opened he was able to see the light of the sun. But Christ was his spiritual light, showing that the light that the sun shines on the earth is only the light which it has received from the Sun of Righteousness.
We cannot see Christ, and it is impossible for our minds to comprehend how His life can be given to us, so that we may have righteousness and eternal life. But you do know that the sun gives light to the earth and that in its light there is life; and since the miracle of giving sight to the blind shows that this light and life come from Christ, you may also know that He can impart His life of righteousness to you. It is just as easy to believe in Christ as the Savior from sin and death, as it is to believe that the sun causes life and fruitfulness to the earth.
Sin is darkness. Our hearts become darkened when we don’t glorify God as God. Rom. 1:21. Sinners have “the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God.” Eph. 4:18. Just as Christ gave sight to the blind, so He takes away the darkness of sin and gives the light of life to all who accept Him in truth.
Healing the Infirm Woman
“And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work; in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day? And when He had said these things, all His adversaries were ashamed; and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.” Luke 13:10-17.
This woman had been bound by Satan. Releasing her was a striking illustration of Christ’s power to free from sin; for “whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (John 8:34), and “is of the devil” (1 John 3:8); and “of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.” 2 Peter 2:19.
The woman could not lift herself up. We can truly say, “Mine inquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up.” Ps. 40:12. But, seeing the power of Christ on the infirm woman, we can also say, “Thou, LORD, art a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” Ps. 3:3.
The woman “had a spirit of infirmity.” Christ had compassion on her and healed her. So we know that “we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Heb. 4:15), and we also know that His sympathy is practical. In these miracles we have a blessed illustration of Christ’s power to open our eyes “and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God.”
Why Done on the Sabbath?
The Bible specifically notes that these miracles were done on the Sabbath. Notice also that the need for healing was not so urgent that they had to be healed immediately. The blind man could have waited another day without special inconvenience.
The woman had been infirm for eighteen years and was not in immediate danger. And neither of them was expecting to be healed, so they would not have been disappointed if Jesus had not healed them until the Sabbath was past.
But Jesus did not delay an hour. Moreover, He healed them on the Sabbath day, knowing full well that it would offend the Pharisees and increase their hatred for Him. This shows that He had a special object in doing these miracles on the Sabbath day, and that the Holy Spirit had a purpose in specially calling our attention to the day on which they were performed. What was that object’?
The answer is easy. The miracles were done for the same purpose that they were recorded, “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.”
Jesus did not do these miracles out of disrespect to the Sabbath day, for He kept all the commandments. Some have the mistaken idea that Jesus did them to show that the Sabbath may be broken in case of necessity. But Jesus did not break the Sabbath, although the Jews falsely accused Him of doing so. It is never necessary to break the Sabbath, but Jesus Himself said, “It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.” Matt. 12:12.
Jesus was showing the true meaning of the Sabbath. It is true that He worked on Sabbath, but how did He do it? It was by His Word! Ever since the creation of the world, when the heavens and the earth were finished and “God did rest the seventh day from all His works,” that He still continues to work by the Word of His power, which upholds all things.
God gave us the Sabbath that we might know that He is the God that sanctifies us. Eze. 20:12. So in performing those miracles on the Sabbath day, Jesus was showing that the purpose of the Sabbath is to free us from bondage. It commemorates His creative power and it is by this power that we are made new creatures in Christ, when we believe. “For we which have believed do enter into rest,” even God’s rest.
God rested when He had finished His work. He rested on His Word of power. So we find rest through work—not our work but God’s work. “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” John 6:29. But believing, as we have seen, gives us rest. The work of God gives us rest from sin, for we triumph in the work of His hands. Ps. 92:4.
So by these miracles Christ teaches you that the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, is the crowning glory of the Gospel. Kept as God intended, it enables you to see Christ as both Redeemer and Creator. His Redeeming power is His creative power. The Sabbath of the Lord, the memorial of creation, reminds you of the power of God to salvation to everyone that believes. It reveals to you, as nothing else can, that Christ was anointed by the Holy Spirit “to preach the Gospel to the poor;” “to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18, 19.
Living By Faith- E.J.W., and A.T.J.
Maranatha