Why did Jesus work Miracles?
⁵Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
⁶then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy...
If you’re familiar with the New Testament, reading through Isaiah is gonna have a lot of “I’m sure I’ve read this somewhere before...” moments... 55 times to be exact. And this is one of them, one of my favourite ones in fact.
¹⁸The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, ¹⁹calling 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?” ²⁰And 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?’”
At first glance, one wouldn’t think much of this. But upon further thought, this is actually very strange. Wasn’t this the same John the Baptist who often spoke of the One who would come after Him, whom he was preparing the way for? The same John the Baptist who witnessed the the heavens open and the Spirit fall when baptizing Jesus, as God declared Jesus as the chosen servant (Isa 42:1)? The same John the Baptist that actually proclaimed with full conviction, “Behold the Lamb of God!”(John 1:35) Surely, if there was anyone more sure that Jesus was the promised Messiah, it would have been John. Yet, here we find him doubting... Why?
We know from Mark 1:14, that almost as soon as he baptized Jesus, he was imprisoned. Perhaps sitting there in prison, with seemingly nothing but his execution at hand, doubt ensued. Perhaps he thought to himself, “If Jesus really is the Messiah, why are the powers of darkness still prevailing over me? Why am I still sitting here awaiting my death? Has not the Lord come to set us free?”
And so it was under these circumstances that John’s disciples came up to Jesus, on one of his busier days, where many were coming to him for healing and deliverance of all sorts - and indeed many were being healed! (Luke 7:21) Under these circumstances in which they essentially asked on behalf of John, “Have I lived my life in vain? Are you truly the Messiah that has come to set us free?”
What comes next is probably one of my favourite things about Jesus. He is such. a. boss. You can’t make this kind of thing up!
²²And 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. ²³And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” (Luke 7:22-23 ESV)
If it hasn’t hit you yet, this was a major throwback to the prophecies of Isaiah!
²...They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.
³Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
⁴Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
⁵Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
⁶then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy...
I don’t think there was ANY WAY anyone could have answered John’s question better. Jesus knew what was upon John’s heart. And in the most reassuring way possible (without even actually answering the question!), He comforted John and relinquished any lingering doubt.
You see, while we definitely don’t want to deny, nor discount that Jesus worked miracles in that day out of compassion for the people around Him, He never lost track of the greater purpose. All of the miracles that He did (in a way no other ever did) served to show one thing - He was indeed the Christ, and He has come to save.
Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Though he may heal them physically now and save them from the brink of death, unless Jesus saves their souls, they shall surely die! That’s why Jesus at several occasions had to tell people not to speak of the miracles He had done, or had to pry himself away from the hurting, because He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 4:43).
But you see, this message wasn’t just for John...
²³And blessed is the one who is not offended by me. (Luke 7:23)
Like John, the Jews in that day were expecting a Messiah to come to free them politically, to free them physically. For them who have been waiting for their Messiah with such eager anticipation, as they endure having their dignity as a nation being stripped away again and again, how preposterous it would be for this man who is doing absolutely nothing about Rome claim to be the Messiah! But blessed is the one who is not offended by Him, for He did not come to bring judgement, but to bear it. Instead of ascending a throne, He ascended a cross. He has come to save, but not in the way the people thought. The Kingdom has come, and we enter it through repentance and faith (Mark 1:15).
Jesus worked miracles to show that He was indeed the Christ. The Christ who has come to seek and save the lost. In Jesus, we have seen the glory of the Lord, and the majesty of our God. He will return again to put an end to the effects of sin once and for all! But until then, like the Jews of the day and like John, our earthly kingdoms are not the same as His Kingdom! There will still be sickness and death, but we have hope - for all our sins are washed away! We have hope in our King!
⁸And a highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
...the redeemed shall walk there.
¹⁰And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
(Isaiah 35:8-10 ESV)
