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MBS035 Ariel Ministries Digital Press
TABLE OF CONTENTS
S
ome time prior to the coming of Yeshua (Jesus), the ancient
rabbis separated miracles into two categories. First were those
miracles anyone would be able to perform if they were
empowered by the Spirit of God to do so. The second category of
miracles were called “messianic miracles,” which were miracles only
the Messiah would be able to perform. Yeshua did miracles in both
categories: general miracles and also messianic miracles. So because
of the rabbinic teaching that certain miracles would be reserved only
for the Messiah to do, whenever He performed a messianic miracle it
created a different type of reaction than when He performed other
types of miracles. This will be a study of the three messianic miracles,
the reaction to them and the results of them.
A. Introduction
The first messianic miracle was the healing of a leper. Under the
Mosaic Law, the only time it was possible for a person to be defiled by
a living human body was if he touched a leper. Normally, under the
Mosaic Law, one could only become ceremonially unclean or defiled
by touching a dead human body; touching a dead animal’s body; or
touching a live unclean animal’s body, such as a pig. The only time
defilement came by a living human body was by coming into contact
with a leper.
From the time the Mosaic Law was completed, there was no record of
any Jew who had been healed of leprosy. While Miriam was healed of
leprosy, this was before the completion of the Law. Naaman was
healed of leprosy, but he was a Syrian Gentile, not a Jew. From the
time the Mosaic Law was completed, there was never a case of any
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was no cure for leprosy whatsoever. Yet Leviticus 13-14 gave the
Levitical Priesthood detailed instructions as to what they were to do in
case a leper was healed. On the day that a leper approached the
priesthood and said, “I was a leper but now I have been healed,” the
priesthood was to give an initial offering of two birds.
For the next seven days, they were to investigate intensively the
situation to determine three things. First, was the person really a
leper? Second, if he was a real leper, was he really cured of his
leprosy? Third, if he was truly cured of his leprosy, what were the
circumstances of the healing?
If after seven days of investigation they were firmly convinced that the
man had been a leper, had been healed of his leprosy, and the
circumstances were proper, then, on the eighth day there would be a
lengthy series of offerings. All together, there were four different
offerings. First, there was a trespass-offering; second, a sin-offering;
third, a burnt-offering; and fourth, a meal-offering. Then came the
application of the blood of the trespass-offering upon the healed leper
followed by the application of the blood of the sin-offering upon the
healed leper. The ceremony would then end with the anointing of oil
upon the healed leper.
Although the priesthood had all these detailed instructions as to how
they were to respond in the case of a healed leper, they never had the
opportunity to put these instructions into effect, because from the time
the Mosaic Law was given, no Jew was ever healed of leprosy. As a
result, it was taught by the rabbis that only the Messiah would be able
to heal a Jewish leper.
The healing of the leper was classed as the first of the three messianic
miracles.
According to Luke 5:12 the man was full of leprosy. That means the
leprosy was now fully developed, and it would not be very long before
the leprosy would take this man’s life. This man with fully developed
leprosy came to Jesus and said, “ Lord, if you will, you can make me
clean.” The leper clearly recognized the authority of Jesus as the
Messiah who had the power to heal a leper. The only question on the
part of the leper was His willingness to do so. At that point, we read
in verse 13 that Yeshua touched the leper and “straightway the leprosy
departed from him.”
But carefully note what He told the leper to do, according to Luke
5:14: And he charged him to tell no man: but go your way, and show yourself to
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the priest, and offer for your cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a
testimony unto them.
NOTES
The word “them” refers to the leadership of Israel. Jesus sent this man
directly to the priesthood in Jerusalem in order to force them to follow
through with the commands of Moses in Leviticus 13-14. This man
appeared before the priesthood of Israel and declared himself to be a
cleansed leper; on that day, the priesthood offered up two birds as a
sacrifice.
For the next seven days, they intensively investigated the situation and
discovered three things. First, they discovered this man really had been
a leper. Second, they discovered that the man was perfectly healed of
his leprosy. Third, they also discovered that Yeshua of Nazareth was
the One who healed the man of his leprosy.
Having sent the healed leper to the leadership of Israel, Yeshua then
“withdrew himself in the deserts, and prayed” (Lk. 5:16). He went into
the desert where, on an earlier occasion, He had fasted and was
tempted by Satan. This time He went into the desert for the purpose
of praying. What was He praying about? He was praying for what
would happen next and how the leadership of Israel would respond to
this messianic miracle.
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heal a leper. If He healed the leper, it could very well mean that He NOTES
was the Messiah. They all came together to investigate Him.
Instead, in Mark 2:5 we read: And Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick
of the palsy, Son, your sins are forgiven.
Indeed it did, because in Mark 2:6 we read: But there were certain of the
scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts ...
This was the stage of observation. They could only observe; they were
not allowed to raise questions or objections.
According to Mark 2:7, they reasoned in their hearts: Why does this man
thus speak? he blasphemes: who can forgive sins but one, even God?
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Their theology was absolutely correct: no one could forgive sins NOTES
except God. Since Yeshua declared the prerogative of forgiving sins,
it meant one of two things. First, it could mean that He was a
blasphemer. But the second possibility was that He was who He
claimed to be: the Messianic Person. It was at this point that Yeshua
turned to the leadership of Israel and questioned them.
Mark 2:9 states: Which is easier, to say to the sick of the palsy, Your sins are
forgiven; or to say, Arise, and take up your bed, and walk?
The question was: “What is an easier thing for a man to say?” Is it
easier for someone to say to another, “Your sins are forgiven?” Or, is
it easier for someone to say to a palsied man, “I’m going to heal you,
so stand up and walk?” The easier thing to say was, “Your sins are
forgiven” because that required no tangible, external and observable
evidence. But to state that a palsied man was going to be healed was
a harder thing to say because that did require external and observable
evidence.
Jesus went on to say that He was going to prove that He could say the
easier Your sins are forgiven by performing the harder, healing the palsied
man. He proceeded to heal the palsied man. There was instantaneous,
observable evidence, because the man was able to stand up, walk
around, and even carry his own bed. This proved that Yeshua could
say the easier, that this man’s sins were also forgiven. If Jesus could
forgive sins, then it meant that He was who He claimed to be: the
Messianic Person.
A. Introduction
Between the first messianic miracle, the healing of a leper, and the
second messianic miracle, Yeshua had been investigated by the
leadership of Israel. He was interrogated and questioned everywhere
He went. The leadership learned several things. The crucial thing
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they realized was that Jesus was simply not going along with Pharisaic
Judaism. He was not accepting Pharisaic authority. He was teaching
NOTES
At this stage in the Gospel accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus,
there seems to be a general recognition that a high point was about to
be reached. Even His friends considered the fact that Yeshua needed
protection from Himself, because they felt His zeal was bordering on
insanity.
Then Mark 3:22 reads: And the scribes that came down from Jerusalem said,
He has Beelzebub, and, By the prince of the demons cast he out the demons.
Although this incident occurs in Galilee, it was instigated by an official
delegation from Jerusalem. A decision was finally reached by the
Sanhedrin regarding His messianic claims.
The event that triggered the Sanhedrin claim is recorded in Matthew
12:22: Then was brought unto him one possessed with a demon, blind and dumb:
and he healed him, insomuch that the dumb man spoke and saw.
In verse 22, Jesus cast out a demon that caused the person controlled
to be both blind and dumb or mute meaning he could not speak.
The act of casting out demons was not all that unusual in the Jewish
world of that day. Even the Pharisees, rabbis, and their followers had
the ability to cast out demons. But casting out demons within the
framework of Pharisaic Judaism required one to use a specific ritual,
which included three stages. First, the exorcist would have to establish
communication with the demon, for when a demon speaks, he uses
the vocal cords of the person he indwells. Second, after establishing
communication with the demon, the exorcist would then have to find
out the demon’s name. Third, after finding out the demon’s name, he
could, by the use of that name, cast out the demon. There are
occasions that Yeshua used the Jewish methodology, as in Mark 5,
when He, being confronted with a demoniac, asked the question,
“What is your name?” The answer on that occasion was, “My name
is Legion for we are many.”
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In verse 23 that raised the very question among the Jewish masses,
which the miracle was intended to raise: And all the multitudes were
amazed, and said, Can this be the son of David?
Was this not the Jewish Messiah? After all, He was doing the very
things they had been taught from childhood that only the Messiah
would be able to do. They never asked this question when Yeshua
casts out other types of demons. However, when He casts out a dumb
demon, they raised the question because they recognized from the
teachings of the rabbis that this was a messianic miracle.
However, the Jewish masses have always tended to labor under what
is called the “leadership complex.” Whichever way the leaders went,
the people were sure to follow. Consistently throughout the Old
Testament, when the king did that which was right in the eyes of the
Lord, the people followed. But when the king did that which was evil
in the sight of the Lord, the people also followed. Even in this day,
when Jewish believers witness to their Jewish contacts, they
consistently hear this same objection: “If Jesus really is the Messiah,
then why is it that our rabbis do not believe in Him?” In New
Testament times, because of the stranglehold that Pharisaic Judaism
had upon the masses, this leadership complex was extremely strong.
So, while the Jewish masses were willing to raise the question, “Is this
not the Jewish Messiah?” they were not willing to make that decision
for themselves. Instead, they looked to their leadership to make that
decision for them.
In Matthew 12:24 the Pharisees took the second option: But when the
Pharisees heard it, they said, This man does not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub
the prince of the demons.
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The Pharisees took the second option and rejected His messianic NOTES
claims. In order to explain His ability to perform these very unique
miracles, they claimed that Yeshua Himself was possessed or
demonized–not by some common demon but by “Beelzebub the
prince of demons.” The name Beelzebub is a combination of two
Hebrew words, which combine to mean “the lord of the flies.” This
became the basis of the Pharisaic rejection of the Messiahship of
Jesus: He was not the Messiah on the grounds of being demon
possessed.
While their response to the first messianic miracle was the beginning
of the investigation, their response to the second messianic miracle
was the rejection of His messianic claims. They said He was not the
Messiah on the grounds of being demon possessed. This action by the
leadership of Israel set the stage for Jewish history for the next two
thousand years.
D. The Judgment
Jesus responded in two ways. The first response was to defend Himself
by saying four things in Matthew 12:25-29. He said this could not be
true because it would mean a division in Satan’s kingdom. Second,
they themselves recognized that exorcism was a gift of the Spirit, and
even their followers were able to cast out demons, though not dumb
demons. Third, this miracle authenticated His claims and His
message. Fourth, it showed that Yeshua was stronger than Satan rather
than subservient to Satan.
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In the remainder of this study, two key words will keep appearing “this
generation,” because this generation was guilty of a very unique sin.
This meant two things. First, it meant that this generation of Yeshua’s
day was under judgment that could not be alleviated and would result
in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70. Second,
the offer of the Messianic Kingdom was rescinded; it would not be set
up at that time but would be re-offered to a later Jewish
generation–the generation of the Millennium.
It is quite true that Jesus continued to perform miracles even after this
event, but the purpose of His miracles changed. No longer was the
purpose of His miracles what it had been up until that time: to serve
as signs to get Israel to make a decision regarding His messianic
claims. Instead, the purpose of His miracles from this point on was for
the purpose of training the twelve apostles for the kind of work they
would need to conduct because of this rejection. As for the nation,
there would be no more signs except one: the sign of Jonah, the sign
of resurrection.
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The words of judgment end with a story about a demon in verses 43-
45. This was not a demon that was cast out but a demon that left of his
NOTES
own free will, looking for a better place in which to live. He searched
for a while but when he could not find any vacancies, he decided to
return to the person whom he had indwelt earlier. Upon his return, he
found him “empty, swept, and garnished.” He re-entered this man, but
no longer wanting to live by himself, he invited seven of his friends to
join him, and “the last state of that man had become worse than the
first.” At first, he only had one demon in him, but because he remained
empty, he now had eight demons residing in him. In the interval
between the first and second indwellings of the demon, the man was
not indwelled by some other spirit, be it the Holy Spirit or a demonic
spirit.
What was true of that individual will be true of this generation. When
that generation began, it was with the preaching of John the Baptist,
who announced the soon-coming of the King. Although they were
under Roman domination, they did have a national entity with
Jerusalem and the Temple was standing. But forty years after these
words were spoken, the legions of Rome invaded the Land, Jerusalem
was destroyed and the Temple was torn down until not one stone
stood upon another. The last state of this generation did become
worse than the first.
The key point of the story is at the end of verse 45: Even so shall it be
also unto this evil generation.
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Notice a very graphic statement in Matthew 13:34: All these things spoke
Jesus in parables unto the multitudes; and without a parable spoke he nothing unto
them: ...
To the masses, He spoke only in parables. This was not true before the
rejection in Matthew 12. It is true only after the rejection. It is literally
impossible to understand why the ministry of Yeshua changed in these
four major areas unless we first understand how crucial the
unpardonable sin was. The unpardonable sin was the rejection of His
Messiahship on the grounds of demon possession, and it was a direct
response to the second messianic miracle. Sufficient light had been
given to them. They rejected the light they had, so no more light
would be given.
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According to Mark 9:14: And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great
multitude about them, and scribes questioning with them.
The scribes were there to instigate this particular situation. A specific
demonic boy was brought to these disciples, and they tried to cast out
the demon but they were unable to do so. This somehow reflected on
the Messiahship of Jesus. When He was confronted with the
demoniac, He was able to cast out the demon. What was unique
about this problem? The disciples had been able to cast out demons
before. Why could not they cast out this demon?
Mark 9:17 reveals what kind of demon it was: And one of the multitude
answered him, Teacher, I brought unto you my son, who has a dumb spirit; ...
This was a dumb demon, and the casting out of a dumb demon was
the second messianic miracle. When the disciples could not cast out
the dumb demon, it reflected on their claim that Yeshua was the
Messiah. But then He came and did cast out the demon and
performed that second messianic miracle again.
Then Mark 9:28-29 records why the disciples could not: And when he
was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, How is it that we could
not cast it out? And he said unto them, This kind can come out by nothing, save by
prayer.
Notice what Jesus said here, “ this kind,” meaning a dumb demon. In
this statement, He authenticated the Pharisaic observation that dumb
demons were different and could not be cast out in a normal way. He
told His disciples that the reason they could not cast out a dumb
demon was because they were using the wrong method. While other
demons could be commanded out in the name of Yeshua, in the case
of a dumb demon, it could only be forced out by means of prayer.
What His disciples should have done was not use the regular
methodology that worked with other kinds of demons but simply trust
God the Father to do it for them. So He authenticated the Pharisaic
observation that dumb demons were different.
A. Introduction
The third messianic miracle was the healing of anyone born blind. It
was one thing to heal someone who simply had gone blind, but to heal
someone born blind would be a messianic miracle. A lot of details on
this third messianic miracle are given in John 9:1-41. This lengthy
chapter can be divided into five specific segments.
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Therefore, that is not the strange part of the question. But the
question is not merely, “Did this man’s parents sin and he was born
blind?” but they also asked, “Or was it this man that sinned and then
he was born blind?” That is the strange part of the question. How
could he have sinned first and then have been born blind? Judaism
never taught the doctrine of reincarnation. In light of this fact, how
could he have sinned before he was born?
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act of sin, for this act of animosity, he was born blind. The disciples’ NOTES
question actually reflected the Pharisaic Judaism in which they had
been raised. So they asked, “Did this man sin while he was still in the
womb, or did his parents sin causing him to be born blind?”
The disciples are guilty of two fallacies. The first fallacy was to accept
the Pharisaic teaching that the child could have sinned in his mother’s
womb and, therefore, be born blind. The second fallacy is that a birth
defect, such as being born blind, must be due to some specific, terrible sin.
In verse 3, Jesus dispelled that Pharisaism very quickly:... Neither did this
man sin, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in
him.
In other words, he was born blind not because of any specific sin
committed by his parents or by himself.
Of course, all physical problems are due to Adam’s fall and are a
result of the general problem of sin and fallen humanity. Men die
because of the general sin of humanity, because they are descendants
of Adam. However, to say that a specific birth defect, sickness, illness,
or injury is always due to some particular sin or a particular demon is
a fallacious teaching. Yeshua clearly dispelled this teaching by saying
that this man did not sin, nor did his parents sin. Quite the contrary,
God so arranged for this man to be born blind so that God could gain
the greater glory by accomplishing a great work.
Having dispelled and corrected the false theology of His own disciples
on this point, He then proceeded with the healing. He chose to heal
the person in such a way that it was somewhat of a process so, at this
moment, the man never got to see Him. What Jesus did was to spit on
the ground, mixing the spit with the dirt; He made a substance of clay
and then smeared the clay on the man’s eyes. He told the man to go
to the Pool of Siloam and wash the clay from his eyes, and then he
would be able to see.
It is very significant that of all the places Yeshua could have sent the man
to wash his eyes, He sent him to only one pool of the many in
Jerusalem–the Pool of Siloam. This pool was not easy to get to from the
main part of Jerusalem because he had to walk down a steep hill. This
was the week of the Feast of Tabernacles and during this feast, there was
a special ritual called “the outpouring of water.” In this ritual, the priests
came down from the Temple Mount to the Pool of Siloam, filled jugs
with the water from the Pool of Siloam, marched back up the Temple
Mount, and poured out the water into the Laver within the Temple
Compound. This was followed by great rejoicing. During the Feast of
Tabernacles, the main pool, which was the center of Jewish attention,
was the Pool of Siloam, the one pool that had the greatest number of
Jewish people present who would observe this third messianic miracle.
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The man went to the Pool of Siloam, washed his eyes, and when he
opened his eyes, for the first time in his entire life, he was able to see!
NOTES
Since everyone knew this man and knew he was born blind, this
created a tremendous stir. John 9:8-9 records:The neighbors therefore, and
they that saw him aforetime, that he was a beggar, said, Is not this he that sat and
begged? Others said, It is he: others said, No, but he is like him. He said, I am he.
There was much confusion because many people recognized him to
be that same one, but others had a hard time believing that a man who
was born blind had been healed. They responded by saying, “No, he
just looks like him.” Finally, the man said, “I am he.” When they
finally asked the crucial question, “How are you now able to see?”
After all, this is a messianic miracle.
His response, in verse 11 was: He answered, The man that is called Jesus made
clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to Siloam, and wash: so I went away
and washed, and I received sight.
When they asked him, “Where is he? He said: I know not.”
Remember, when Yeshua sent him away to the Pool of Siloam, the
man was still in a state of blindness; he had never seen Jesus. Even
now when he was able to see, the man still did not know who Yeshua
was or what He looked like.
According to verse 16a: Some therefore of the Pharisees said, This man is not
from God, because he keeps not the sabbath.
Because they felt that healing on the Sabbath was a violation of the
Sabbath, they did not believe that Jesus could be a man of God, let
alone the Man of God, the Messiah Himself.
Even among the Pharisees, they were asking the question in verse 16b:
But others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such signs?
Notice the emphasis, not just upon signs, because false prophets could
also perform miracles, but upon such these particular signs, these
special messianic miracles.
When they asked the man who was born blind and now healed of his
blindness what his opinion was about Yeshua, the man simply
concluded that at least the man must have been a prophet (v. 17).
However, according to Pharisaic teaching, though a prophet might be
able to do miracles, like Elijah and Elisha certainly did, to do a
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messianic miracle was not the prerogative of a prophet, but rather the
prerogative of the Messiah alone.
NOTES
So the first interrogation of the man did not lead to any specific
conclusions.
The reason for their reluctance is given in verse 22: These things said his
parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any
man should confess him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
It had already been decreed that if anyone owned Jesus as Messiah,
he would be excommunicated from the synagogue. It is obvious that
the parents wanted to believe in Him, and perhaps at this point they
had become secret believers in His Messiahship, because they saw that
He not only performed a messianic miracle but also performed that
miracle on their own son.
The fact that the expression, “be put out of the synagogue” is used, tells
us which level of excommunication the Pharisees had chosen for one who
would own Yeshua as Messiah. It was the third and most severe level, the
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They called him in for the second time in verse 24 and said to him:...
Give glory to God: we know that this man is a sinner.
Notice how illogical this statement is. “Praise the Lord!” they say,
“because we know that this man, Yeshua, is a sinner.” But one never
goes around saying, “Praise the Lord! we know such-and-such is a
sinner.” This is not something to praise God for. It is a sad thing when
people commit specific acts of sin. But the Pharisees are so beside
themselves over Jesus that they are no longer able to think clearly or
think in a logical manner.
At this point, the man that had been healed was able to keep
somewhat calm and still able to exercise some degree of control. He
said to them in verse 25: ... Whether he is a sinner, I know not: one thing I
know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
The statement the man made was not just a statement of fact; it was
a challenge to the Pharisees, one that they had to answer. What he was
saying to them between the lines was, “I was a man who was born
blind, not simply a man who went blind. You are the ones who taught
me that only the Messiah would be able to heal someone that was
born blind. I was born blind. A man named Yeshua was able to heal
me. According to the theology, you taught me, I would think you
would want to proclaim Him to be Israel’s Messiah. Instead, you call
him a sinner. Whether or not He is a sinner, I do not know. One thing
I do know: whereas I was blind, now I see. Please explain this to me.”
In verses 26-27, the Pharisees took up the challenge and asked the
question, “What did he to you? how opened he thine eyes?” (v. 26).
The man had already explained to the Pharisees more than once, so,
in verse 27, he responded to the Pharisees, I told you even now, “I already
told you!” and ye did not hear; “you did not listen,” wherefore would ye hear
it again? would ye also become his disciples?
Of course, this was not a very smart thing to say to Pharisees, “Would
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you also like to become the disciples of Jesus?” That was the last thing NOTES
they were interested in. At this point, the man was no longer being
tactful.
They replied in like manner in John 9:28-29: And they reviled him, and
said, You are his disciple; but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has
spoken unto Moses: but as for this man, we know not whence he is.
The Pharisees began to revile the man. They poked fun at him. They
obviously saw that the man was not going to be persuaded to accept
their statement that Jesus was a sinner. They gave up the man to
Yeshua and said, “Well, you can go ahead and be his disciple, but we
are disciples of Moses. We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t
know where this man is coming from whatsoever.” The implication
was that God did not speak to Jesus, so to be a disciple of Moses was
superior to being a disciple of Yeshua.
But the man would not keep silent. In verse 30, he went on to answer
them: ... Why, herein is the marvel, that ye know not whence he is, and yet he
opened mine eyes.
“You are the religious leadership of Israel. You taught me that only
the Messiah would ever be able to make me see. Now I do see, and
you cannot explain it to me, you who are the religious leaders of the
people of Israel.”
The Pharisaic response is in verse 34: They answered and said unto him,
You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us?
“You were born in sin.” Why did they say this? Because of the
Pharisaic theology that anyone who was born blind was born that way
because of some specific sin, either committed by the individual while
in the womb of the mother, or by his parents. So they said, “You were
born in sin. We were not, because we were not born blind.”
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The fifth and last segment of this chapter, John 9:35-41, records his
spiritual healing. Yeshua heard what had happened, that the man had
NOTES
been cast out of the synagogue. In verse 35, Yeshua approached the
man and asked him: ... Do you believe on the Son of God?
His response is in verses 37-38: Jesus said unto him, You have both seen him,
and he it is that speaks with you. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped
him.
The man saw Yeshua and he worshipped Him. To worship a man was
to acknowledge that the man was also God. The formerly blind man,
then, had a spiritual healing.
Summary: The result of the first messianic miracle was that the
intensive investigation of Yeshua's Messiahship began. The result of
the second messianic miracle was the decree that Jesus was not the
Messiah on the basis of demon possession. The leadership’s response
to the third messianic miracle was that anyone who owned Jesus as
their Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.
The fact that Lazarus was dead four days is very significant.
According to the teachings of Pharisaic Judaism, when a man died,
the spirit of the man hovered over the body during the first three days.
During those three days, there was always a possibility that
resuscitation could bring him back. On the fourth day the spirit of the
man descended down to Sheol or Hades and from then on
resuscitation was impossible, only a miracle of resurrection could
accomplish this. The fact that Jesus waited until Lazarus was dead for
four days showed that they would never be able to explain away the
resurrection of Lazarus by claiming mere resuscitation. Thus, when
Yeshua raised Lazarus from the dead after four days, this again
created a stir.
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MBS035 The Three Messianic Miracles
What happened next is recorded in Luke 17:11-19. This time, not one
but ten lepers came to Jesus asking Him to heal them. The way He
responded is recorded in verse 14: And when he saw them, he said unto
them, Go and show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, as they went,
they were cleansed.
Yeshua sent these ten lepers directly to the very priesthood that, under
the leadership of Caiaphas, had just decreed a sentence of death
against Him. This meant that instead of one messianic miracle, there
were now ten messianic miracles performed: the first messianic
miracle was performed ten times over. Ten times over Caiaphas and
the priesthood had to spend seven days investigating the whole
situation. Ten times over, they had to decree that all ten of these lepers
had been cleansed and healed of their leprosy. Ten times over, they
had to decree that Jesus performed the miracle. It is really showing
some Jewish humor, if you will, on the part of Yeshua that He chose
to send to the leadership of Israel ten healed lepers right after they
decreed His rejection by sentencing Him to death.