"Hanukkah - Part 2"
How does the celebration of Hanukkah, a festival NOT found in the Old Testament, provide greater insight into biblical themes such as the Messiah? How is Hanukkah handled in the New Testament?
Go to "Hanukkah - Part 2".
Download or email Part 1 (~238k)
Download or email Part 2 (~222k)
The Salvific Message of the Miracles
The healing miracles of Jesus have to be understood this way: They were miracles only the Messiah could do, such as making the blind see and the deaf hear. Once neurological tissue is dead, it doesn’t regenerate. If the optic nerve is dead, that person is not going to see again. Even today it would take an act of God to rejuvenate nerve tissue.
He did miracles for three reasons: The first was obviously the compassion of God. Second, the miracles were emblematic of His messiahship. And third, they are demonstrations of salvation in some way.
The healing miracles in the Gospel of John always demonstrate salvation. In John 5 He told the paralytic, “Pick up your pallet and go your way; sin no more” (John 5:11-14) Now that was a case where sin caused the paralysis. Why did Jesus tell him, “Take your pallet” when he doesn’t need it anymore? Because it’s the piece of wood to which his flesh was confined. What Jesus was saying was, “Pick up your cross, live a crucified life, don’t sin anymore.” In figure, that’s what He was saying midrashically, in figure. The guy didn’t need it any more. We’re all lame until we pick up the cross. We can’t walk in the Spirit until we pick up the cross. Well, we’re all blind until we see Jesus.
But notice Jesus says, “Go wash in the Pool of Shiloach”. Again, baptism. The restoration of sight is always in proportion to obedience to the Lord. The more you do His will, the clearer you’re going to see. You didn’t get it all at once. When somebody is born, they don’t see at once. When somebody’s born again they don’t see at once. But baptism is an eye opener. You begin to understand your salvation when you understand co-burial and co-resurrection.
This is Page 3 of 13
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.