Have you ever noticed how often Jesus healed on the Sabbath? In John 9, Jesus healed a man that was born blind. He had been a beggar and was apparently a fairly well known figure in part of the city. Jesus spit on the ground, made mud with his saliva and put it on the man’s eyes. He then instructed the beggar to go the pool of Siloam and wash. The man was obedient to the command and left the pool seeing for the first time.
Imagine how amazing sight would be for the first time. Suddenly, this man saw only what he had felt and heard all his life. He had felt water on his skin but as soon as he washed the mud from his eyes he saw water rippling with sunlight sparkling across the surface of the pool. He saw the faces of familiar voices he had only heard each day as he begged. He was struck with the endless colors of clothing the crowds were wearing. He suddenly put form and color to the animals he had heard and touched in Jerusalem since childhood. Add to that the shape and colors of buildings, trees, grass, the sky, the sun, and the clouds. The immense amount of new images filling his mind must have been almost overwhelming. It makes me wonder if part of the miracle was a download of understanding that was imparted to the beggars mind to make sense of what he was seeing.
Of course, as the word of this notable miracle spread, the Pharisees showed up like investigative reporters snooping out a story for the National Inquirer. They remind us that religion devoid of relationship with the Father can be a dangerous thing. Once again, the Pharisees did not deny the miracle but missed everything about it because it had occurred on the Sabbath. Their response to a blind man who now saw each of their faces was to state that, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
Some questioned the miracle and so his parents were brought forth to confirm that this was their son and that he had indeed been born blind. After doing so, the questions were not about the amazing healing and how it had touched the blind man’s heart and soul, but only were designed to discover whom the man was that had broken the Sabbath by healing someone. To the formerly blind beggar they said, “Give glory to God, we know this man is a sinner.” His reply, of course, was on target. “Whether he is a sinner or not I don’t know. One thing I do know, I was blind but now I see.” This blind beggar went on to state some fairly sound theology. “Now this is remarkable. You don’t know where he comes from yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinner. He listens to the godly man 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.” The Pharisees responded with their usual grace and scholarship – “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.”
Miracles are signs. They are realities that point to even greater realities. A road sign pointing you to Interstate 20 is a reality but it points to something greater and more useful. The sign won’t take you where you want to go, it only points you to that which will. Miracles are amazing things, but they point you to an even greater reality. Jesus himself said that his miracles testified to his identity as the Son of God and his identity as the Anointed One. The giver of the miracle is always a greater reality than the miracle itself. As we seek the gifts of the Spirit and the supernatural power of God, we should never see those things as an end in themselves but rather road signs that point us to the giver of the gifts which should always be out true pursuit.
Having said that, how did the Pharisees miss the point of the healings time after time? These were learned men who had memorized the first five books of the Bible as a beginning step. They discussed and debated the Torah over and over. These were men of prayer who had devoted themselves to the knowledge of God. Jesus himself acknowledged that they searched the scriptures diligently but they missed him. The scriptures were signs pointing to the greater reality but they missed the reality. Somehow they never grasped the onramp to a personal relationship with God the Father.
God is pouring out a great measure of power and miracles on his church today. These miracles can again become a divide just as they were in the days of Jesus. The problem will not be in the miracles but in the hearts of those who witness the miracles or who refuse to witness the miracles. Miracles will come because God is a God of miracles who is still pointing to his Son. He is also a God of compassion and his miracles for healing, freedom and provision still flow out of a heart that is burdened for the brokenness and suffering of his people.
As in the days of Jesus, there will be different responses to the miracles. The best, of course, is belief in Jesus as the one true Son of God. Some will see the signs and understand the destination. They will absolutely know that Jesus is the singular road to the Father. Others will get caught up in the gifts themselves and never conform to the image of Jesus Christ in spirit or character. These men may abuse the gifts or use them for their own ends. They will tend to discredit the faith.
Still others will deny the reality of the miracles or declare, as the Pharisees declared, that these contemporary miracles are deceptions from the enemy. I believe Jesus healed often on the Sabbath because the Sabbath laws had become a stronghold of religion. Men had taken it on themselves to closely define the things that constituted “work” on the Sabbath and in doing so violated the spirit of the Sabbath all together. Jesus declared that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The very thing that God had given to bless man with rest and a focus on the love and faithfulness of God became an instrument of victimization. To deny healing and deliverance on the Sabbath was to deny the powerful expression of God’s love on the Sabbath. In doing so, God was viewed as a God of rules rather than relationship.
Some will do the same today. In the name of orthodoxy and biblical scholarship, some will deny the heart of God by denying that he still wants to intervene in the suffering of his people and the lost condition of men through displays of power. In the name of scholarship and intellect, men will declare that the signs that once pointed men to Jesus now point men to the devil. Won’t there be counterfeit signs and wonders in the last days? Yes, there will be the counterfeit but there will also be the authentic. Those with the Spirit of Christ who ask the Spirit to lead them into all truth will know the difference.
As Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them.” If miracles draw people to Jesus, promote righteousness, heal broken hearts and set captives free, they are from God by every biblical standard. Those who deny that God still works in power and miracles will simply forfeit the field to the enemy. People hunger for the miraculous because they hunger for heaven where the miracles of God flood the atmosphere.
When a holy church operates in the true power of God for healing and freedom, then there is a standard against which the counterfeit signs and wonders of the enemy can be measured. Without that, he will be fielding the only team. The church must seek the gifts but seek the giver even more. Signs are important but point to a greater reality and although signs may be misread, it’s hard to find the interstate without them. Be blessed.
