Jesus Uses Power

KEY VERSE: “Be not afraid, only believe.” —Mark 5:36

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Mark 4:37-41; 5:35-43

THE prophecies concerning Jesus, the Messiah, are full of statements that tell of the wonderful things he would do when he came. In fact, it was by these works that the nation of Israel was to be helped to recognize him and know that he was indeed the Messiah. One of these prophecies is found in Isaiah 42:7, which reads, “To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” We believe that here the prophet was looking forward to the kingdom when not only physical blindness will be cured, but the blindness of discernment imposed upon Israel because of disobedience. The promise of the release of the prisoners from the prison house of death refers to the resurrection of all who are in the graves (John 5:28,29), including, of course, the people of Israel. But the Jews, because of their blindness, believed that all these things would take place at the time of the advent of Messiah, including the establishing of the kingdom. It was, therefore, necessary that Jesus perform some of these wonderful works to prove that God had given him the power to do them, and to give a concrete illustration of the greater works to come in the kingdom.

Matthew 9:2-7 records the account of Jesus healing a man sick with the palsy. In addressing the sick man, Jesus said, “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” The scribes, who were witnesses to the miracle, were offended by the statement of Jesus that the man’s sins were forgiven, because according to the Law only God could forgive sins. But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 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 [emphasis ours], (then saith he to the sick of the palsy) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.” The point Jesus was illustrating was that because of Adamic condemnation, the world of mankind is in a sinful and fallen condition, both morally and physically. (Rom. 5:12) His words indicate that the man’s physical condition was simply an evidence of the fall, which Jesus has the power to remedy. This incident should have been a sign to all, that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

The two miracles recorded in our Selected Scripture texts were also for the purpose of providing evidence to those who had ears to hear and eyes to see, that Jesus was indeed the long-promised Messiah. One of the great works he did was to resurrect the dead, as in the account recorded in Mark 5:35-43, where Jesus raised the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue. When Jesus arrived at the home, he said, “Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.” And those who heard him laughed him to scorn. The point Jesus was making was that in due time all who are in their graves will hear the voice of the Son of man and come forth to an opportunity for life in the kingdom. So, in reality, the damsel, and, for that matter, the whole world of mankind are in a condition resembling sleep, waiting to be awakened in the resurrection. Jesus only temporarily raised the girl from the dead, because we know that eventually she died again and continues in death until the resurrection in the kingdom.

When John the Baptist was in prison, he sent word to Jesus, asking, “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” (Matt. 11:3) John, like the majority of Jews, expected that when the Messiah came all the promises concerning him would come to pass immediately. He did not understand that the complete fulfillment of the promises and the establishment of the kingdom was to be in the future. Jesus assured John that he was indeed the Messiah, by saying to the messengers, “Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” (Matt. 11:4-6) These demonstrations of God’s power operating through Jesus were apparently proof to John that Jesus was the Messiah.

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