Title: Why Did Jesus Perform Miracles?
Content When we think of Heavenly Father and Jesus, it is easy to think that Heavenly Father is strict and Jesus is merciful. God punishes our sins, but Jesus forgives our sins. Catholics go one step further, thinking that Jesus is strict but the Virgin Mary is merciful. So I pray to Mary. It is not entirely without a biblical basis for their doing so. In the Gospel of John, when the wine ran out at the wedding feast in Cana, people did not tell Jesus about it, but told Mary. Mary tells Jesus the truth, and Jesus hears the request and turns the water into wine. It is difficult to tell Jesus directly, so we intend to ask for help indirectly through Mary.
However, all these thoughts are based on misunderstandings. God is strict and Jesus is not merciful. Being strict is the same as God and Jesus, and being merciful is the same as God and Jesus. Heavenly Father and Jesus were not divided. In John 10:30 he said, “I and the Father are one.” The word one means one accord. He said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father” and “The words I tell you do not speak on my own, but the Father is in me and is doing his work.”
We often think that a person's actions and his character are separate things. It is often thought that a person's outward behavior and his inner character are two separate issues. That the child is good at studies but not a good person, that the child is good-looking but has a bad personality, or that person overdoes it to show people better, it doesn't necessarily mean that the behavior that is revealed does not necessarily show the person's character. A lot of time to think. Mozart said, 'When I point my finger at the moon, do not look at my finger, but at the moon at which I point. I'm an ugly person, but my music isn't ugly.' How many great pieces of music did he write?
But the truth is that Mozart was a frivolous and obscene man. You can see it in the movie Amadeus. In fact, the film is not a film about Mozart, but rather a film developed from the perspective of Salieri looking at Mozart. In the film, Salieri cannot reconcile Mozart, who was known as a genius musician at the time, with the human Mozart he can see and the music that comes out of him. Mozart, a human being reflected in his eyes, is a very frivolous, rude, and arrogant person, and he is thinking about how the music like an angel and heaven can flow out of him. But that is the human form. Many people in the world do. Knowing that, people try to hide behind their achievements, behind their talents, behind their possessions. I try to make it represent myself, not reveal my true self.
But that was not the case with Jesus. In the case of Jesus, what Jesus is doing testifies to who He is and who He is. Therefore, Jesus performed miracles not to show off His power, but to prove who He is and who He is. For this reason, miracles and wonders were inevitable for Jesus. That was the character of Jesus and an extension of Jesus. The essence of Jesus is evidenced through the works of Jesus. When John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus and asked, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we waiting for someone else?” Jesus did not give a lengthy explanation but said, “Go and tell John what you hear and see, but the blind see and the lame Walk, and the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the gospel is preached to the poor.” In other words, these deeds that Jesus performed testify that Jesus is the Messiah. Therefore, to know who Jesus is, we have to look at the works of Jesus.
Theologians like Bultmann did not believe in the miracles of Jesus. Said it was a myth. So, in order to find the true form of Jesus, he said that when he excluded all miracles, miracles, and healings, there was nothing left. The biblical accounts of miracles were not written for the purpose of packaging. That is Jesus. Without it, we cannot speak of Jesus. Jesus has strength and power. However, he did not perform miracles to show off his power. The miracles of Jesus came from the disposition of Jesus, the heart of Jesus, and the essence of Jesus.
If you look at verse 41 of today's text, "Jesus was embarrassed, and he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying," It was from Jesus' embarrassment that this leper was able to be cleansed. Miracles are an extension of Jesus' love and compassion. Isn't it said that human love has power too? Then, how powerful is God's love? To say that Jesus was pitiful means that God the Father was pitiful. Because Jesus and God are one. Jesus’ love is God’s love, Jesus’ wrath is God’s wrath, and Jesus’ pain is God’s pain. Therefore, to say that Jesus is grieved means that God is grieved. That's where the power comes in.
In order to experience God's power like this today, we need to let God's love flow through us. We should not think of healing the sick, prophesying, or experiencing spiritual powers as separate things, nor should we think of gifts and fruits as separate things. When the heart of God works through us, the power is revealed. When God's mercy is within us, power can be manifested, but it cannot be said that God's work is the work of God, not knowing God's mercy, not realizing God's love, and exercising His powers and gifts. Therefore, there is a heart that has compassion for the sick and compassion for the poor, and from there, in a natural extension, we serve, pray, prayers are answered, and these things become possible. Hallelujah!
The leper asks Jesus, “If you will, you can make me clean.” This leper knows that Jesus has the power to cleanse himself. What he wants to ask is, do you want Jesus? I am convinced of the power of Jesus, but I do not yet know the will of Jesus. “If you will, you can make me clean.” Isn't this a question we all ask? We know and believe that God is omnipotent and omnipotent. However, our troubles stem from not knowing whether God will use that power in our specific circumstances. We start by asking that fact when we pray.
‘What does God want in this situation?’
‘What will God do?’
‘What do you want from me?’
‘What do you want me to do?’
‘Where is the will of God here?’
This is what we want to know. You have to ask God about it, as this leper did.
How did Jesus answer? “I want to, be cleansed.” “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Faith comes from knowing the will of Jesus that I want, and that faith is In history, amazing things can happen. Why do we focus on prayer, and why do we struggle to hear the voice of God? Sometimes they struggle to hear a word. The reason we fast, kneel, bow our heads and wait is to get the word that comes out of the mouth of God. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” However, even if we hear all the words later, we want to hear even one word now, even one word we need now. It is because we know that one word can save our souls, raise our faith, and that God can work according to that faith.
Why don't we try to skip worship, stop praying, and turn away from God's Word? The reason is that it is better to listen to God's word than to say ten thousand words. Hallelujah! Even ten thousand words of people's words cannot save me and cannot guarantee my destiny. Therefore, what we fear the most is the silence of God. Nothing hurts us like that. Why is God silent to me? But when God is silent, we have to knock.
‘Speak, O God.’
‘How long, O God?’
‘Arise, O God.’
If we wait, as Elijah waits under the rodem tree, God will answer him as he spoke in a small voice. God's small voice, even a single word is enough. "Just say the word, and my servant will be healed."
The name of a church I saw in America was 'Speak Only Church.' I really thought that it was the name of the church where prayers were answered. Just the name of the church, ‘Speak the word Church,’ gave me grace, and that is the content of our prayer. 「Say the word, and my servant will be healed.」