Monthly Archives: January 2012

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

The Miracles of Jesus (continued; part viii)

In the last several posts we have seen that the Master as well as His disciples were able to heal the sick and cure the afflicted and they did so with predictability and confidence. This is unlike the happenings in the days since the Master left our presence where healings are done but there is not predictability; the healer does not know when and if his efforts will be a success. This should tell us something regarding the Master’s words from our four points which we will list here again today:

1. “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:23).
2. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do ; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12).
3. “All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (Matthew 11:27).
4. “…for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove ; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20).

Looking at the first point here we see the idea of  “shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe” as a criteria for being able to perform what we have come to call miracles. The Master sent out His disciples to heal and to cure and, according to the scriptures, they were able to do so. Can we see in this the playing out of doubting nothing and believing insofar as the ability to heal and cure; can we see that this too, the ability to use that power from God, can work in degree as we have seen of so much else in His wondrous creation. These men, His disciples, may not have been able to move the mountain, but they were able to heal and to cure. In the last few posts we can see in Peter this ability plus the larger ability to heal and cure en masse as the Master did; those in Peter’s proximity were healed by the same certainty and KNOWING with which others could heal individually. Could Peter move the mountain? we do not know but we know that the degree of his power was great enough to do this en masse healing and to even raise the dead. Our point here is that in the Master’s words above we should not see a hard and fast line but a general principal that says that with the ultimate KNOWING, believing without doubt, the mountain can be moved but in the stages of KNOWING smaller feats are possible. There is a popular Christian concept, in the Prosperity Teachings of part of the church, which says this in more material terms like in the idea that one should not be believing for mansion if one’s faith will only support a house trailer. This is only intended an example of a concept which is founded in the same idea that we have above which is that there are varying degrees along an infinite range insofar as one’s ability to have Faith, to believe and doubt not, to KNOW. We should remember also here that the idea of believing and Faith, if it is not to a certainty and without doubt, is just a hope and a dream.

We will look today at what is considered the next step from healing and that is the raising of the dead. This may not be of greater moment than the en masse healing of the Master and of Peter as this remains on an individual level but we can see it as the ultimate in healing acts as it not only brings the Life back to the form but it does so in a way that we must presume has healed the person of what caused his demise. Aside from Jesus’ own resurrection which should be counted differently and of a totally different nature, there are eight instances of raising the dead in the combined bible. Three in the Old Testament, three in the New Testament and two in the Book of Acts. Let us look briefly at these starting with the Old Testament in which we should see that there is no teaching on Faith and on believing as we find them in the New Testament but that the prophets involved did, in two of the three instances, show the confidence to accomplish the act. The three Old Testament revivals are:

• The first is by the Prophet Elijah who we know in the New Testament as Elias. “And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth” (1 Kings 17:17-23). We see that this appears to work out differently than in Jesus’ time and we should also see that before Elijah took the dead child that he KNEW, either as a prophetic message or by Faith, that he could raise him.
• The second is by the Prophet Elisha who takes Elijah’s place as the prophet of the day. “And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD. And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son” (2 Kings 4:32-36). Here, as we see above, is a sense of ritual and of prayer but again we also find there is a confidence to do it.
• This last Old Testament resurrection is of a sort that is much different and really unexplainable except to say that is is by the power of God and His purpose. “And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet” (2 Kings 13:20-21). Little can be said here; we do not know the identity of the man nor what happens to him next.

These are the three occurrences of the raising of the dead as they appear in the Old Testament. The first two are purposeful and directed and we must assume that the healers here had the Faith and the belief to do them and that, in their understanding and belief, the prayer and the rituals were a necessary part. Now we must also know that the Jews knew about these as they are written in their sacred books as the works of the prophets and were taught in the synagogues in Jesus’ day which we know from Jesus’ reading of Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth. The Jews knew this as the work of God through the prophets. Here then is the text of the three times that the Master raised one from the dead according to the chronology that we are using¹⁰.

• “Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying , That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people” (Luke 7:12-16).
• In this next one the Master is asked by Jairus to come to heal his sick daughter and Jesus agrees but is delayed by the crowds and the healing of the woman who touches His garment; then: “While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead , but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat. And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done” Luke (8:49-56).
• This episode with Lazarus, by far the best known of Jesus’ miracles of raising the dead, is lengthy and we will skip the parts that do not apply to our theme: “Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again……..and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. Then when Jesus came , he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem…..Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died……Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again……Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see……Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go” (John 11:3-45).

In the Old Testament the acts of Elijah and Elisha were motivated by a closeness to the dead boys. In the story of Elijah we find that the Lord sent him to this boy’s mother who was to become his source of food and shelter during the drought and famine and this through the miracle which continually replenished the meal and the oil. With Elisha we find that the boys mother, the Shunammite woman, was barren and her husband old and that through the pronouncement of Elisha, the woman had a son. This woman, knowing that Elisha was a man of God had kept a room for him so that whenever he passed he would stay with her and her husband. This bond remained, and when the child became ill years later she went out and found the prophet to help. In the New Testament we have no such relationships except that we are told that the Master knew Lazarus and this presumably because of His knowing of Mary and her sister. In the case of the dead young boy there is not even a request to help; that the Lord had compassion on the mother is the only motivation. We can see here in this story how the people related this act by Jesus to those acts of the prophets. With Jairus daughter, the Master apparently does not know her nor her parents but agrees to go to heal her. We see in the story the thought that all laughed at and mocked the Master when He tells them gathered at the house that the girl is just asleep. This happens even after the raising of the boy at Nain had given Jesus some degree of notoriety by which He was likely asked to come to heal the girl. In the first instance neither the people nor His disciples know that Jesus will nor  do they expect Him to raise the boy; in the second, there is His notoriety and they likely know that Jesus can do this but they do not believe nor do they see His meaning in saying that “she is not dead , but sleepeth”. In Lazarus we have a very different dynamic at work. Upon hearing of Lazarus illness the Master replies that “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby” which saying is not likely understood by many present at all. The Master then takes His time, staying two more days where He was and then going into Judea. He finally gets to where Lazarus is four days after his death. Now we do not know how long the Master tarried nor is there a clear understanding of where Bethany was in that day nor even which Bethany is meant. It may have taken more than the six days that are here accounted for. But this does not matter; the idea is clear and that is that the Master intentionally delayed His journey to a point where the man Lazarus is dead four days and then brings him back to Life. What is the Master’s intention we can only guess and except for  Jesus telling us that all was for “the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby“, He does not say. We do know, that the way that this played out in that day has made this raising of the dead the best known by the majority of Christians and it says to us all that in the hours or the days that pass, it does not matter, that the body is merely the residence of the Spirit for its time here on Earth.

As with healing and cures, there are reports of people being raised from the dead by today’s ministers and an internet search will reveal some. Most are the subject of disbelief and there likely are some frauds but in the reality of Life the raising of the dead and the instant cure should be seen in much the same light. We do not know that any specific incident of which we may hear or read is true but our focus should be here only on the possibility and in the same general terms that we have been discussing. The Master told us in point number two above that “greater works than these” can and will be done by those who believe on Him and here we should be reminded of just what that means: Vincent tells us that to believe on the Master is to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life⁴ . This plus our own simple understanding of to follow Him and to keep His words should give us the idea of the Master’s intent. We have said that in doing this we can come to that point of KNOWING and of believing and having no doubt and, as we see above, this can happen for us on a scale and by degree. It is however in this KNOWING that we can heal and cure and even raise the dead with intention and predictability as did the Master and the prophets of the Old Testament and not as most all of the modern day healers may do today.

We have said over the last few posts how the Master’s words became true in Peter’s life; that he became able to heal en masse. In the next post we will explore how Peter also came to that place where he could raise the dead with intention and we will look also at the Apostle Paul for he too did both of these things.

Note on the Quote of the Day