MESSIANIC MIRACLES
Though Jesus performed miracles at the house of Simon Peter, his messianic miracles made him more popular than others. Before the birth of Christ, the ancient rabbis classified miracles into two categories. The first was miracles anyone powered by the Holy Spirit could perform. The other category was the miracles that only the messiah could do. They called them the messianic miracles. Jesus performed both general and three messianic miracles that made the chief priests of the time worried about Jesus.
The messianic miracles are from Isaiah 35:5-6. “Then the eyes of the blind shall see, and the ears of the deaf be opened; Then the lame shall leap like a stag, and the mute tongue sing for joy.” One of the messianic miracles that Jesus performed was healing of the Jewish leper (Mk 1:40-45) fulfilling the prophesy that the lame shall leap like a stag.
Though the Bible gave instructions on inspecting a healed leper by the priests, they never had to do it because there was no healing of Jewish lepers since the completion of Torah. So, Jesus healing the leper was a sign that the messiah had arrived. So, people rushed to see Jesus to observe his actions and to listen his teachings. That was the first step to find out if the person was the Messiah or not. However, the approval of the Messiah had to come from the Sanhedrin after a stage of observation and a second stage of interrogation. Jesus had undergone both. However, Sanhedrin did not approve of him as their messiah.
The second messianic miracle of Jesus was the exorcism of a mute demon (Mt 12:22-32). That was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy that “the mute tongue sing for joy.” Though some Jewish leaders also could do exorcism, they could not do it for mute demons because the exorcist could not communicate with the mute as part of the procedure for exorcism. However, Jesus could exorcise even the mute demon with his command. For that reason, “All the crowd was astounded, and said, ‘Could this perhaps be the Son of David?’” (Mk 12:23). They understood the miracle was not general but a messianic one.
The third messianic miracle of Jesus was the healing of a man born blind (Jn 9:1-38). This was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy that “the eyes of the blind shall see” (Isa 35:5). Healing a person born blind differed from healing a person who became blind later in life.
The first messianic miracle led to the investigation of the messiahship of Jesus, the second messianic miracle led to the conclusion of the Jewish leaders that he was not the Messiah but was demon possessed. And the third one led to the decision that anyone believed in Jesus would face excommunication.
REFLECTION
Besides the messianic miracles, outstanding other miracles like raising Lazarus on the fourth day after his burial the resurrection of Jesus on the fourth day also happened. Those who were open-minded could accept Jesus as their Messiah. Depending upon our disposition, we will receive or reject the faith and its benefits.