Sunday, June 7, 2009

Miracles Of Jesus In The Gospels- Bible Study- 12

Miracles Of Jesus In The Gospels- Bible Study- 12

Narrated In 1 Gospel

Gospel Of Luke

When Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, should we strike with our swords?" And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, "No more of this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him.(Luke 22:49-51)


The situation is quite tense here. The pharisees, chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders have come to arrest Jesus. The disciples are enraged that their teacher and master will be harmed by this mob, so they get into action first without waiting for Jesus to give them permission. They asked, "Lord, should we strike with our swords?" but did not wait for Jesus to answer.

We read this same event from the book of John where Peter is named as the one cutting off the high priest's servant's ear.
"Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?" (John 18:10,11) John the Apostle doesn't mention Jesus healing the man but Luke does.

John also writes that Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?" meaning that all this was happening according to his Father's will.

Peter was known for his rash attitude and here he displays it again. He must have done it because of his love for his master but he yet had to learn about 'agape love' which was his master's greatest virtue.

Later on standing before Pilate Jesus also stated:
"My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:36)

Jesus displayed his compassion here yet again by touching the hurt man's ear and healing him. That must have surprised many starting with his own disciples. Even some who had come to arrest him that day must have realized the kind heart that Jesus had. Though they were mad with rage regarding Jesus and did what they had planned to do, they must have thought about the event later on. Think about Malchus; we don't know the rest of his story but he must have had a testimony to tell his family and friends.

Jesus fulfilled what the psalmist said in Psalms 103:
"The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love." (Psalm 103:8)
Dr.Johnson Cherian M.D.PhD.
E.mail/PM me with your prayer requests/comments.
johnson3570@gmail.com
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  • Monday, May 4, 2009

    Miracles Of Jesus In The Gospels- Bible Study- 11

    Miracles Of Jesus In The Gospels- Bible Study- 11

    Narrated In 1 Gospel

    Gospel Of Luke

    Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him - and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." (Luke 17:11-19)


    Leprosy is an infectious disease derived from the French work "leper" and from the Greek word "lepros" which means scaly, referring to the scales that form on the skin in some cases of leprosy. It corresponds in the main with the disease which is fully described in Leviticus 13:14. The ancient leprosy, in its more severe form, is to be regarded as a judgment from God, Deuteronomy 24:8.

    Jews considered this disease as unclean and infectious; and also as being a punishment from Jehovah, as we know it to have been in the cases of Miriam (Numbers 12:10), Gehazi (2 Kings 5:27), and Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:16-23). The suffered was commended to the priest and was separated from many of the privileges of society. 6 commands were given concerning a leper. He should rend his clothes, he should go with his head bare, he should put a covering on his upper lip, he should cry, “Unclean, Unclean” when he came near other people, he should be considered unclean all the days of his plague and he should stay segregated from clean and healthy people all the days of his plague. (Leviticus 13) To all others, lepers were sinners who deserved the death penalty.

    Lepers associated chiefly with each other as we read in 2 Kings 7:8.and so it was in this case too. 10 of them met Jesus as he travelled between Samaria and Galilee. They stood far away and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"When Jesus saw them, he just said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."

    Luke doesn’t write of any of them asking or pleading with Jesus anymore. They just believed his words, obeyed and went. We need to see from the Word of God why a leper went to the priest. These 10 were already known as lepers to all so they were being sent to the priests who were given the rights to declare such a person clean and free from the disease. Leviticus 14 describes in detail the ceremonial cleansing for flesh leprosy for the rich and the poor. Jesus wanted the priests to declare them whole and thus give testimony to God’s power.

    3 things stand out as we read this passage from the gospel of Luke. Firstly, faith in the words of Jesus, secondly, obedience to his words and finally gratitude. All the 10 lepers believed the words of Jesus and obeyed his command to go and show themselves to the priests. Luke writes, “And as they went, they were cleansed.”The healing was effected as they went. Faith in the promises of God and obedience to the Word of God is of paramount importance as we live the Christian life. And so is gratitude.

    All the 10 were healed, yet only one of them, a Samaritan came back to Jesus to express his gratitude. He was thankful to God for the healing that he had received. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. Jesus, though he knew everything, asked a question to those following him, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"

    Many seek the Lord for bodily healing and material benefits, but when their purpose is solved they rarely come back to thank the Lord or take up the cross and follow him. Getting a bodily healing or experiencing a miracle does not guarantee eternal life in heaven. Believing in the atoning work of Jesus on the cross and living for him, obeying the Word of God is the only way to salvation.

    Faith in the words of Jesus had brought this Samaritan leper his healing and Jesus affirmed that by telling him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

    Miracles Of Jesus In The Gospels- Bible Study- 10

    Miracles Of Jesus In The Gospels- Bible Study- 10

    Narrated In 1 Gospel

    Gospel Of Luke

    One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away. Then he asked them, "If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?" And they had nothing to say. (Luke 14:1-6)


    The confrontations with the rich, learned and powerful continued unabated in the 3 1/2 years of Jesus’ ministry. He was always watched carefully so that he might be caught in something that he said or something that he did. He spoke wisely so they could never catch him in his words. Finally they resorted to false testimony. But he knew that no one could do anything to him before it was his time so he continued his work with zeal and unmatched success.

    Here was another occasion where the religious rulers, the experts in the law were eagerly waiting to accuse. Instead the tables were turned on them by his words and deeds. Whether the man suffering from dropsy was bait laid before him we wouldn’t know for sure but Jesus was up to the challenge anyway.

    Here again we do not see Jesus looking for faith (for healing) in the sick man. He had dealt similarly with the woman bound by a spirit of infirmity for 18 years. He was here to prove a point; that God is compassion and love personified and one who cares for the afflicted, performing beyond the boundaries of laws and regulation which he has set.

    He had been healing many on the Sabbath and again he chose a Sabbath here to heal this man. He posed a question before his critics: "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" Strangely the Pharisees and experts in the law present there did not choose to argue or debate; perhaps knowing that it was an exercise in futility, because he was going to heal anyway.

    The man in question here was suffering from Dropsy. Dropsy is an accumulation of watery fluid in the cellular tissues or in any of the cavities of the body, as the chest or abdomen, and may be due to disease of the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, or peritoneum. Whatever the cause, here was a man with generalized swelling; he must have been quite out of shape, but for Jesus, it was no major task. When someone is healed of a major debilitating illness or of a sickness which has no treatment, it is a MIRACLE to them and those who witness it, but for God it’s simple. He doesn’t have to work hard or put in extra effort. For him, it’s just “SAID & DONE”. So Jesus just took hold of the man, healed him and sent him away. All in a flash. He then faced his critics and asked, “"If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?"

    There wouldn’t have been 2 answers to that question, so again everyone kept quiet. Jesus had proved to them again that God was good and intended to do good to those who suffered, be it the Sabbath or not. He thus silenced his critics time and again by his miraculous works.

    Miracles Of Jesus In The Gospels- Bible Study- 9

    Miracles Of Jesus In The Gospels- Bible Study- 9

    Narrated In 1 Gospel

    Gospel Of Luke

    On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath." The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?" When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing. (Luke 13:10-17)

    “Crippled for 18 years” is usually what physicians of this era will call a “cold case” meaning “a patient for whom nothing can be done medically or surgically”. Well; they or their knowledge are not at fault at all, because here the cause is a spirit or evil spirit to be specific and not some disease. The KJV puts it like this: “And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. (Luke 13:11)”. A spirit of infirmity…that was the cause of her being bent and bowed.

    There are many even now who spend much finances over such maladies and no cure comes from it because the cause is a “spirit of infirmity”. Spirits of infirmities do not respond to medicines. They have to be dealt with as Jesus or the apostles dealt with them. Sadly there are few who believe such things or have the power to do such things. Jesus said,” And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; (Mark 16:17)

    We also read, “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it. (Mark 16:20)”But then, some say this was not originally part of Mark 16 and so it is an addition. Whatever it be those who preach with the Lord’s power and those who experience deliverance through it, know and attest to the truth.

    So here was Jesus, teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath and the woman afflicted by a spirit of infirmity happened to be there too. What a coincidence, some may say. No coincidences in God’s book, only appointments. Was she a regular? 18 years of sickness would make many believers stop going to church. Nothing to blame them, for we all know how difficult it is to worship when we are sick. Her problem was even more distressing. She was crippled and could not lift herself up. Perhaps the Sabbath worship was her sole hope in life to be comforted in her sufferings. Whatever it be, this was her day of deliverance, come what may, because Heaven had already said “YES”.

    Things happened much too quickly for everyone including the lady & the synagogue ruler to grasp what was going on. Jesus did not seek permission but just did what the Father instructed him to do. Luke writes, “When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.”

    That must have been audacious. In a flash, here was something spectacular happening. Imagine Jesus calling her forward, speaking to her, laying his hands on her, setting her free, she straightening up and praising God. All in a matter of a few moments. No long sermon, no stirring up of the faith. Just saying, “I have seen your suffering and I release you, here and now.”Heavenly power unleashed!!

    Jesus created quite a ruckus that day. He knew that not all would be pleased but he had to do the father’s will. And immediately there was opposition. Luke writes, “Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” Meaning, I do not approve of such stuff, whether someone’s long standing distress is alleviated or not.”Sometimes believers become hard hearted not wanting to know the Father’s heart. And on this occasion Jesus did not back out but gave a hard hitting reply. He said, “"You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?"

    Truly many sheep are kept bound by Satan and not released because some shepherds do not believe that deliverance from Satan matches their doctrines. God help them. Hypocrisy was dealt with very strongly by Jesus and the people understood. They believed the miracles that they saw and they believed the words of wisdom that flowed out of Jesus’ mouth. Luke ends the miracle by writing, “When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.”

    The Bible says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. (1 John 3:8b)” How very true.