The Messiah and His Miracles (Continued)

A FINAL SUMMARY

We conclude our examination of the attesting miracles, performed by Jesus of Nazareth to authenticae His Messianic claim, by asking our original questions once again.

Did the Jewish nation have any expectation of a Messiah at the beginning of the Christian era? Some historical indicators suggest there was such anticipation, at least among some of the population of Israel. The Baptist’s ministry mightily increased this anticipation.

Did Jesus claim to be the promised Messiah? Yes! His claim to be the fulfilment of the Messianic promise of Isaiah 61 would be enough, but repeatedly through His ministry, He called for people to accept Him as such, with dire consequences if they did not. He said, “ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins”.

Did Jesus of Nazareth claim to be God incarnate? Yes He did, both obliquely and directly. This claim was the most difficult for the Sanhedrists to evaluate. Rejection of this claim allowed them to justify to the public their complicity in the execution of Jesus.

What evidence was the Messiah expected to provide to support His claim? The attesting signs were familiar to the students of the T’nach arising from those identified as attesting signs for the great Jewish prophet and deliverer Moses.

Did Jesus of Nazareth provide that evidence to support His Messianic claim? Yes! His ministry is peppered with attesting miracles, especially the healing of leprosy (in one recorded instance ten lepers healed at the same time), and the casting out of demons in large numbers. The quantity and quality of healings and exorcisms testified that heaven was in harmony with the miraculous ministry of Christ. “The works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me”.

How did the nation’s leaders investigate His claims? They followed accepted procedures. First investigating, then interrogating and finally deciding. So striking was the ministry of Jesus that the Sanhedrists were compelled to spend many man-hours checking, debating and evaluating the claim of the prophet from Nazareth.



What was the decision of the nation’s leaders? How did the Jews react to His claims? The leaders rejected them, and led the bulk of the population to reject them also. The Scribes and Pharisees rejected the Messiah because He exposed their hypocrisy, and opposed both their commitment to the oral law, and their position as interpreters of the law. The Sadducees rejected Him because He opposed both their doctrine and their hypocrisy. He opposed their doctrine because it was weak and limited, being based on the Pentateuch alone. He exposed the hypocrisy of the many Sadducean priests who gave lip service to holiness by following the rules of purity imposed by the Pentateuch, while being corrupt, running the Temple as their own personal moneymaking monopoly. The rejection of the Messiah was summarised, “light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil”.

What was the response of Jesus to their decision? He rejected that generation of Israel. The nation contemporary with the coming of their Messiah, as a unit, lost the opportunity to be a part of the Messianic kingdom. He postponed the Messianic kingdom until a repentant Jewish nation would call for His return. Individual Jews could repen

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t and be saved but the nation’s leaders had wasted the national opportunity.

What happened next? The sign of the prophet Jonah. The first part of the sign was the death of the Messiah (blood on the ground). The second part was His burial, His descent into Hades. The third part of the sign was His resurrection. The highest exaltation followed the humiliation of Messiah.



 And then? From the throne of God, the Christ of God sent the Spirit of God, to equip and guide the Church. The commissioned apostles of the Messiah went everywhere preaching His gospel, a gospel of a crucified, resurrected and exalted Messiah, they too providing attesting and authenticating signs.