The Messiah and His Miracles (Chapter 5)

Authenticating Miracles in JOHN’S GOSPEL

Setting the Scene

The Prologue

John wrote his gospel after Matthew, Mark and Luke had completed theirs.  The subject of His book is “Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God”.[1]  He begins with a prologue explaining the person and work of the Messiah, and initially calls Him “the Word”, “o λόγος”:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”[2].

Because the gospel was written in Greek, some commentators use the Greek philosophical definition of ‘logos’, that it is ‘reason and speech’, modifying it only slightly, to explain John’s use of the word.  Nevertheless, John is no Greek philosopher, yet he did speak Aramaic (the main language in Israel at that time) and knew of the Aramaic paraphrases of the Hebrew Scriptures that were in use in synagogues, before, during, and after, the time of the Messiah.  The synagogues employed these paraphrases, called Targums, because many of the common people could not understand Hebrew.  The normal practice was to read a verse from the Torah in Hebrew, and then the official translator known as the Turgeman (or Meturgeman), would give the Aramaic rendering.  The Aramaic paraphrase would contain more than just the translation – it would sometimes carry a measure of amplification. The popularity of the Aramaic versions is indicated by the Rabbinic imperative to review the weekly Torah section twice from the Biblical text and once from the Targum.[3]

In the Targums, the ‘Memra’ of YHWH is substituted for YHWH

(i)         where YHWH is anthropomorphisised, or

(ii)      where two or more YHWHs seem to be indicated by the text,

(iii)      where the immanent aspect of God is indicated, i.e. to connote the manifestation on earth and among men of several aspects of divine power such as goodness, wisdom, justice.  The Memra is “the intersection between God’s response to Israel and Israel’s to God.”[4]

Examples include: “And Abraham worshipped and prayed in the name of the Memra of YHWH, and said, ‘You are YHWH who does see, but You cannot be seen’”.[5]  Here, two YHWHs are apparent.  Abraham prayed in the name of the Memra of YHWH but is praying to the YHWH who cannot be seen.  

As indicated, the Targums not only paraphrased the Hebrew T’nach but also included some commentary that reflected the views of the Rabbis.  John, familiar with the Targums, was also familiar with their theology of the ‘Memra’.  Therefore, it is feasible that the Greek title ‘Logos’ in John’s gospel is meant to convey the Aramaic ‘Memra’.  The Rabbis said seven things in respect of the Memra of God.

The Memra is the same as God,

reigning supreme upon the Almighty’s throne: “For what people so great, to whom the Lord is so high in the Name of the Memra of the Lord?  … the Memra of the Lord sits upon His throne high and lifted up, and hears our prayers what time we pray before Him and make our petitions.”[6] Again, Genesis 28.20,21: “And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If the Memra of YHWH will be my support, and will keep me in the way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Memra of YHWH be my God”.  Here, Jacob, Patriarch of Israel, worshipped the Memra as God. Then again, “the Memra of the Lord created man in His likeness, in the likeness of the presence of the Lord He created him, the male and his yoke-fellow He created them.”[7]  John echoed this in his prologue and said, “the Word was God”.[8]   The deity of Jesus is a major theme of his gospel.

The Memra is Distinct from God.  

For example, in Genesis 19.4, the T’nach says, “And YHWH rained brimstone and fire upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah, from YHWH, from the heavens”.  In Hebrew, the grammar indicates that one YHWH rains fire from another YHWH, so the Targum Jonathan reads, “And the Memra (Word) of the YHWH caused to descend upon the peoples of Sodom and Gommorah, brimstone and fire from the YHWH in heaven”.  John, while saying Jesus Messiah is the same as God also says He is distinct from God. “The Word was with God”.[9]

The Memra is the Agent of Creation. 

“By the Memra of YHWH were the heavens made; and all the hosts of them by the Spirit of his mouth” (Psalm 33.6) “From the beginning with wisdom the Memra of the Lord created and perfected the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1.1)  It was used in the Aramaic translation of the Old Testament. There is an example in Isaiah 45:12: “I have made the earth, and created man upon it.” In the Aramaic it is, “I, by my word (Memra), have made ….” Then again, Isaiah 48:13: “Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth.” In the Aramaic it reads, “By my word (Memra) I have founded the earth.”   John says of Jesus, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”[10] Again, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.”[11]

The Memra is the agent of revelation. 

Moses wrote, “The Memra of the Lord came to Abram in a vision saying…”[12] On this occasion the Memra declared, “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”  Abram’s response was to ask for an heir, so he is given further revelation.  “The Memra of the Lord came to him saying ….”[13]  This further revelation was to promise a son through whom would come a great nation.  The New King James Bible translates verse 6, “And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness”, whereas the Targum Onkelos reads,  “And Abraham trusted in the Memra of YHWH, and He counted it to him for righteousness”.[14]   John wrote, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”[15] In John’s writings Jesus (the Memra) is the agent of revelation, described in terms of light and truth. He is, “the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man”.[16]

The Memra is the Agent of Salvation.  

In the section in Exodus where God has come down to deliver, the Jerusalem Targum adds to the aspect of creation by the Memra this aspect of salvation by the Memra.  “And the Memra of YHWH said to Moses, I am He who said unto the world ‘Be!’ and it was: and who in the future shall say to it ‘Be!’ and it shall be. And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘I AM’ has sent me to you.”[17] Note that the Memra is the “I AM” of Exodus, which is of particular significance to John.  Then again, verses in the prophets speak of salvation, for example, “Israel shall be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation”.[18] The Targum Jonathan puts it, “Israel will be redeemed by the Memra of God, an everlasting redemption”. Again, “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other”,[19] which the Targum puts, “Turn to my Memra all dwellers on earth.  I am the LORD, there is no other”.  In Hosea, “I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Memra of YHWH, their God”.[20]  John says of Jesus, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name”.[21]

The Memra is the means by which God became visible - the Shekinah. 

The Shekinah is the visible manifestation of the presence of God by light, fire or cloud (or a combination of any or all). For example, at the burning bush, “the Memra of YHWH” spoke to Moses. Another example would be, “when the ark came to a stop the cloud surrounded them  ... And Moses stood in prayer and asked mercy from God and said, Do good to us as the Memra of God with your mercy for thy nation of Israel.  And blessed is the Shekinah among them …”[22]  John said, “the Word (Memra) was made flesh, and dwelt (tabernacled) (Shekinah’d) among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”[23]

The Memra is the Mediator of the covenants of the T’nach.

For example, Noah’s Covenant:  “And YHWH said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between My Memra and all flesh that is on the earth.”[24]  In addition, the Abrahamic Covenant: “I will establish My covenant between My Memra and you and your children after you, throughout their generations, as an eternal covenant to be God to you and to your children after you”[25].  The Rabbis taught that the Memra established the Mosaic covenant.  John says that the covenant of grace is similarly authorised: “For the law was given through Moses, (signed by the Shekinah) but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”.[26]

In summary, those that interpret ‘the Word’, mentioned in the prologue to John’s gospel, in terms of reason and speech, or debate the finer points of ‘logos’ and ‘rhema’ (simply because the gospel was written in the Greek language) miss the fact that Christianity was born in a Jewish context amidst Jewish teaching.   John was finding a way to demonstrate that the Memra, whom the Jewish nation accepted as God, obeyed as God, and worshipped as God, was Jesus of Nazareth, the rejected Messiah. He was, in fact, another and more perfect Shekinah manifestation, who came to inaugurate the promised New Covenant.

Jesus the Logos, the Memra, the Word, is: 1. Distinct from God; 2. The same as God; 3. The agent of creation; 4. The agent of revelation; 5. The agent of salvation; 6. A visible manifestation of God; and 7. Mediator of the New Covenant.

The prologue establishes each of these points:  

“In the beginning was the Word, and

the Word was with God, (that is, (1) distinct from God) and

the Word was God. (that is, (2) the same as God)

He was in the beginning with God.  (that is, (1) distinct from God)

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  (that is, (3) the agent of creation)

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. … That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.  (that is, (4) the agent of revelation)

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, (that is, (3) the agent of creation) and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (that is, (5) the agent of salvation)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth… (that is, (6) a visible manifestation of God)

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”[27] (that is, (7) mediator of the New Covenant)

While John began with a prologue explaining the person and work of Jesus, (the Word, the Memra, the Messiah), his final summary statement contains his reasons for selecting the miracles included in his gospel biography.   He wrote, “these miracles (signs) are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”[28] His record of the miracles were designed to illustrate what it was like to have the Memra of God, the divine agent of creation, revelation, and salvation walking among men as Messiah.

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[1] John 20.30,31

[2] John 1.1

[3] b.Ber.8a

[4] Bruce D. Chilton (Intro. To the Isaiah Targum): The Aramaic Bible – The Targums pub. By T & T Clark Ltd. Edinburgh

[5] Genesis 22.14, (Jerusalem Targum)

[6] Deut.4.7

[7] Gen.1.27 (Jerusalem Targum)

[8] John 1.1

[9] John 1.1

[10] John 1.3

[11] John 1.10

[12] Gen.15.1 (Targum Onquelos)

[13] Gen.15.4 (Targum Onqelos)

[14] Cf. Rom.4.3

[15] John 1.18

[16] John 1.9 (NASB)

[17] Exod.3.14 (Jerusalem Targum)

[18] Isaiah 45.17

[19] Isaiah 45.22

[20] Hosea 1.7 (Targum Jonathan)

[21] John 1.12

[22] Numb.10.36 (Targum Jonathan)

[23] John 1.14

[24] Gen.9.17 (Targum Onqelos)

[25] Gen.17.7 (Targum Onqelos)

[26] John 1.17

[27] John 1.1-18

[28] John 20.30,31

The Messiah and His Miracles

Other Attesting Signs (Continued)

Raising the Dead

Besides healing those who were almost dead, Jesus Messiah raised those who had died. The gospel narratives record the raising of the dead in general terms.  When the Messiah gave His disciples power to raise the dead[1], they reported back with the words, “the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them”.[2]

The gospel writers have also included a sample selection of this particular genre of miracle. The three synoptic writers recorded the ‘quickening’ of a young girl, the twelve-year-old daughter of Jairus, a synagogue ruler.[3] Luke adds an incident when Jesus stopped a funeral to raise a widow’s son.[4] In addition, John is famous for his narrative of the raising of Lazarus, beloved brother of Mary and Martha, who had been in the tomb four days. 

A comparison of the 3 miracles would show :

1. A daughter.   2.         A son.               3.        A brother.

1. Just died.       2.         Dead a day.       3.         Dead 4 days.

1. In the home.  2.         At the funeral.   3.         At the cemetery.

1. Raised from a bed. 2. Raised from a bier.  3. Raised from the tomb.

1. She ate           2.         He talked           3.         He walked.

Raising the dead was the most startling of all His miracles.  To give sight to the blind was wonderful, to loosen the limbs of the paralysed extraordinary, to cleanse a leper was amazing, to provide hearing for the deaf and speech for the dumb was remarkable, to give clarity of thought to the lunatic was astonishing, but when He raised the dead He did all these things at one time. To give life to a corpse, especially one who had been days in the grave, was astounding.  The cadaver is blind, deaf, dumb, paralysed, numb, unclean and without a thought in its head, all together. In giving them the essence of life he provided sight, speech, feeling, hearing, mobility and best of all a head full of thoughts, imaginations and aspirations – in other words, He caused them to live.

Nevertheless, it was still not the final answer, for each of these three died again, but they were tokens of an ultimate resurrection. Martha said, “I know that he (my brother Lazarus) will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”[5] The resurrection of which Martha spoke, is still future – then the dead will rise no more to die. Confidence in that respect is high, because Jesus raised the dead while incarnate on earth. The second fact that gives confidence is, Jesus also rose from the dead - rose to die no more – He is the firstfruits of those that died.[6] In Jesus we have the answer to the question Ezekiel raised in the giant graveyard, “can these bones live?”  Messiah’s answer is an unequivocal ‘Yes’.

When Jesus died He descended into Hades, and emptied that part where the Old Testament saints were resting, namely, that section of Hades called Abraham’s bosom or Paradise.  As a sign that this was accomplished the Messiah sent into Jerusalem many resurrected saints after His own resurrection.[7] It was the sign of the prophet Jonah multiplied many times.[8]

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[1] Matt.10.9

[2] Matt.11.5

[3] Matt.9.18 ff; Mark 5.21 ff; Luke 8.40 ff.

[4] Luke 7.11 ff

[5] John 11.24

[6] 1 Cor.15.20,23

[7] Matt.27.52

[8] See chapters 12-14

The Messiah and His Miracles

Chapter Four (Continued)

The Second Attesting Sign - Mastery over Leprosy

The healing of leprosy as a Messianic sign was of fundamental

importance to the Jewish people, because

(a)               it was a visual of the judgement of God on sin, and

(b)               it had been an attesting sign for Moses, and

(c)               the Law of Moses had a prescribed ritual for the atonement of a cleansed leper.

Remarkably, there is no record in the T’nach of any individual healed of the living death under the Mosaic Law. Some argue from the silence of Scripture that the priests never once performed the cleansing rite of Leviticus 14. If Jesus could heal leprosy, it could be the single most powerful evidence of His Messianic credentials.

The case of the leper was dire.  The isolation imposed on him not only took him out of any social contact with others, but also removed him from any support the Temple and its sacrifices might give.  Rabbinism confessed itself powerless in the presence of this living death.

If the first attesting sign (the healing of those demon possessed) is prominent in Luke 4, then the second attesting sign (the healing of leprosy) is prominent in Luke 5. “Behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean. Then He (Jesus) put out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed. Immediately the leprosy left him.”[1] It is significant that this first recorded case of leprosy treated by the Messiah was a person “full of leprosy”. The disease had such a hold that it had almost extinguished life.  It had run its course and had the decaying man firmly in its grip.  Since leprosy is called the ‘living death’ and is, according to the Mishnah, a “father of uncleanness”, and is listed next to “corpse uncleanness”,[2] how remarkable is the action of the Messiah, “He put out His hand and touched him”.[3]  The creeping death fled before the Lord of life.  The touch of “the resurrection and the life”[4] regenerated the dying body of the diseased man. Jesus instructed the leper to report to the priest, and offer those sacrifices that were required by the law.

The ministry to lepers does not have as much prominence in the gospels as the ministry of exorcisms. Nevertheless, there are those touches to show that it was an integral part of the overall mission of the Messiah.  When John sent to Jesus for confirmation of His Messiahship, the Messiah offered His miraculous ministry as proof.  Included in the catalogue of attesting signs was the ministry to lepers.  “Jesus answered and said to them, Go and tell John the things that you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”^[5]  Observe again that Jesus used the word ‘cleansed’ not healed.

The most prominent case is the incident when the Messiah, having been rejected, sends ten healed lepers to the Temple to demonstrate this Messianic sign in all its fullness.  The ten (a significant number) were healed together, healed from a distance and healed completely. This demonstrated to the Sanhedrin in no uncertain terms, that He was truly their Messiah and that they had made a terrible mistake.

Like the casting out of demons, Jesus also delegated this ministry to the apostles,[6] to offer further proof to the nation that He was truly Israel’s Messiah.

The Third Attesting sign – Water into Blood

In the case of Moses the first two attesting signs were performed immediately at the bush, but the third attesting sign was not used until he had travelled back to Egypt.  Similarly, in the ministry of the Messiah, the first two signs have early prominence, but the third sign does not feature until the conclusion of His ministry and life.  We need wait a little before examining the purpose of this third element of the attestation of the Messiah.  It will occupy our attention in chapter ten.

Other Attesting Signs

As Moses performed other miracles so too did Jesus.  His were performed, (i) for the population generally, (ii) for disciples and (iii) for individuals.  There was deliverance for those that were ‘bound by Satan’, the most prominent of which we will examine later.  But there are two groups of miracles that deserve special mention – the healing of those that were blind and the raising of the dead.  Light and life are the twin motifs of John’s gospel, and to support them there is the healing of the blind man and the raising of Lazarus.  In the synoptics the examples are multiplied.

Giving Sight to the Blind

As previously intimated, Jesus included the healing of the blind in His catalogue of miracles that was evidence of His Messiahship.[7] He also inserted the healing of the blind into the Messianic passage that He quoted from Isaiah 61.1,2. In Isaiah it reads: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord”.  Whereas Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord”.[8]

Multiple healings of the blind were among His Messianic signs. “Great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. So the multitude marvelled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel,”[9] and “Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.”[10]

Then there were specific healings that one or more of the synoptic writers recorded for us. They are:

Two blind men healed together, before the Messiah’s rejection. [11]

A blind, demon possessed man that was a Pharisaical test of His Messiahship.[12]

Two blind men healed together, after the Messiah’s rejection.[13]

A blind man healed in two stages.[14]

On most occasions, Jesus touched their eyes and they received sight. However, Mark recorded an incident when Jesus took a blind man to a location outside the centre of population and performed the miracle in two stages. The first stage brought light without clarity. A further touch of the Messiah completed the healing.  In some ways, it was an illustration of what was happening in the personal experience of many who heard Him.

Israel’s Messiah received great opposition from the ruling classes. Jesus called them thieves, robbers and fools. One of His most used epithets was ‘blind’. They were “blind leaders of the blind.”[15] “Woe to you, blind guides … fools and blind … fools and blind … blind guides … blind Pharisee”.[16] The Pharisees, protectors of the traditions of the elders, believed they had the most light. They were the ones to lead Israel into the good graces of God via the paths of Pharisaic righteousness.  Jesus Messiah advised the population not to follow them.  They were blind guides, living and walking in darkness, following a path that would lead to destruction.

As the “Bread of Life”, He fed the multitude with bread; as the “Resurrection and the Life” He raised the dead; but as the “Light of the World” He gave sight to the blind.  The individual healings chosen by the writers of the gospels not only demonstrated the compassion and ministry of the Messiah but were also object lessons of what was occurring in the spiritual realm.

The incarnate Son of God came to give Israel sight. He offered to open their spiritual eyes, to give them light, the light of God. If they received Him as Messiah, they would receive further illumination from the Word of God. He would lift the veil from their eyes.[17] Rabbinic teaching understood Messiah’s name to be ‘Light’. The light that illuminated the hills of Bethlehem at His birth, and seen as far away as Babylonia, was emblematic of the light He offered. He would provide them with light to illuminate, to enlighten, to educate and to guide - light for the mind and light for the spirit. The Messiah, who would sit on David’s throne in the Messianic kingdom, would be clothed in light as He was on the Mount of Transfiguration.[18]  Citizens in the Messianic kingdom would bask in that light.

But the leaders said they were not blind! They asserted they did not need their eyes to be opened – they could see very well. Therefore, Jesus left them in darkness! Their condemnation was that they loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.[19]

Others, that by faith asked for light, like the blind men that called upon the Son of David for healing - these were granted light.  For some, their early encounters with Jesus brought light without clarity. Like the blind man who was healed in two stages, they needed a second touch. Like the two on the road to Emmaus, whose saw Jesus but did not recognise Him, they needed further ministry.  Jews like Nicodemus, first saw Jesus as a teacher sent from God – but later came to full discernment of His Messianic office.

Perhaps the two stage healing was more pertinent to the two stage ministry of light to the nation.  The first touch was symbolic of the ministry of John the Baptist. He was a “burning and shining light” and the Jews rejoiced in his light.[20] But “he was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light”.[21]  The second touch was symbolic of the ministry of the Messiah, “the true Light”.[22]

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[1] Luke 5.12,13

[2] Kelim 1.1

[3] Luke 5.13

[4] John 11.25

^[5]Matt.11.4,5

[6] Matt.10.8

[7] Matt.11.5

[8] Luke 4.18

[9] Matt.15.29-31

[10] Matt.21.14

[11] Matt.9.27-31

[12] Matt.12.22

[13] Matt.20.30-33; Mark 10.46-52; Luke 18.35-43

[14] Mark 8.22-26

[15] Matt.15.14

[16] Matt.23.16-26

[17] Cf.2 Cor.3.13-16

[18] Matt.17.2

[19] John 3.19

[20] John 5.35

[21] John 1.8

[22] John 1.9