Jesus Foretold: Miracles And Preaching (MP 75)

Isaiah wrote, “Your God will come; do not fear; His good news will save you from fires of hell; He will open blind eyes; the deaf will hear; The lame will walk, and lepers will get well!” John Baptist asked Jesus, “Are you that One, Who Isaiah promised Messiah would be?” Said Jesus, “Tell John the things I’ve done— Deaf ears are unstopped, and the once-blind see! The dead are raised; the gospel that sets free Preached to the poor! Tell him, blest is the man Who does not fall away because of me; I’m coming again to complete my Plan!”

Jesus first came meek and mild, and to die; Next in mighty power, as King on high!

Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added] Prophecy Made: Isaiah 35:4-6—“say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God [Jesus] will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” (Written in the 7th century B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 11:2-6—“When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one [Messiah] who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’ Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.’ “ (Written in the 1st century A.D.)

Commentary On: “Jesus Foretold: Miracles And Preaching” In God’s Master Plan the Messiah (Christ) is to come to the earth twice. His first coming is to be as the man, Jesus of Nazareth; He is to be meek and gentle, preaching the gospel of the “good news” of salvation; acquiring disciples and followers to live as He lived; and performing miracles of healing; finally, to die on the cross as a man in atonement for the sin of Adam and all other sins. His Second Coming, which is at an unknown future date; He is to come as Christ, the King of the universe, in vengeance and with retribution for those who have persecuted Israel and Christians. In Isaiah 35:4-6 quoted above, the Coming One is prophesied to do things of both trips, mingling the mild and peaceful acts of the First Coming with the violent retributions of the Second. Many of the prophecies of the Messiah did the same; therefore. in the first century advent of Jesus the Jews expected Him to be powerful in battle and to lead them to freedom from the Romans. When He came merely preaching a gospel of love, healing all sorts of handicaps, and going meekly to the cross to be cruelly crucified, many, if not most, Jews refused to accept Him as being sent by God. John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus who fulfilled the prophesied role of Elijah (See Malachi 4:5), was one such confused Jew. After putting himself way out on a long limb (John 1:30) by proclaiming publicly that Jesus was the Messiah, now from Herod’s dungeon John heard of Jesus’ humble activities, and remembering the promises of Isaiah of His coming vengeance and retribution, John began to doubt that Jesus was the bona fide Messiah. Jesus replied to his doubting question by calling John’s attention to the milder things Isaiah had prophesied which He was doing. Then Jesus made a plea to John, that he not fall away on account of the things He was doing; however, Jesus did not clearly tell John that He was coming back to earth later and do the other things. Therefore, it was a plea from the Savior to His own cousin to have faith and trust, which every one of us must do to be saved. I’m sure that John did not fall away by losing his trust in Jesus as Messiah. These things occurred shortly before Herod beheaded John at the request of Salome, his wife’s sexy young daughter. Some of the prophecies of the coming Messiah in the Old testament included bits and pieces of things Christ the Lord would do in His 1000-year reign on earth. Such things here as water gushing forth in the desert are promised to take place on earth during that millenial reign. You see, God put a curse on the earth at the time of Adam’s sin of disobedience in the Garden of Eden. Instead of being lush and fertile, the earth, especially in the Middle East, turned arid and became desert. Wild animals became vicious and a danger to man. But when Christ comes the Second time to rule, the curse will be lifted.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)