Telling What You Know

And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard; the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Luke 7:22 (New American Standard Bible)

When asked by John’s disciples if Jesus was the One they had been looking for (the One promised by God to come as Messiah), Jesus chose to highlight the visible evidences of His earthly ministry. Every Jewish person knew these were the works that would mark the ministry of the Messiah. In a sense they added validity, authenticity, and credibility to the things Jesus said.

I love the progression of the miracles! The healing of the blind, lame, lepers, and deaf is climaxed with raising people from the dead and preaching the gospel to the poor. At first I wondered why the part about the poor having the gospel preached to them would be part of this miraculous passage. Then it occurred to me that when one hears the gospel and accepts the truths of the gospel the biggest miracle of all takes place. It is the only way for a person to have their sins forgiven, be reconciled to God, become a new creature, and gain eternal life in Heaven.

But I also saw similarities in all of the miracles. This reads like the Who’s Who list of rejected individuals of society. In Bible times these folks were considered the outcasts of society and unable to change their own circumstances. The blind, the lame, the lepers, the deaf, and certainly the dead had no resources whereby they could improve on their conditions. Indeed they were poor! Jesus not only knew how to value them and see them as special individuals but He was able to do what society couldn’t. He was able to heal them.

His words to John’s disciples are meant for us as well. “Go and tell what you have seen and heard.” Whether it is your personal experience or that of someone else, God’s intent is that we tell what we know. He’ll bless our words as we tell others of His accomplishments.

Father, let me be found bragging on You today! Your Word is full of Your wonders and so is each day. Open my eyes and ears to it all! Amen.