Saturday December 12, 2020

Today’s Reading: John 4:46-54

Jesus told him, “Unless you [people] see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” 

John 4:48

Reflection: Jesus is the Great Healer. Through His unique ability to miraculously heal the sick, Jesus points to greater wonders that He is capable of accomplishing. Jesus uses His Power to heal people physically in order to show His Divine nature. His healings are a sign of His power and authority over creation. They prove that He is God.

This is an important point to remember about Jesus. Why? Because if we understand that God showed us His greatest love through Jesus, and Jesus had more to do for us than just healing our earthly illnesses, the work that God sent Jesus to do must have been exceedingly more important to God. And it was. Yes, God has answered prayer for physical healing through Jesus – as we read about in the account of Him healing the royal official’s son in Capernaum. But we must understand that Jesus’ reason for healing these people were not His endgame. All those He healed throughout the Bible would eventually die. But Jesus says something important about the reason why He heals those in need around Him: “unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”

The reason Jesus heals people is to convince people that He is God. He wants people to recognize Him as the One Who can grant eternal healing. Just as a road sign alerts drivers of what is to come on the road ahead, Jesus’ healings were signs that the Son of God had come to stand in the presence of people. While Jesus’ physical healings would last only as long as a lifetime, the faith that they stir up within witnesses of these signs would grant them everlasting life as believers in Him. Of course Jesus wanted and still wants all who are ill to be made well. But it is only by faith in Him that true, complete, and lasting healing takes place.

What do you make of the signs of Jesus that are recorded in the Bible? His acts do wonderful things for the people around Him. But even more wondrous is that these acts prove to us that Jesus is God.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are my Savior and Redeemer. You are the Great Healer, Who has been gracious to prove Your authority over disease, death and sin. Thank You for saving me, for healing and restoring me by faith to everlasting life with You. As I meditate about the wondrous things You’ve done, bring to my mind what they reveal about You. Help me to worship You in thought as well as deed. I pray these things in Your Name, AMEN.

Thru the Bible in a year (credit: Biblestudytools.com): John 4:43-54; 1 Chronicles 17; Zechariah6