Suffering, Miracles and the Kingdom of God
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What may be surprising to some is that the numerous miracles performed by Jesus as described by the Gospels were primarily and preeminently connected with and directed towards the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God. Once this is understood and appreciated, I think it becomes possible to discern the deeper implication of what the miraculous events intended to convey.
When reading the Bible, the correlation between the miracles of Jesus with the Kingdom of God may not be immediately clear. This is because when we transport ourselves back to the ancient world, we are confronted with strange practices of magic formulas, spells, incantations and such. In that society, by far the greatest impression Jesus made upon His contemporaries was as an Exorcist and Healer. In a Jewish world which believed uncompromisingly in possession of human beings by demons or devils or evil spirits, exorcism remained the respected institution it had always been. Jesus possessed the kind of compelling personality which, although His enemies and skeptics ignored, made other people, who were suffering from demonic intrusions, believe that through His power, the spirits could be expelled.
The healing and exorcisms the evangelists ascribe to Jesus are plentiful and impressive but they are less than what they seem to be. That is, they were not exclusively motivated by His general spirit of sympathetic, compassion for suffering humanity. Of course, it is understood that Jesus was certainly conspicuous for these qualities. But in the reports of His healing, the healing itself seems to be entirely secondary in importance to His power and message. All His cures are directly linked and subordinated to the accompanying message of the dawning and soon to be consummated divine Kingdom.
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. Matthew 9:35.
And these were the instructions He gave His twelve disciples:
As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:7-8.
Thus, the healing and philanthropic aspects of Jesus ministry were inferior to His main intention, which was to declare that the reign of God had begun.
But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." John 10:38. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. Luke 11:20.
We learn from Scripture that cooperation and faith (as we generally understand it) was and is not necessarily a prerequisite for Jesus’ healing miracles. The woman suffering with the hemorrhage was told by Him: “Your faith has saved you ; go in peace." Luke 7:50 (ESV). Jesus was and is not a faith healer. The faith that He references is faith in Him as being the Son of God and as inaugurator of the Kingdom of God. Remember the paralytic, Mark informs us of, is healed not because of his own faith but the faith of his friends . Since his friends had faith, they became allies with Christ in the establishment of the Kingdom of God.
It seems then, that if God depended on man for a certain degree of faith to experience His healing, we all would be looking to ourselves for the power instead of relying on God. This is man centered and has nothing to do with the real faith given to the saints once and for all.
“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. ” Jude 1:3.
We can hardly miss that of the 35 miracles recorded in the Gospel records, only 10 actually involved FAITH by the miracle recipient. In fact, on one occasion, unbelievers as well as believers, those who had faith and many who did not were healed.
A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people …who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all . Luke 6:17-19.
Entering the Kingdom of God that Jesus invites us to enter, is a new awareness. It is the seeing and not the healing that is decisive. Many people believe that if they could just be healed, they would be so much better off. But the healing is not the critical factor, we need to be able to see. A lot of us cannot see, perceive truth. We are blind.
You recall the story of the ten lepers. Only one understood what Jesus had done. Only one, understood the Kingdom and entered therein. Only one, the Samaritan, was not only physically healed, but more importantly, he was spiritually healed. He could now see. God opened the eyes of his soul to understand light and to comprehend God's truth. The other nine were physically healed but remained outside the Kingdom of God.
Thus, it was not necessary to have faith to be healed. In the fifth chapter of John, we read of the healing of an invalid who not only did not have faith in Jesus, but initially, was ignorant even as to who Jesus was. This truth seems to pull the rug out from under the long held error that people are not healed because they do not have enough faith or are healed because their faith is adequate.
The healing miracles had a primary and more important meaning beyond the mere humanitarian acts of Jesus; they were both symbols and events in the ushering in of the Kingdom of God. The same is true of the other, larger miracles as well. They are signs, as the prophets foretold, and indications of the nature of His mighty power. When Jesus walks on water He is demonstrating His triumph over forces hostile to God. His calming of the restlessness of the waves on the Sea of Galilee represents the troubles of the world that will be non-existent in the Kingdom.
WikiChristian made this noteworthy observation: Not only were the miracles associated with the proclamation of the Kingdom, but they also gave a better understanding of the Kingdom.
Exorcisms – show that God will overcome the realm of evil – Mark 3:26, Luke 11:20.
Raising the dead – announce that death will be conquered – John 11:23-26, 11:44.
Healing the sick – indicate that suffering will cease – Mark 1:41, Mark 5:19.
Lepers cleansed – show the removal of impurity.
Miraculous provisions of food – reveal the end of all physical needs
Jesus Christ had been entrusted by the Father with the great mission of inaugurating the Kingdom of God. Whenever He performed a sign or enacted a parable relating to the Kingdom, though hailed as miracles, it seems He Himself preferred to call attention to its ultimate purpose. I have no doubt that this is why He told His disciples, when they claimed that they too had performed miracles,
“Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Luke 10:20.
Before closing out this hub, it should be again emphasized that the miracles performed by Jesus were primarily for the purpose of authenticating God’s sending Him to the chosen people, Israel and introducing the concept of God's imperial rule which had already come upon them. Almost all that He did was done within the context of His ministry to the Jewish nation. When He sent out the disciples it was with the understanding that they go only to the Jews. His healing of Gentiles was the exception to the rule and probably in preparation for Paul’s ministry:
“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” Matthew 21:43.
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." Matthew 15:24.
"Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:30-31).
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. Matthew 10:5-6.
This theme of the coming of the Kingdom of God was central in His message and mission. His teaching was designed to show men how they might gain admission into the Kingdom of God. His miracles were intended to prove that the Kingdom of God had come upon them. His parables illustrated to His disciples the truth about the Kingdom of God. Even when He taught them to pray He included, "Your kingdom come." As the time for His death approached, He assured His disciples that He would yet share with them the joy and fellowship of the Kingdom. And He promised that He would appear again on the earth in glory to bring the full blessedness of the Kingdom to those for whom it was prepared
“Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” Matthew 25:34.
As believers, our fundamental concern should be on spiritual rather than physical recovery. “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Our purpose is to live in a way that glorifies God and brings honor to His name. To trust in Him in the midst of personal suffering makes a strong statement about our relationship with Him and the all-sufficiency of His grace to a fallen world.
Last Word: Then came Jesus of Nazareth with the announcement, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)
Acknowledgements
R. H. Fuller, Interpreting the Miracles
C. S. Lewis, Miracles
Michael Grant, Jesus, An Historian’s Review of the Gospels
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The Bible emphasizes the TRUTH that our life in Him is spiritual and as you stated GW, it should be our most important concern. Nothing can stand against God in whom we live and move and have our being. We live a victorious life because Jesus was victorious over all that we may encounter in this world.
Though physical healing is a blessing, we know that it is only a temporary solution and meant for some greater purpose than just our being healed. Spiritual healing is eternal.
Thank you GW for being the first to share the inspiration of your spirit with readers. It fed my soul as I know it will others as well.
All glory to the God of our salvation!!
Forever His,
Leaving you my favorite prayer song tonight for you!;) love you!
I really like how you showed the miracles he performed as announcements to a kingdom I had never heard of that before.
Hello RevLady! Growing in His likeness is the ultimate desire God has for each and every one of us. To love our neighbor. To have forgiveness in our hearts. To trust in Him fully. To believe He sent His Son to pay the price for our sins. To learn, share and live by His word. To except His Holy Spirit/comforter to teach us/help us to become more and more like Him. To know the love He has for us. To except the gifts He has given us so freely. To live in His presence. To praise His holy name. God's perfect love for us all! There is no greater love one could have for us! How could one ever be without Him! Blessed be His name! This is an amazing hub! Thank you so much my friend and many blessings!
Good evening Reverend Lady, this was yet another most beautiful hub. Thank you!
As I was reading this tonight, I was "instant messaging" with my daughter Amy. We were remembering all that we went through in the past 12-years or so, and discussing all that my family is going through now. We realize, by reading your hub, that what we go through in life is all for His glory.
Because of all that we have gone through, we are different people now, but for the better. We ARE Christians! My kids have learned to like me (there was a time they didn't). I now like me, too! And of the new people that have been placed in our lives, we have opportunity now to talk to them about our faith in Jesus. HALLELUJAH!!
We walk by His faith now. He leads us. Without our trials and tribulations we'd have nothing to talk about, nothing to give testimony of. We are a people of Faith now.
Thank you very much for this wonderful hub tonight, RevLady. It came, as always, at a very much needed moment.
Sending you tonight all my love and many GIANT hugs, in the precious name of Jesus,
VKA
The Revelation Song is so very touching to the spirit. I had to add it to my worship page: http://tinyurl.com/375ec98 Thank you and God bless you for directing my attention to this Beautiful rendition GW. It has made my morning.
All glory to God Tamarajo. Thank you for leaving me a word letting me know how the Holy Spirit spoke to your spirit through this hub. Bless you.
What can I say but AMEN TimeHealsAll? Your comment summarizes the simple TRUTH of our faith. What an awesome God we serve.
VKA, last night, for some reason, the song "Oh To Be Kept by Jesus" stayed on my heart and soul. Your comments seem to be praising Him and thanking Him for accepting us as His children and keeping us by His mighty power. We are indeed, people of faith. We are sojourners through this troubled land and lifting Him up as we are called upon to suffer for His sake. There is something about God's grace that spurs us to testify of His goodness and mercy. We desire others come to experience the joys of serving a true and living God.
Bless you my friends and sisters in Christ Jesus our Lord. May He supply us with all that we need to keep to the faith and represent Him in times such as these.
Love, hugs, peace and joy!
Forever His,
Well, Pastor Saundra, He did it to me again. Pulled me out of a sound sleep. I knew He had a good solid reason for it and your Hub was what I needed to hear!
To many, the reasons for the miracles are sometimes misunderstood. Yet, you laid it out so well.
As it says in James, I count it all as joy as I look back because as it was so eloquently stated above, without these trials, we'd have no testimony. No real faith that such a thing as deliverance actually exists. We'd have no way to really minister to others.
Praise Him through the good, but especially during the bad.
If there is one thing I know, that is God is able!!
"If there is one thing I know, that is God is able!!" I am reminded by this statement of my mother who often confessed that she did not know much. But, she said, this one thing I do KNOW, God is able. All glory to God!
It is absolutely true that as God delivers us out of our our suffering and hardships, the very experiences become potent testimonials to the love, mercy and power of God.
Life is difficult but I would not take anything for my journey. All glory to God!!
Love my brother in Christ. May God's power enable you to achieve all He has destined you for.
Forever His,
Indeed another excellent hub from you RevLady. Very powerful and very well written. I love what you said that as believers our primary concern should be our spiritual recovery more than the physical recovery. I believe that God is more glorified when the vilest of sinners turn to Christ and repent from his sinfulness more than a miracle healing. This is the greatest miracle, the spiritual regeneration of a human being. Trusting God in the midst of suffering is indeed a great display of God's grace. I love what John Piper says that God is most glorified in our lives when we are most satisfied in Him inspite of losses. Thank you for sharing this hub, I am greatly refreshed by the insights presented here, Blessings to you and your family. Best regards.
AMEN Cristina and thank you for sharing your inspirational thoughts. Piper's quote is true to the understanding of the spiritual life and the sacrifice of the saints of God. It is also true, "no pain, no gain."
Blessings,
Forever His,
RevLady,
This is an excellent Hub! I especially appreciate how you emphasize that Jesus' healings and exorcisms were about demonstrating the Kingdom of God (God's realm). I also agree with you that "Jesus was not a faith healer." The faith that he recognized was, in fact, a recognition of who He was and the Kingdom he was bringing - this is why "your faith has saved you - go in shalom."
I get nervous when Christians make a severe distinction between the physical and the spiritual. It doesn't seem, even in the New Testament, that there is any easy way to distinguish them. When the "religious folk" wanted to rebuke Jesus for forgiving sins, he said, "What's easier: to forgive sins or to say to this man, 'Rise and walk'? So that you know the Son of Man [God's messianic agent in the book of Daniel] has authority on earth to forgive sins..." And he healed the guy - almost as though healing the physical was easier than forgiving sins!
When we are saved from sin, the Kingdom we inhabit gives us access to physical healing, too. But we travail until the resurrection of the dead (Romans 8) because the Kingdom will not be fully present until Jesus returns. (Which I am looking forward to, believe me!)
I wonder what your thoughts are, and I am always grateful that you focus so much on giving Jesus the glory he deserves.
Another witness,
Rob
This is my spiritual place this morning, your message to us is so revealing, Faith is a wonderful attribute, but faith without actions only feeds you. God wants his people to help feed the world, love toward others. To me that is the message, and we sometimes can,t understand why some are healed and a child dies, I must admit this bothers me, but as you say, " It,s a temporary event, what,s lasting is God,s love if we will only serve him.
Thank you for all you do.
Love and Peace
Kharisma1980,
I hear you and to my mind, though I am sure it entails much more, the distinction between the physical and the spiritual is that between the temporal (time-earth-space limited) and the eternal (transcends time-earth-space limitation).
AE,
We cannot understand the ways of God and He does not perceive as we do. A child dying does not mean to Him what it may mean to us. This is because we look at death and suffering very negatively when, from a Christian perspective, it should be positive. Thus, whether we are healed or not healed, as Scripture teaches, we should count it ALL joy in Christ Jesus our Lord. Often, we fail to do this, which can only mean that we are perceiving through the lens of the natural man and not the spiritual man.
In the mind of God, as revealed in His Word, our ultimate concern should not be on healing of the body (which is going to die anyway) but on the healing of spirit that is eternal.
Thanks you dear brother and sister for visiting my place and leaving the gift of contemplative inspiration. I thrive on it.
Love and peace,
Forever His,
Well to me and many jump me for it, I believe in the trinity and when I say I walk with Jesus because of his understanding of humans being one and why did Jesus weep over His friends death? I know God is my Father but I am part of the Church, the body, if only feet and Jesus was sent for us I know because Gentiles would never been a part of the spiritual if Jews had not rejected Him. It weighs heavy on me too that we do not let ourselves be used by God for healing. A few years back, quite a few really I read some far away place where the Gospel was being preached that these people were walking on water, they believed every word of the bible and acted on it. Of course it didn't hit any headlines anywhere but maybe a few remember it beside me. I feel we are heading to a higher realization to just what the truth means and your hub brings that out.
Thank you for sharing your time, thoughts and insight with us in response to this hub Pollyannalana.
I too believe all things are possible with God because He is omnipotent and will empower us according to His will and purpose.
God bless and keep you.
Forever His,
Your hub reminded me how important it is to have faith, regardless of the outcome of our hopes. Sometimes, we don't always get what we want in life, and that can make our faith dwindle, which is very wrong. We aren't supposed to base our faith on what we receive from God. That's the same as only liking people based on the gifts they give us.
I believe we are meant to have faith that we are being taken care of, and that God will choose the right path for us. It may not always be the most comfortable path, but it is the right one for our lives and the purpose He has for us.
Thank you for this hub, RevLady :)
Ama,
I think that because many believers still possess a "natural man" mentality, we want what we want and not what God wants for us. God is NOT interested in our "happiness" but holiness. Our faith knows that God was, is and always shall be. It is total reliance on His doing what He knows is best for our lives and we live in that trusting confidence.
God made it plain. Christians will suffer and it was considered a "good" thing. Early Christians gladly were martyred and with each death, two arose to follow in their path if necessary. This is why Christianity grew. It could not be killed because believers were willingly stepping up to the plate of self-sacrifice.
When did we lose the Christian zeal and become “candy Christians” resistant to the suffering that Christ insisted is essential to the Christian life? We whine over every little inconvenience, and do not want to suffer in any way, shape or form. When we do, we start the pity cry of Why Me Lord?
If only we could come to understand our faith and what it truly means to be a child of God, how much more our lives would be sanctified by His amazing grace.
Thanks Ama for your comments that stirred my spirit. God bless you!!
Forever His,
Awesome! I agree that the only miracle of lasting value is the awakening of our souls to the Savior. Our eyes being opened to see Him for who He is. Our ears being made to hear His voice. Our crippled legs made straight to walk after Him! This is a phenominal teaching!
Thank you FA for your affirmation of God's truth. It is all about God and His Kingdom and not man and his desires.
Love and peace dear friend,
Forever His,
Another annointed sharing of the WORD, RevLady. In all things if we seek first the kingdom of GOD, all these things shall be added to us. But (by His Stripes we are healed)I also am reminded that He took the stripes for our healing,praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, AMEN, Bayoulady. We rejoice in the Love sacrifice that made our healing possible.
All glory to God!! God bless and keep you.
Forever His,
What an absolutely great presentation of scriptural facts! With all the debate swirling around healthcare and the rising costs of medical treatment, this hub points drectly at the heart of the matter. Physical healing can be a vain accomplishment without the spiritual eyes having been opened up. I believe it is a sorcery, much like Simon in The Acts Chapter 8, that motivates the greed in a place where none should be. In Revelation 13:14-15, miracles are used to deceive. Christ's main attention never deviated. It was always the coming of the Kingdom. The power only influenced those who always had it in their spirit to accept Him - His sheep - John 10:14 'I am the good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine.' Peace.
Everything Christian always pushes us back to the great TRUTH of spiritual living and seeking first His Kingdom. When the goal is to satisfy the physical and temporal, we have missed the mark.
Many non Christians are healed so what makes Christians different if not longing for the spiritul miracles that may or may not manifest in physical miracles.
Thanks AW for sharing your enlightening insight and scriptural knowledge.
Forever His,
Amen Revlady, thank you for a hub well said about suffering, miracles and the kingdom of God. what a great and uplifting hub. Godspeed. creativeone59
Miracle, I am. Faith, I have. God, I need. RevLady, my sister In Christ. Your Hub has lifted me up! I am so blessed to have Warriors here on Hubpages, preaching the Gospel, YES!!! AMEN!!! Praise Him!! I voted-up on this Hub!
RevLady
Most Excellent hub. I especially liked how you pointed to healing and miracles as being "symbols and events in the ushering in of the Kingdom of God" this is so easily forgotten. Everything we are about should be pointing in this direction. Thanks for being a blesing here on hp
CS
creativeone59, drpastorcarlotta, coffeesnob,
I thank God for you women of faith and the ministries our Lord has given you. God bless you for affirming the TRUTH of His miracles that point us to the Kingdom of God and the greatest miracle of all, Jesus Christ.
Forever His,
Very nice work. God is a great healer and so much more. God Bless You.
Yes He is, precious one. He truly is.
God loves you and so do I.
Forever His,
Rev lady, Wonderful & Powerful! Very enlightening message! Right off the bat your illustration speaks volumes! How interesting that often one’s sincere intentions must undergo being scrutinized by those who do not desire to see things from a spiritual perspective! In the hands of the Lord we can be used as instruments for healing and deliverance... The Word says “the kingdom of God is at hand..” So many miss it…
All too often the spiritual benefits are overlooked for the physical … We often hear “You are so heavenly bound that you are of no earthly good…” I think it is just the opposite. When you truly set your eyes on the Lord above all else; He will teach you to engage with the world differently. Your purpose will truly be to further His Kingdom on earth because He has assured you that you are Heaven bound!
It is by HIS GRACE we are saved!
“As believers, our fundamental concern should be on spiritual rather than physical recovery. “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Our purpose is to live in a way that glorifies God and brings honor to His name. To trust in Him in the midst of personal suffering makes a strong statement about our relationship with Him and the all-sufficiency of His grace to a fallen world.” Amen & Amen! Therefore we pray
“Thy kingdom come, Thy WILL be done on earth as it is in Heaven….”
Praise GOD! The LORD is so GOOD! I can not tell it all...
This was wonderful! My heart is rejoicing! Thank you for sharing, In HIS, Love, Joy, Peace & Blessings!
All glory to God. What a glorious testimony you gave to our Lord. I am in agreement with all the potent observations you made and know that our spirits groan for those who yet, have not seen clearly.
I had never heard "You are so heavenly bound that you are of no earthly good…" but again, I agree with you. I do not think any Christian can be of no "earthly good" for our mission and commission is here on earth. Yet, it is not our home. We are homeward bound.
I am particularly glad to have you stop by today. I was becoming concerned as things happen so quickly I did not know if you were ill. Last week I was hospitalized. One minute I was well, the next (literally), ill. So of course, I became concerned for you but thought I would wait a couple more days before I emailed you. Thank God all is well!
May God shower you with His abundant blessings my sister.
Forever His,
The healings and miracles performed by Jesus, were performed through The Father Jesus never forgot to acknowledge this.
Brother Dave.
True, thank you for sharing.
Forever His,
RevLady I don't know what I enjoy most, the teaching or the comments from everybody and your replied. Great hub!
Hi RD,
I appreciate your feedback as usual. I believe the Body of Christ should support one another in love and I thank you for your love.
Gob Bless,
Thanks for this wonderful share Mam Rev, Now I know that miracles are part of the fulfillment of the promise, Thanks a lot, Maita
AMEN Maita, you got it girl. All glory to God.
Love and hugs,
Forever His,
Believers must remember that the Lord will bless His followers with miracles, if it is His will. I recently realized that this is not selfishness on Our Father's part, but His will is so much better than man's will. If what we ask of Our Father is in his plan for us then it will be granted.
AMEN, PM, our prayers must align with His will and God is most concerned with our spiritual health. Physical healing, though desirable, is still only a temporary. Spiritual healing is everlasting.
All glory to God!
Love, peace and joy in Him,
Forever His,
I enjoyed reading your hub, and I just love those beautiful pictures.
Girlfriend, you are just too special. Thanks Pan1974. All glory to God!!
Forever His
Ghost whisper 77 21 months ago
What a great read tonight. It is only about the spiritual--the most important. To not just say you believe but to really KNOW that God exists and live according to the 'knowing.' I know that Jesus is the Christ and I know that he is the most powerful, even against the demons/satan--they tremble--they know his power, only he who resides in us allows us to see and understand his miracles on such a deep spiritual level...yes! Rejoice in knowing that our names are written in heaven! "To trust in Him in the midst of personal suffering makes a strong statement about our relationship with Him and the all-sufficiency of His grace to a fallen world." Oh that is so beautiful and true. Made me smile tonight reading that sentence especially...so true.
Thank you for this hub and really loved the picture of Jesus walking on the water.