Blinded By Seeing - Israel's Missing Messiah

BLINDED BY SEEING - ISRAEL’S MISSING MESSIAH

HOW MUCH SIGHT LEAVES YOU BLIND?

Sometime before the coming of Jesus, rabbis separated miracles into two categories. First were those miracles anyone would be able to perform if they were empowered by the Spirit of God to do so.

The second category of miracles was called ‘messianic miracles,’ which were miracles only the Messiah would be able to perform. So, because of the rabbinic teaching that certain miracles would be reserved only for the Messiah, whenever He performed one of these miracles, it made the Establishment take notice.

We will see that Jesus intended to demonstrate He was the Messiah using the very theology and teaching of the Jewish Sanhedrin. Let us see how it went.

Let us first look at these miracles.

1. THE FIRST MESSIANIC MIRACLE: THE HEALING OF A LEPER

The first messianic miracle was the healing of a leper. From the time the Mosaic Law was completed, there was no record of any Jew being healed of leprosy.

Leprosy was the one disease that was left out of rabbinic cures. Yet Leviticus 13-14 gave the Levitical Priesthood detailed instructions as to what they were to do when a leper was healed, even though the rabbis had no such cure.

As a result, it was taught by the rabbis that only the Messiah would be able to heal a Jewish leper.

Luke 5:12-14 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him.

Note what Jesus then told the leper to do (Luke 5:14), “… go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them."

His healing, his cleansing was the witness to the power of Jesus. The word ‘them’ refers to the Sanhedrin leadership of Israel. Jesus sent this man directly to the priesthood in Jerusalem to follow the commands of Moses in Leviticus ch.s 13-14.

This man appeared before the priesthood of Israel and declared himself to be a cleansed leper; on that day, the priesthood started seven days of investigation and they would discover three things.

1. This man had been a leper

2. The man was perfectly healed of his leprosy

3. Jesus of Nazareth was the One who healed the man of his leprosy

Jesus deliberately sent this cleansed leper to start the investigation of His messianic claims and His message of the Kingdom predicted by the Jewish prophets.

a. THE SANHEDRIN INVESTIGATION STARTS

The investigation started as described in Luke 5:17-26. First, though, Mark 2:1-12 points out that this incident was in Capernaum in Galilee, many miles from Jerusalem.

Luke 5:17 states: And it came to pass on one of those days, that he was teaching; and there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, who were come out of every village of Galilee and Judaea and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was with him to heal.

Often we miss this and notice that there weren’t Jewish leaders from just the town of Capernaum, but from all over the country. According to Sanhedrin law, if there was any kind of messianic event, the Sanhedrin had to investigate. Stage one meant could only observe what was being said, done and taught. Then they were to return to Jerusalem, report to the Sanhedrin and give a verdict.

If the movement were declared to be significant, they would then ask questions in the second stage.

Luke 5:17 records the first stage. As Jesus was teaching, four friends of a paralytic tried to bring him to Jesus to be healed. Because the doorway was blocked, they climbed onto the roof and lowered the paralytic to the feet of Jesus.

At this point, instead of just healing the man, Jesus told him, “Your sins are pardoned.” There was a real reaction as we read Mark 2:6,7:

Mark 2:6,7 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 "Why does this fellow talk like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

b. THEIR THEOLOGY WAS CORRECT

Their theology here was correct, no one can pardon sins except God.

Since Jesus declared the right to pardon sins it meant one of two things.

1. First, it could mean that He was a blasphemer

2. But second, He was Israel’s Messiah

In response to the first messianic miracle of the healing of a leper, the intensive investigation of His messianic claims had started. Now the leaders were observing Jesus claiming the right to pardon sins.