Lesson 18

The Jewish Israelites knew God had plans to rescue them from the troubles of this world. Their savior messiah would come for them, they just had to be patient and wait. During the centuries they were waiting they began to wonder how they would be able to recognise the messiah if he should ever arrive. Afraid their nation might be duped and taken advantage of by a charlton, the Jewish leaders came up with tests or proofs that any prospective messiah would have to perform before they would put their trust in him. Casting a deaf and dumb spirit out of someone, healing of a birth defect, cleansing a leper and raising the dead after being dead for three full days became known as the mesyanic miracles. These were miracles the rulers were positive that only God could perform. The first two had never been done before so they had no limitations put on them where the third and fourth carried stipulations. No Isrealite had ever been healed of leprosy by a Godly miracle, but there was one foreigner named Naaman who had been, so the Jews stipulated the healed leper had to be an Isrealite leper. The fourth miracle had parameters as well. Knowing of at least 3 people brought back from the freshly dead, the Jewish leaders insisted the one who was brought back to life had to have been dead for a full three days. By this time the corps would have started to decay and surely only a miracle from God could revive them back to life.

2 Kings 14 World English Bible
Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

1 Kings 17:22 New King James Version
22 Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.

2 Kings 4:35 New King James Version
35 He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

2 Kings 13:21 New Living Translation
21 Once when some Israelites were burying a man, they spied a band of these raiders. So they hastily threw the corpse into the tomb of Elisha and fled. But as soon as the body touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man revived and jumped to his feet!

The mesyanic miracles had never been performed before. If Samuel had been brought back to life by the median, why didn’t the Jews make tighter regulations for the mesyanic miracles, as a resurrection after three days had already occurred?