Lesson 4

Jesus had his third messianic miracle rejected because the leaders wouldn’t believe the man who was healed or his parents. Sometimes when you are not heard you have to speak a bit louder. Jesus does this by re-performing his first two messianic miracles. Raising the stakes with miracle twenty seven, Jesus heals a demon possessed boy that is both mute and deaf. 

Mark 9:25 Evangelical Heritage Version
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he rebuked the unclean spirit. “You mute and deaf spirit,” he said, “I command you to come out of him and never enter him again!”

Covering his bases with miracle twenty nine, Jesus continues to raise his voice by casting out a blind and mute demon. Possibly in case the Jewish leaders should accuse him of communicating through sign language.

Matthew 12:22 Easy-to-Read Version
22 Then some people brought a man to Jesus. This man was blind and could not talk, because he had a demon inside him. Jesus healed the man, and he could talk and see.

The priests had to investigate and verify the facts for seven days before they were able to pronounce a leper cleansed on the eighth day. When Jesus performed miracle thirty two, he went above and beyond any messianic miracle the Jews had thought of. Re-energising his first miracle, Jesus was demanding the attention of the Jewish rulers by giving them not one but ten healed lepers to verify. 

Luke 17:11-14 New King James Version
11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13 And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

The Jews rejected the miracles of Jesus even though they could see them. God speaks to us through the Bible so we can learn about him and his plans. Do we reject the plans of God even though we can read them? Are we willing to test our beliefs and doctrines against his word and follow what is true?

1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 Easy-to-Read Version
19 Don’t stop the work of the Holy Spirit. 20 Don’t treat prophecy like something that is not important. 21 But test everything. Keep what is good,