CHRIST'S PHYSICAL RESURRECTION was THE SIGN
that He had power over Spiritual Old Covenantal Death of The Law
Christ performs physical
miracles to demonstrate spiritual realities.
By Tuese Ahkiong
MARK 2 Jesus Heals a
Paralytic (Matthew 9:1-8; Luke 5:17-26)
John
10:31-39
Matthew 16:1-12 The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand SIGNS
And when he returned to Capernaum after some
days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And
many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the
door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And
they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And
when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the
roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on
which the paralytic lay. 5 And WHEN JESUS SAW THEIR FAITH, HE SAID TO THE
PARALYTIC, “SON, YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN.” 6 Now some of the
scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why
does this man speak like that? HE
IS BLASPHEMING! WHO CAN FORGIVE SINS BUT GOD ALONE?” 8 And immediately
Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within
themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your
hearts? 9 WHICH IS EASIER, TO SAY TO THE PARALYTIC, ‘YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN,’
OR TO SAY, ‘RISE, TAKE UP YOUR BED AND WALK’? 10 BUT THAT YOU MAY KNOW THAT THE SON OF MAN HAS
AUTHORITY ON EARTH TO FORGIVE SINS”—He said to the paralytic— 11 “I SAY TO YOU, RISE, PICK UP YOUR BED,
AND GO HOME.” 12 And
he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that
they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything
like this!”
**Yeshua performs a physical miracle to demonstrate a
spiritual reality that He was GOD and has authority to forgive sins. It is easier to just say to the paralytic,
“Your sins are forgiven.” It’s more
difficult to say to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” Yeshua performed the miracle so THAT (they,
the scribes) MAY KNOW THAT THE SON OF MAN HAS AUTHORITY ON EARTH TO FORGIVE
SINS.
31 The Jews picked up stones
again to stone him. 32 Jesus
answered them, “I HAVE SHOWN YOU MANY GOOD WORKS FROM THE
FATHER; FOR WHICH OF THEM ARE YOU GOING TO STONE ME?” 33 The Jews
answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because YOU, BEING A MAN, MAKE YOURSELF GOD.” 34 Jesus
answered them, “Is it not
written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called
them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of
him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not
doing THE WORKS OF MY FATHER, then
do not believe me; 38 BUT IF I DO THEM, even though you do not believe me, BELIEVE THE WORKS, THAT YOU MAY KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THAT THE FATHER IS IN ME AND I AM IN THE FATHER.” 39 Again they
sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.
***The miraculous works
of Christ were the signs that pointed to fact that He was the prophesized
prophet like Moses that the Jews were to listen to and live.
Deut 18:15-19
15 “The Lord your God will RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM
AMONG YOU, FROM YOUR BROTHERS—IT IS TO HIM YOU SHALL LISTEN— 16 just
as you desired of the Lord your
God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not
hear again the voice of the Lord my
God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And
the Lord said to
me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I WILL RAISE UP FOR THEM A PROPHET LIKE
YOU FROM AMONG THEIR BROTHERS. AND I WILL PUT MY WORDS IN HIS MOUTH,
AND HE SHALL SPEAK TO THEM ALL THAT I COMMAND HIM. 19 AND WHOEVER
WILL NOT LISTEN TO MY WORDS THAT HE SHALL SPEAK IN MY NAME, I MYSELF WILL
REQUIRE IT OF HIM.
Acts 3:17-26
17 “And now, brothers, I know that you
acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But
what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his
Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent
therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that
times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may
send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom
heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about
which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses
said, ‘THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR
YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BROTHERS. YOU SHALL LISTEN TO HIM IN
WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU. 23 AND
IT SHALL BE THAT EVERY SOUL WHO DOES NOT LISTEN TO THAT PROPHET SHALL BE
DESTROYED FROM THE PEOPLE.’ 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from
Samuel and those who came after him, also [PROCLAIMED
THESE DAYS.] 25 You are the sons of the
prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to
Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be
blessed.’ 26 God, having raised up his
servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you
from your wickedness.”
This is the Moses who
said to the Israelites, ‘GOD
WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR
BROTHERS.’
***A brother like Moses would be an Israelite, which Yeshua was.
Luke 11:29-32 The SIGN of Jonah
29 When the crowds were
increasing, he began to say, “THIS GENERATION is an evil GENERATION. It seeks for a SIGN,
but no SIGN will be given to
it except the SIGN of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah became a SIGN
to the people of Nineveh, SO WILL THE
SON OF MAN BE TO THIS GENERATION. 31 The queen of
the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of THIS GENERATION and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the
wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something
greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of
Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with THIS
GENERATION and condemn it,
for they repented at the
preaching of Jonah, and behold, something
greater than Jonah is here.
***Notice how Christ compares himself to Jonah and says that He will be the sign to that "this generation." The sign was Yeshua's resurrection. The generation was that of the last Israelite generation 30-70AD.
Matthew 12:38-45 The SIGN of Jonah
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees
answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a SIGN from you.”39 But he answered
them, “AN EVIL
AND ADULTEROUS GENERATION
seeks for a SIGN, but no SIGN will be given to it except
the SIGN of the prophet
Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and
three nights in the belly of the great fish, SO WILL THE SON OF MAN BE THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE HEART
OF THE EARTH. 41 The
men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with THIS GENERATION and condemn it, for they repented
at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is
here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the
judgment with THIS GENERATION
and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of
Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out
of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds
none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house
from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put
in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven
other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there,
and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it
be with THIS EVIL GENERATION.”
***”THIS GENERATION” in this
passage is the evil and adulterous generation to whom Christ spoke to in the 1st
century. The Sign that Christ gives is
His resurrection. The sign pointed to His
power over spiritual death and separation from YHWH.
16 And the
Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a SIGN
from heaven.2 He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the
sky is red.’ 3 And in the
morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you
cannot interpret the SIGNS of the times. 4 An EVIL AND ADULTEROUS GENERATION seeks for a SIGN, but no SIGN will be given to it except
the SIGN of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.
***THE EVIL AND ADULTEROUS
GENERATION was the unbelieving generation of Istaelites that Yeshua was speaking
to. They eventually crucified and murdered Yeshua. The Sign of Jonah was Christ’s
physical resurrection which pointed to His power and authority over spiritual covenantal death and separation from God The Father that only Israel experienced. How else would Israel know that He had power over spiritual death unless He gave them a sign.
Israel was the only nation in an intimate relationship and covenant with YHWH which made them alive to God. They sinned and broke The Law of The Covenant and died. This is why Israel needed to be born again, because they were all covenantally dead.
One can only be born again if they were first alive to YHWH then died.
(Ezekiel 16). Only Israel was alive to YHWH and then died because of their sin.
Thus, only Israel needed and could be born again.
The Bible is the story of covenant Israel being restored to YHWH!
