Have you noticed, as humans, we tend to live in the extremes? Like the pendulum of a clock, we swing from one thing to another. It is difficult for us to find balance in all the areas of our lives simultaneously. If we do ever achieve equilibrium, we soon realize it is impossible to sustain. This truth reminds me of something Jesus told His disciples.
“Ultimate” is defined as “1. last; furthest or farthest; ending a process or series … 2. maximum; decisive; conclusive … [and] 3. highest; not subsidiary.”2 The next healing we will consider is the ultimate healing Jesus ever consummated. It is chronologically the last healing He completed during His earthly ministry, but it is also the supreme healing. It is the panacea, the catholicon, the cure-all. Let’s dig in and discover why this healing is so matchless and so far above any of the other amazing healings Jesus ever brought about.
Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” John 9:39 ESV1
“After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea [where Jerusalem was], because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. [But] the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand” (John 7:1-2). The Feast of Booths, also known as The Feast of Tabernacles, is a time of remembering the LORD’s faithfulness toward His people, the Israelites, during the forty years they wandered in the wilderness after being freed from slavery to Egypt. It is an eight-day feast with the first and last days being Sabbath days. It is immediately followed by an additional Sabbath day which marks the beginning of the year’s cycle of Torah readings. This Feast was one of the three mandated Feasts which all able-bodied Jewish men were commanded to journey to Jerusalem to attend.
Because His life was in danger, Jesus considered not attending the Feast (see John 7:8). When He did decide to go, He tried to remain out of the public eye (see John 7:10). But He did not remain hidden for long. “About the middle of the Feast, Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching” (John 7:14). I believe, at that point, He realized there was more work that needed to be done (see John 9:4-5), and that even though threats abounded, He was in no real danger, “because His hour had not yet come” (John 8:20b). It wasn’t yet time for Him to give up His earthly life, and God’s plan would trump the plans of man.
This truth was evidenced by the fact that during the Feast week, there were five unsuccessful attempts to arrest Him (see John 7:30, 32, 44-46 & John 8:5-6, 20), and one failed undertaking to kill Him (see John 8:59). Jesus remained safe as He boldly proclaimed the truth. In the process, “many of the people [listening] believed in Him” (John 7:31a, also see John 8:30). Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem was a special blessing for one man in particular; because of Jesus, the whole trajectory of this man’s life was changed for time and eternity.
Assurance is defined as full confidence; freedom from doubt; certainty.2 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). As we consider this next account, our faith may be tested, but that is a good thing. Faith that is tested and has been proven genuine, gives us all the assurance we need for this world and the next (see 1 Peter 1:7).
As Jesus’ time on Earth grew short, “He set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). He and His disciples “went on from [the villages of Caesarea Philippi (see Mark 8:27)] and passed through Galilee … to Capernaum” (Mark 9:30a & 33a) “to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan” (Mark 10:1a).
Looking at a map of Israel during Jesus’ lifetime, one can deduce that a trip from Caesarea Philippi to Jerusalem is about 120 miles (193 km) as the crow flies. But as the human walks, over mountains, through valleys, and across rivers, avoiding the land of the Samaritans (see Luke 9:52-53), it is much longer. According to most Biblical timelines, Jesus’ final journey appears to have taken about nine months. Jesus knew where He had to go and what He was going to have to do, but He took his time, stopping along the way to offer a helping hand.
This widespread healing, accompanied by an amazing miracle, is familiar to many. It is found in all four Gospels. In your Bible, you will find it under a heading to the effect of, Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand. This event is so familiar to us that we might have a tendency to quickly gloss over it. But if we do, we will miss something very important. There is more going on here than the feeding of a massive crowd.
This next healing is an account only recorded in the Gospel of John. It is a story of desperation alleviated by power, belief distorted by condemnation, and reaction based on fear; it includes warnings, obedience, testing, teaching, truth, persecution, and revelation. It is one man’s story of suffering, healing, and the hope of sanctification. But it is also a story that can open the reader’s eyes to the identity and authority of Jesus, and it is an account filled with instruction on how to live a life of victory in His Name.
As Jesus was on His way to Jairus’ home to raise his daughter, something unexpected happened. Something unexpected but not something irrelevant. Something unexpected but not something disregarded. Something unexpected but not something unimportant.
Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, and a teacher of Israel, came to Jesus under the cover of night. Was he trying to hide, and if so, from whom? The other Jewish religious leaders? the Jewish people? Was he concerned about his reputation, or was he just a very busy man trying to seek an uninterrupted audience with another very busy Man, and late one evening, the opportunity provided itself? We don’t know why Nicodemus came to Jesus because before he even got through his introduction, Jesus cut him off.
In the time in which Jesus walked the Earth there were groups of very religious people who were absolutely sure that they, above others, were right with God. They studied the Scriptures, followed very high standards of holiness, and taught others to do the same. Two of these religious groups were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Shortly before Jesus began His earthly ministry, his close relative, John the Baptist, was preparing the way for Jesus by preaching, “‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 3:2). A great number of people from the region believed John’s message. “[They] were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins” (Matthew 3:6). Presumably, because they were serious about matters of faith, “many Pharisees and Sadducees [were also] coming to [John’s] baptism, [and] he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come’” (Matthew 3:7)? Why was John so rude to those wanting to do the right thing?