Scripture Reading: Matthew 11:2-5, Isaiah 61:1-3, John 2:11, Matthew 12:28-42
Most of us have been there. It’s not just painful, but confusingly painful.
Didn’t God hear?
Doesn’t He love me?
Did I not have enough faith?
Why wasn’t it a yes?
These are the questions we ask when the miracle doesn’t come.
Perhaps it was the cancer that wasn’t cured, the chronic illness that never healed, the marriage that couldn’t be saved, or the money that didn’t come through. In the absence of a miracle, these stories about Jesus can be tough to swallow. They can even feel cruel. Why are they here, if not to tease us?
God knows we feel this tension, which is perhaps why He included Matthew 11:2-5 in His perfect Word. Here, John the Baptist asks Jesus if He is, in fact, the “one who is to come”—the Messiah. Jesus answers with a clear allusion to Isaiah 61: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up” (Matthew 11:4-5). He’s essentially saying, “Yes. All the things that were foretold, I am fulfilling them.”
Jesus’ answer to John tells us a lot about the purpose of His miracles: They are a sign of the prophecies fulfilled, a sign that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. They are a sign of His authority, His power, and His glory. And they are a sign of God’s love for us, a sign that we can trust Him.
But here’s what we shouldn’t miss about Jesus’ answer, because John certainly wouldn’t have. Isaiah 61 also says this of the coming Messiah: He will “proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (v.1). It’s a message of hope for prisoners, which is exactly what John was; John received Jesus’ message while sitting in a prison cell. And yet, John the Baptist was never set free. Three chapters later, he’s beheaded. Scripture tells us that when Jesus got word of John the Baptist’s death, “he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself” (Matthew 14:13).
Our God is not indifferent to our pain.
Matthew 11:2-5 contains all the power and the glory and the complexity and confusion of Jesus’ miracles. It attests to Jesus’ divine identity, but it also attests to the reality that miracles don’t always come. In this tension, we learn more about what Jesus’ miracles mean.
Jesus’ miracles weren’t only about Him, but about the Kingdom to come. Tucked into every miracle we can almost hear God whisper, “This is what the Kingdom is like. It’s complete healing, total wholeness, freedom, awe, and joy.” Miracles provide a foretaste of this in-breaking Kingdom, but they were never meant to replace it.
We’ll never have the perfect peace and restoration we desire this side of eternity, but miracles point to the place where we will.
Whenever we read stories of miracles, and grapple with their surpassing mystery, we can do so knowing our God is not casual or removed from our pain. Jesus’ very presence on earth reminds us that He entered into it, experiencing the pain along with us. Jesus joined us in waiting for the Kingdom, longing for the day when the need for miracles will be no more.
Sharon Hodde Miller is a writer, speaker, pastor’s wife, and mom of two boys. She is a regular contributor to Christianity Today and recently completed her Ph.D, which focused on cultivating the gifts of women in the church.
A foretaste, a glimpse, a promise…miracles are these things to the Kingdom of God. This position has struck me in awe! How amazing that our God has such a LOVE for us that he wants to show us our eternal “present” through his and his Son’s words/actions. I have taken from this reading today that miracles are the Father and Son’s way of keeping us yearning for everlasting life, yearning for that relationship with Him, yearning to be His child and to walk in His path! The miracles also allow us to trust that the Lord provides and will fulfill his promises…so when we read about judgement, heaven, and hell we know that God will follow through on the promises that he has laid out in the Bible concerning these things!
Lord, I will put my trust in you. All that you do is good and all that you do is part of your will. Through all things I will praise you and remind myself these words, “thy will be done.” Your plan is far greater than we can comprehend and your miracles are a testament to this. I pray that you continue to open our hearts to these miracles and studies; allowing us to grow closer to You, YEARN for You. Lord, we know that you will never leave us and I pray for any woman here that feels you are distant. Open our hearts so that we can trust in you with control of whatever situation is in front of us. You are the Way. In Jesus name, AMEN
Through every miracle that Jesus preformed was to show us who Jesus is and what Heaven will be like. “…It’s COMPLETE HEALING, TOTAL WHOLENESS, FREEDOM, AWE, and JOY!!!!!” Can’t wait for that day!!!
“Our God is not indifferent to our pain.” What a beautiful sentence to read for so many reasons. We are never alone for God is always with us. He is there with every struggle, heartbreak, etc. He notices, He cares, and He heals. I loved reading this today.
To be honest, right now I just feel empty. My husband and I just moved into our own place for the first time after nearly 6 years of being married, and this is something we have been waiting for for what feels like forever. But instead of feeling excited (which I should be!)…I just feel overwhelmed by trying to get everything settled in here and making it feel like home.
I’m at a spot where there all these things that I want. The biggest thing I’m wanting is to be able to rest in Christ and be fulfilled completely by Him, but I just don’t know HOW. I’m trying to spend time with Him, via here and spending time in the Word, but it’s still something that I’m making myself do. And I don’t want it to be that. I want it to be out of a true desire for relationship…and at this point, I’m still just wanting that desire.
Right now, I’m praying for the miracle of renewed relationship with Christ, that I may long for the day when I get to meet him face to face.
Oh friend, I have been where you are! I remember as a new mother, I wanted to desire Christ more and more! I have always had a very hard time getting up each morning. So I was determined. I started getting up before the children and praying and reading my Bible. Nothing happened at first, so I started searching for verses for my prayer requests and verses that I could pray for myself to desire Him more!!! I found two that have touched my heart forever.
Psalm 42:1-2. (As the deer pants for the water brooks so my soul pants for thee….).
Psalm 63:1-2. ( o God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly (or early). My souls thirsts for You…)
I prayed it over and over every morning and then the emptiness left and I began to desire God!! I was forever changed. Doesn’t mean that I don’t struggle getting up in the morning, because I still do) but my desire for Him is real
I was 26 at that time and I am 62 now. Never will give up on desiring Him more and more!!!! Sherree.
Rachel~ oh how I’ve been there sister. I so hear and feel your heart~
And even though my family and I are missionaries in Japan, I’m still so prone to ending up in that exact same place, and the questions of WHY God, what in the world is going on with me, with You?! start rolling in. But the miracle is that I’m not there right now because God has yet again pulled me out of the pit of my need for control and pursuing joy in other things besides Him. Between reading the psalms, where this exact situation is felt over and over again by the majority, and Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller (among other things), and running back to Jesus over and over again, God has been able to draw me back to Himself and away from false joy and empty idols on many many occasions. So I’m praying for you sister, that you too would experience the truth of Isaiah 61:1~4 for yourself in the time of your greatest need, truly experiencing freedom, comfort, and being released from this stronghold that has captivated your heart.
He will give a crown of beauty for ashes~ it’s what He does best and it’s at the core of His heart for us~ He’s got this :)
Thank you for your kind and encouraging comments, ladies. I will take your suggestions to heart as I strive to grow closer in my walk with Jesus :)
God is so faithful! Through trials, storms, suffering, times of joy and plenty, times of drought and valleys, He is faithful! Right now I am in a “green pasture.” Feeling my Savior’s presence, love, and seeing little miracles every day is bolstering me up for a valley in the future; this I realize! I am learning to soak in these “green pasture” days with gratitude and no foreboding at the trials and suffering to come in this imperfect world (Proverbs 31:25). Reading that John received Jesus’ message WHILE IN PRISON, and that he was NEVER FREED, actually having his life taken soon after, meant so much to me. John believed and was given encouragement, even though he never received the “miracle” of being set free from prison in the way he might have imagined. However, he was set free of this world and was rejoined with Christ in heaven soon after! Thanks for this reading, SRT! The encouragement is exactly what I needed during week-before-finals-week! :) I am reminded of the kingdom waiting for me beyond this life and I am reminded that the petty everyday things are nothing when compared to eternity with my perfect Savior!
I have a hard situation in my life that will only be solved by a miracle. Holding onto hope is really all I can do – well that, and continuing to pray for the situation. I’m powerless to make any change…only God can do that. I’m thankful to be able to dig in deeper and learn about miracles and why they’re important.
Lord, I lift up Tanya to You.. You know everything she is facing, You are compassionate towards her and You care so deeply.. in this time where You seem silent will You please give her faith that You are working on her behalf.. I pray for the miracle that she needs, it might be different than what she even thinks she needs, but give her peace and deep assurance that You are with her, You hear her and You are never going to leave her.. in Jesus name
Amen
As I watch my marriage disappear on the shore behind me, because of my missing miracle, I am comforted this morning.
-love from Anchorage Alaska
I’m so sorry, Sarah. I’m praying God’s continued peace and comfort to you through this time.
Sarah I am so terribly sorry, God truly does have a plan for your life. Praying for your heart and soul.
Sarah – praying that God will bring you comfort and healing in this difficult season (from a fellow Anchorage ‘she’)
This is beautiful. My mom has been battling pancreatic cancer since January. Friends and family have been praying for a miracle but her health has only worsened.
Lately I’ve asked myself the same question, am I lacking faith? Why hasn’t she been healed?
And yet, he continues to give me strength to face another day. We are still believing for a miracle.
Praying for you mother, Maria. Thank you for sharing this.
– Stormye
You have an awesome heart. Thank you for sharing it with us.