Post by Mark on Oct 30, 2008 3:31:06 GMT -8
Messiah had returned to Cana of Galilee, where He had before turned the water into wine at the wedding feast. His reception was far different from what He had experienced before. People talk, and His fame had come back to the little village in full force. Yeshua was a worker of miracles, a healer of the sick and a mighty man of God.
He was thronged by a crowd as soon as He was recognized: people who wanted to see something spectacular, people who wanted to experience a miracle.
There was one man identified by John, in his epistle, who had a genuine need. He came to Messiah in desperation. His son was sick and soon would die if Messiah Yeshua did not intervene. Messiah healed the boy; but He did so with no show or display of theatrics. He simply said to the man, "Go your way. Your son lives." Probably very few in the crowd realized what had just happened. They had come to see a miracle, and saw one; but because they came in with their own agenda and expectations, they probably missed the whole thing.
Messiah said, "Except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe." This was a dangerous condition of faith for the Hebrew and a brutal condemnation. In
, signs and wonders are no legitimate confirmation of God.
If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spoke unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.
(Deu 13:1-5 KJV)
In Greek, the statement is even more nonsensical. The Greek word "eido" which is usually translated "to know or to understand" means to have an intellectual understanding of a matter: based upon the evidence or upon facts. The Greek word "ginosko" also is translated, "to know" and refers to that which is physically experienced. The strongest word in the Bible for a conviction of understanding is the word "pisteuo", usually translated "believe" which means that regardless what the facts or evidence might lead us to believe, this truth is undeniable. Messiah said, "Except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe." The word for "believe" is "pisteuo". Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not be utterly convinced in a way that cannot be wavered by circumstances.
This idea of faith in human understanding lacks credibility. Thomas said, in John 20:25, "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe (pisteuo)." How can we pretend that our confidence in Yeshua as our Messiah, our Savior from sin and death, transcends factual evidence or experiences?
Paul answers this question, bringing us back full circle to Deuteronomy 13. "So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God."
People are drawn to smoke and mirrors. There are a number of fantastic things out there for us to see and experience. There are worship services that have demonstrations of amazing power. There are meetings, conferences and revivals that promise and deliver an emotional elation that meets our expectations for heaven itself. Yet, the evidence of our experiences nor the dissimulation of facts must not be the substance of our faith.
Isaiah said, "To the Law and to the Testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."
The people came to Messiah in Cana because they wanted to see a good show. Messiah recognized the hollowness of this attitude. Any charlatan with a little organization would be able to sway the convictions of such people. Messiah would not build His following on such a fragile legitimacy. He would not resort to tactics that itself commands that we do not trust. He would establish His credibility upon the Word of Truth:
Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
(Joh 5:39 KJV)
We need to watch out for smoke and mirrors and be always aware of where and why we are placing our confidence. Are we committed to a good teacher, to a good show, to a good experience or to the Word of God. The evil one can fake and manipulate many things. Every religion and denomination can
defend itself based upon miraculous signs and emotional hype. Yet, this is not the method that our Messiah would choose to employ, nor will we, if we commitourselves to being His disciples. Messiah was committed to the testimony of Scripture for leading us in the direction of our faith: the Old Testament specifically and the in particular. Do we follow Him? I wonder.
He was thronged by a crowd as soon as He was recognized: people who wanted to see something spectacular, people who wanted to experience a miracle.
There was one man identified by John, in his epistle, who had a genuine need. He came to Messiah in desperation. His son was sick and soon would die if Messiah Yeshua did not intervene. Messiah healed the boy; but He did so with no show or display of theatrics. He simply said to the man, "Go your way. Your son lives." Probably very few in the crowd realized what had just happened. They had come to see a miracle, and saw one; but because they came in with their own agenda and expectations, they probably missed the whole thing.
Messiah said, "Except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe." This was a dangerous condition of faith for the Hebrew and a brutal condemnation. In
, signs and wonders are no legitimate confirmation of God.If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spoke unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.
(Deu 13:1-5 KJV)
In Greek, the statement is even more nonsensical. The Greek word "eido" which is usually translated "to know or to understand" means to have an intellectual understanding of a matter: based upon the evidence or upon facts. The Greek word "ginosko" also is translated, "to know" and refers to that which is physically experienced. The strongest word in the Bible for a conviction of understanding is the word "pisteuo", usually translated "believe" which means that regardless what the facts or evidence might lead us to believe, this truth is undeniable. Messiah said, "Except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe." The word for "believe" is "pisteuo". Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not be utterly convinced in a way that cannot be wavered by circumstances.
This idea of faith in human understanding lacks credibility. Thomas said, in John 20:25, "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe (pisteuo)." How can we pretend that our confidence in Yeshua as our Messiah, our Savior from sin and death, transcends factual evidence or experiences?
Paul answers this question, bringing us back full circle to Deuteronomy 13. "So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God."
People are drawn to smoke and mirrors. There are a number of fantastic things out there for us to see and experience. There are worship services that have demonstrations of amazing power. There are meetings, conferences and revivals that promise and deliver an emotional elation that meets our expectations for heaven itself. Yet, the evidence of our experiences nor the dissimulation of facts must not be the substance of our faith.
Isaiah said, "To the Law and to the Testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."
The people came to Messiah in Cana because they wanted to see a good show. Messiah recognized the hollowness of this attitude. Any charlatan with a little organization would be able to sway the convictions of such people. Messiah would not build His following on such a fragile legitimacy. He would not resort to tactics that
itself commands that we do not trust. He would establish His credibility upon the Word of Truth:Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
(Joh 5:39 KJV)
We need to watch out for smoke and mirrors and be always aware of where and why we are placing our confidence. Are we committed to a good teacher, to a good show, to a good experience or to the Word of God. The evil one can fake and manipulate many things. Every religion and denomination can
defend itself based upon miraculous signs and emotional hype. Yet, this is not the method that our Messiah would choose to employ, nor will we, if we commitourselves to being His disciples. Messiah was committed to the testimony of Scripture for leading us in the direction of our faith: the Old Testament specifically and the
in particular. Do we follow Him? I wonder.
