From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part 49 of a series. Read part 48.

The Messiah's attesting signs while on earth also speak of His present power to provide "grace to help in time of need."

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing. (Isaiah 35:5-6)

Thus far in our consideration of the prophecy of Messiah's attesting signs we have seen the vital importance of such miracles in Jesus' earthly ministry. We have seen that John the Baptist, Nicodemus, and others among the Jews who believed on Jesus understood that His miracles set Him apart from all others who had claimed to be the promised Anointed One.

We have also seen that it was logically necessary for those who rejected Jesus as the Messiah to reject and suppress His attesting signs. As we saw in our last article, the people of His home town of Nazareth did this. So did the religious rulers of the Jews. Such was their hardness of heart that when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead,

the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. (John 12:10-11)

"Lord I Am Not Worthy... But Only Speak A Word"

We have also seen that in Mark chapter 6 Jesus expressed marvel at the unbelief of the people of Nazareth. But on another occasion Jesus expressed marvel, for an entirely different reason - the demonstration of belief, not of unbelief, and by a Gentile, not a Jew.

Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."

And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."

The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour. (Matthew 8:5-13)

Here was the marvel, not of unbelief, but of belief. The centurion said, in effect: Jesus, I am not worthy for you to do anything for me, but I know You have the authority and the power to extend Your mercy, to do anything for me! That is why I am asking.

Jesus said to the Jews who observed this, "I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!" The faith of this Gentile in the sign-gifts of the Messiah was greater than the faith of God's own nation.

The Foundation of Enduring Faith

Dear reader, let us pray that we may all continually have that kind of faith. "Lord, increase our faith," the apostles asked of Him (Luke 17:5). The father of a demon-possessed child "cried out and said with tears, 'Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!'" (Mark 9:24). May these things be the desires of our own hearts. May we have greater and stronger hope in Him.

And where will that hope begin? The source of that hope is the Word of God.

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4)

The Greek word here translated "patience" is the Greek word hupomonay. It is also translated elsewhere in the New Testament as "endurance" or "perseverance." The word speaks of an individual or entity having the characteristic of never being swayed or deviated from a determined purpose, no matter how much external forces may attempt to divert or frustrate that course.

This is what Paul is saying by the inspiration of the Spirit: The Word of God perseveres. It endures. We can rely upon it without question because it will never fail and never change.

Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in Heaven. (Psalm 119:89)

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8)

Jesus the Messiah, the living Word of God, was "was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). He passed every test, thus demonstrating His Messianic qualifications. Put to whatever "stress test" man or Satan may devise, and for however long they may apply it, God's written Word will likewise never fail. Neither finite man nor Satan can devise any test that will outlast, weaken, damage, or destroy God's inspired, infallible, inerrant Word.

Growing faith begins with a renewed commitment to read and study the Word of God. It begins with a hunger to see, in greater depth and width and height, the greatness of our God and His mighty power "to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think" - in our individual lives, in our families, in all of our employments and endeavors, in our church, and in our witness. It is the same power that Jesus set forth in His attesting signs of Messiahship when He was on this earth.

The enduring, persevering Word is our source of comfort for this life, and our hope for the life to come. Resting on that sure foundation the Messiah's people, the members of the Body of Christ in all ages, shall endure.

The same Jesus who stilled a physical storm can still the storms of life. The same Messiah who cast out a legion of demons at Gadara has power over them today. The same Christ who healed the blind, lame, and deaf has sovereign power to heal today. The same Christ who raised the dead will raise all of His redeemed people from all ages - not merely to die once again, as they all did, but to be raised in glorified never-dying bodies to rule and reign with Him forever.

We can, with the centurion of old, say, "Lord, I am not worthy... But only speak a word..." and He shall without fail give "grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)

Next: He Shall Feed His Flock Like a Shepherd

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