Greetings in the Precious Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

When Jesus was walking on this earth, He often taught that He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Last week, I mentioned that the Pharisees had all kinds of rules and regulations for the Sabbath thus taking the fun out of worship. However, in the Bible we read of numerous occasions when Jesus broken their traditions and often got into trouble with the Pharisees.

In the Bible, we can read of seven miracles of healing which Jesus performed on a Sabbath day. Now of course Jesus healed a large number of people every day but these seven miracles are especially important as they do give us a hidden meaning. The general rule we can learn from them is this; if we enter into God's rest and cease from our own labor, these seven miracles will happen to us. (Please read the Bible references for yourselves as there is simply too many verses for me to type here)

Miracle One - Mark 1: 21-26
Jesus healed a man with an unclean spirit and he began to worship at Jesus' feet.

Miracle Two - Mark 1: 30-31
Simon Peter's mother-in-law was lying in bed and had a bad bout of fever and Jesus came to Simon's house and healed her. She got up from her bed and began to serve Jesus and His disciples.

Miracle Three - Mark 3: 1-5 (cf. Luke 6: 6 - 11)
A man with a withered hand (and Luke, being a medical doctor and very particular with details described it as the right hand) came to Jesus and He restored the man's hand as whole as the other. In so doing, Jesus restored to the man his right hand of blessing, his livelihood.

Miracle Four - Luke 13: 10-13
A woman who was bent over for 18 years, who saw nothing else but only the feet and shoes of those around her during those years was loosed from her bondage. And the first face she saw after being healed was the face of Jesus, the One who healed her, and she began to worship God. She broke out in spontaneous worship of Jesus.

Miracle Five - Luke 14: 1-4
Jesus healed a man with dropsy, a deadly disease that caused the limbs of the body to be completely swollen due to water retention and which could often lead to cardiac arrest.

Miracle Six - John 5: 1-15
A man who was paralyzed and lying by the Pool of Bethesda waited for 38 years for someone to come along and help him be the first person to get into the pool whenever the waters was stirred by an angel. Nobody helped him until one Sabbath when Jesus came to him and asked him whether he wanted to be healed. Instead of answering Jesus in the affirmative, the man went on and on to describe his physical condition and his lack of help. Finally, after some time, he realized his need and asked Jesus to help him and of course he was healed immediately. The man picked up his bed and went home rejoicing and proclaiming that Jesus had healed him.

Miracle Seven - John 9: 1-34
Jesus made mud on a Sabbath and healed a man who was borne blind. There was a lot of controversy over this man's healing and it caused him his membership in the synagogue because he stood up for Jesus. He was driven out of the church because he stuck to his testimony that Jesus healed him and gave him his sight. Jesus sought him out and revealed Himself to him as the Son of God. (verses 34 -41). Jesus honored him because he was not afraid to stand up for Him.

Our Christian walk is in stages and depending on our relationship with Jesus, He can deliver us from our situations and bring us closer to Him.

Stage 1 - Some of us could be flat on our backs, demon possessed and Jesus can come and lift us up and deliver us from evil spirits but we may still not walk in the Spirit. The deliverance could be a one-time experience and not a life-long life-style.

Stage 2 - Like the paralyzed man, we could have a spiritual life but our Christian walk is faulty. We are judged and found to be wanting. Jesus can come and deliver us and we go onto a new level of Christian walk.

Stage 3 - Our Christian life, like the woman bent over for 18 years, may be bound in steep tradition and always feeling discouraged. We need Jesus to free us from the bondage of tradition and help us to walk upright. We need to learn to walk and not be bothered by what others say.

Stage 4 - Finally we may be walking straight but there is no power to bless. Jesus can restore to us that power to bless.

My friends, Jesus can and will make a difference in our lives when we yield to Him and allow Him. We need to recognize our weaknesses and therefore our need for His healing touch in our lives. Each day of our lives, our walk with Him, we need His washing of our feet through the washing of His Word. And when we ask of Him, Jesus is ever willing to come and grant us our prayer requests.

It pleases the Lord when we acknowledge Him in our lives and He does not hesitate to bless those whom He is pleased with. Honor the Lord with our lives.

The Lord blesses you and keeps you;
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all your loved ones;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace.

Shalom,

Andrew L W Lee

Dated : 24 November 2001