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Category: Personal Study
Thread: How the OT reveals Jesus
Post Topic: Prophecy – Miracles
Post in Thread: #2
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Scripture: Isaiah 35:5-6; Luke 7:18-23
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy
Isaiah 35:5-6
And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.
Luke 7:21
Observations
Context
- Isaiah lived approximately 700 years before Jesus.
- John the Baptist has been imprisoned in a dungeon by Herod Antipas for at least a year at the time of this story in Luke.
The Prophecy of Isaiah
- Isaiah prophesies the Messiah will physically heal the blind, deaf, lame, and mute.
- He uses vivid, poetic language to describe the pure joy that will result from these healings.
Fulfillment
- John experiences doubts about whether Jesus is the “one”
- John sends his disciples to confirm his own message.
- John’s disciples observe Jesus fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy
- Jesus instructs them to simply report back to John what they’ve seen and heard.
- Jesus goes beyond just the miraculous signs, and also tells them to report the good news that’s being preached to the poor.
Interpretation
Setting/Author – Isaiah
- God gave Isaiah a terrifying vision of God’s throne room.
- God then called Isaiah to serve as a prophet (Isaiah 6).
- He prophesized from Jerusalem for 40 years.
- Isaiah made many specific predictions about Messiah Jesus, which were fulfilled in the Gospels. Click here to see more.
Setting/Author – Luke
- Unlike Matthew and John, Luke didn’t accompany Jesus during his ministry.
- Luke, the only Gentile author in the New Testament, documented the history of the early church as he recorded the ministries of Peter to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles.
- Luke traveled with Paul as a personal physician on several missionary journeys
Genre
- Isaiah – Biblical Poetry
- Luke – Biography
Imagine
John the Baptist imprisoned between one to two years until his execution. How do you suppose a man like John, having lived his life outside in the wide, open spaces survived in a tiny, dark, dank underground cell? He’d paved the way for Jesus, declared him the Lamb of God at his baptism. Would you, likewise, in this situation, need reassurance that Jesus actually was the Messiah? How would you then respond when hearing Jesus was still fulfilling Isaiah’s healing prophecy?
Takeaways
- Isaiah constantly admonished Jews and warned them of judgment. They must have made his life difficult. Nobody likes being told they’re sinful.
- Predictions about the coming Messiah may have brought Isaiah comfort as he suffered from the wrath of hardened hearts.
- Luke’s profession as a physician suggests he was intelligent, scientifically inclined, and careful about details.
- His said he would “carefully investigate everything “from eyewitnesses and write an “orderly account” (Luke l:1-3). We can trust Luke’s gospel testimony.
- Both Isaiah and Luke faced hostility but both stayed committed to God’s message.
- Even a great prophet like John the Baptist had doubts. He needed encouragement too.
Correlation
- Acts 2:22 – Luke, also the author of Acts, states that Jesus’ miracles are signs that he is God incarnate.
- John 10:37 – Jesus said his miracles proved his divinity: “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me”
- John 20:30-31 – John also emphasizes that the miracles were signs.
Application
Generic Applications
- Miracles occurred when God decided they were needed, such as during the ministry of Moses, Elijah, and Elisha.
- Both Old and New Testament believers lived, not by sight, but by faith: “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old” (Psalm 77:11).
Personalize it
- If I pray for a miracle, but God doesn’t answer according to my wishes, can I remember the words of the Psalmist for comfort and continued trust in God’s love?
- When I wallow in the valleys that life throws our way, like John the Baptist in the dungeon, where can I seek comfort? How can Jesus speak to me, like he did to John?
- As I think about 700 years between a prophecy and a one-to-one fulfillment, do I pause and consider how awesome is our God?
Bible study methodology adapted from Searching the Scriptures with permission from Tyndale House:
Swindoll, Charles, Searching the Scriptures. Tyndale House Publishers, 2016.
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