I am a Jesus pusher!!! The healing miracles of Jesus mark a significant step beyond the ministry of John the Baptist. John consistently proclaimed Jesus as “One mightier than I” (Matthew 3:11). Priests and Levites from Jerusalem asked John the Baptist, “Who are you?” (John 1:19). They accused him of being Elijah, the Prophet, or the Christ. He denied all of these identifications and said, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to loose” (John 1:26-27). While Jesus and John the Baptist preached the same message of repentance (Matthew 3:2; 4:17), the healing miracles placed Jesus far above the ministry of John. They identified Him as the One for whom John was the forerunner.
The healing miracles not only validated His Person as the Messiah, but they also pointed to the content and character of that Person. They were cures, blessings, and favors. The Spirit of God invades demonic territory in each miracle. It demonstrates the character of the Messiah as love, grace, and mercy. It is the call of a mother hen who gathers her chicks around her (Matthew 23:37). If God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16), would not the expression of that Son be one of great love? Did not God express His heart through the Messiah in compassion for the needs of His people? Oh, how He loves you. Embrace Him! I am a Jesus pusher!!!