Primary Scriptures: John 9-12
Story Summary: Later ministry of Jesus, seven miraculous signs Location: Kingdom of Judea (Israel)
Time: Circa 30 AD
Suggested Memory Scriptures: John 9:3, 5, 25; 10:11, 14, 29; 11:4, 25, 41-42; 12:7, 25-26, 50
The video for this episode concentrates on a selected set of miraculous signs by Jesus. These are:
• Changing water into wine at Cana (John 2:1-11)
• Healing the official’s son from a distance (John 4:46-54)
• Healing the paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-5)
• Feeding the five thousand (John 6:5-14)
• Jesus walking on the water (John 6:16-24)
• Healing the man blind from birth who washed in the Pool of Siloam (John 9:1-7)
• The raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45)
Each of these miracles seems to be carrying multiple themes. Jesus isn’t just changing water to wine—he’s also showing that a new way to worship God has arrived, and this new way is better than the old. The healing of the official’s son shows the importance of faith, and that Jesus in not limited by normal limitations. The healing of the paralytic shows that Jesus is ruler of the Sabbath, the feeding of the five thousand that Jesus gives true life, and walking on the water that Jesus is the ruler of all nature.
The Bible doesn’t say where the blind man was when he met Jesus, but more than likely he was a fair distance away from the Pool of Siloam, which is located at the end of the tunnel built by King Hezekiah and is downhill from most of Jerusalem. As he gained his sight, the man would have been able to see the Temple Mount about one-half of a mile uphill to the north. He must have been amazed!
In John 9:1-2, Jesus upends the notion that people’s sins always make them materially or physically disadvantaged. This would have been a direct threat to a common teaching of the day that disadvantaged people were that way because of sin, while advantaged people were that way because of righteousness.
The resurrection of Lazarus shows that Jesus rules over death and can bring life into any situation. The one thing all these miracles have in common is this: they all point to the fact that God is to be glorified in every situation because he is the Master of All.
Eyewitness Bible Series
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