By: Obed Pineda
It is by Divine design that the Gospel according to John distinguishes itself from the synoptics (i.e., Matthew, Mark, and Luke) in several marvelous ways. One distinction is John’s careful selection of only seven miracles executed by the Lord Jesus. John himself acknowledges that, “truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31). Verily, the Holy Spirit’s choice of inspiring John to record only seven miracles precisely for the purpose of solidifying one’s faith in Jesus Christ should prompt us to examine each one more closely. Upon doing so, a treasure trove of spiritual lessons will be discovered that will aid the faithful Christian tremendously in his trek toward heaven. For instance, when the man blind from birth is healed by the Savior and the Pharisees zealously question the validity of his proclamation that it was Jesus who healed him, this unnamed gentleman manifests a vital fact concerning prayer in response to their denial (cf. John 9:13-34). As they vehemently refuted that Jesus came from God, the healed blind man counters, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing” (John 9:30-33). This man boldly states that they knew that God has conditions that must be met by those who approach His heavenly throne through prayer. This man also points to the miracle done in him as proof that God had answered Jesus’ request on his behalf, corroborating the apostle Peter’s promulgation on the Day of Pentecost that, “Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know” (Acts 2:22). Yet, this man adds one more incredible fact that could not be rebuffed by anyone; not a single prophet before Jesus had ever had the power to heal a man blind from birth (cf. John 9:32). Prior to verbalizing this statement of fact, he had watched as they pressed his parents (perceiving their cognizance of this essential detail) when they questioned his parents “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see” (John 9:19)? It is clear that the magnitude of this miracle, one never performed before, verified that He who accomplished it was indeed a prophet sent by God. Additionally, it brings to light exactly how effective a righteous man’s prayer truly is (cf. James 5:17b). For this reason, it is wise to meditate a little more on what makes a man righteous. In the case of the Master, righteousness is illumined by His obedience and submission to the Father’s will. Let us not forget that two traits of righteousness mentioned by the healed blind man are being a worshiper of God and doing His will. Jesus complied with both of these aspects by bringing glory to God (i.e. “worship”) through His obedience to His Father’s will (cf. Matthew 3:13-17, John 18:4-11, Philippians 2:5-11). Still, there is another manner in which a man may become righteous, even after disobeying God’s commandment, and have his prayer heard by the ear of God; even from the bowels of death. After blatantly disobeying a direct commandment from God, Jonah found himself quite literally in the depths of the sea, inside the belly of a great fish (cf. Jonah 1:1-17). There is no question that Jonah surviving three days and three nights inside the fish’s belly was only possible due to God’s miraculous preservation of the defiant prophet. This blessing did not go unnoticed by Jonah, as he returned to his senses and “prayed to the LORD his God from the fish’s belly. And he said: ‘I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, and He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice’” (Jonah 2:1-2). Jonah’s change in attitude toward Jehovah God was a complete one hundred and eighty degree turn from defiance to compliance. His unwise mistake of dismissing the omnipresence of God by wrongfully assuming that he could run away from his duty (cf. Jonah 1:3) is the first thing he corrects by acknowledging that even from depths of the sea, inside an animal’s entrails, God still answered his contrite plea (cf. Jonah 2:2, Psalm 149:7-12). Secondly, the prophet comprehends (and humbly accepts) the LORD’s punishment of his sin. Jonah confesses, “For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me; all Your billows and Your waves passed over me. Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple’” (Jonah 2:3-4). He realized that when his eyes turned toward Tarshish as a safe haven from God, he was actually vacating the safety found only in God (cf. Psalm 91). Reaching these spiritual conclusions, Jonah remembers the mercy of God that even when he “went down to the moorings of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD, my God” (Jonah 2:6). Considering that the prophet was not crushed by the pressure of the deep seas, was not dissolved by the digestive acids of the fish’s bowels, or that he did not suffocate to death, it is impossible not to recognize the mercy shown by God to Jonah. One can surmise that it would have been very easy for God to send another obedient prophet to the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, but the fact that He chose not to proves that He sought to teach Jonah, by example, more about His grace and mercy (cf. Ezekiel 33:8-11). Jonah quickly learned his lesson, for he declares in his prayer, “‘those who regard worthless idols forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.’ So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land” (Jonah 2:8-10). Jonah’s penitent and contrite heart allowed him the opportunity to correct what his initial, defiant reaction had distorted (cf. Psalm 51:10-17, Hebrews 12:11-13). The prophet’s example reveals that one can still be righteous (even if one falls into the bowels of death) when he sincerely repents, turns away from sin, and returns to God (cf. Luke 15:11-24). It is true that one who never transgresses God’s mandates is regarded by Him as blameless (cf. Job 1:8, 2:3) but the same is true with those who confess, repent, and correct the error of their ways (cf. 1st John 1:5-2:2). The penitent Jonah validates that when man returns humbled and transformed to God, “He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.” (Joel 2:13). Jonah’s prayer was heard by God because Jonah himself returned to life when he repented from his senseless sins. The same is possible today, when an apostate repents and returns from the bowels of death (cf. 1st Timothy 2:3-7).