Bible Study series: Luke 7:18-23. Signs and wonders were proof that Jesus was the Messiah. They prove this truth even today.
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click here:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 7:18-23
18 When his disciples reported to John all these things, he summoned two of his disciples 19 and sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the Coming One or should we wait for another?” 20 After the men approached him, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you saying. ‘Are you the Coming One, or should we wait for another?’” 21 At that period of time he healed many from their diseases and afflictions and evil spirits and granted many blind people to see. 22 In reply, he said to them, “Go, and report to John what you have seen and heard:
The blind see again, the lame walk, those with skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news preached to them. [Ps. 28:19, 35:5-6, 42:18, 26:19; 61:1]
23 Blessed is he who does not stumble because of me.” (Luke 7:18-23)
Comments:
18:
Apparently some of John’s disciples were following Jesus and reported back to their master everything they had seen, all the signs and wonders. John acted. He sent two of his disciples to inquire further into the question about the Messiah.
John was in prison in Machaerus is far to the south of Galilee on the eastern side of the Jordan River, midway down the east shore of the Dead Sea (Bock, p. 654).
“disciples”: see v. 11 for deeper comments.
19-20:
Luke again calls Jesus Lord. Apparently the characters in the story have not discovered this title in its fullness; it just meant “master,” or “sir” in their minds.
Liefeld and Pao offer one important reason as to why John doubted. Jesus had said he came to set the prisoners free (Luke 4:18), and John was in prison. So did not Jesus not free John (comments on v. 19)? I add: Maybe John had expected a military Messiah who would have formed a militia to rescue him.
“sent”: this verb is apostellō (pronounced ah-poh-stehl-loh), and it is related to the noun apostle, but let’s not overstate things. It means “to send” and is used 132 times in the NT. BDAG, a thick Greek lexicon, says it means (1) “to dispatch someone for the achievement of some objective, send away / out” (the disciples are sent out: Matt. 10:5; Mark 3:14; 6:17; Luke 9:2; John 4:38; 17:18). (2) “to dispatch a message, send, have something done.”
“Coming One”: this is the Messiah. Will Jesus answer him directly? “Yes!” Not directly, but clearly enough (vv. 21-22). “John simply wants to know if Jess is the expected end-time Messiah. Is he more than the populace thinks (7:16)?” (Bock, p. 666).
It is interesting that Luke repeats the exact words from John through the emissaries. When you speak for the sender, the words must be right. Ambassadors are servants who must not tweak the message to suit their own views. We are Christ’s ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20). Let’s not adjust the message to suit our own earth-bound agendas.
“healed”: the verb means to “make whole, restore, heal, cure, care for.” Here the healings are instant. No therapy, as we see the word today. Grammarians suggest that the verb tense (aorist) means that “Jesus’s actions are not background information. Instead, the choice of the verbal aspect suggests that Jesus’s actions represent the next development in the storyline and are themselves the first part of his response to the questions coming from John” (Culy, Parsons, Stigall, p. 229). In other words, the miracles are an answer to John’s question and are what the Messiah would do. Does John have the vision to see it?
John had said the one coming after him will baptize in the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16). John had baptized Jesus and saw the Spirit in bodily form of a dove, descending on Jesus. He heard the voice from heaven (3:15-22). Why would John now send the emissaries to ask if Jesus was the Coming One? Luke already reported that John had been locked up in prison (3:20). It is likely that John was discouraged in prison. He was not doing his ministry. It is like a welder who is laid off (made redundant). He feels empty and discouraged. Let’s not see John as a super-saint. He lost track of his ministry and who Jesus was. His clear perspective dimmed a little, while he sat in the literal dark. I am glad his disciples never abandoned him. But some of them followed Jesus around and reported back to him. Jesus did not stand on a rooftop and announce, “I am the Messiah! I am the Lord!” He slowly unveiled his identity, and most did not catch on.
“afflictions”: the word whip is related to it. People were tormented and afflicted and beaten down. This includes mental torment. God will set you free from all of it. See vv 21-22, for more details.
21-22:
“granted”: It could be translated as “graciously granted.”
Jesus answered John’s question. Here’s how: At that period of time healings and miracles happened, beyond the healing from a distance of the centurion’s servant and the resuscitation of the widow’s son.
One sign of the Messianic Age was the healing of diseases and broken bodies. Is. 35 describes this age. After God comes with a vengeance to rescue his people, these things will happen:
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy” (Is. 35:5-6).
Is. 26:19 says of the Messianic Age: “But your dead will live, LORD, their bodies will rise—let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout with joy” (Is. 26:19, NIV).
The phrase “in that day” refers to the age that the Messiah ushers in: “In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll and out of gloom and darkness the eyes will see” (Is. 29:18, NIV).
The Lord’s Chosen Servant will do many things. Here are some: “I am the LORD: I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for my people, a light for the nations, to open they eyes that are blind, to bring the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Is. 42:6-7, ESV). Is. 42:18 connects hearing and seeing with walking in God’s ways, and deafness and blindness with national judgment. As for leprosy, Jesus referred to the time when Elijah the prophet healed Namaan the Syrian of his skin disease, and the return of Elijah was a sign that the Messiah was here (Mal. 4:5-6; Luke 9:28-36).
“diseases”: Don’t be afraid to pray against diseases of the mind or moral diseases. Pray, and watch God work in your mind or your child’s mind! Here it just means physical diseases.
“afflictions”: it is the Greek noun mastix (pronounced ma-stix), and it literally means “whip, lash” (Acts 22:24; Heb. 11:36); figuratively it means “torment, suffering, illness” (Mark 3:10; 5:29, 34; Luke 7:21). And in those listed verses, that’s all the times it appears in the NT.
In the context of diseases, the noun mastix means to be afflicted and tormented with diseases and bodily ailments. Anyone who has suffered from a disease, as common as a strong flu, feels afflicted or tormented in body. Jesus healed many of them. It is interesting that the verse does not say “all,” but the word “many” in my commentary on Mark 1:34, I point out, as I quoted high-level commentators, that “many” should be seen in an inclusive sense to mean all. It is a Semitism for “all.” But if you don’t like that explanation because it literally reads many. Then read Mark 6:5-6 to find out why Jesus did not heal them all.
Also see my post:
Why Doesn’t Divine Healing Happen One Hundred Percent of the Time in This Age?
The list of miracles is people-centered. Jesus did not perform miracles in the sky. He was interested in helping people. The list is scattered in Isaiah 35:5-6; 26:19; 29:18-19; 61:1. Healing points to the Messianic Age, ushered in by the Messiah himself. Jesus was not going to reform Judaism, like the Reformers intended to reform Christianity, though they did. No, Jesus was going higher and farther. He was ushering a New Age, but this New Age was going to take time and expand gradually. It was going to be as small as the mustard seed at first, but grow big enough for birds to light in its branches (Luke 13:18-19). He was no Messiah riding on a white horse with a sword in his hand, shouting “I defeat the Romans with the sword of God!” as he stormed Jerusalem with a large army behind him. He intended, instead, to restore people’s minds and bodies and deliver them from evil spirits and teach them what life in the kingdom looked like.
See my posts about Satan in the area of systematic theology:
Bible Basics about Satan and Demons and Victory Over Them
Bible Basics about Deliverance
Magic, Witchcraft, Sorcery, and Fortunetelling
And see this post about signs and wonders:
What Are Signs and Wonders and Miracles?
“are preached the good news”: Awkwardly but literally it means “good-news-ize,” as in “Let’s ‘good-news-ize’ them!”
23:
“blessed” The more common adjective, which appears here in vv. 20-22, is makarios (pronounced mah-kah-ree-oss) and is used 50 times. It has an extensive meaning: “happy” or “fortunate” or “privileged” (Mounce, pp. 67-71).
Don’t be scandalized by him. Don’t abandon Jesus. He was unassuming and meek and mild, except in some situations, when he took authority over bad ideas and oppressive people and death and disease.
GrowApp for Luke 7:18-23
1. John the Baptist was discouraged and disappointed. Have you ever had your expectations built up, and then they were dashed? How did you handle that? Trust in God or in people?
2. Jesus clarified John’s questions, but not how John may have expected. Has God ever surprised you in how he answered your request? What happened?
RELATED
11. Eyewitness Testimony in Luke’s Gospel
3. Church Fathers and Luke’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
For the bibliographical data, please click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 