Crowds Inspired

The crowds which observed Jesus believed that God was at work in him. In Christ they saw a man who was anointed by God and they praised God for what they saw in that man, Jesus.

They glorified God because it was obvious that Jesus was not acting alone. They were certain he was sent and empowered by the Almighty—and they were right!

Those crowds joined the people Jesus healed, and they worshipped God. They were often inspired to praise God by the gratitude of those who received the miracles. For example, in the text that follows, Jesus resurrected a man--and as a result, the crowds praised God. It says:

The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with awe and praised God.

‘A great prophet has appeared among us,’ they said. ‘God has come to help his people’ (Luke 7:15-16).

Crowds Praised God

Did you get that? Let's see. Answer the question: Did the crowds praise Jesus? The answer is "No." They did not.

If you read carefully, you’ll observe that they praised the God who sent Jesus. Remember: These were monotheistic Jews who had no doubt that there was but One God. And they knew without a doubt that no man ever saw God. Knowing that Jesus was standing right in front of them, visible to the naked eye, there were no questions that Jesus was not that one God, unseen by man.

You'll also notice that the Jews did something unheard of in Christian churches today. They ‘praised God’ for sending Jesus. In fact, they said Jesus w as a ‘great prophet.’ And he was, although you know that no Christians call Jesus a prophet these days. But, Jesus--for the Jews--was a prophet. He was a man who spoke the Word of God with authority. It didn't cross their minds that Jesus might be the One God--and, of course, he wasn't.

Jesus affirms that he wasn't the One God. He heard the Jews call him a prophet and was content with that title. He had no qualms with their interpretation of his ministry. He didn't say "I'm not just a prophet. Rather, I am the very God you are praising." No. Rather, Jesus was happy that they were giving his Father the glory the Father deserved as the One God.

God Was in Christ

So, then you might ask: "What did the people mean when they said ‘God has come to help his people’"?

Well, they meant exactly what Christians believe: that God was in Jesus. This concept is something Paul the Apostle taught. Do you remember how he wanted Christians to frame the idea that ‘God was in Christ’? Let's take a look at it. Paul wrote:

... God was in Christ reconciling the World to Himself... and he has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:19–20).

So, if you can understand what Paul was saying, you also understand what the people of Nain were thinking when they said 'God has come to help his people.' They meant God was in Christ. That is, God was working powerfully through Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.

It's very noteworthy that in the same breath in which Paul says 'God was in Christ,' he also says that 'God was making an appeal through us.' Did you get that? "Through us," he said. So, Paul believed that God could also speak through Christians like you and me. Paul did not believe God spoke only through Jesus.

Leading the Blind

Now, this is where we apply the teaching to you. Are you ready? It's like this: God is now at work through us today the same way 2000 years ago God was at work through Jesus. In other words, the anointing of the Holy Spirit Jesus had 2000 years ago is now upon us. That's what Jesus meant in John 14:12 when he said 'Greater things that this will you do' to the Apostles.

Nothing is impossible for God, so when we heal, it's God working through us. And when Jesus healed, it was God working through him. The people of Jesus' generation knew that. For example, the instant Jesus healed a man of blindness, the man himself praised God. He knew who was working through Jesus, and he gave glory to the Father!

Let's take his cue. Let's follow that example. Just as the people who saw the man healed of blindness took his cue, and the Scriptures tell us that ‘they also praised God,’ so should we. Here's what the Bible reports to us:

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. 

When all the people saw it, they also praised God (Luke 18:43).

It says 'they also praised God.' Do you get it? Do you understand what was going on there? It's not that the people thought that Jesus was God Himself. Of course they didn't. Although that's the astoundingly ignorant interpretation of many people today, it's not the right interpretation.

Spontaneous Faith in "Three Persons"?

Is it possible that out of nowhere, the observers of the healing suddenly began to subscribe to the theology that Yahweh, the One God they and their ancestors had always worshipped, was not the One Father they were taught he was? Did , but had always been a being of “three Persons in One Essence”?

No, that’s definitely not what happened. Observers did not suddenly become convinced that Jesus was the One God. They also didn't start using the Pseudo-Trinitarians lingo of today--phrases like "three Persons in One Essence."

Rather, the Jews of the first century were like us. The were real Trinitarians. And real Trinitarianism starts with this truth: "There is One God, the Father Almighty." True Trinitarians use logic, reason, and common sense. Fake Trinitarians invoke mystery and but we refuse to do that. We will not make the science of hermeneutics a farce. We will not treat the Bible like a children’s game.

Jesus performed miracles in the power God gave him. It’s as simple as that. And that's why the Scriptures highlight that the people ‘praised God’--because they had enough common sense and sound Biblical faith to recognize that God was working through a man--the man Jesus. In other words, they understood that God had empowered Jesus to do things no man can do in his own strength.

Do you have that same common-sense faith? Do you have that simple faith—the one called ‘faith in God’? It is the second doctrine on the list of the Fundamentals (Hebrews 6:1-2). You’ll need it. You'll need 'faith in God.' If you don't, you won't have any strong foundation to stand upon.

Demon-Free

This is the way the Bible presents Jesus to us. He was empowered by God. For example, do you remember when Jesus delivered a boy from a demon and observers responded with amazement--but that the amazement was not directed to Jesus? Do you remember that their amazement was directed to God for his ‘greatness’? It was.

And, since this one is such a great story, let's read it. Here’s how the Bible frames it:

Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father.

And they were all amazed at the greatness of God (Luke 9:42-43).

Hmm. What does it mean to be ‘amazed at the greatness of God’? Well, it certainly does not mean that those folks credited Jesus with the deliverance. Rather, they were amazed that God would do such wonderful things through a human--that human being was the man Jesus.

Don’t forget, the first words out of Peter’s mouth on the day of Pentecost, when he preached one of the greatest sermons of all time--the sermon that sparked the creation of the first Christian church in all history were these:

Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him (Acts 2:22-24).

Do you believe that message? Those who believed it were baptized in water and the Spirit and integrated into the +3,000-member congregation, a congregation pastored by none other than the Twelve Apostles. Wow!

But let's keep reading. The passage goes on to tell us:

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day (Acts 2:41).

Guidance from Jesus

So, the message that Jesus was ‘a man accredited by God to’ us ‘by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did… through him’ is the original message of the Church. And don’t forget that people responded with amazement at God’s greatness as manifested in Jesus’ miracles because Jesus gave them that very focus. That was the angle Jesus wanted them all to have.

Jesus, in humility, guided people to believe that it was God working through him. Jesus taught the people to glorify not him, but God for his marvels. For example, look at what Jesus said to the man he healed in Gadara.

The Bible says:

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him.

Jesus did not let him, but said, ‘Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you’ (Mark 5:18-19).

This approach of leading people to glorify the Father was characteristic of Jesus. And note this: It is the opposite of the Antichrist’s approach. It is not the custom of the Antichrist to steer people to God so that they might glorify God. No, not at all!

Contrast: Christ vs. Antichrist

Rather, the Antichrist will perform signs and wonders (just like Jesus), and he’ll come back from the Dead (just like Jesus), but he won’t teach people to give glory to God. On the contrary, the Antichrist will sit in the Temple. And there, in that most holy of all sanctuaries, he will call himself “God.”

The Antichrist, exactly like the Devil is recorded as doing in Isaiah 14, will attempt to take God’s place and to obtain his own glory--despising, trampling underfoot, and desecrating God’s holy place, the Temple in Jerusalem.

If you read your Bible carefully, you’ll notice that Jesus never called himself “God” nor did he ever ask anyone to call him “God.” He never took a seat in the Temple. He went there to worship, but he never sat down in it to be the object of people's attention.

Now, Jesus certainly could have taken a seat in the Temple, especially after God resurrected him from the Dead! He could have marched directly into the Temple from the tomb. Nobody would have been able to kill him a second time and he would have been right to claim what rightfully belongs to him: the Throne of David.

However, his timing would have been off. Our blessed Lord Jesus only wishes to do the will of his Father. That's his primary way of glorifying God, and his time has not yet come. But it will. Just wait. He'll sit on the throne in Jerusalem soon enough.

Just be patient. And when he sits there, thank God. Thank God for sending to us a man who was anointed by God.