“Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.” – Matthew 11:20
Though Jesus performed countless miracles, He clearly understood their limitations. Miracles can get people’s attention and draw a crowd. However, they don’t generally result in saving faith. Only the proclamation of the Gospel can do that! Jesus denounced the towns where He’d worked hundreds or perhaps thousands of miracles because most there didn’t believe in Him. They didn’t repent of their sins. They didn’t submit to Jesus as Lord. They didn’t recognize the Messiah Who was among them. They loved the miracle show but failed to understand what those miracles represented.
Jesus wasn’t just an exciting miracle worker. His miracles represented the Kingdom of God breaking into this fallen world. His miracles weren’t just a display of God’s power but the demonstration that He was God come in the flesh. Jesus cast out demons, cured illnesses, healed disabilities, made food, walked on water, transformed the elements of matter, commanded the forces of nature, and raised the dead. Nonetheless, most people just thought it was cool and moved on with their life. Miracles drew a crowd but didn’t change very many people spiritually.
Miracles are wonderful as a way of getting people’s attention. However, if the recipient doesn’t hear the Gospel, believe, and repent, their eternal fate remains unchanged. The proclamation of the Gospel is much more important than the working of miracles. How many people were physically healed by Jesus yet remained distant from God and damned for all eternity? Most of them! As much as we might yearn to see miracles personally (and they certainly still happen), we must understand what Jesus understood. Earthly healing is of limited value. The proclamation of the Gospel is far more important because only God’s Word can bring the spiritually dead to life. Speak the words of life with those who need to hear. #FollowJesus