In the same passage that describes Jesus cleansing the Temple, it also depicts Him performing notable miracles. Jesus begins by casting out merchants that bought and sold in the Temple. He overthrows tables of money, spilling their wears on the floor. The scene is chaotic as men scramble to salvage their enterprise. Their manipulation of people combined with the absence of prayer provokes the Lord to wrath. The Bible says that “he drove them out.” He called them thieves and made an open display of their sinful activity. He was putting the House in order. He was restoring the intent and purpose of the Temple by removing their ill-conceived activities.
Yet, I’m most interested in the next line. Matthew 21:14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. After the cleansing came the healing. After order and purpose was restored, the blind and the lame were healed. The chronological events began with a house cleaning followed by an open display of the healing power of the Lord.
Consider the healing of the daughter of Jarius. Those present laughed at Jesus when He said she was sleeping. They knew she was dead, but the Lord gave a different answer. The Word says that He put them all out and allowed only Peter, James and John with the parents to enter the room. Only then, after He had put the house in order did He heal her and raise her up. Jesus first cast out doubt, sin, and corruption before He showed His power. His first act was to clean up the atmosphere; His second was to the perform the miracle. When He saw a man being lowered through a roof in Mark 2, the Lord first forgave him of his sins. Afterward He said, “Take up thy bed and walk.” All of it and more makes me know that the miracle comes after the cleansing. Both now and then, Order precedes the Miracle.
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole
2 responses to “Order precedes the Miracle”
blessings Br. Harpole! This is Sis. Carpenter from Pastor Donald Rogers office in Milwaukee! I am trying to find a CD copy of this message for Pastor and it seems it is not on your site. I talked with the church secretary and she is having difficulty trying to find it also! So, I thought I’d write you here…Lol. If you can help us get this for Pastor Rogers that would be great.
Thank-you so much!
Sharyne Carpenter,
Pastor Harpole does not usually preach about the same topics as what is posted on the blog site. The themes and ideas are interwoven in his messages around the time of the post. This blog post was from April of 2016. What I would suggest is to listen to the messages from April 2016 on our website. http://newlifeterrehaute.com/resources/sermons/ That would be the closest thing to a message on this blog post topic.
Hope that helps
Sincerely,
New Life Fellowship Webmaster