I Witnessed A Miracle
Rarely does a person witness a miracle throughout their life. But on one Saturday afternoon, years ago, I witnessed a miracle and I remember the occurrence vividly. As a young married man, I attended the synagogue every Sabbath day just like every person I knew. I looked forward to Sabbath because of the extra rest I was granted and the teaching and worship I participated in at the synagogue. But, this Sabbath day I witnessed something that contains a shock value I will never forget.
I woke up extra early that day because my wife was singing a solo in the choir. I rounded up the donkey and we started on our journey down the road to the synagogue. When we arrived, I managed to secure a seat in the front of the auditorium. On a normal Sabbath day we usually ran late, so we would take the open seats towards the back. Listening to the choir warm up, I felt myself dozing off when I felt a sudden tap on my shoulder, which caused me to jump. I looked around and saw Sarah smiling widely down on me. Sarah was crippled and always had a reserved seat in the front. I gladly scooted over and we spoke to each other for the remaining of the greeting period. I felt so bad for Sarah, for eighteen years she suffered with the disease of not being able to stand up straight. I never understood how she always wore a huge smile on her face. I cannot ever recall seeing her upset.
Today was a special day for our synagogue. Jesus Christ taught us our lesson that day. I had never heard anything like Jesus. Whenever he walked in a room, he took your breath away. He brought so many people to tears with his words of encouragement and wisdom. When Jesus entered the room everyone stood to their feet as he walked to the front. When he got to the front and put up his hands, that was the sign that we could be seated. He finally made it to the front and looked around at his audience. His eyes drifted towards the side I was standing and they continued to stare in our direction. My stomach dropped at the sight of Jesus staring our way. He stared at us for quite awhile when all of a sudden he gently called Sarah to the front. Sarah slowly limped to the front and bowed at the feet of Jesus. He motioned for her to stand and as she stood he put his hands upon her shoulders. He then spoke words with such serenity my body filled with chills. Then, with the power of his touch she dropped her cane and rose tall to the heavens. She could stand up completely straight without a hint of pain.
Tears of joy filled Sarah’s eyes and she praised God for all he had given her. I thought I was in a dream. All of a sudden our synagogue ruler stood up and began ranting. I turned to see what was going on. Never mind the fact a miracle had occurred, the body of the synagogue focused on the matter of Jesus working on the day of the Sabbath. I could not believe what I was hearing. There is no way they can accuse Jesus Christ of working on the Sabbath day when he just set Sarah free of her miseries. Having a confused look on his face, Jesus responded by pointing out that they are also working on the Sabbath when they untie their donkeys and take them to be watered. He then pointed out that it was more important to heal the lady rather than focus on what work was being done on the Sabbath.
To this day, I often recall the amazing miracle I witnessed. More importantly, however, I remain focused on how the leaders of the synagogue ignored the miracle and questioned Jesus about a technicality of not working on the Sabbath. From that day forward, I decided to focus my efforts on Jesus and not allow myself, or my family to get weighted down with technical man-made rules. On that day long ago, Jesus taught me that time is short and it is more important to focus on Him and helping others.