WE HAVE SEEN GREAT THINGS

Lk.5:25,26 – And immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. And they were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God. They were also filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today!”

The works of God are intended to shock us, after all, when you catch a glimpse of the Infinite One it can take your breath away. We are so accustomed to things proceeding in a natural way that we become unaware of His greatness all around us. When Jesus walked the earth His ministry was shocking, you may not have liked it but you couldn’t ignore it. His works display who He is. His signs and wonders cry out for our worship and adoration. Matthew Henry called the works of the Lord “strange”. He said they produce the fear of God in our hearts and demand our worship. Sounds like something this generation could use a dose of. Here is his description.

‘The miracles that Christ performed were amazing to those who saw them, and we should praise God for them. They said, We have seen strange things today, and they glorified God, who had sent such a benefactor into their country, and they were filled with fear, with reverence for God.”

Robertson’s Word Book describes the amazement His miracles produce. The strange or remarkable signs and wonders cause us to glorify God. Here are Robertson’s comments.

“Amazement (ekstasis). Something out of its place, as the mind. Here the people were almost beside themselves as we say with the same idiom. So they kept glorifying God and at the same time “were filled with fear”. Strange things (paradoxa). Our very word paradox, contrary to (para) received opinion (doxa).”

The Believer’s Bible Commentary connects the forgiveness of sins and the miracle as both bringing amazement. Here are the BBC’s words.

“The crowd was literally amazed, and they too glorified God, acknowledging that they had seen incredible things that day, namely, the pronouncing of forgiveness and the miracle that proved it.”

Today the Lord is doing the same things all around us. The gospel is preached, sins are forgiven and lives are being changed. The next time your are in church take a look around and see the glory of God. If you know the stories you will see former alcoholics worshipping the Lord, you will see former heroin addicts singing His praise, you will also see former homosexuals loving God and magnifying His name. All of us have some kind of story that is intended to cause amazement at His mercy and His power. You have to admit, He has done great things.