“Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”
(Matthew 11:4-5)
In the olden days of the cinema, advertisements for upcoming films would be shown following the feature presentation. For this reason, they become known as “trailers.” Today trailers usually appear before the main attraction. Trailers are artistically created, intended to catch our attention while they convey the essence of the film they are advertising. I remember back in the 80’s when certain blockbuster movies were coming out, some folks would buy tickets for films they had little interest in just so they could view the trailers! As today’s verse passage indicates, our Blessed Savior’s public ministry was something like a “trailer” for the Kingdom Age. Our Lord began His public ministry preaching, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). His herald, John the Baptist, suddenly found himself in prison for declaring what was right (Matthew 14:3-4). While there, he sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus, “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3). This was John’s way of encouraging Jesus to “get on with it,” to bring in the Kingdom immediately. The Lord’s reply made it clear that He was the prophesied King; His ministry was filled with previews of the promised Kingdom Age. There will be no infirmity in the Kingdom;“the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick” (Isaiah 33:24a). As our Lord supernaturally healed the blind, the deaf, and the lame, He was granting the world a taste “of the age to come” (Hebrews 6:5; Isaiah 35:5-6). During the Kingdom Age, Satan and demons will be conspicuous for their absence; they will be confined to “the pit,” unable to influence man or deceive the nations (Revelation 20:1-3). With every demon He expelled from people, the Lord was giving us a preview of that blessed Kingdom Age (Luke 11:20). When our Lord multiplied the fish and the loaves (Matthew 14:15-21), He was giving Israel a taste of the Kingdom (no pun intended!) when there will be an abundance of food for everyone (Amos 9:13). The eighth psalm describes how God created man to have dominion over the created order under the sun. The Lord Jesus, the sinless Son of God, exercised this authority that original man, Adam, had forfeited. He commanded the fish (Luke 5:1-7; Matthew 17:24-27), the animals (Mark 11:1-9), and the birds (Matthew 26:34, 74-75), all stellar previews of the Kingdom (Isaiah 11:1-10). May our faithful Christian witness and conduct in the present age also be a “trailer” for the coming kingdom, when the knowledge of God will cover the world even as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 1:9).
God bless you,
Pastor John
English