Monday, November 9, 2015

Like Elisha

I noticed yesterday that Jesus fulfilled many signs pointed to by Elisha. Here are some examples:

  1. Elisha came after Elijah in the spirit of Elijah. Jesus came after John the Baptist, who had the spirit of Elijah.
  2. Elisha's first miracle was turning bitter water into drinking water. Jesus' first sign (pointing to his divinity) was turning water into wine.
  3. Elisha raised a child from the dead, like Jesus did for Jairus' daughter.
  4. Elisha healed a leper, like Jesus did on several occasions. Jesus also compared his ministry to that of Elisha.
  5. Elisha prayed to open the eyes of the blind. Jesus opened the eyes of the blind, both spiritually and physically.
  6. Elisha fed 100 men with 20 barley loaves and grain, with food left over. Jesus fed 5000 men and their families with 5 loaves and 2 fish, with 12 baskets of leftovers.
This seems to be more than coincidental but I'm not sure I've ever seen commentary on this. Perhaps the signs are pointing to Jesus as one greater than Solomon (the most powerful king), greater than Jonah (the most powerful evangelist), and greater than Elisha (the most powerful prophet).

It seems to me John had something in mind, or rather God had something planned, to be revealed by the sign at the wedding in Cana. The story seems like it could have been another story about Elisha, except that it's Jesus of Nazareth revealing his own divinity. I would be interested in your opinion if you want to leave a comment!