Today’s reading: 2 Kings 4; John 3
It is fascinating to me to see God continue to work throughout the Biblical story in the same (or similar) ways to validate His prophets.
The miracle of Elisha making the stew safe to eat is reminiscent of Moses making the bitter water drinkable at Marah. And the miracles Elisha performs in bringing the boy back to life and feeding the hundred men with twenty loaves are miracles that Jesus performs, only Jesus magnifies them significantly.
No Jew in Jesus’ day would have questioned Elisha’s status as a prophet of God, so when Jesus kicks his miracles up a few notches, it should validate him even more so. Elisha fed 100 men with twenty loaves, but Jesus fed 5000 men (not counting the women and children) with a few loaves and small fish. Elisha raises a boy that just died from the dead (which Jesus also does in raising Jairus’ daughter), but Jesus raised Lazarus after he had been dead for three days.
I know this is supposed to be about 2 Kings 4, but I just can’t stop thinking about how, as much as Jesus’ miracles would be impressive and validating in isolation, it really should go so much further in validating His identity and ministry that He performs the same (or similar) miracles as so many accepted prophets, but at a much greater scale.
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