When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
Luke 13:17
Jesus taught people what was the right thing to do through His words and His actions. His opponents were unable to accuse Him of saying one thing and doing another, as most of us do. Jesus was consistent in all He said and did, which made Him popular in the eyes of the crowd because He shamed those who opposed Him.
I don’t think shaming anyone was His main purpose, I’m sure the Lord would rather they understand and turn away from their wrong thoughts and actions. I wonder about the crowd “rejoicing at all the wonderful things He was doing”. Did they truly believe or were they just going along with the popular opinion, glad to see those in power put in their place?
Jesus isn’t about doing anything for show or gain, everything He said and did was to glorify God and bring us back into relationship with Him. When we marvel at His works, we should be amazed that He came to save us sinners and not that He opposed the powerful. We must remember that He came to save them, too.
Loving Lord, we sometimes get caught in seeing the miracle but missing the lesson. Help us to hear what You are teaching and go do likewise. Amen.