A short passing glimpse fired off a bolt of recognition which prompted a physical double-take and the mental conclusion, "I know that woman." But how do I know her? She was in the growing crowd gathering for a funeral, but she wasn't a member of the congregation or a known family member, so who could she be? The questions created internal banter for several minutes until the triumphant moment: "Oh! I know you! You were my pharmacist!"

It was this kind of moment that faithful Jews began to experience when Jesus entered His public ministry. They knew the coming Messiah through promise. They had seen Him in prophecy. So when Jesus of Nazareth began performing miracles and publicly preaching, there were "I think I recognize you" moments, but that recognition did not immediately come with full understanding.

When the eternal Word of God became flesh (John 1:14), He did not appear to be anything out of the ordinary. However, when Jesus started to perform miracles, these became the passing glimpses into Who He is. Jesus' first and subsequent miracles "manifested His glory." (John 2:11) People began to make the connections between what they knew about the Messiah and this Jesus whom they were following, "Can this be the Son of David?" (Matthew 12:23)

While the miracles were passing glimpses into Jesus' divine nature, His preaching is what entered the hearts of sinners and moved them to repentance and trust in Him. His amazing works testified to Who He is, and His Word brought souls into His fold. Like the miracles, Jesus' words also left people amazed. "They were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority." (Luke 4:32)

Even though the people of Jesus' home town, Nazareth, rejected Him, they still were astonished and asked, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?" (Matthew 13:54)

Nearing the end of his life, John the Baptist sent word to Jesus from prison asking, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" (Luke 7:19) Jesus answered by pointing to passages in Isaiah (Isaiah 35 and 61) "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them." (Matthew 11:3-5)

Jesus' words and miracles created the epiphany of recognizing Jesus in faith. When Jesus asked the disciples "Who do you say that I am?" Peter came to his own "Oh! I know You!" moment based on what he had seen and heard. Without hesitation Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:15-16)

By God's grace and through the miraculous power of the Gospel, we know Jesus even more fully than those of His day, for "we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place." (2 Peter 1:19)

Our Savior can be found throughout the pages of Scripture from Genesis through Revelation, so as we abide in His Word we will be astonished at both His miracles and His teaching. We will grow in our knowledge, understanding, and conviction of the truth (John 8:31-32), and thereby we will be nurtured in our souls, equipped for the battle against our enemies, and we will forever dwell in the light of the epiphany that reveals our Savior to us.

Whenever we spend time in God's Word, we will see Jesus both in prophecy and fulfillment, and then be able to exclaim, "Oh! I Know You! You are Jesus, my Savior!"

People began to make the connections between what they knew about the Messiah and this Jesus whom they were following.

Wayne Eichstadt is pastor of Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Spokane Valley, Washington.