The Greatest Miracle of All Time

INTRODUCTION

Luke 2:10-11

10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Title: Greatest Miracle of All Time

SEGWAY

Top 5 miracles of all times!

5. Unexplained Healing: Therese Neumann

She was declared blind in 1919. Therese was also partially paralyzed and suffered nasty bedsores. On May 17, 1925 she claims that Saint Therese of Lisieux came to her in spirit and cured her of her illnesses. Whatever happened, her bedsores were healed and eyesight physically restored. She was then (and this could be treated more skeptically, due to the nature of medical diagnosis at the time) diagnosed with appendicitis only to later announce herself free of the ailment.

4. Our Lady of Akita

Statue of Mary crying blood tears.

3. Miracle of the Sun

The Miracle of the Sun was an event witnessed on a mass scale (up to 100,000 people) in Portugal, 1917. There was such a large amount of people present because the miracle had been preordained by three farm children. They had promised the crowd a vision of the Virgin Mary, but what followed was a dazzling array of bizarre solar displays. The sun moved erratically towards Earth, inverted into a spinning disk, and shed a multitude of different colors and shadows across the landscape. Onlookers momentarily feared the end of the world. Apparently, the Sun was only saying hello and also kindly dried the wet clothes of bystanders. Skeptics point to the fact that it isn’t generally healthy for the eyes or the mind to stare at the Sun. In sum, the size of the event alone lends credence that something miraculous did occur that day.

2. Falling out of the Sky and Living: Vesna Vulović

As a 22 year old flight stewardess who had boarded the wrong flight because of a scheduling mishap, when a bomb exploded in the small aircraft where she was working. What followed was a 33,000 ft. drop that resulted in the deaths of 27 out of 28 people in the plane at the time. Vesna was pulled from the debris by Bruno Henke, a former medic during World War II who treated her extensive trauma. She awoke from a coma after 27 days with a new lease on life and the claim to the highest fall survived in history.

1. The Browns won a game!

What was hard for me to comprehend was the fact that “The Birth of Jesus” was not in the top 10. (The Virgin Birth!)

I want to place my vote for the #1 Miracle of all times ……

The Birth of Christ –

Foretold throughout O.T. …..

Predicted before it happen!

Recorded in 2 of the 4 gospels (Matthew & Luke)

Both of these accounts have different perspective.

Matthew:

Comes right after the genealogy of Christ

Very synoptic (general view) in its account of the birth.

Deals with the Angel coming to Joseph.

Luke:

Deals with the Angel Gabriel coming to Mary.

Intertwined with the story of John the Baptist.

Much more detailed about things than Matthew.

BODY

In looking at this miracle that took place over 2000 years ago we tend to focus on Mary, Joseph, and the Baby.

After-all these are the three main characters in the story

And I think you all would agree ..... the leading roll goes to Baby Jesus.

But sometimes the supporting cast is forgotten.

Today I want to take a look at the supporting cast as well.

Not just the main characters but ALL Characters involved.

Looking at the two gospels that have recorded the Birth we see this …..

7 individuals

5 groups of people

3 spiritual beings

1 divine being (Person of the God Head)

Let’s look at how they ALL played a part in this greatest miracle of all times.

7 Individuals:

In Matthew and Luke we read about ….

…. Mary! (Matt. 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.)

…. Joseph! (Matt. 1:19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.)

…. Herod the King! (Matt. 2:3-7 (7) Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.)

…. Zachariah! (Luke 1:5a In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah.)

…. Elizabeth! (Luke 1:5b And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.)

…. John the Baptist! (Luke 1:41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.)

…. Caesar Augustus! (Luke 2:1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.)

5 Groups:

In Matthew and Luke we read about ….

…. The Wise Men! (Matt. 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem.)

…. The Chief Priest! (Matt. 2:3-4  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.)

…. The Scribes! (Matt 2:4b and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.)

…. The Shepherds! (Luke 2:8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.)

…. Multitude of Heavenly Host! (Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God …)

3 Spiritual Beings:

In Matthew and Luke we read about ….

…. Angel of the Lord! (Matt. 1:20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him (Joseph) in a dream…)

…. Gabriel! (Luke 1:19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.) (To Zachariah)

…. Angel of the Lord! (Luke 2:9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.) (To the Shepherds)

1 Divine (God Head):

In Matthew and Luke we read about ….

The Holy Spirit! (Matt. 1:18 & Luke 1:35)

All of these people/groups/spiritual beings, played a part in this GREATEST MIRACLE OF ALL TIMES.

I am not saying that this miracle would not have come about if one or any of them would have not done their part.

But I will say they would have missed out on being part of the GREATEST MIRACLE OF ALL TIMES.

CLIMAX

How would you have felt if you MISSED out on this miracle?

Better yet, How would you feel if you missed out on any miracle the Lord is wanting to do?

There was a possibility for these individuals or groups to miss out on being part of the GREATEST MIRACLE OF ALL TIMES.

As we read from Matthew and Luke we can see 3 things that would have caused them to miss out.

1. Saying “NO!”

All it would have taken for any of these individuals/groups to miss out on this miracle would have been to say NO!

All it could take for us to miss out on a miracle the Lord wants to do in us or for us is to say “NO!” (PAUSE)

What is it that you have been telling God “NO” to that just may be a miracle in the making?

Another thing that would have caused them to miss out ….

2. Buy into FEAR!

All it would have taken for any of these individuals/groups to miss out on this miracle would have been to buy into FEAR!

All it could take for us to miss out on a miracle the Lord wants to do in us or for us is to submit to FEAR! (PAUSE)

What is it that you have been afraid of that may be a miracle in the making?

The third thing that would have caused them to miss out.

3. Lack of Faith!

All it would have taken for any of these individuals/groups to miss out on this miracle would have been to lack “FAITH!

All it could take for us to miss out on a miracle the Lord wants to do in us or for us is to lack “FAITH!” (PAUSE)

What is it that you have lacked FAITH in that may be a miracle in the making?

Saying NO, buying into FEAR, or lacking FAITH, all three could have caused them to miss out on the greatest miracle of all times.

All three could cause us to miss out on a miracle the Lord wants to do for us as well.

Makes you think, doesn’t it?

CONCLUSION

Let me ask another question …..

What if you saying “NO” caused someone else to miss out on a miracle?

What “NO” that you have been saying has been holding back a miracle for someone else?

What if you “buying into FEAR” caused someone else to miss out on a miracle?

What “FEAR” in you has been holding back a miracle for someone else?

What if your “Lack of FAITH” caused someone else to miss out on a miracle?

What have you been lacking FAITH in that is causing someone else to miss out on a miracle?

You could be missing out on the GREATEST MIRACLE OF ALL TIMES in your life!

You could be causing someone else to miss out on the GREATEST MIRACLE OF ALL TIMES in their life!

What is it?

What is it that needs to change from a NO to a YES?

What is it that needs to change from FEAR to COURAGE?

What is it that needs to change from NO FAITH to HAVING FAITH IN?