Jesus' miracles (2)
Debra Blackman
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Greeting:
INTRO:
VIDEO – Miracle – Chosen: Jesus heals the Paralytic
Jesus did a lot of miracles – there are at least 38 recorded over a period of about 3 years by the gospel writers. So if you spent much time with Jesus there’s a good chance you would have witnessed something miraculous. Even Jesus’ enemies (Pharisees, Romans) couldn’t explain away the miracles. There are historical texts where they reference his “acts of sorcery” – because they didn’t believe he was God – but they could not erase the strange reality of what had occurred in very public ways and was witnessed by so many.
But Jesus didn’t come for the purpose of doing miracles. He had a much bigger, eternal purpose and so we see that often the miracles he does do are telling a bigger story about who he is and about God’s restoration of all things – something Jesus often described as the coming of the Kingdom of God.
So, before we look at miracles themselves I want to take us to an important passage where Jesus describes his mission.
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
This prophecy from Isaiah 61 anticipates a Messiah who will come to reclaim the people and among the signs of his work are:
good news to the poor
freedom for captives
sight to the blind
freedom for the oppressed
All these have both prophetic and spiritual realities and also practical outcomes. Jesus’ miracles demonstrated in a physical way some of these marks of the Messiah. He overtly stated he was this person, his signs reinforced that he came with the power of YHWH to accomplish this mission.
Jesus interpreted his miraculous works through this lens so much so that when an uncertain John the Baptist sent a message to Jesus from prison asking if he is indeed the Messiah Jesus responds:
And Jesus answered them, “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.
And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
So both for a discouraged John, and for the discouraged generation that Jesus was serving - these miraculous signs were an indication that GOD was at work - and that Jesus was not just an excellent teacher or an inspiring prophet (though he was also those things).
THE MIRACLES THEMSELVES:
So as we look at some examples of Jesus’ many miracles keep in mind that they are an act of love and mercy in and of themselves but they often occur in situations that help us understand something more of who Jesus is and what he is here to accomplish.
BEGINNING OF MINISTRY:
Let’s turn to Matthew 4 as Jesus is just beginning his public ministry. He has just called his disciples to follow him and they are in for an adventure!
Let’s turn to Matthew 4:23-25
And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.
And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Very early on Jesus demonstrates miraculous power that draws crowds. As he restores their bodies and minds to wholeness he begins to teach. This text leads right into the Sermon on the Mount that you talked about last week with Mjr Danny. As he teaches he is laying the foundations for the new “Kingdom of God” people that will hear and recieve his message and follow him.
And lo and behold, as he begins to speak the crowd who came to him sick, oppressed, desperate for healing hear the Kingdom of God was for:
...poor in spirit.. those who mourn.… the meek… those who hunger and thirst for righteousness...the merciful....the peacemakers...the persecuted...
The invitation to the Kingdom of God was for them.
Jesus began his ministry with those who were experienced with weakness and who trusted that he could meet their need.
JESUS’ MIRACLES AS A SIGN OF AUTHORITY:
Because we’re doing this sweeping overview of miracles I wanted to try to give you some meta themes that we see at work whenever Jesus’ is doing miraculous things. And I think if there is one word that we can use to summarize the way these miracles impacted Jesus’ ministry it would be AUTHORITY.
Jesus uses miracles to:
Establish AUTHORITY in HIMSELF
Demonstrate AUTHORITY over sin
Demonstrate AUTHORITY over the Law
Demonstrate AUTHORITY over nature
Demonstrate AUTHORITY over spirits
Demonstrate AUTHORITY over death
No one but God can have authority over these things....and so Jesus’ miraculous power establishes His identity as the Son of God - both by the AUTHORITY he possess and also by the LOVE that is demonstrated in each of these acts.
AUTHORITY IN HIMSELF:
Through these miraculous signs Jesus is inviting people to center their trust in God’s ability to act on their behalf IN HIM. This is different from other prophets in the past like Moses, Elijah, Elisha - they had power from the Spirit to represent God and point people to God. With Jesus he’s saying: “Look at me! I am God.” (This is what got him in trouble.) But sure enough his signs and miracles - most especially his resurrection from the dead demonstrate that he is, in fact God and should be worshipped as such.
He draws connections between people’s faith in who he is and their healing. And of course people’s faith increases as they see how Jesus walks in this power of God in a way that reflects God’s loving heart of mercy.
And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”
When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.”
Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”
And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.”
So, faith here is not a WHAT. It’s not - can you muster in yourself a sense of personal belief that what I wish for will happen. Faith is not the Christian version of manifesting a desired future. Jesus takes the time to press into these men - your healing is not about WHAT you want it’s about WHO you want.
“Do you believe that I am able to do this.”
Jesus often comments on people’s healing being connected to their faith in Him because He knew that a physical healing was only a short term fix if they did not also receive the fuller, eternal healing that he was bringing in salvation.
Physical healing and miracles pointed people to the AUTHORITY that Jesus had IN HIMSELF - and helped people to put their Faith in Him for salvation.
AUTHORITY OVER SIN:
And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.
And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.
And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.
And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
“Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—
“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”
And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
This idea of Jesus having authority from God is really important. And very early on he says and does things that offend the Jewish leaders - Pharisees & Sadducees because He is saying and doing things that only God can do - forgiving sins is a prime example! They don’t have a category for God incarnate - for them God is Holy and couldn’t possibly exist in the midst of human struggle - in a human body as Jesus is - and so they have no choice but to declare him a blasphemer!
And yet the problem is … here he is … doing the kinds of things God does - with the power only God has..day after day.
You either had to put your faith in Him as God and position yourself for worship - or… you find a way to get rid of him all together.
The clashes with the Pharisees become almost comical. Many of these conflicts center around Jesus’ propensity to heal on the Sabbath. Jewish law forbade “working” on the Sabbath - and that was a God given law - but the Pharisees had expanded the definition of Sabbath rest, and many other aspects of the law for that matter, and these “extra man-made laws are the space where Jesus and the Pharisees most often clash.
AUTHORITY OVER THE LAW:
He went on from there and entered their synagogue.
And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him.
He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?
Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.
But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.
In this miracle Jesus draws the foolishness of the way the Pharisees have handled the law to the surface. Jesus knows that the purpose of the law was meant to be lifegiving for people It was a mechanism to enable a community to live life the the fullest in right relationship with God, in right relationship with one another. The commandment for Sabbath rest is designed for the purpose of humans to experience, as a grace from God, a weekly rest and healing. To remember that God is their source of life - not their work.
And so Jesus says - the work of bringing rest and healing to the afflicted and oppressed IS the spirit of the Sabbath law. The Pharisees had turned the sweetness of the rest in God that Sabbath was meant to be into a heavy weight of control and condemnation. Jesus restores the man’s hand — and it certainly doesn’t seem that it takes much exertion for him - but moreover he restores the spirit of Sabbath.
JESUS demonstrates in these miracles that he has AUTHORITY over the purposes the law was meant to fulfill - and that he has come to fulfill it in its entirety.
AUTHORITY OVER NATURE:
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out,
and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger.
And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.
He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
Who can just command the elements to “knock it off” like they’re scolding a child? This miracle represents a scope of power that is hard for the disciples, and hard for us to wrap our minds around. He is Creator. Jesus was present and active in the work of birthing and designing all that we know in the physical world. Winds, seas There is NOTHING outside of his AUTHORITY.
Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.
When God comes to judge the earth - all the nations will bow to him - all of nature will praise him. He is LORD of ALL creation.
Jesus is...”giving YHWH vibes”. He is demonstrating the kind of authority over nature that they would expect to see when God comes.
And the disciples react with awe and worship. Jesus comments: “Where is your faith?” And, again - what he’s saying is...don’t you believe I am God’s Messiah? Many Jews were expecting a man like Moses or David as a Messiah - a human who displayed the power and authority of God to save them.
But slowly the disciples are beginning to realise the scope of Jesus’ authority is EXPANSIVE and that he is much more than just a man.
AUTHORITY OVER SPIRITS:
Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.
When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs.
When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.”
For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)
Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him.
And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.
Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission.
Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
There is no contest. On the many occasions that Jesus is confronted with a person who has a spirit afflicting or possessing them a simple command from him forces them to leave. If you were to read through the many accounts of miracles a great number of sickness are attributed to the work of evil spirits on a person’s mind or body - it’s probably more frequent than we would imagine. Jesus recognizes this - and the spirits often recognize Him and identify Him as the Son of the Most High God. They know even before the rest of the world does the absolute authority he has in everything.
Finally I’ll mention - but I know Tara will tackle this in a few more weeks - that Jesus will demonstrate a final authority - and that is the
AUTHORITY OVER DEATH
Jairus’ young daughter, a widows only son and a friend named Lazarus will all be miraculously raised from death by Jesus. And, not to spoil the surprise...but he doesn’t let death defeat him either.
There is a little throw away line at the end of the gospel of John:
Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
That’s a little bit how I feel trying to present to you the scope of Jesus’ miracles - even just what is recorded in scripture - I hope you’ll continue to explore them on your own. There is truly no one else like Him.
But if there’s one thing I hope you take away from our time today it’s this: “There is nothing Jesus’ doesn’t have authority over. And he is at work - even now - healing and making all things new.”
Feeding 5,000
One miracle that comes up in all four gospels and is very well known is the feeding of the 5,000. In summary a large crowd of 5,000 men (plus additional women and children) are in a deserted place listening to him teach. They’ve been there a long time and Jesus sees they are hungry and asks his disciples to get food for them. The disciples reply that the scope of attempting feed a crowd this big - both the amount of food needed and the cost of it would be impossible. Jesus asks them to bring what they can find and they turn up with a boy’s small lunch of a few fish and loaves. Jesus blesses these, breaks these, and distributes them until the crowd has all eaten - miraculously this food has multiplied under Jesus’ blessing to feed the masses.
There is a sermon all its own in this one act.
But later when some of the crowd find him again they are pressing for more.
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?
Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
RESPONSE:
Jesus performed many miracles. But the miracles are worthless if they don’t draw you into a relationship of faith with Him. The will of the Father is that WE BELIEVE IN HIM. This is the place of salvation.
When we look at these texts we have to decide - will ve surrender to the authority of Jesus?
If the miracles make us hungry for GOD — then that is an appetite that JESUS can satisfy.
Surrender to his authority is never an experience of depletion it is a position of readiness to recieve an abundant life from God through Christ.
As you continue to travel through scripture together you will see how God invites us to participate in his authority on behalf of others.
But unless we are first rooted in FAITH - in a belief that with JESUS anything can happen and “apart from him we can do nothing”.
PRAY
You may have an impossible situation right now that you need to see Jesus’ authority at work in. If so, take this time to come and surrender it to him at the mercy seat.
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