The Miracles
- February 5, 2012
- Speaker: Pastor Aaron Smith
- Series: Self-Revelation
- Category: Topical
We have seen that the Gospels are eyewitness testimonies. There was about 25 years between the events of Jesus and the recording of those events in the Gospels. We have seen that the Gospel manuscripts are very reliable. The amount of manuscript evidence compared to that of other ancient is astounding. The variants - alleged errors - do not affect the reliability of the manscripts. (See Sermon #2 in this series.) So, in studying these reliable, eyewitness documents, we find that Jesus claimed to be God Incarnate. Now, last week we said that anyone can claim anything. So, was Jesus just anyone who claimed he was God Incarnate? Or was He, in fact, who He claimed to be?
How did Jesus demonstrate His claim? By His miracles. The Gospel documents are clear that Jesus' miracles pointed to His identity. John 2:11 - "This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him." His miracle of changing water into wine not only manifested his glory to his disciples, but it caused his disciples to believe in him, John writes. Later, Jesus himself speaks on his miracles: "But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Luke 11:20) The Kingdom of God has come to them in the life and ministry of Jesus. He is the bringer of the Kingdom, for it is His and His to bring.
Now, let's take a look at the miracles themselves. In the miracles, we see the authority of Jesus as God Incarnate. His miracles show His authority over creation and nature - the miraculous catch of fish (both of them!) and the calming of the storm. His miracles show His authority over the spiritual realm - the casting out of demons and the healing of the demon possessed. His miracles show His authority over sickness, illness, and disease - the healing of the paralytic that we looked at last week and the healing of the (many) blind. His miracles show His authority even over death - He raised the widow's son in Nain and raised Lazarus from the dead as well. Jesus had authority to chose when and how to heal: with a touch, a blind man sees (Matthew 9:29); with spit, a blind man sees (Mark 8:23); with His words, demons are cast out (Luke 4:35).
And please take note of this: In His miracles, Jesus responds to human need. Jesus is not doing card tricks, something neat but something ulimately irrelevant. Those in peril due to natural disasters (how many of those have we seen in the last few years?) can find hope in the One who calms the storm. Those tormented by demons explicitly or implicitly through depression and fear can find power in the One who casts out demons. Those who wake up with pain in their bodies every morning or those who have battled cancer can see compassion and strength in the One who heals the body. Those who have been touched by the death of those closest to them or who see their own death approaching can rest in the One who raised the dead. Jesus' miracles demonstrate not only His authority, but also His willingness and ability to touch on the deepest and most profound questions of human existence.
Because of His miracles, many respond to Jesus and believe. In the calming of the storm, Jesus' disciples respond, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Matthew 8:34) These experienced fishermen are astounded! In the walking on the water, the disciples respond, "Truly you are the Son of God." (Matthew 14:33) When Jesus raises the widow's son from the dead, the people exclaim, "God has visited His people!" (Luke 7:16)
Despite His miracles, though, some respond with unbelief. Mark 1:37-39 - "And they found Jesus and said to him, 'Everone is looking for you.' And he said to them, 'Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.' And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons." Jesus was healing, but the people wanted Jesus the Healer and not Jesus the Savior. They wanted what He could do for them, but they did not want Him, so He left. John 6:26 - "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves." Jesus had feed the 5,000 and they wanted more. Again, not more of Jesus, but more stuff for them. Jesus' miracles were to point to His identity. They were not ends in themselves. So comes John 12:37 - "Though he has done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in Him..." The miracles were demonstrations of Jesus' identity: that He was God Incarnate. Jesus was after the people, but many would not respond in belief. Jesus came to give Himself. So He pointed to a coming miracle, the only one that really mattered.
Matthew 16:22 - "Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things...and be killed and on the third day rise again." This comes after Peter confesses Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the Living God" in Matthew 16:16. Peter confessed Jesus' identity, and Jesus points them to the coming resurrection. Matthew 17:22-23 - "The Son of Man is about to be delievered into the hands of men, and they will kill him and he will be raised on the third day." This prediction of the coming miraculous comes after another miracles, the healing of a boy with a demon. John 11:25-26 - "Jesus said to Martha, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?'" The miracles, and the One That Matters, are really about who Jesus is - the Incarnate God who brings life to all through His death and resurrection. So, to the adulterous generation before Him, Jesus says that "no sign will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." To those who would not believe in the Incarnate God, who demonstrated His identity with His miracles, the last miracle would their final sign. Jesus would die and be entombed for three days, as Jonah was in the fish three days. Now, if Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus was their God, their only God - just as Jonah came out of the fish onto dry land. But, if Jesus was still in the tomb on the fourth day, well, then, it was all a sham and all for naught.
