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YOU CAN BELIEVE IN…MIRACLES Message One – Passion Series The Gospel of John February 15, 2004 |
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But there is a huge difference between Christianity and every other religion in the world. The difference is Jesus Christ. No other religion in the world accepts that their founder and leader is alive, is God, and can prove it! Jesus is and He did. Jesus is the only person to ever live on this earth to prove He was God. That’s what our studies today and next week will focus on. Jesus proved He was God. Listen to the words of the Apostle John, the person closest to Jesus during His life on earth:
“Jesus’ disciples saw
him do many other miraculous signs besides the ones recorded in this
book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have
life. John 20:30-31 The whole purpose for John writing his Gospel was to show to the entire world that Jesus is God. Jesus is God and He proved it through what He said and through what He did. The Gospel of John actually revolves around the number seven. In the Gospel the Apostle John gives us three groups of sevens. There are seven sermons or discourses. There are seven “I AMs” where Jesus explains exactly who He is. And as we will see today, there are seven specific miracles that prove Jesus is God. Now, before we delve into the miracles of Jesus we need to understand that neither John or any of the others who wrote about Jesus wrote down everything He did. The Gospels are not meant to be biographies about Jesus, they are “proof texts” showing who Jesus is and explaining what He taught on His way to the cross. In all, at least thirty-six miracles are detailed in the four Gospels. The passage we just read tells us that Jesus performed many, many more. But John focuses on just seven because through these seven he presents the case that Jesus is truly God. As you can see in your handout the seven miracles are Turning water into wine – John chapter two Healing a dying boy – John chapter four Healing an lame man – John chapter five Feeding 5,000 people – John chapter six Walking on water – John chapter six Giving a blind man his sight – John chapter nine Raising a man from the dead – John chapter eleven Why these particular miracles? The answer can be found in the powerful lesson that each miracle teaches about Jesus. But before we look at those lessons, let’s set the ground work my defining just what a miracle is not and what a miracle is. First, a miracle is not something that happens through hard work and determination. Another movie released recently carries the title MIRACLE. It’s about the historic “Miracle on Ice” at the 1980 winter Olympics. But though the defeat of the Russians by the young American team was amazing, it wasn’t the result of a miracle. Their victory was the result of a lot of hard work and determination. Anything that can be accomplished by human effort is not a miracle. A miracle is something beyond human ability. Going to the moon or Mars is not a miracle, it’s a marvel, but not a miracle. A miracle is some that happens beyond the scope of human ability. It’s something only God can do. And ultimately the purpose of a miracle is to prove God is behind whatever is happening. Just a brief glance at these seven miracles show us that they are “God things”, not something even the most brilliant of minds could accomplish on their own. A miracle is a “God thing”, something only God can do. So let’s look at seven things only God could do and what He was trying to show us through each one. Only God can turn something into something else: Jesus turned water into wine. This first miracle is found in the second chapter of the Gospel of John. It’s actually the very first miracle Jesus ever performed. Without reading the entire passage, here are the details: Jesus attends a wedding with several of His followers. During the reception or wedding feast the worst possible thing, they run out of wine. (That would be similar to us running out of Dr. Pepper after Sunday Night Bible Study only a whole lot worse.) Jesus’ mother is at the same wedding and approaches Jesus asking Him to do something. Jesus tells the waiters to go get six large water pots sitting by the front door and to pour the water into pitchers and serve the guests. The water is miraculously turned into fresh wine, even better than what had been previously served. Now that’s a miracle! No one has ever turned water into wine. I’ve made Kool-Aid before by adding something to water, but never by just pouring water. It was something only God can do because only God can take something and make it into something else. The second miracle is found in John chapter four. Only God can heal with just His words: Jesus healed a dying boy just by speaking. Several months ago we studied this passage in detail, the healing of the Nobleman’s son. Jesus is walking through the countryside when he is approached by a desperate father whose son is on the verge of death. He begs Jesus to come back to Capernaum with him to heal his son. Jesus tells the man to simply go home because his son will be ok. The man obeys Jesus’ command and starts home. It’s not until the next day that the man is met by his servants and told that his son was healed – at the exact time Jesus said the boy would be ok. That’s a miracle. Only God can heal a dying child. Doctors can give medicine, but only God can heal. Medics can stitch up a wound, but only God can heal. Surgeons can operate, but only God can heal. And only God can heal with just His words. The next miracle demonstrates that Jesus has power over more than just sickness. Only God can heal physical problems: Jesus healed a deformed man. This third miracle takes place beside a large ornamental pool in Jerusalem. Imagine something like the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Only this pool is surrounded by sick people hoping somehow to be healed somehow by the water. Let’s read the story from John chapter five: “Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew how long he had been ill, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get there, someone else always gets in ahead of me.” Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your sleeping mat, and walk!” Instantly, the man was healed!” John 5:2-9 Imagine, this man was instantly healed. Everyone there was waiting for the right moment to come when something miraculous would happen and they would find healing. The passage doesn’t tell us if anyone was ever healed because of the waters, only that they hoped to be healed. Jesus comes along and simply speaks the words and the man regains his strength, gets up and carries away his bed. It didn’t matter if the circumstances were right. It didn’t matter what day it was – all that mattered was that Jesus spoke and the man was healed because Jesus has the power to heal. The fourth miracle takes place in the countryside where over ten-thousand people were gathered to listen to Jesus as He taught. The Bible tells us in John chapter six that there were over five-thousand men, not counting the women and children. My guess is there were probably at least ten thousand, but we’ll just go with the 5,000 hungry men. It gets to be late in the day and the crowd is getting hungry. Jesus turns to His disciples and asked them what they have planned for dinner. The disciples are stunned. They hadn’t brought their own lunch let alone enough for 5,000-plus. All they could scrounge up was the lunch of a boy whose mother had had the foresight to pack him a lunch (a McDonald’s Value Meal, two filet-a-fish sandwiches and a super-sized fry) better known back then as five barley loaves and two fishes. Jesus tells the disciples to have everyone sit in groups. He takes the loaves and fishes, said grace over them, and began breaking them into pieces into baskets that he had the disciples pass around. Then when everyone had eaten to their full he told his followers to collect the leftovers. They came back with twelve baskets filled. Only God can take something and make it even greater: Jesus took five loaves and two fishes and feed over ten thousand. That’s a miracle! John finished the details of this miracle and immediately relates the next. Read with me in John chapter six, beginning in verse thirteen:
“There were only five
barley loaves to start with, but twelve baskets were filled with the
pieces of bread the people did not eat! He realized all they wanted was for Him to feed them. They weren’t interested in what He was teaching. “That evening his disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. 17But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed out across the lake toward Capernaum. Soon a gale swept down upon them as they rowed, and the sea grew very rough. They were three or four miles out when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, but he called out to them, “I am here! Don’t be afraid.” Then they were eager to let him in, and immediately the boat arrived at their destination!” John 6:13-21 Only God can control the weather, space and time: Jesus walked on water. Do you see the magnitude of this miracle? Notice everything that happened. - Jesus walks on water. - Jesus calms the storm - Jesus causes the boat to move three miles in no time Say what you want, think what you will, but only God can do those things. And only God can give blind people their sight. I know what you’re thinking. We’ve got you there Pastor Paul, we’ve all heard of stories where operations have helped people to see who were blind. Cataract surgery is routine. But let me ask you a question. When was the last time you read a story about someone born blind regaining their sight? Let me answer that one for you – never. At least never apart from Jesus. Here’s the story:
“As Jesus was walking
along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2“Teacher,” his
disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it a result of
his own sins or those of his parents?” “It was not because of his sins
or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “He was born blind so the power
of God could be seen in him… Only God had give site to the blind: Jesus gave sight to a blind man (and this wasn’t the only time!) When John the Baptist sent messengers to Jesus asking if He was really the Messiah (or should they be looking for someone else) Jesus responded: “Go back to John and tell him about what you have heard and seen—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” Matthew 11:4-5 Why did He tell them that? Because those are things only God can do! We’ve seen Jesus - make something into something entirely different, - heal with just His words and from a distance without ever meeting the person He healed, - heal deformity and forgive sin, - make much out of little, and - control nature itself - cure blindness with His touch If that were not enough, John shares one more miracle. Only God has the power over life and death: Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. All of the details are recorded in chapter eleven of the Gospel of John. Lazarus, Jesus’ friend was terribly sick and eventually died. Jesus arrives fours days after the funeral. After talking to Mary and Martha he heads to the tomb… “Then they came to the grave. It was a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, said, “Lord, by now the smell will be terrible because he has been dead for four days.” Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you will see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so they will believe you sent me.” Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And Lazarus came out, bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!” John 11:38-44 Jesus raised a dead man and gave him back his life! And this isn’t the only time. The other Gospels detail two other times Jesus raised the dead (Luke 7 & 8; Matthew 9:22, Mark 5). Seven powerful miracles that prove Jesus is God. He didn’t just say He was God – He proved it by what He did. That’s exactly what He told those who challenged His claim: “So why do you say that I speak against God because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? I am the one God chose and sent into the world. If I don’t do what my Father does, then don’t believe me. But if I do what my Father does, even though you don’t believe in me, believe what I do. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” John 10:36-38 Then He told His disciples: “Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of what you have seen me do.” John 14:11 Jesus performed each and every miracle to prove that He was who He said He was so that we would believe in Him. As we close this morning I want you to notice something very powerful about these six miraculous signs in John. When Jesus turned the water into wine He showed us that matter doesn’t matter to God. God can take anything and make something. If He can make the universe from nothing, He can certainly take something and make something else. That means He can take whatever I am and make it something new! In Revelation 21:5 Jesus cries, “Look, I am making all things new!” Jesus can take our old lives and make something far better from them. When Jesus healed the dying boy He showed us that distance doesn’t matter. No matter where we find ourselves His words are enough. He can accomplish His purpose no matter where we are. When Jesus healed the lame man by the pool He showed us that our condition does not matter. He is not nearly as concerned about what we are as what He can do in our lives. When Jesus fed the 5,000-plus with just five biscuits and two fish He showed us that limitations do not matter. He can take our little and accomplish great things if we will place them at His disposal. When Jesus walked on water and controlled nature He showed us that circumstances do not matter. No matter the troubles we are in, Jesus can find us and fix us and take us to where He wants us to be. When Jesus healed the blind man He showed us that our past does not matter. Jesus knew this man was a sinner, but he was far more concerned with curing the man than condemning him. Give you past to God, let Him forgive it and give you the ability to see His eternal purpose for your life. And when Jesus raised his dead friend He showed us that death does not matter. We don’t have to fear death because Jesus has the power over life and death. He controls life. And even if we face death we have the promise of the resurrection! Jesus proved He was God. But He also wants to prove to you that you matter to Him. He wants you to not only believe He is God, but accept Him as the Boss of your life and Forgiver of your sins. If He can do all of this He can surely take care of you and me! That’s why the Apostle John wrote in chapter twenty: “Jesus’ disciples saw him do many other miraculous signs besides the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life.” John 20:30-31 Jesus is God. He proved it by what He said and what He did. Now He wants to be your LORD and give you His life.
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(c) Paul Newell 2004 FamilyFellowship Church P.O. Box 465, Beaumont, CA 92223 |