So, as a reminder here they are:
The purpose is firstly, to learn about the miracles and secondly, to discover what they mean to us today.
The plan is the spend a few weeks in the miracles, shift to some parables, and finish up with the miracles.
We are examining these miracles chronologically with the intent of:
Looking at the types of miracles
Who was present
Purpose of the miracles
Which gospels recorded unique miracles
Which gospel had the most miracles
Which had the fewest
Which gospel had most of each type of miracle
We aren’t going to hit each of those every week, but sprinkle them in as the study unfolds.
We began last week with 4 miracles.
Turning water into wine-which to me is both a “food” miracle, as well as a a “nature” miracle.
Remember, one of the purposes of the miracles is to prove Jesus’ power over everything:
We see 5 types of miracles in the 37 miracles recorded in the gospels:
Food
Nature
Healing
Demon possession
and raising of the dead
The second miracle was:
The healing of the nobleman’s son
3rd miracle:
Calling the demon out of the man in the synagogue
4th miracle:
Healing of Peter’s mother in law
In the first 4, we see:
2 healings
1 exorcism
1 power over nature in the turning of water to wine (could also be considered “food”)
Let’s look at our next group of miracles. This first one is found in Matthew 8:16-17 / Mark 1:32-34/ and Luke 4:40-41-
-Many healed and demons cast out-
Here is a harmony of these 3 gospels:
“At evening, when the sun had set, the whole city was gathered together at the door. They brought to Him all who were sick and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. He cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew that He was the Christ.”
Remarks:
The first thing we notice here is the contrast in this 5th miracle to that of the first 4.
This is a VERY public miracle!
The whole city was gathered together @ the door!
Scripture tells us “He laid hands on the sick”, and healed them ALL,
but with a WORD, He cast out the demons.
I couldn’t find a single scripture that says “Jesus touched a demon”.
I’m thinking there must be a reason for that!
And just maybe, we should follow His example.
In Matthew 8:17 “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses.””
In Matthew’s gospel we see these words 15 times, and Jesus spoke them first in:
Matthew 5:17 ““Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”
Jesus was fulfilling the prophet Isaiah from chapter 53:4.
This next miracle is unique to Luke and found in:
Luke 5:1-11 stand with me as we honor God while reading His word (repeat address)
-Great catch of fish-
Luke 5:1–4 “So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.””
Luke 5:6–8 “And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!””
Luke 5:9–11 “For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”
Luke 5:1 “So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,”
Remarks:
Let’s begin with this:
The Lake of Gennesaret (ga-NES-a-ret) is also known as The Sea of Galilee as well as the The Sea of Tiberias.
It is the same body of water!
Luke 5:2 “and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.”
Nobody in the boats at this point.
Luke 5:3 “Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.”
The crowds were pressing in, so Jesus did a little social distancing!
Luke 5:4 “When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.””
Luke 5:5 “But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.””
Sooo much here to unbox!
Growing up, I spent a lot of time studying @ the school of “Because I said so”.
In fact, many of you here today, may be graduates as well as teachers in the school of “Because I said so”.
You know the school:
You ask your mom:
“Why do I need to clean my room?”
and the reply “Because I said so”.
We see the doubt in Peter’s response. I can almost hear it!
But he replies “because You said so”.
Luke 5:6 “And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.”
I can almost also hear Jesus say “See, I told you so”!
Luke 5:7 “So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.”
Luke 5:8 “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!””
Last week I mentioned there is a pattern in the miracles:
A need arises
Jesus addresses and meets the need
The response to the need
At first glance, the need might be to have fish to sell, since that was their trade.
But Jesus proves the need…is to believe!
We see this shift in Peter from doubting that putting out in the deep water is going to produce anything, (because after all, Peter is the expert here right, not Jesus.)
So the shift goes from Peter doubting Jesus to Peter doubting himself!
Luke 5:8 “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!””
I’ve been watching the series “The Chosen”.
One of the most powerful scenes in the up til now 4 seasons, is the scene when Peter falls at Jesus’ feet and cries out to Jesus to confess his sin!
Look how Peter also changes how he addresses Jesus:
Luke 5:5 “But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.””
The title Master there is addressing Jesus in a great manner of respect, but look at v8.
Luke 5:8 “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”” THIS is not only a confession of sin, but a sign of submission... “Lord”.
Luke 5:9 “For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;”
Luke 5:10 “and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.””
This is such a powerful portrait of Jesus’ mercy and grace.
So the need that Jesus addresses here, is for Peter to become humble in order to follow Jesus, and become fishers of men.
Luke 5:11 “So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”
Tell the story of Moriah fishing.
Can you imagine the fishing stories those disciples had? This is probably the origin of the fishing story, “you should have seen the one that got away”!
They forsook ALL and followed Him.
I believe the entire purpose of this miracle, is to prove to these men, that He is the Messiah!
Let’s move on to the next miracle found in:
Matthew 8:1-4 / Mark 1:40-45 / Luke 5:12-14-harmony
-Healing of the leper-
Harmony:
“When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a man who was full of leprosy came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus, moved with compassion, put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.””
However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.”
Remarks:
After He came down from the mountain.
In Matthew chapters 5-7 we see the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus comes down from that mountain, and immediately begins healing.
Just a few notes about leprosy.
I knew it was a skin disease, contagious and for the most part incurable.
But kind of like when Jesus cured Peter’s mother in law of a fewer, when need to understand a little more of the condition to appreciate the miracle to the max!
The Jewish people considered leprosy, and virtually all disease, as God’s punishment for sin.
Therefore, lepers were considered not only physically unclean, but spiritually unclean as well.
Completely banished from the rest of society to colonies, very often caves.
Leprosy was literally a living death.
Skins rots off the body
Nerve endings are damaged so badly, there is no feeling, no sense of pain. So a simple touch was mere numbness.
Obviously, this wasn’t just a little rash, that Jesus healed.
Also, in addition to the great physical suffering he was experiencing, he must have had an enormous degree of emotional and spiritual suffering, which probably took equal or worse toll on the leper.
He knew Jesus COULD heal him, but not sure if Jesus was willing to heal him.
I sort of flashed forward to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and praying :Luke 22:42 “saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.””
I know it is not the same situation, but sometimes these pictures just come to me. So, at the risk of “lookin’ a fool”, I share them with you.
Here’s a crazy fact: It was unlawful to touch a leprous person, because you too, would become unclean.
Jesus touched the man, but He did not violate the law because He came to fulfill the law and the prophets.
Jesus said “say nothing to no one, but go tell a priest”.
I did a lot of digging and there’s plenty of speculation on this, but I’m prone to believe that Jesus was giving this instruction to fulfill the law in Leviticus 14:1-32 / I encourage you to go back and read that passage. Pretty fascinating. But it is another example of the detail in God’s Word.
But I do want to read verse 17:
This is pertaining to the leper:
Leviticus 14:17 “And of the rest of the oil in his hand, the priest shall put some on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the trespass offering.”
It is not unreasonable to suppose, that when Jesus touched the leper, He touched the lobe of his right ear.
The leper was ostracized, but Jesus made him whole again.
Last week, someone mentioned that since coming to CPC, it was the first time they didn’t feel ostracized in church- Again, I am speaking metaphorically.
Church, I want to encourage you to continue offering a touch and a hug to everyone! There is healing power in a touch!
Let’s take a look at the next miracle found in:
Matthew 8:5-13 /Luke 7:1-10-harmony
-Healing of centurion’s servant-
Harmony:
“Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum.
And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.””
And Jesus said to them, “I will come and heal him.”
“Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.
When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”
And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.”
Remarks:
So much to chew on here, but gonna do my best not to get bogged in the minutiae of it all.
Jesus had just come down from preaching the Sermon on the Mount.
This was a gentile that Jesus healed as prophesied in:
Luke 2:28–32 “he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.””
Luke 7:3 “So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant.”
Luke 7:6 “Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.”
This centurion sent two groups of delegates to plea with Jesus about healing his servant.
The Jewish elders were subjects of the Roman government, therefore subjects of this Centurion.
Do you see the dichotomy here? The elders were pleading to Jesus, who they probably abhorred to heal the servant of the Centurion.
We know one thing going through their minds:
Luke 7:4–5 “And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.””
They were probably groveling and grumbling in the same breath.
Luke 7:9 “When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!””
When was the last time Jesus marveled at you?
I don’t know of anything I may have done that marveled Jesus.
I’ve done plenty that probably has Him shaking His head and claiming “Father, there’s still work to be done with this one”!
I love this quote by George Mueller: Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible.
Isn’t that rich?
Makes me think of Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
I find it amazing that the Centurion addresses Jesus (also a subject to Roman rule), with the utmost reverence with Lord.
Luke 7:6 “Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.”
A few weeks back in our Wednesday night devotional and prayer time, we discussed the importance of Jesus as our Lord, and what His Lordship should mean to us. It was a really good discussion. -Y’all should join us sometime!
Luke 7:7 “Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
This centurion is proclaiming “just say the word, Jesus”.
Is that us?
Think about it like this:
John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Before we move to the next miracle, I’d like to consider this:
This centurions faith is rooted in his understanding of authority. He recognized Jesus’ authority. The centurion spoke the word and it happened. He knew Jesus could do that at a miraculous level!
This next miracle is one of my favorites, if not my favorite.
It’s found in:
Matthew 9:1-8 / Mark 2:1-12 and Luke 5:17-26 harmony
-Healing of paralytic let down from roof-
Harmony
“And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.
As He was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.
Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.
And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.””
And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?””
But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?”
But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!””
Remarks:
First of all, I don’t know about you, but I need friends like that. Someone willing to do everything to get me to Jesus.
Is that you?
Scripture says that ALL were amazed.
The scribes and Pharisees may have been amazed but they were also of the mind that Jesus had blasphemed.
Blasphemy was punishable by stoning to death.
We see the percolating of plot to kill Jesus bubble up.
In every miracle we see Jesus’ authority on display. In this one we see His authority to forgive sins!
HALLELUJAH and AMEN!
The reason this miracle is so powerful to me is what this man’s friends do.
They were so determined to get their friend to Jesus, that they tore a hole in the roof!
Is that us?
These 4 that tore a hole in the roof and lowered this man down to see Jesus, are EXACTLY what the church is supposed to do!
I see a sermon coming titled “The 4 that tore”!
Anyway, they saw the need this man had, they addressed the need by getting this man to Jesus, and Jesus does what He does.
This should be us church:
See the need
Address the need
Teach others to do the same
Our last miracle today is found in:
Matthew 12:9-14/Mark 3:1-6 /Luke 6:6-11 harmony
-Man with the withered hand-
Harmony
“Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught.
So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.
And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.
They asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him. Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? But they kept silent.
But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand,
“Step forward.” Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” . And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. But they were filled with rage, and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.”
Remarks:
This appears to be a set-up by the scribes and Pharisees.
But Jesus is not daunted by their trickery.
He continues to do what He set out to do. Save mankind!
We need to to the first verse in chapter 12 of Matthew to see how Jesus is claiming His Lordship, and this gets the Pharisees riled up, and set in motion the set-up in the synagogue.
Matthew 12:1–2 “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!””
Jesus then gives the Pharisees a tongue lashing and finishes in verse 8.
Matthew 12:8 “For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.””
Church, WE know Jesus is Lord over everything.
This includes over us, if we submit and claim it.
These miracles are showing His power and why He came to earth.
To fulfill the law and the prophets!
We’ve covered 10 of the 37 miracles of Jesus in the gospels.
Next week, we will continue our study of His miracles.
