01.02. Miracles, Windows of Faith

Miracles, Windows of Faith

Luke 7:11-23

The words of Christ are very important but would only be words if not for the fact of who He was and is to back up the words. Even the critics and those who crucified Him had to trump up false witness and charges to condemn Him to die. If all Jesus had done was to say and not do, few would have believed in Him. John said in John 21:25, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen."

Today we look at the miracles in general as we continue to introduce the series of "At the Master’s Side." The scripture is full of places where Jesus did the miraculous from a human viewpoint.

A: Are Miracles Possible?:

There are many that simply claim that all miracles are nothing more than illusion or disillusion. Are miracles simply something that we should be able to explain in a scientific way or is it possible for supernatural events that go beyond explanation? To answer this question we must ask what are miracles? There are two Greek words in the New Testament that are translated miracle(s) in the KJV. First, dunamis (doo’-nam-is); meaning "force (literally or figuratively); specially, miraculous power (usually by implication, a miracle itself): " It is translated in the KJV-- ability, abundance, meaning, might (-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle (-s), power, strength, virtue, violence, mighty (wonderful) work. The second word is semeion (say-mi’-on); meaning, "an indication, especially ceremonially or supernaturally" It is translated in the KJV-- miracle, sign, token, wonder. To believe in miracles one must begin first with a belief in the supernatural. Without a supernatural there is no room for miracles to be possible. We must believe that God can and has performed miracles. Some say that the laws of nature are broken during a miracle. Might I say that God is the cause and effect of our laws of nature and when God does a supernatural miracle it is a higher law being exercises. Archbishop Trench said, "We should term the miracle not the infraction of law, but behold in it the lower law neutralized, and for the time put out of working by a higher…" (Richard C. Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord, Fleming H. Revell Company, p. 63) So we quickly say that miracles are not only possible but also expected because we know there is a God who is supernatural. Miracles are windows of our faith.

B: History of Miracles:

    Jesus was not the first to perform miracles when He walked upon the earth. We find miracles performed only rarely except for a few clusters on the time line of biblical history.

We find the first miracles recorded performed by Moses. This was when God was going to redeem His people from Egypt. These miracles continued into the wilderness. I count a total of 19 miracles during the time of Moses and Aaron. God used miracles to authenticate the ministry of Moses. Next came three miracles during the time of Joshua. God here wanted to show the Joshua was the successor of Moses. We move next to a period in time when the office of the prophet was being instituted. Elijah and Elisha were both miracle-performing prophets. I count seven by Elijah and 13 by Elisha. Of special notice is that most of the prophets of Israel DID NOT perform miracles. The next miracles did not come until the time of Christ and the early church. This begs the question, do miracles prove undeniably that it is of God? NO! NO! NO! Notice with me what happened during the time of Moses to show this.

Exodus 7:8-12 "And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, ⁹ When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. ¹⁰And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. ¹¹ Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.¹² For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods."

We also know that in the future the Anti-Christ will perform sign and wonders to deceive men. 2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: ⁹ Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, ¹⁰ And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish…" Notice the second beast in Revelation has miracle working powers that is used to decieve. Revelation 13:13-15 "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, ¹⁴ And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. ¹⁵ And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." So how do we keep from being deceived? Do miracles happen today? How can we know something is of God? Notice the miracles of the bible occurred when God wanted to show something was of God. Today the miracles are a baby crying, a new birth, a healing of someone by God. Miracles still happen today but if you hear someone is walking on Boone Lake you can doubt it is of God.

C: The Miracle of Incarnation:

The context of all the miracles of Jesus Christ begins with the miracle of the incarnation. The God of Heaven chooses to come down and dwell among men. Certainly the virgin birth and conception is a miracle. The circumstance of fulfilled prophecy of the city of the birth is a miracle. But the greatest miracle is the fact that God Himself came to earth as a human. The only begotten son, the only one that God fathered by the Holy Spirit. There will never be a repeat of Bethlehem, nor is it necessary. The Only Begotten is enough.

D: The Widow of Nain’s Son Raised:

Jesus is traveling past the city of Nain and when He nears the gate of the city He encounters a funeral procession. The sadness of the scene, not that death is not always sad, is made clear by the words, "the only son of his mother, and she was a widow…" There were many of the people with her but we can see she was also all alone in the family now. Jesus sees her and says, "Weep not." Jesus had the authority and the compassion to interrupt the funeral procession. He walks up and touches the casket, (bier) and says, "Young man, I say unto thee, Arise."

    We will not get into the fact that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, this will keep for another time. I want us to notice a couple of things here however. First, this miracle of Christ took place in the regular routine of life. Second, the One who is the giver of life never passed by a funeral without a resurrection. We cannot stop the tide of death but we can rest in the giver of life. Third, our miracle with Christ begins with the new birth. With our own personal resurrection from the dead we begin to see the miracles around us.