Sermon on Miracles | The Miracles of Jesus
Categories: Sermon Outlines, Topical Sermon Outlines Tags: Sermons on MiraclesSERMON ON MIRACLES
INTRODUCTION: John 20:30-31
A. What would you say if I told you that I know someone who has restored life to dead bodies? someone who has given perfect sight to a man who was born blind? someone who fed 5000 men plus the women and children with them, using only 5 loaves of bread and two small fish – and that he had more food left over than he had at the start?
B. The Bible says this and much, much more about Jesus of Nazareth!
1. During His own earthly life and ministry, He was a well-known miracle-worker
2. Luke 23:8 a Herod hoped to see Jesus work a miracle
3. Probably most (if not all) in this assembly have studied the matter and concluded that Jesus did, in fact, work miracles.
4. But there are others in our day which doubt it, or perhaps even deny that Jesus preformed miracles.
5. What about the miracles of Jesus?
DISCUSSION:
A. MIRACLE DEFINED
1. A miracles is not just something unusual (even highly unusual) or amazing – having your car roll over at a high rate of speed and coming out without a scratch
2. A miracle is an event which supersedes the natural laws which govern and control the universe
a. Superseded the law of gravity by walking on the water
b. Jesus superseded the natural healing process by healing people instantly, and even raising the dead
c. Jesus superseded statistical probability by pulling a coin out of a fishes mouth
3. Note: Just because God does something, or is involved in an event, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a miracle
a. E.g. when Jesus overthrew the money-changers’ tables and drove the livestock from the temple, was it a miracle??
b. God also works within the laws He Himself ordained to govern His creation (e.g. works thru our immune systems, medical technology, etc.)
B. WHY DO SOME NOT BELIEVE IN THE MIRACLES OF JESUS (or other Bible miracles)?
1. Because they have not personally witnessed them
a. Compare Thomas “When I see, then I’ll believe”
b. This is a faith problem
c. Hebrews 11:1
d. NOTE: I am not advocating “blind faith” but rather faith based upon solid evidence (more on this later)
2. Low respect for the Bible
a. Liberals deny inspiration, accuracy, authority, etc. – so why believe what it says about miracles?
b. So-called “experts” claim that accounts of miracles are just records of ‘normal’ things the disciples supposedly exaggerated out of respect for Jesus.
1) Supposedly this was common among disciples of other Rabbis
2) Since Jesus taught absolute honesty, how would He be honored by lies?
3. Humanism
a. Exalts man to top position in the universe – says man is becoming better and better.
b. Thus, since we cannot perform these feats, they conclude that Jesus couldn’t either.
c. Humanism denies everything supernatural
4. Disgust at modern pretenders
a. TV miracle-workers poison right-thinking people’s minds with their theatrical performances and hypocritical fanaticism
1) Hitting people in the forehead with the palm of their hand (“knocking them out”)
2) Screening people – not allowing cases that can’t be faked to come up on stage (Benny Hin)
3) Constant appeals for $$
b. There are documented reports where supposedly “healed” people becoming worse, dying.
c. There are documented reports where “healers” were being fed information via radio transmitter (as if from God)
C. WHY SHOULD WE BELIEVE IN JESUS’ MIRACLES?
1. Because of the reliability of the Bible
a. Has proven itself over and over again to be scientifically, historically, and in every other way accurate.
b. Time forbids a survey of evidence in favor of divine inspiration; suffice it to say that such evidence is overwhelming and assures us that the Biblical record with regard to miracles is trustworthy, too.
2. Because of the sheer number of them
a. Number of recorded miracles of Jesus is well over 3 dozen.
b. These cannot be lightly dismissed but deserve thorough investigation.
3. Because of the variety of them
a. Healing various infirmities (hemorrhaging, fever, leprosy, paralysis, lameness, dropsy [accumulation of fluid in limbs or abdomen], & others); note Jesus did not screen out the hard cases!
b. Restoration of senses (sight, hearing, speech)
c. Restoration of life to the dead
d. Walking on water
e. Stilling storms immediately
f. Feeding multitudes w/ small amounts of food
g. Instantly turning water into wine
h. Casting out demons
i. Such a wide variety of miracles speaks against trickery or deceit
4. Because of the verifiability of them
a. E.g. man born blind (John 9)
1) There was no doubt that this man was blind – not a pretender, not someone “planted” in the audience, not a mental case.
2) No doubt this was the right man–his neighbors and parents said so.
b. E.g. raising of Lazarus
1) Obviously he was dead – already decaying!
2) When is the last time you saw or heard of anything like this from a TV miracle worker?
c. Modern pretenders prefer to do things that cannot be verified (e.g. internal problems or things emotionalism may temporarily override–e.g. in wheel chair)
5. Because even Jesus’ enemies admitted that He did these things
a. They accused Him of using Satan’s power to do them – Matthew 9:32-34
b. John 11:45-48 – Pharisees acknowledged that He did many signs–they feared that He would gain a big following
D. CONSEQUENCES OF DENYING THE MIRACLES OF JESUS
1. Jesus loses His credibility as the Son of God
a. Acts 2:22 – it was the miracles that showed that God approved of what Jesus said and did
b. His “works” proved that He was Who He said He was – John 5:36; John 14:11
c. OT prophecies predicted that Messiah would work miracles – Isaiah 35:5-6
2. John 20:30-31 – one great pillar would be knocked our from under our faith.
CONCLUSION:
A. We can be confident that Jesus really did perform the miracles which Scripture mentions, as well as innumerable more not recorded there.
B. Those miracles attest to His identity as the Christ, the Son of God. That identity, in turn, gives meaning to His sacrificial death upon the cross, and to that crowning miracle of all miracles, His resurrection from the dead.
C. He also has the power to save you from your sins, and to raise you from the dead at the last day.