Miracles: Previews of Coming Attractions Mark 6:56
Introduction Jesus Christ was no mere slight–of–hand magician. He was, in the truest sense, a worker of wonders. The Gospels do not have an unhealthy interest in miracles, but they give us plenty of miraculous evidence to believe in Jesus. Two qualifications about Jesus’ miraculous works should be made: 1. Miracles do not appear in every page of Christ’s life. They are exceptions to the norm. 2. Miracles are not self-authenticating. They do not ensure belief (Mark 6:5-6). They should help engender faith (John 10:38; 20:30-31), but they can get in the way of faithful progress (John 6:26). The issue before us in our text is that all that came to Jesus were healed. I would like to ask why. For what reason did our Lord work miracles, signs, wonders, and works?
I. To Show His Identity (Mark 2:10). A. There is a right relationship between a miracle and the Messiah. Jesus healed the paralytic’s sickness to prove that He could solve the man’s bigger problem of sin. II. To Demonstrate That the Kingdom Had Come (Matthew 12:28). A. There is a right relationship between the reign of God being reestablished on planet earth and the Messiah. Casting out demons was a sign that the end of the age had come. III. To Extend Kindness (Matthew 8:4). A. Sometimes Jesus worked miracles just because He wanted to. His heart went out to hurting folk. No doubt the leper welcomed the words, “I am willing.” His heart is touched with my grief IV. To Stir Controversy (John 5:1-18). A. There is a right relationship between miracle and mess. Miracles can make things very messy. They can get the miracle worker in a heap of trouble, especially if they are done on Saturday. It may sound odd to our ears, but Jesus sometimes worked miracles to stir up the people so that they would be forced to deal with His deity and claims. V. To Reward Faithfulness (Mark 7:24-30). A. There is an interesting relationship between faith and miracles. It is not an absolute relationship. Faith is not always required for a miracle for a very simple reason—God is sovereign. To the woman who was a definite outsider (a dog) the miracle proved a reward of her faith. VI. To Fulfill Prophecy (Matthew 8:17). A. There is a right relationship between predictive prophecy and the Messiah. It was said that when He came the deaf would hear, the blind would see, and the lame would leap like a deer. VII. To Pour out the Glory of God (John 11:4). A. There is a right relationship between Jesus’ whole life and the glory of God. When He walked among us we beheld the glory of God. When people saw Lazarus walking around all they could say was, “Glory to God.”
Conclusion But beyond any of these purposes, miracles are part of Christ’s saving work! As Jesus worked miracles He began to save the world. Miracles are not just proofs of deity, and therefore should not be approached apologetically only. The miracle stories of the Bible have salvation talk in them. “Faith”, “save”, and “mercy” are words that appear in the miracles. They are cameos of life in the new heaven and new earth. They are snapshots of future glory. When a miracle takes place the recipients have a brief glimpse into a future world ruled totally by God where there is no sickness, death, or oppression by the evil one.
Illustration Miracles and the movies. Going to the movies might be an appropriate metaphor to understand miracles. Before the feature presentation there are usually some previews of coming attractions. So it is with Christ’s miracles during His first coming.
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While reading the Holy Spirit gave me this Miracles!!
M:making
I:intercession
A:at
C:Critical
L:life
E:events that
S:save
HalleluYAH, we love it, Pastor Robin! This is really Good and led by the Holy Spirit. Continue to stay in tune with God.