Psalm 105:1-5; John 2:1-11, Luke 8:22-25
Miracles and Signs come in many ways.
In Acts 2:22: Peter uses three of the words to describe the miracles of Jesus: “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs.”
Each of these three words for refers to a kind of miracle. “Works” are the acts healing Jesus performed. “Wonders” are the miracles that brought awe and astonished people. “Signs” is the word used most in the Gospel of John. Signs point to Jesus and to His glory.
Jesus first public miracle at the wedding in Cana
The miracle of changing water into wine is believed to be Jesus first public miracle.
In John’s Gospel he recounts the events at the Wedding of Cana and how Jesus turned water into wine. There is much to be said about this event but the focus today is the miracle and how Jesus is revealed in it. John ends this account with the words from vs 11, “Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.”
For John it was key that the miracles were not seen as just magic tricks as the sorcerers were doing but that the miracles or signs that Jesus performed would point beyond the act to the presence of God at work and the coming of the Kingdom when God alone would triumph and be honored.
The Gospel of Luke was written by a physician and from his perspective of medical, physical and scientific. Keep this in mind as we consider how miracles of healing are told.
Listen to some of the verses from Luke 4 beginning with vs 31 that speak of miracles and the response of the people.
He went down to Capernaum, and was teaching…. In the synagogue…there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. 36 They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, “What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!” From the synagogue he goes to Simon’s house and heals Simon’s mother-in-law who had been suffering from a high fever…
40 As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them. 42 At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. 43 But he said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.
Jesus wasn’t performing miracles just to lift himself up but instead to point to the good news of the kingdom of God. As crowds came to be healed he preached about the Kingdom and told the Good News.
Jesus awes his disciples.
In the bulk of Jesus miracles and signs we see the blind, mute, deaf, crippled, and demonic healed but there are other miracles that reveal Jesus power even over nature.
In our reading from Luke 8 we read that as he is in the boat with the disciple and a terrible storm comes up and the disciples are afraid of perishing. Jesus wasn’t too bothers. He stands and rebukes the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm.
This is a completely different kind of miracle. Healing people is amazing enough but to be able to control nature truly awes his disciples. They exclaim, “Who then is this that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?”
These miracles reveal that Jesus is beyond any magician or physician but is empowered by the Creator Himself!
Miracles still today?
Is Jesus still revealed through miracles today? Are there miracles that help us to see Jesus is still at work bringing the Kingdom of God and proclaiming the Good News?
I think we first need to define…What is a miracle?
What are some ways you would define a miracle? Is it a miracle because its undefinable or unexplainable?
I found some definitions from some well known scholars that I though would be helpful for us in defining a miracle:
St. Augustine: “A miracle is an occurrence which is contrary to what is known of nature.”
S. Lewis: “I use the word, miracle, to mean an interference with nature by supernatural power.”
William Barclay: “A miracle is an event in which God’s power has made a special entry into our lives.”
I was given a book this Christmas titled, “It’s a God Thing” created by Don Jacobson and K-love. In this book they share stories of people who have experienced miracles of all kinds.
First two paragraphs from the Introduction:
You hear a lot of talk about miracles these days. Are they real? Skeptics will say that miracles are nothing but wishful fairy tales. Even some people who identify themselves as Christ-followers express doubts about them from time to time. For that matter, what exactly gets defined as a miracle?
There are certainly occurrences for many people that are above all else, unexplainable. Whether it is a tumor that has suddenly disappeared from a medical scan, a near death experience, or simply unexpected provision that appears out of nowhere, many have been left with thankful hearts and few words to say other than, “It’s a God thing.”
I would like to share just a portion of one of the stories to just help us to see how miracles are still happening in Jesus name:
This story is shared by Michelle Myre. Let me give you a condensed version of the beginning of the story.
It was an incredibly hot day, almost 100 degrees and Michelle was on the way to the grocery store. As she pulled into the parking lot she saw a young girl sprawled out on the asphalt of the parking lot. Michelle quickly assessed the girl’s condition and knew she would need CPR right away. As she was preparing to begin a retired firefighter appeared and together they began compressions and rescue breaths. They had done 7 or 8 full rounds but the girl was looking worse.
Now in Michelle’s words: It was my turn to deliver the compressions, but instead, I heard a voice audibly whisper into my right ear: Pray.
Nothing else. Just a quiet, commanding voice. Pray.
By this time I had the sense that quiet a crowd had amassed around us, maybe to or fifteen people. For a split second I thought, What will these people think of me when I do this? But I chose to obey and step out in faith. With my hands poised over her chest to do compressions, I placed them gently on her and spoke the words that came to me: “Breathe! In Jesus’ name!”
There was no pause, no time lag, no period where we sat and waited and wondered what was going to happen or what we should try next. As soon as the prayer left my lips, the girl’s body immediately convulsed upwards as though a giant hook had yanked her up toward heaven.
She opened her eyes and took in a tremendous gulp of air – the kind a diver would take after returning to the surface.
She drank it in, filling every part of her body with fresh air. It was the sweetest music my ears ever heard. “Where am I?” she asked.
My heart was overjoyed and as I sat back on my heels, exhausted and exhilarated as the same time, I told her that she would be okay. She fell back into the firefighter’s arms, and with a minute the paramedics arrived and took over.
As I stepped back, with tears flowing down my face, my spirit was rejoicing. I couldn’t stop myself from praising Jesus. “Did you see that? God saved her! That was awesome! Thank you, Jesus!” People were more focused on the paramedics as they gave her oxygen and continued to stabilize her. Someone in the crowd called back to me, “Oh yeah, sure.”
No doubt, to some of the observers, I looked like a looney tune, praising Jesus like that, but the strange looks did not bother me.
Yes, Miracles still happen today and hopefully, like this woman, the Lord is the one praised and the power of the God is revealed.
To end this message I can’t help but turn to the words of the Psalmist
1 O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
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