Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Miracles in Johns Gospel
Miracles in Johns Gospel
|1|
The Miracles Highlighted in the Gospel of John
Copyright © 2017 by Abiding Place Ministries, San Diego, CA.
Introduction 5
Summary 41
Conclusion 55
|3|
|4|
Introduction
|6|
Peter, the miracle of replacing the ear that was cut off of one
of the temple servants by Peter, the resurrection of Jesus from
the dead, the great catch of fish after His resurrection, and His
ascension into Heaven.
|7|
|8|
Water into Wine
When Jesus turned the water into wine there were several
people in participation with this miracle. To begin with, this
was a miracle that was initiated by Mary the mother of Jesus.
Mary presented the need to Jesus by simply saying, “they have
no wine…” The response of Jesus was shocking, as it appeared
that He was not interested in being involved, and effectively
points to a timing issue (John 2:4). Jesus was committed only
to doing what the Father showed Him to do, but this did not
stop Mary, who persisted in her desire to provide the needed
wine for the wedding. Mary as it were ignored what Jesus said,
and persisted by instructing the servants to do whatever Jesus
required of them. Jesus then told the servants, who were
evidently waiting for His instruction, to fill the six water pots
with water, and then afterwards to take the water and present
it to the governor as wine. The six water pots combined would
have furnished a generous amount of wine totaling roughly
108 to 180 gallons of wine. Each stone jar would have been
about 18 to 30 gallons weighing more than 200 pounds. Once
the water was supplied it is not clear if the water was made
wine while it sat in the water pots, or at the time of the draw-
ing of the water by the servants, or at the time that the gover-
nor actually tasted of the water.
|9|
enormous weight. Therefore, they would have had to either
carried containers weighing around 200 pounds, or continu-
ously carried smaller buckets until the jars were full. In either
case there would have been a significant amount of work
involved in the performance of this miracle.
| 10 |
While many important points could be made here, the most
outstanding one is that faith does not say, “if it be thy will.”
Rather, as Jesus points out elsewhere, it places a demand on
those things that we know a loving and generous God is willing
to supply (Luke 11:5-13; 18:1-8).
| 11 |
| 12 |
The Nobleman’s Son Cured
The power of the spoken word
Jesus was rejected in His own hometown, but it is said that the
Galileans received Him (John 4:45). In the place where there is
no honor for the man of God, miracles cannot take place. Mat-
thew says that those of His own hometown were offended by
him (Matthew 13:57). There are many today who are offended
by the belief that Jesus still does miracles through His servants.
As a result, just as Jesus was dishonored then, they show the
same to His servants now (Matthew 10;25). Whatever anyone
does to those who come in the name of Jesus, they do it to
Him (Matthew 10:40; John 13:20). So in the same way, those
who have this disposition today will be deprived of the divine
provision they otherwise could have had. If men truly honor
Jesus and His word, then they are going to show the same
honor to those who come in His name teaching His word and
doing His works. There are many who prevent the miracles of
Jesus from entering into their lives because of their attitudes
towards the servants of God. Just as a little rudder turns a
great ship, their tongue sets the course of their lives. As fire
burns and devours, so the utterance of their tongue consumes
the blessings of the Lord (James 3:4-6).
| 13 |
son. When he had finally arrived in Cana, he asked Jesus to
return with him to Capernaum to heal his son who was at the
point of death. In this context, Jesus revealed one of the chief
doctrines of His ministry: the need for signs and wonders.
Signs and wonders were the primary feature of the ministry of
Jesus and his disciples. The purpose for them was plainly stat-
ed by Him, “without signs and wonders you will not believe”
(John 4:48). Surely, it was the joy and delight of the heart of
Christ Jesus to bring healing and deliverance to all who would
receive.
| 14 |
50). He had not seen, but he believed (John 20:29).
The power of the signs and wonders which help men believe
was underscored by the response of the nobleman’s entire
family, who were established in the faith as a result of the
miracle (vs 53). God ordained that His message of salvation
be preached with signs and wonders. To believe that Jesus
was issuing a rebuke when He said, “unless you see signs and
wonders you will not believe,” is a mistake. God anointed Jesus
with the Holy Ghost and power to do these works. Jesus also
equipped and sent all those who would go on His behalf as His
witnesses and ambassadors with the ability to do the same
signs and wonders (Matthew 10:1; Acts 1:8; Romans 15:19;
John 14:12). When the disciples of John came asking Jesus if
He were the Christ, He answered their question with the signs
and wonders which He did (Luke 7:22). Jesus lived in the mi-
raculous, and every part of His ministry relied upon the heav-
enly being revealed through His life. Beginning with Nathaniel,
who’s heart was opened to believe by the word of knowledge
(John 1:46), and throughout His ministry, Father was being
revealed by the works which Jesus did (John 14:10-11).
We must never lose sight of that which is far better than signs
and wonders and every display of the supernatural. There is
something better than all the good things that God in His love
would do for us. If we combine all that we can think or ask, still
nothing can compare to this fellowship that we now have with
God in Christ Jesus. There is nothing so great as the beauty
and the splendor of His manifest presence. There is nothing
that compares to the love that He has for us, and the blessed
privileged of interacting with Him. Knowing Him and walking
with Him, because of who He is, far surpasses all other things.
| 15 |
| 16 |
The Healing of the Paralytic at Bethesda
The man obviously did not know who Jesus was, and made
no request of him other than to indicate that he was looking
for a man to help him get into the pool when the water was
| 17 |
troubled. Perhaps he thought that Jesus might be that man
who would show pity upon him and stay by his side until the
moving of the water. Jesus knew that this man had no basis for
faith in anything other than this one provision for healing that
he knew. Therefore, Jesus was going to supply the faith and
preach the greatest sermon of God’s goodness and love that
the man had ever, or could ever, hear. The sermon of God’s
love that would birth in his heart faith in the Savior was, “Arise
take up your bed and walk” (John 5:8). Immediately the man
felt strength come into his weak and invalid body and he rose
up. There was no faith being exercised on his part,this was a
miracle performed solely on the initiative and faith of Jesus.
All that this man had was faith in the stirring of the water,
he knew nothing about faith in Jesus. However, one miracle
changed everything. Evidently, none of the multitude that
waited for the stirring of the water knew anything about Christ
Jesus, the Healer. Some might ask, “Why did Jesus only minis-
ter healing to this one man who was there among so many?”
What we can say is He did so by Spirit knowledge, by the
direction of His Father. Perhaps this was the worst case, the
most pathetic situation of all those who were gathered there.
There was no one willing to have mercy on this man and help
him to the water. We might say that he was the one that no
one wanted anything to do with. What we can safely assume is
that once Christ the healer had come to Bethesda there would
be no more need for an angel anymore. Heaven would do
nothing to distract or take away from the One that the Father
had sent. Although the scripture doesn’t mention it, we can
imagine that once the terrible case of a man bed ridden for
38 years was cured, it would have gotten the attention of the
multitude who would have left off waiting for an angel and
gone in pursuit of the Redeemer (John 6:2). Spirit knowledge
would have given Jesus the key not to just one man’s heart,
but also to the hearts of everyone gathered there.
Jesus commanded the man who had been a crippled to do
something that he was totally unable to do. This miracle did
| 18 |
not take place because of the faith that this crippled man had
in Jesus, because he did not even know who Jesus was. The
miracle happened first and foremost by the faith of Jesus and
the power and authority that He had in His words. The crip-
pled man simply had to be willing to obey the command that
was given to him. The nature of this man was very pathetic.
When Jesus asked him if he wanted to be healed, he respond-
ed by telling Jesus of his helpless situation. It would have
been easy for this man to sink down into despair when he was
commanded by Jesus to do something that was absolutely im-
possible for him to do, but instead he obeyed the word of the
stranger and was immediately cured! It was not unlike Jesus
to ask someone to do something that was impossible for them
to do in order to participate in the miracle that God had for
them. He commanded the paralytic to do the exact same thing
in Mark 2:1-12. He told the man with the withered hand to do
what was impossible for him to do (Matthew 12:13). When
the multitudes were hungry he told the disciples to feed them
(Matthew 14:16).
| 19 |
life right now. Hear His voice telling you to do what you could
not do before.
| 20 |
The Multitudes Fed Miracle Loaves and Fishes
| 21 |
formed it through His disciples. He took the five loaves and
two fish and blessed them and then divided them to His dis-
ciples, giving each one a piece. Jesus then commanded them
to take what was given to them and give it to the people. We
could only imagine that if each time Jesus divided the five
loaves and two fish among His disciples and gave them each
enough to have a piece and still break off a piece, then they
would have witnessed the beginning of the miracle as Jesus
divided the five loaves and two fishes among them. There is no
reason to believe that this was limited to just the twelve apos-
tles because there were many who followed Him as disciples
at this point. Furthermore, to take care of five thousand men,
not counting women and children, would have required all the
help that Jesus could muster. The disciples did exactly as Jesus
instructed them, and in obedience to Him the loaves and the
fish did not diminish. As the oil in the cruse and the flour in
the barrel, each time they broke off a piece of bread or fish the
portion did not decrease (1 Kings 17:14-16).
| 22 |
up (John 6:12-13). After this miracle Philip should have never
resorted to depending only on what the natural world could
supply.
Jesus set all the people down in preparation for the meal.
Whether or not each person really prepared their hearts to
receive a miracle that day, they cooperated with the instruc-
tion as each one positioned themselves for a miracle. We can
only assume that they were told that they were about to be
fed - it remains uncertain if they were told that a miracle was
about to take place. They sat down in companies of hundreds
and fifties. With more than twenty thousand people being
fed that day, doing so would provide room for the disciples to
move among them. Every detail of instruction was preparation
to receive a miracle that would take place with five loaves and
two small fish. What we can be certain of is that the disciples
knew a miracle was about to take place and they cooperated
with the instruction that Jesus gave, which was necessary for
the miracle to come to pass.
| 23 |
but Jesus showed that there was even a greater dimension of
this same kind of miracle. Elisha set twenty loaves of barley
and full ears of corn before one hundred men and they all did
eat to the fill and there was some left over (2 Kings 4:42-44). If
we will be confident in the miracle ministry of Jesus, which will
not pass away until all things are fulfilled, then we will see the
same miracles too.
| 24 |
Jesus Walking on the Water
In the midst of the great signs and wonders which Jesus did
came a success through which men would have imposed their
will on God’s anointed servant. However, Jesus was unwilling
to submit Himself to the promotion of men and instead went
up into a mountain alone to pray. The disciples, in obedience
to Christ Jesus, got into a boat and attempted to go to the oth-
er side of the lake, but were faced with great opposition, even
unto the point of death.
| 25 |
four miles. If we will listen, we can hear them crying out unto
the Lord for His help (Psalms 107:23-30). Jesus, turning unto
them and looking by the Spirit saw them in the darkness of a
stormy and perilous night, faithfully toiling against the adversi-
ty and fear of death that they faced. He would not leave them
to their own failing strength, but would come in the midst of
the opposition that they faced. Through what appeared to be
their defeat, Christ Jesus had positioned them to be lifted into
higher heights of revelation and faith. He would come to them
in a way that they could not imagine and demonstrated yet
another dimension of the Spirit, something that the rest of the
world would not be allowed to see - it only belonged to those
who had faithfully served the Master and obeyed His voice.
| 26 |
rise up and tread upon that which had threatened his life.
When Peter cried out to be empowered to walk in the same
realm of glory, the Lord made a way in the sea and a path in
the mighty waters (Isaiah 43:16). With His spoken word, Peter
rose up in faith and stepped over into the heavenly realm ad
walked by the Spirit. The fierce wind and the bellowing waves
were the same as they had been. When he stepped out upon
the water, that which had threatened his life and hindered his
commission was still there. The only difference was his senses
were now filled with the heavenly. All he could hear was the
voice of the One who spoke the word of faith, and all he could
see was Jesus.
Afterward, when Jesus stepped into the boat, they were trans-
lated and immediately found themselves upon the shore. The
moment that Jesus was willingly received into their situation
no power was able to prevent them from their divine purpose
and destination. The disciples were beside themselves. Every
law of the universe that they knew had been broken. Were
they still upon Earth, or were they in Heaven? They were
overwhelmed and beside themselves at what just happened
(Mark 6:51)! They were still in shock over the multiplication of
the loaves and fishes, and were not even able to fully deal with
that, because their hearts were still imprisoned to the earthly
realm (Mark 6:52). The disciples, so overwhelmed by this man
of Galilee that they had left everything to follow, still could not
even begin to fathom who He was. Although it was more than
the mind could reason and the heart could understand, yet
captivated by the heavenly revealed in Christ Jesus, they fell
down and worshiped, saying, “You are the Son of God!” (Mat-
thew 14:33).
| 27 |
| 28 |
A Man Blind from Birth
| 29 |
man, His eyes became fixed on him. The whole procession that
was following saw Him staring at this man who was born blind.
All that came into the disciples’ minds was a crazy theological
question as to why this man was in such a wretched state.
They were so deep in their doctrinal ideas they actually won-
dered if he had sinned before he was even born. Jesus kindly
explained that it had nothing to do with their ideas but, rather,
it would be an opportunity for the power and love of God to
be manifested. This man did not sit in the torments of dark-
ness all of his life because it was the will of God. The state of
his blindness was a consequence of the curse and would be an
opportunity for the glory of God to be manifested. The Light of
Life had come to drive out the curse of darkness. Salvation had
come to break off the plagues of sin and death. God stepped
into the darkness of men and, in His love and mercy, brought
grace to deliver men from the evil. God was manifested in the
flesh to destroy the works of darkness (1 John 3:8).
| 30 |
faith, but a need to become clean. Like Naaman of old, who
was instructed to dip seven times in the Jordan, the blind man
was to wash the mud from his eyes in the spring of Siloam (2
Kings 5:10-13). In the text, Jesus only implied that he would be
healed and never said it outright. Yet, when he washed with
the water at the pool of Siloam, the blindness fell like scales
from his eyes and for the first time in his life he beheld a world
that had been hidden from him. He became a testimony to the
people of Israel, who had refused the gentle waters of Shiloah
(Siloam) to go after other gods (Isaiah 8:6). Yet, now that
Shiloh had come, to those who would receive God’s salvation,
the healing waters flowed (Gen. 49:10). It was from these
same waters that the people, only about a day earlier, had
drawn out water on the Feast of Tabernacles and cried out for
the wellspring of life to come (John 7:37-39; Isaiah 12:1-6; m.
Sukkah 4:9; j. Sukkah 5:1).
Like the blind man everyone comes into this world spiritually
blind by nature. It is only because of God’s love that they are
| 31 |
drawn to the Son and led to the healing waters. Like a blind
man, they grope through life with no clear picture of what the
world about them is actually like. Until their spiritual eyes are
opened, they are imprisoned in a world of darkness knowing
nothing about the Light. Jesus came to open the eyes of the
blind. He does not want anyone to remain in darkness. He
desires all men to gaze upon the beauty of the living God and
behold, with the eyes of the Spirit, what it means to live the
life that we were created to have. The god of this world has
blinded the eyes and deceived the soul of men, causing them
to believe that the life they are living is right (2 Corinthians
4:4). God has sent the Savior into the world to purge us from
our sins that we might see (2 Peter 1:9). He has come to give
us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that our eyes might be
opened (Ephesians 1:18). He counsels all men to have their
eyes anointed with eye salve that they might see (Revelation
3:18).
| 32 |
the one who opened up his eyes, “Who is He Sir, that I may be-
lieve in Him” (John 9:36). With his final confession, the healing
of his blindness was complete. That which began as a physical
miracle, which no man had ever done before, became even a
greater miracle - for now his spiritual blindness was cured and
he could see who Jesus was. His eyes had been opened to the
beauty and splendor of the heavenly, and the eternal ages to
come.
In the end we see that there is only one sin for which there
is no cure, and that is spiritual pride. It’s impossible to bring
spiritual sight to those who believe that they can see. It is im-
possible to teach those who think that they know better than
anyone else. There was no magnitude of miracle that would
have convinced the Pharisees, for they were blinded by their
own conceit. In such a state of madness they were driven to
do everything they could to disprove the evidence that God
had so graciously provided for them to see. When they could
not disprove it, then they looked for any grounds possible
to accuse the miracle worker. The only thing that they could
possibly come up with was that He did it on the Sabbath day
and, therefore, He must be evil. They were unable to see the
true meaning of the Sabbath, which was a testimony not only
of God’s rest, but also of the relationship that God had intend-
ed to exist between Himself and men. The Lord of the Sabbath
had come to deliver men and bring them into this eternal rest
(Matthew 11:28-29; 12:8). But, all the Pharisees could under-
stand was a religious and legal value of its meaning. The time
for the covenant to change had come and they did not want
the new. Sabbath, which testified to God’s finished work, was
taking place. The work of redemption was about to be fulfilled
and they did not want to look at its beginning (2 Corinthians
3:13-18). They would rather have the law of sin and death
with its sickness and disease than the deliverance which Christ
Jesus brought. They would rather have their religion than the
eternal rest which the Sabbath represented.
| 33 |
Jesus warned of a future darkness that will come when no
man would be able to work - a time when He would not shine
as the light of the world (John 9:4-5). While some regard this
only as those dark days between the Crucifixion and Pente-
cost, there is yet a coming day of greater darkness upon all na-
tions. Today, the brilliant light of the gospel still shines, and the
works of Jesus Christ are still being manifested. Although Jesus
went away, He sent the Holy Spirit to continue the work of
His kingdom. Though He does not now reign on the Earth, He
reigns from Heaven. His kingdom may be invisible now, but its
power and majesty are revealed through His Church. However,
a day is coming, a day of darkness and fiery judgment and in-
dignation from the Lord, in which no man can work (Zephaniah
3:8; Joel 2:2; Jude 14-15; Rev 14:19; 15:1). Jesus will not shine
as a Light to the Gentiles, but will come to pour out the wrath
of God upon them because of their ungodliness and refusal of
the ways of life. To those who, by stubbornness and rebellion,
chose the ways of death and spiritual blindness, their reward
shall be death and eternal darkness. Jesus came not only as
the Savior, but also for judgment. He is a Savior to those who
are blind so that they might see, but He is for judgment to
those who say they see, but are, in fact, spiritually blind. Surely
no one is so blind as those who refuse to see
| 34 |
Lazarus Raised from the Dead
| 35 |
Him to do would result in the magnitude of the miracle that
would ultimately be witnessed. It is so easy for us to slip into
doing what we think is the correct thing instead of waiting
on God and only moving by the inspiration of the Spirit. Yet,
without that divine direction, the faith to do the works will be
absent and there will be no miracle.
| 36 |
be killed for the reasons and in the way that they supposed.
Jesus assured the disciples that they had divine protection.
They were of the light and did not need to fear the darkness.
They were walking in the light of divine direction and, so long
as it was day, the works of the Father had to be done. If we
walk in the light of divine direction, we will not stumble. We
are able to walk in the light of Father’s divine guidance be-
cause we have the light of His life in us. In Him our steps will
not be misplaced or His work left undone. Jesus is the light of
life right now and as long as we follow Him we will not stumble
but as the children of the day will walk in the light of life (John
8:12; Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5, 8)
| 37 |
ers to be taken back. Jesus said, “Roll away the stone.” Jesus
already knew what would take place. He was there by the
divine direction from the Father to “wake him up.” Martha,
who seemed so confident that God would give Jesus what-
ever He asked is now taken beyond what she could imagine.
It’s as though she is saying, “Are you sure? Do you know how
far gone he is?” They must be willing to follow and go beyond
what they have faith for and listen to the instructions of the
Master - Jesus must have their participation. It will be left to
them to give the final orders to roll away the stone and comply
with what He directed. They must be willing to believe if they
are going to see the glory of God revealed (John 11:40).
Even though Jesus already knew that the Father wanted Him
to raise Lazarus from the dead, He still stopped and prayed.
He does so for those that were present then, and for all of
us who would read these scriptures now. In the prayer, Jesus
instructs us on the kind of relationship that results in great
faith, the faith that raises the dead to life again. He knows that
the Father has already heard His prayer and that He always
hears Him. The intimacy of the relationship is that of an obe-
dient son to his father. John will speak of this confidence in his
first epistle as well when he describes how every prayer that
we pray can be answered (1 John 3:21-22). If we simply obey
God and do those things that are pleasing in His sight, we will
function in the extraordinary works of faith that He has called
and ordained us to do (John 14:12; 15:16). God has ordained
that whatever we ask He will do it (John 14:13; 15:7). God has
brought us into a divine partnership to show forth His wonder-
ful works through our lives. It is with this kind of relationship
that we can have confidence that God has heard us, and then,
whatever we say, we will know that we have received it (Mark
11:22-24).
| 38 |
of evidence will convince those whose hearts are set against
God. The miracles are God’s calling cards for all mankind, but
only those who are willing to be convinced, those who are will-
ing to change, will respond correctly. God’s signs and wonders
are a key to unlock the door to the hearts of those who would
believe, like Nathaniel, the Nobleman, and the man born blind
(John 1:48-49; 4:46-54; 9:38). They take those who are willing
to follow to higher heights of expectation and faith, preparing
them also to do the works of Jesus - which was witnessed in
the disciples and also the 120 on the day of Pentecost, fol-
lowed by those who would come after them (Matthew 10:1;
Luke 10:1, 9; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:4; Romans 15:19; John
14:12).
| 39 |
| 40 |
Summary
| 41 |
distance that could limit the power of His word. He sought out
the most wretched and broken and cured them. He took the
five loaves and two small fish and empowered His disciples to
do greater works than He did. He fed the twelve, and they fed
the thousands, witnessing of the greater works to come. He
walked upon the stormy seas, and His presence changed the
laws of time and space. He opened the eyes of the man born
blind, something no one had ever done in the history of man-
kind. He raised the dead to life again and then offered Himself
upon the altar of sacrifice to execute authority over death and
hell.
| 42 |
lost in sin and darkness are like a crowd of impotent people
waiting hopelessly for something to happen to take the pain of
their hearts and souls away. Like the man born blind, everyone
who comes into this world is spiritually blind and only Christ
Jesus can open their eyes. Jesus has provided the double cure
and has sent us to proclaim the good news that sin, sickness
and disease have been destroyed through the power that is in
His name.
Jesus modeled for the disciples, and for us today, how to func-
tion in His ministry and do the will of the Father. He opened
| 43 |
the door to all those who will believe to do that which is
impossible for mere men to do (Matthew 17:20; Mark 9:23).
John repeats over and again that, whatever we ask the Father,
He will do it (John 14:13; 15:7,16; 1 John 3:22; 5:15). It was
for this fruit that we were called and elected, and it is by this
divine intimacy and interaction that we know that He abides in
us (John 15:16; 1 John 3:22-24). God the Holy Spirit has come
to show us how to walk in the life and ministry of Jesus, but
we must be consecrated and passionately devoted to learn-
ing how. Many have become discouraged and turned back
because of the trials of the training, but if we contend for the
faith that was once delivered unto the saints we will not be
disappointed.
| 44 |
are alive from the dead. The life of anyone who believes is
instantaneously changed from a substance without life to one
teeming with the nourishment of the Spirit. When those so
transformed by the power of God are poured out to the world
around them, the taste of heaven is in them, and the miracle
of God is witnessed. The blood of the eternal covenant is the
new wine which Jesus gave to us for the remission of sins. It is
supplied in abundance for all those who will come and drink.
To drink His blood and eat His flesh is to partake of the inti-
macy of abiding in His life (John 6:53). The communion of the
Spirit has supplied us with the gift of God, in which Christ Jesus
lives in us, and we live in Him (John 6:56).
The Lord not only turns the water into wine but supplies the
living water. Christ Jesus, the gift giver, invites everyone to
come and receive the gift of God. The Lord says, “Ho, ev-
ery one that thirsts, come to the waters, and he that has no
money; Come ye, buy, and eat; Yea, come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1). The water
that He supplies turns into a wellspring of His divine life in all
who receive Him. This is singularly the most important subject
of the New Covenant, which is the testimony of one who has
been born again.
Jesus demonstrated that the only faith that was needed for
a miracle was the faith that He had. The miracle healing of
the bed-ridden man took place by the faith of Jesus. The man
himself had no idea who Jesus was, so it would have been
impossible for him to have exercised faith in Jesus (John 5:13).
It was a faith absent of all doubt that caused the Nobleman’s
son to be healed. The Nobleman was not certain of the heal-
ing until it was reported to Him by His servants the next day
(John 4:53). The same may be said of the blind man and of
the sisters of Lazarus. The blind man was healed on the initia-
tive of Jesus apart from anything that was asked of Him. Also,
when Jesus came to the sisters of Lazarus, their actions were
far from absolute certainty that their brother would be raised
| 45 |
from the dead.
Sin may cause sickness and death, but Christ Jesus is the
redeemer from all its power (John 5:14). The bigger issue is
not an individual person’s sin, but the sin that entered into the
world because of Adam, which Christ Jesus came to deliver us
from (John 9:3). There was no curse or disease until death and
sin came into the world. Jesus came to deliver us from all of
the effects of the disobedience of Adam and to destroy every
work of Satan, and in this He is glorified (Romans 5:12-21; 1
John 3:5-8).
The arms of the Lord Jesus were wide open to forgive the
woman who was taken in the act of adultery, but He demand-
ed that she “sin no more.” Under the law, the woman should
have been stoned so that sin could be crushed out of the heart
of Israel. Christ Jesus would bear her sin and put it to death in-
| 46 |
stead of putting her to death. Jesus would crush sin out of her
heart, and do the same for everyone else who would receive
Him. He would do this through the offering of His life upon
the altar of God and, by His death, burial and resurrection,
men would go free of condemnation. He, through His death,
destroyed the power of the devil so that sin should no longer
reign over the heart of man (Hebrews 2:14; Romans 6:12; 2
Timothy 1:10). He made provision for anyone who would call
upon His name to have their lives transformed by the Holy
Spirit. Through the name of Jesus, and the power of His blood,
we are transformed from darkness to light, from death to life,
and from sin to righteousness.
| 47 |
are “accursed children” (2 Peter 2:4-6, 14).
The word of God is not limited, but powerful. Its power and
glory are embodied in Christ Jesus, who is the Word made
flesh. The authority of the spoken word brings life to those
who are dead, and healing and deliverance to those who are
bound. Just as God the Father sent His Word, Christ Jesus, to
heal our disease of sin and death, the Word was sent to every
person who will receive it to accomplish the same work of
grace. As the Nobleman boldly placed a demand on the love
and grace of God, even so we can today. The promises of God
that are communicated to us by His word are unchanging. All
of His promises are upheld by the word of His power. It was by
His word that He created all things and framed the heavens,
and His unchanging word will create whatever you have need
of now.
Miracles can not only empower men to believe but can cause
those who reject them to hate the miracle worker. Any rea-
sonable person would have been blessed that a man like the
one at the pool of Bethesda, who was in such despair for 38
years, was liberated from his torment; but, instead, the most
| 48 |
important thing to these religious people were their rules and
doctrines, which they held more sacred. They were unable to
recognize that the One for whom all these things were writ-
ten was fulfilling their meaning. The doctrines of men use the
word of God as the premise for what they believe, but they
cut out the very heart of faith and the purposes of God’s word.
The word is not mixed with faith in these religious hearts, but
with the intellect of self-justification, which will always resist
the Holy Spirit. The word of God does not teach that miracles
are forbidden on the Sabbath; but, when you don’t have a
relationship that produces the miracles, your rules are more
important than anything else. Jesus attempted to reason with
them, as at other times, concerning their rules, and explain
where they were wrong; but, it was really useless because
they were insistent on the letter of their doctrines for they had
no revelation of the Word (Luke 13:15-16; 14:3-6).
God has the right to touch people’s lives and work miracles on
any day and in any way He chooses. But men, who want to be
in charge and want to control what is going on, have no place
for the true outpourings of the Spirit. The sad thing is that no
matter how sincere or bright people may be, they are beyond
| 49 |
all sense of reason once deception sets in. Today there are
literally thousands of examples of the men and women of God
being persecuted by other Christians for flowing in the same
anointing as Jesus. Religion has no idea how it wars against the
Spirit of God. As the Jews were deceived then, many Christians
today have fallen into the same trap. Christianity has a list of
traditions and man-made doctrines that is at least equivalent
to that which the Jews had - if not greater. We can be certain
that these man-made doctrines and traditions will blind the
hearts and minds from the truth, even as these Jews were
blinded.
| 50 |
supposed to do (John 5:20; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8; John 20:21;
Matthew 4:19; 10:8). The miracles were proof that Jesus was
sent from the Father, and the miracles are proof that we have
also been commissioned and sent by the Lord Jesus (John
5:36; Hebrews 2:4; Acts 1:8; 6:8; 8:13; 19:11). Jesus did the
works that He did in the Father’s name, and we have been
commissioned to do these works and greater works in Jesus’
name (John 10:25; 14:12; Mark 16:17; Acts 3:16). When the
crippled man desired alms from the disciples, all they had to
give to him was the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth: which
was the authority and power to heal his crippled legs (Acts
3:6). When the people attempted to give the disciples credit,
they promptly informed the people it had nothing to do with
them, but was done by the authority of Jesus Christ alone
(Acts 3:16).
| 51 |
power with these words, “Anyone who believes will do these
works and greater works than these” (John 14:12). The amaz-
ing glory of the faith is that we are empowered to know that
Christ Jesus is in us and that we are in Him, even as the Father
was in Him (John 1:16; 14:20). It is from this revelation that
we know that the miracle worker lives within us and that He
will do what He has commanded us to believe. Oneness with
God is the centerpiece to the new birth and great boldness in
the faith (John 6:56; 14:20, 23; 15;4; 17:21-23). Just as Jesus
said that it was Father that did the work in Him, we can say it
is Christ Jesus who does the work in us (John 15:5; Acts 3:16).
There are no words that could express this intimacy greater
than Jesus saying, “I in them, and you in me, that they may
be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that
you have sent me, and has loved them, as you have loved me”
(John 17:23).
| 52 |
only believe in Him, not ourselves. If we will look beyond our-
selves and recognize that Christ Jesus is in us, then the power
of God to save and to heal will be realized. If we will recog-
nize the anointing of the Holy Spirit and be sensitive to His
presence, our eyes will begin to see the mighty hand of God
revealed as we proclaim all these words of life! Jesus is here
with us now to confirm His words with signs following, and
He will remain with us until the end of the world (Matthew
18:20; 28:20; Mark 16:20). Miracles, signs, and wonders are
the works of Jesus, not the works of men. They are the proof
that Jesus is alive from the dead and has received all power in
heaven and earth.
| 53 |
lippians 1:21). Whereas Jesus could claim equality with God,
we are to claim oneness with Jesus, the Father and the Holy
Spirit (17:22-23). Through Christ Jesus we are heirs of God pre-
destinated to be conformed to the image of the Son (Romans
8:17, 29; Galatians 4:7) Through the miracle of salvation, Christ
Jesus is in us and we are in Him. In fact, we don’t even exist
outside of Christ Jesus, for He who has the Son has life and he
who does not have the Son does not have life (1 John 5:12-13).
| 54 |
Conclusion
The miracles of Jesus proved that He was sent from the Father.
The men who refused to hear His words were left without
excuse. The miracles demonstrated the power of His word and
it was by that same word that men can now be saved. Through
the power of His word, those who are in the grave shall come
forth to life again – the just to life eternal, and the unjust to
an eternal damnation (John 5:29). The words of life that He
spoke turned the water into wine and cured the son of the
nobleman. To all those who would believe, His word brought
forth the wellspring of life in their heart, and the drink of the
Spirit causes rivers of the life and power of God to flow from
their innermost being. He gives life to all who will believe, and
authority to be the sons of God to all who will receive. The
miracle that He supplies is that a man should live and never
die. By the grace that He has given we receive all of His full-
ness through the miracle of the new creation. His word gives
strength to those who are unable to walk. It multiplies a few
loaves and fishes to feed the multitude, and empowers the
one who will hear it to walk upon the stormy sea. It opens the
eyes of the man born blind and commands the dead to live
again.
Today we contend for the faith that was once delivered unto
the saints. Although there are many obstacles and challenges,
we must not turn aside. Christ Jesus alone has the words of
eternal life – where else is there to go? He has given us His
body as our food and His blood as our drink that through Him
we might have the life of God. There are many things that
would try to intimidate us and threaten us, but we are unwill-
| 55 |
ing to let fear prevent us from what His love has supplied. We
have been empowered to be His witnesses today, to testify
that He is now the King of kings and the sovereign Ruler of all
things. It is the execution of the authority of Jesus against all
sin, sickness, and disease that gives proof that He now reigns.
We have been commanded by Jesus to lay hands on the sick,
cast out devils, and do all the works that He did, and we must
not back down. We will not lower the bar of His expectations
or settle for something that is less controversial and more
acceptable to religious men.
| 56 |