Sunday School | Miracles

Introduction

We're gonna continue our long study of everything in the world, and we're glad you guys are here. Jerry Fraker, ladies and gentlemen. Jerry is the world's greatest plumber. He can fix anything, especially if you have an old house, like the Blue Ridge fellows do. Alright. You guys, we're gonna continue our conversation. As I promised last week, we're gonna talk about miracles, but hey, Chris, what do you think? You're gonna get by me like that? That's good. But believe it or not, I wanna revisit again the question about Jesus' omniscience, and here's why.

I was talking to Roxanne after class last week. So here's the endless saga. I've told you before, there's a lot of good things wrong in the way of getting it right. Your theology is rough draft. We're just doing our best to assimilate new data. And my initial assertion to the question, did Jesus learn what it's like to be us when he became man? My thoughts are no because God's omniscient. He didn't have to learn and he knows what it's like to be us because he knows everything, and then we had a discussion about like, well, actually, Jesus really did grow in wisdom and stature, right? And so it says in Luke, Hebrews talks about him being a sympathetic high priest, kind of conjuring the idea that he's learning. And while I think it is true, stay with me on this and where we kind of landed last week was that I think that Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, really did learn what it's like to be us. He learned all sorts of things. He learned his multiplication tables, right? He learned all sorts of things. And he came to have an experiential knowledge of what it's like to be us.

However, does not follow from that that God the Father and even God the Son from all eternity did not know exactly what it's like to be us. Jesus learned his multiplication tables, but we wouldn't conclude from that that in eternity past, he didn't know his multiplication tables, right? There was an emptying that took place, and so Jesus really did kind of empty himself and kind of had to begin and start stacking up experiences and learning. But that's not, I don't think it follows, that's true of God. God, Jesus says that God the Father knows every hair on your head. I think it also follows that he knows every synapse in your brain. And in fact, he does know and has known from all eternity exactly what it's like to be us because he is omniscient. And while there is a kenosis, an emptying of the Son, and then that he filled up and experienced things, I'm back to my original answer: that God knows and has always known everything about us.

Jesus came in and he experienced it with us and learned things in his humanity as he lived limited by his humanity in some sense. But I think God has always known exactly what you experienced. There is no sense, there never has been a sense, that Jesus, who was never a woman, doesn't know exactly what it's like to be a woman. He is omniscient. He knows all things. He knows every part of you. Before a word is on your tongue, he knows it completely. And I think he always has.

So there is something real that happened as Jesus learned, but I think that we would be overstated in the case to say that there's something there because Jesus was never a woman. He doesn't know what it's like to be a woman. He knows all things. He knows you inside and out. He knows you utterly and completely. And we do have a sympathetic high priest, not merely because he came and he lived our lives, but because he knows all things. Okay? So that's my current final word on the matter.

The Question of Jesus' Omniscience

Dan, I agree with you, but it raises a question—when then did Jesus regain omniscience? I don't know. When he was interacting with the disciples after his resurrection, was he at that point of omniscience? Don't know. It's a particularly functional relevance question, just curious. Right? And the biggest argument against Jesus' omniscience is when he says, no one knows when I'm coming back, only the Father, not even the Son. And you're like, what? How do you not know? If you don't know, what hope is there? Right? But I think that he knows now. I agree. Okay, so sometime between there and there. So, yeah, at his resurrection, at his glorification, did he like regain all of his super suit powers? I don't know. I’ll go with that: resurrection. But I don't know. So, if you think you know, let us know, okay? Alright. So, that's enough for that. Yes. Real quick. Yeah. What about John 17? Yeah. John seventeen five. If we're facing this and now, Father, bring me into the glory that we shared before the world began. Yes. So if that glory can partake, just potentially throw that out there. Yeah. So that that would suggest, okay, so Roxanne, John 17 is the high priestly prayer. It's one of the most magnificent passages in all the Gospels. And so that would, I think, suggest—if not resurrection, then in his death perhaps. Somewhere in that. That weekend was a big weekend for him. There’s a lot going on. So probably there. Right? Because it was in his death and resurrection. We'll get—we'll get to this in a few weeks—it's when he becomes king. There's a lot of stuff happening. It would make sense that as he takes the throne, he receives once again, you know, all of the power, all of the knowledge. That's my answer. But I might be wrong. Okay, Bob? You just hit it. When he became king. Because that's, you've always had that premise of when he became king. I'm thinking that could have been the king. Yes. I think it's likely there. And we'll, maybe we'll, in—I don't know. The king thing is, you know, in a few more weeks, we'll get to that and we'll talk about it. For those of you that are like, do you mean he became king? Just stay with me. We'll get there. And I’ll make the case for that when the time comes. Alright. Alright, Charlie. Come on. Let's go. When he became human, maybe he learned how to forget. Yes, interesting. Okay, it might be, right? Well, we have the sense that he's—he doesn't remember our sin, which is a strange piece of his omniscience. But so, yeah, perhaps he did learn how to forget. Oh, maybe this could be true. Okay. We gotta move on. Miracles. Okay, Darion. Well, is this like a practical joke? What? Hear that, and I don't know if you covered this, but the verse in Hebrews where it says, he learned obedience. Yes. Right? Five eight or so. Yeah. So, there's a handful of places where we see Jesus learned—full stop. He grew in wisdom and stature, he learned obedience. There are things that Jesus has—he empties himself, becomes a human being, maintains his deity, but in some ways sets aside the advantages of deity. As Philippians two says, he didn't consider equality with God something to be grasped. He became the sort of a person that can learn and did learn, including obedience. That's even more bizarre. We'll get to that maybe next week—his obedient life—so perhaps we'll talk about that. Okay. Let's talk about miracles. Scotty, come on, man. Mercy. We're gonna do miracles. Okay? So, but you can take a shot at that. Where we ended last week is I was asking you the question. I said that we would begin. What is it—what's your favorite miracle? Okay? So as you're remembering this, conjuring through, like, run through the list in your brain of his miracles. Remember this: his miracles are not merely exercises of power. They're not merely acts of mercy. But what does John always call them? Signs. And what's a sign? Well, thank you. Ipso facto. But outside of the miraculous, what's a sign? Yes. It's a case, right? And what do you guys say? What's a sign? How do you phrase it? It's a message. It's information. It's data. It's a revelation of something, okay?

There are, depending on how you count them, and honestly, it's a little bit tricky to count, roughly 40 miracles in the Gospels. Forty times that Jesus does miracles. Now sometimes they're clusters, like he heals a bunch of people. So maybe there's twelve people in that. Okay? But there are about 40 discrete moments where Jesus does something that violates the laws of nature. Right? What are your favorites? Let's talk about those, and then we'll unpack a little bit. Favorite miracles. What do we got? Oh, you just go big. Right? Like, let's just raise the dead. Okay? That one is actually a really significant miracle. So the raising of Lazarus, only John records it, which is kind of crazy because it's hugely important. But Matthew, Mark, and Luke—they don't mention it. What's its purpose? Do you know what its purpose is in John's Gospel? Where he has it placed and what's going on there? Is this at all you guys ever study this whole thing? It really does.

Alright? And so, Bob says it pushes the Pharisees over the edge. There's actually a bunch of times where Jesus does a miracle and the Pharisees' response is basically, we have simply got to kill this guy. Because not only is he doing a miracle and gathering power, but he'll do a miracle on a Sabbath and that just really ticks them off. There's a number of different things. So yes, it does push him over the edge. It's kind of the climactic moment in John's Gospel. His Gospel, if you remember this, breaks down into two different books. It’s kind of two different halves, and it’s basically Jesus doing a bunch of stuff in the beginning—book of signs, there’s all these different miracles, things that he does. And then the climactic moment is that Jesus raises somebody from the dead. And essentially, if you look at John with the kind of the literary structure he's building into it, the first act of the play ends with somebody rising from the dead, which sets us up for the second act of the play, which will culminate with someone rising from the dead. Right? So in this, though it’s a real thing, a historical moment—when Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life—the small fulfillment of that is the raising of Lazarus. But the big fulfillment of that is that he raises himself. Right? So John is using it to set this thing up. Is that act, what’s bigger, a scene or an act? An act. As act one comes to a close, that’s the big deal. So it’s huge. Okay? Favorite miracles?

At the well. Woman at the well. Why the woman at the well? Oh, gosh. So much. The, I guess, the one if I had to pick one thing, it helps us think about the long behind the longing. She went to the well for water, but there was something underneath all of that that was far more important. And out of the blue, Jesus says, let’s talk about your husband. Right. And I think we're all like that. We’re doing things every day because we think that’s the most important thing. But there’s often something below that that is really meant. Okay. Very good. Now, for some of you that are thinking, the woman at the well, is that a miracle? This is why I say the miracles are a little bit hard to count. There’s about 40, depending on how you count them. What's the miracle, Dawn, of the woman at the well? She left her jar, and she went for water, and she left the bucket there, and went on to tell everybody in town. Okay, but what’s the suspension of the laws of nature? Yeah. Well, but I think there’s a good answer. Right? And you guys are saying it. So, her life has changed, but his life, her life, people's lives could be changed without subverting nature. What's the subversion there? You guys said it. He knew her history and was able to tell everything about everything she’s ever done. That’s right. So it’s miraculous knowledge, right? And there are a number of times where you’ll see Jesus does that with Philip, when he’d come and he’s, you know, “I saw you before you were under the fig tree.” So there are a number of times that John will describe, will display that he has a prior knowledge that he has no capacity to have, but he does. Some random woman that he meets in Samaria where he does not live and does not frequent, and yet he clearly knows this. He’s like, yeah, you’re right. You’re not married. In fact, you’ve been married five times, and now you’re living with this guy, and your husband—no natural way he would know that. So it was supernatural revelation that was completely transporting to her, also incredibly alarming to her, so much so that she immediately changes the subject. And Jesus very graciously allows her to. Right? He raises it, reveals something that’s, like, freaky to her, and then is just so incredibly tender with her. Right? It’s a great, great moment.

Alright. Favorite miracle. Suzanne? Water to wine. Okay. This is well, John, what is—what’s famous about water to wine? First sign. The first sign. Right? And what do you like about that? What does that—what’s the signiness of that to you? I love the fact that you see his mother’s faith in him. Because he tells her, no, it’s not my time yet. She’s like, listen to what he says. Yeah. And obviously turning water into wine is definitely a suspension of the laws of nature. Wait. Wait. Turning water into wine is what? Suspension of laws of nature, for sure. What I think is so stunning about this is it’s so completely ridiculous. Right? So completely unexpected. I forget the numbers on this. Some of you might remember this but what is it? It’s like seven jars, seven of these jars of water. Is that right? And each jar is like, you know, 40 gallons or something. 30 gallons. Is that what it is? So they drank all the wine and then he makes 200 gallons more of wine. Like, how many people are at this wedding? Right? And it’s, I always remember back in the day, remember the what would Jesus do bracelets? You know, the answer is what would Jesus do? The answer—literally, you have no idea what Jesus would do. Like, but you wouldn’t have thought that it was to make 200 gallons of wine for a bunch of drunk people. It wouldn’t have crossed your mind. Right? So what I love about that thing is it just shows that he, this dude is just unpredictable and there’s a theme of joy that we often are missing. Right? We have a tendency to associate Christianity, Jesus, with stained glass windows and austerity, and formality and solemnity. Even when we did a baptism the first service and all the little kids come up and I was splashing kids at the baptism pool. And I’m like, I’m sure somebody’s mad at me for doing that. You know? Like, be solemn about it. But I’m telling you, if Jesus was at the Jordan and people are being baptized, I think he would’ve been splashing kids. Right? There is just a—there is a mirth to this game. And his very first, his very first miracle, is so gratuitous, so unnecessarily happy that I think it gives us good reason to hope. So, it’s great. Alright. Favorite miracles. Bill Martin? Centurion’s. Okay. The son was healed just by the centurion’s faith. Yes. And what’s the message of that one? That one’s a fascinating—so when the centurion’s son gets healed, what’s the message therein? That his faith was so strong. Well, Jesus didn’t have to go to him. He could heal him by not even going, it was the centurion’s faith. That’s right. You’re exactly right. Someone he cared about because—that’s— that’s exactly right. Like and the centurion is the one, like, it’s so fascinating. You see Jesus doing miracles in a bunch of different ways, and you could, if you look at him, think, well, he’s constrained by his methods. But when he heals a leper, what does he do? He touches him. And it’s not because he needed to touch the leper. It’s because the leper needed to be touched. Right? Then there’s this time where he spits in the mud and he puts mud in this guy’s eye, perhaps making him a new eyeball. And whatever, whatever’s going on, he does it differently. But with the with the centurion, the guy’s like, listen, man. I get authority. I myself am a man under authority. I have people under my authority. And what I read in you is authority. So you can just do it from a distance, and it’ll still work. And Jesus is so taken back. He’s like, actually, you’re right. I can. But nobody, none of the Jews knew that. And how do you—some Roman soldier, how do you have the—yeah. You’re right. And boom. And then at that moment, his child is healed. Right? It’s just again, it's an exercise of power, but that power conveys meaning—that this is a man who genuinely has authority. It’s exceptional. What else? Over here. Scott? I think it means even more than that. It’s he’s there for everybody. It’s not just the Jews. You know, you hit that. Yes. Exactly. It’s where it really becomes clear. This isn’t just the Jewish Messiah. This is the Messiah for all. For these Romans who have no right to claim anything, his generosity is just as lavish there. Yeah. More message. More signification. It doesn’t matter. It—it was frank. Yes. Excellent. Okay. This is a fun game. You all have your hands up. Bro, way in the back. And I’m sorry I don’t know your name, but I’d love to know your name. What’s your name? Andy? Favorite miracle? So, I guess, not necessarily my favorite, but I feel it applies to what you’re teaching about, is when the four friends lower the paralytic and say, I do this as a sign, not just to heal him but to show you that I have the power to not just heal but forgive sins. Yes. That’s exactly right. Okay. So you guys know this miracle? Jesus is teaching. It’s— it’s hard. This is like where there’s kind of discontinuities between our culture and theirs. Jesus is healing in a house, a house that has a roof, but apparently, what do you envision? This roof is made out of, you know, like hay or something. I don’t know what it is. Grass roof or something. And so the crowd just can’t get in. They want to get in, and it’s really the friends want to get their friend healed. And so they tear through the roof and lower him down, which seems—incredibly destructive. I gotta imagine maybe there’s something temporary about this roof. Lowers him down and he heals the guy. And what’s the response? Well, actually, he lowers him down and what happens first? Forgiveness. He offers forgiveness. Right? He said, your sins are forgiven. And how do the people around it respond when Jesus says he will forgive them? You have no right. Who are you to do that? Now, just imagine. In their defense, just imagine, let’s see, how can we do this? Doug, you know, punches Susan. Right? Okay? And if I—if he did that, and I say, Doug, I forgive you, how would you feel? Slighted a bit. Right. Like, it’s kinda like, who am I to forgive you? Like, what would make no sense, right? Because I have— it’s really none of my business. You’re the offended party. You’re the one who gets to forgive him or not forgive him, right? But if Doug were to punch Kelly, and I were to forgive him, that would feel different, wouldn’t it? Why would that feel different? Because she’s mine. Right? And that which hurts me, I have grounds in this. Right? And I might forgive you. Okay? When Jesus forgives this person, what he’s saying in that moment is that they’re mine. It’s all mine. He is personally affronted by every injury done to everyone because we are his. And when he offers to forgive, they’re like, who are you? Like, only God has that sort of an interest in all things. And Jesus is like, well, yeah, your logic is actually impeccable. Right? And I am. But let me prove it to you so that you will believe that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sin: I say to you, get up and walk. And again, the supernatural, the miracle, signifies meaning that he genuinely has the authority to forgive. That’s what was going on in that moment. Right? Ellen, do you want to add something to that? I was just gonna say it is a statement of his deity, actually, because they said only God can forgive sins and he goes on and forgives sins. Precisely so. That’s right. So again, it’s an act of mercy and kindness to this paralytic, but it is also a message of his genuine authority to forgive sins because he is God. Exactly what’s going on there. That’s great. Because it says that they were thinking this, as it says in Matthew at least, knowing their thoughts, he actually answers what they’re thinking. That’s right. Okay. And so similar to what John four was saying, that Jesus has this insight into their mind. There are a number of times that happens. Do you guys remember where a woman comes in, Jesus is at the home, it’s a little confusing, he’s at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. It’s not Simon Peter. Simon Peter wasn’t a Pharisee—but he’s at the home of a Pharisee named Simon—and this shady woman comes in and she’s, I forget if she’s washing his feet or kissing his feet, but it’s one of those things where you got some outcast woman all on him. Is— I forget. Is she perfuming his feet or kissing his feet? It’s one of these things. Right? Doing all this. And Simon is like looking down his nose at her. He’s just, like, you know, basically to him, Jesus’ engagement with this woman proves that he’s not the Messiah. Because if he was the Messiah, he would know who this woman is, and he would like peel her off. Get away from me. But Jesus, again, knowing Simon’s thoughts, he tells a story. And he says, Simon, you know, let me ask you a story. And he tells his story about the person who is forgiven a little debt, forgiven a big debt— which one would love him more? And again, you see Jesus using that moment to—in that moment, it reveals to us that Jesus has a knowledge that surpasses knowledge. Right? He knows all things.

Unfolding the Miracles

This is fun game. Let’s do a few more. Okay, Jason. I really like when—not only does Jesus walk, he has power over nature, but he walks on water, and then Peter is able to walk on water because of him. Okay. This is such an unusual thing where Jesus, like, almost—gosh, is there anything else like that? Where Jesus transfers his power to somebody else? Yeah. Like, he sends out the 70. That’s true. Yeah. He sends out the 72, and he does that, right? And he grants them delegated authority for sure. That’s good. When Peter gets to walk on water, he doesn’t maintain it very long. Right? He takes his eyes off Jesus and sinks. And so you’d probably throw shade at Peter for doing stupid things, but he’s like literally the only guy probably in the whole history of the world that’s ever been able to do that. What a moment. Don’t you kind of think—how many times did that sort of an experience like that—if you had walked on water, that might give you some certain power to sustain the attacks of the Pharisees that are coming? You know? I don’t know if you ever considered this, but none of the disciples stay with me, okay? None of the twelve believed that Jesus rose from the dead. They all knew. Right? You and I have no choice but to believe. I don’t believe that Sam Lindsay is sitting in that chair. I know that he’s—I can see him. I can touch him. Right? He’s right there. They knew things because of their direct experience, not only of his resurrection but of seeing him perform miracles and then to a certain extent being able to do miraculous things themselves. They had this knowledge and then, of them—every single one—in the end, ending up dying. Every one of them ended up being martyred, either for what they knew was a complete hoax, a total scam—they were just going to finish the game lying to everyone, which nobody does. Nobody does that. Or they died because they knew that it was all true. And that moment for Peter had to be one of several, but I would think a particularly powerful one that proved it. You want to respond to that, Jason? It also shows a foreshadowing of the Holy Spirit because Jesus tells the disciples, you will do even greater things. Yeah. And in the same way, when Jesus would touch people and heal them—and the lady came up and touched his cloak—but they said that people in Acts, they would even try to get in Peter’s shadow. That’s right. Because, like, a cloth that these guys touched was imbued with magic power. It’s crazy.

Jerry? So let’s go—let’s go the other way. How many miracles did Jesus do that—I mean, this is just what he does. So these are the ones that we know. Exactly. So what the disciples are out in the boat, Sea of Galilee, like, twenty-three miles out, so Jesus is on shore. He walks out, and it’s only in the book of John, none of the other Gospels. As soon as he gets to the boat, they’re instantly on the other side. Yes. There are a couple of those. And that’s only in John. Yes. So you’ve got John with their instant transfer. And then you’ve got a similar thing that happens in the book of Acts, and it’s not perfectly clear after Philip baptizes the Ethiopian eunuch, then it seems like maybe he gets immediately transported somewhere else. It’s not perfectly clear if that’s the case, but it may be. I do think that boat moving is more explicit on this. And you’re absolutely right—by the way, when we say there’s about forty miracles, I should have specified that these are the miracles recorded in the Gospels, because one of the last things that John says is, listen, we don’t have time to write it all down. If we wrote down everything, it wouldn’t be enough books to contain it. So there are more things, but these are the ones we have recorded, and hear this—because it wasn’t just signs for the people who were there, for the lepers that were healed or for the hungry that were fed—but their messages for us. The Bible was written to a particular audience, but it was written for all of us. And so those signs, those messages continue. And this particular subset of the things that he did are what we get to reflect on.

Is there one where it says they went throughout the land? Yeah. There are several places in the synoptics where Jesus goes around, and we just kind of get these clusters that he healed a bunch of people, drove out a bunch of demons, did all kinds of things. For sure. We just don’t get the particulars of it. Harry? What is important about the whole thing is that these forty that we do know about, or forty some odd, we cannot explain today with science. Oh, for sure. Yeah. Because of that, it passes through time as a living example of what his power actually is. That’s right. And that’s because there really isn’t a scientific explanation. He’s simply subverting the rules. Right? We can’t comprehend. Yeah, that’s right. And so much to that, many people’s strategy to that would simply be to disbelieve it. Right? So I’ll have more on that. And how much time do I have? Okay, we’ll get a couple more favorites, and then I want to give you some reflection on this. So, now people are raising their hands, me, me. Okay. Andy then Kat. Regarding that, we can’t explain it by science, but every miracle that Jesus does is a repetition from something in the Old Testament—except for his own resurrection. Except what? The healing of the blind. Oh, there is resurrection. Healing of the blind. So, tell—okay, go on that. I don’t know. I remember hearing you say this but I’d forgotten this. So, tell us more about that. Well, when we see Jesus walk on water, he does it better than the Israelites do it when they walk through the water, and every miracle that Jesus does, except healing the blind, is a repetition of something that happened in the Old Testament. Jesus is doing it better. And the Messiah that they were waiting for, one of the signs that he would be the Messiah is that the blind would get their sight back. So, okay. So when you say he’s done so you mentioned that walking on water, so you would say there’s a parallel to that in walking through the water. So he one-ups that. Yeah. They’re not gonna be one-to-one, but, like, Jesus turning water into wine—the first plague was the first plague in Egypt. Okay. That’s true. In the blood. He’s just doing it better, and he’s showing himself to be the one that they were waiting for. Okay. And that’s interesting. I have to go through and think of, like, every—like, I was gonna say, where does somebody turn water into wine? But you’re absolutely right, that’s exactly what happens in the—meaning of the 5,000 is the manna from heaven. Okay. Alright. Keep going. Convince me. You’re doing well. And it is true. It’s interesting. Well, in John nine, where he heals the blind man, the comment is, no one has ever heard of a man healing someone born blind. So, that’s an interesting little tag that supports what you’re saying. So why that? That because that is an Isaiah fulfillment, not that it had happened, but that it would happen. Yeah. That’s interesting. That’s cool. For instance, it’s unique because the man didn’t even realize, because he was born blind, he didn’t even know what it was like to be able to see. Sure. Yeah. He knew what it was like to be sassy, though. So, that’s great. Okay, Kat. Yeah, actually, kind of similar to that. Getting in the 5,000 is not only an example of Jesus providing but over-providing, which is a reflection of his over-fulfillment. Yes. That’s so right. So, what Kat is referring to, she’s probably heard me say about a thousand times, there are a million pictures in the Old Testament of what the messiah would be and do. And when Jesus shows up, he doesn’t merely fulfill those prophecies—he overfills them. He always takes what was done and then does it more. Right? He’s because it’ll be just very, very briefly—like, David and Goliath is a picture of a nobody from nowhere who comes in to rescue his people, who risks his life to make them safe. And when Jesus comes, he’s the true and greater David, who kills the true and greater Goliath, but he doesn’t just risk his life, he actually gives his life. David wins through weakness; Jesus wins through defeat. And so in every way, when Jesus shows up, he does more than—so he doesn’t just walk through the water, he walks on the water. All of these— I think that’s very consistent with the supremacy of Christ—that when he shows up, he’s better than Moses, and he’s better than the angels, and he offers a better word, and his blood speaks a better word. He's just superior in all ways.

The Significance of Miracles

Okay, so we’re gonna go to Herrick, and then I gotta shut it down because I have other things we gotta do. So, Herrick. What about when Peter cuts off the ear of the soldier, and Jesus is like, no, man, here’s your ear. That’s right. Yeah. Yeah. That’s a good one. That’s great. I think Malchus maybe is the guy’s name. And, yeah. Paul, Peter’s going after the ear, and Jesus just heals him in this act of grace to the one who’s getting ready to crucify him. This is kinda crazy. Okay, so you think about this—I want those are all the miracles—I want to show you a few places where the New Testament comments on these miracles. So just, you just follow along and we’ll just kind of whip through this here.

Oh, by the way, which do you know, miracles that are in all four Gospels? There are basically two: resurrection—resurrection is number one, Quigg, well done—and feeding of the 5,000. Because John’s material is so unique. But those are the two. The feeding of the 5,000, of course, and the resurrection, they show up in all of them. And then walking on water shows up in John and other places as well, but not quite in all four. Okay? Let me read you these. Listen to this.

For God so loved the world... — John 3:16

Matthew 11:4

Jesus replied, go back and report to John what you hear and see. And Andy, listen to this: the blind receive sight. The lame walk. Those who have leprosy are cured. The deaf hear. The dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

His point here—remember what the question that John the Baptist had asked that prompted that? Are you really? And Jesus lists a whole bunch of miracles. The implication is that these miracles, these signs, are meant to convey information that I am exactly who you used to think I was.

Matthew 12:28

But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Once again, he’s saying—if these things I do, the things that I am doing, are signs. You’re meant to draw a conclusion.

John 5:36

I have testimony weightier than that of John, for the very work that the Father has given me to finish and which I am doing testifies that the Father has sent me.

Now I do think that’s broader than just the miracles, but it certainly includes the miracles. I am doing what the Father sent me to do. Ergo, the Father has sent me. And you should be paying attention. You should be receiving this.

John 10:37

Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you don’t believe me, believe the miracles so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I in the Father.

He’s basically saying—listen, we’re putting the cookies on the bottom shelf so you cannot miss this. You may be like, well, I don’t understand theology and I don’t know, you know, I don’t have all this Old Testament history. It’s like, yeah, but listen, I give sight to the blind. I’m cleansing lepers. I’m healing paralytics. I can walk on water—what do you think it means? We’re making this so easy—accept this. You’re—there’s a mercy, not just to the one who’s being healed, but there’s a mercy to those that are watching, that this would be spelled out in such an obvious way that even you can’t miss it. That’s what he’s saying. If you definitely don’t just accept the miracles.

And this is one of the things that I think is so astonishing about the mercy of God—that he will accept us. He’s so willing to be humiliated that he will accept us on the most ridiculous of terms. When there’s nowhere else to go, where we have no other hope, when we’ve exhausted all possible means of escape from him. And when he makes it incredibly obvious, even then he’s like, good enough. Let’s go. It’s an astonishing humility that he would demonstrate to take us even on these terms.

And then how about this one? John 11:41

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up. Can you tell where we are? John 11. What’s going on here? Lazarus being raised. Jesus looked up and he said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me. But I said this, for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.

Why does he raise him from the dead? Well, it so Lazarus doesn’t have to be dead anymore—maybe. But frankly, Lazarus could have been prevented from dying in the first place. He lets him die. Remember, his disciples are like, what are you doing? Let’s go. Let’s go do magic stuff. Let’s get there. And he’s like, well, you know, we’re gonna hang out for a little while. Why does he wait? He waits so that he will die so that he can raise him from the dead, so that you will know that he has the power to raise people from the dead. That’s why he did it. It was a message. It was a sign. It signified. Scott? Also because it wasn’t supposed to be revealed until a certain time because of the way it puts everything else into motion. Yeah. Okay. So Scott’s pointing out—you know, but sometimes Jesus would delay on purpose—and this is true. I don’t know if it’s necessarily the couple of days delay in Lazarus, but Jesus was absolutely cagey about not revealing who he was too soon because he wanted to get some things done. He wanted to train his disciples. He wanted to teach some people. And he knew that the more miraculous things he did, the faster. It was—every time he does a miracle, it’s essentially a speeding up of the coming of his death. Yes. All that’s true. So there were times he was delaying. For the sake of the plan. For the purpose of revealing who he was, but doing it slow enough that people, the word can spread before the Pharisees snuff him out. That’s absolutely the case. Yeah. Tim, the Mishna records people dying and coming back to life—one day, two days, maybe even three—but it records that no one has ever come back after three. Yeah. So, Tim, I mean, he would—this is exactly right. I think the idea of the delay with Lazarus is that he would not just be dead, but he’d be like, good and dead. Like, truly dead—like, he stinks. So that he would stinketh. So that he would stinketh, Dan. That’s exactly right. Okay? But here’s the thing. Here’s—okay—I didn’t know you’re in town, Fleet. What’s up, buddy? Oh, it makes sense. Of course, you’re in town. Never mind. Of Lazarus. I love it because we have maybe the fullest force of the divinity on display—power over death, casting his power over death—but also his humanity being on display, maybe, in the whole Gospels. Because he weeps. So we know his love for us because—that’s such a great observation, Filitha. You see the deity of Christ and his power over death, but his humanity that he’s emotionally grieved and touched. Even knowing—mean, he’s gonna raise him from the dead in a minute—but he’s still overtaken by the sorrow and loss of life. That’s a great juxtaposition of these things. So it’s good. Welcome to town. Glad you’re here to celebrate your dad.

Here’s the thing: all of these signs, all of these messages—it's not enough. It’s not enough. Go to Luke 16. Look at this one with me, and we’ll wrap it up here. Luke 16 is a different Lazarus. Okay? This is the rich man and Lazarus. Different from the John nine thing. It’s a parable that Jesus tells about a man, a rich man who dies and a poor man who dies. And the poor man is going to go to paradise, and the rich man is in this agony suffering in flames and longing for a drop of water to be dipped on his tongue. And in this story, in the parable, the man who is suffering says, go back and warn my brothers so that they won’t come to this place of torment. And Jesus says this in Luke 16:31:

If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.

And Jesus is pointing out—he’s using the most extreme of all miracles—and saying, if your heart is hard, even that won’t be enough. And the terrifying thing that the New Testament teaches over and over again is that our hearts are hard. And we need not merely this external data, just this presentation of information, but absent the touch of God to reach into our hard hearts, to give us ears to hear and eyes to see, we could watch the most spectacular show on earth and still remain unconvinced. Right?

So miracles are part of the message. They’re part of the story. But there’s a whole host of things that God does. The Bible says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word. It’s the word of God applied by the Spirit of God that actually opens our hearts. And you might even remember in your own life there are times when all the information was presented before you, and you just didn’t have ears to hear it. And then you lived through some experiences—or maybe you don’t even know why—God in his mercy, suddenly, made you the sort of creature who’s capable of repenting. Right? The miracles themselves are supernatural, but the observation of the supernatural is not as powerful as the supernatural touch of God to reach into a hardened heart and make us soft so that we might believe.

Reflection and Conclusion

We’re gonna see more of that as we walk through Jesus. Not just his birth, right? His incarnation and his miracles. We’re gonna move into talking about his obedient life, his death, and his resurrection—that he will ascend his throne, that he will give the Spirit, that he will intercede for us. And that is really what I’m talking about right now—that he will intercede on behalf of people and then one day return to restore all things and raise the dead. Alright?

That’s kind of the full arc that you want to go. Kelly, you get the final word, then we gotta get out of here. I just want to share a verse that ties together Lazarus, Luke 16, with what Andy said earlier about the miracle of the blind. Yeah. Let’s hear it. Let’s hear it.

The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. — 2 Corinthians 4:4

So, some respect all of us—who have come to Christ—have had our blindness. That’s exactly right. Second Corinthians 4 says the God of this age—that’s not talking about God; that’s talking about the devil—has blinded us so we cannot see. But the same God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness” in Genesis 1, makes his light shine in our hearts. That miracle of giving sight to the blind—that’s what he does. He makes light out of darkness in creation, he makes light out of darkness when he heals the blind, and he makes light shine out of darkness every time someone comes to faith. He opens up our inability to see him so that we can—and worship him. Okay? All for now. We’ll talk more next week. See you guys.