Bible miracles

• Without Bible miracles …
  • The Bible is just another book
  • The God of the Bible is only a god
  • Jesus is merely a man
  • Christianity is just another religious system
• Psalms 77:14 – “You are the God who performs miracles”
• Exodus 34:10 – “Then God said … Before all your people I will perform miracles … it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you”
• Miracles in Luke’s gospel
  • Luke 1:26-38 – Christ’s virgin conception and birth
  • Luke 4:28-30 – Passed through crowd unseen
  • Luke 4:33-37 – Man with demon
  • Luke 4:38-39 – Peter’s mother-in-law
  • Luke 5:4-7 – Draught of fish
  • Luke 5:12-14 – Leprous man
  • Luke 5:17-26 – Man with palsy
  • Luke 6:6-11 – Man with withered hand
  • Luke 7:1-10 – Healing centurion’s servant
  • Luke 7:11-18 – Raising widow’s son
  • Luke 8:22-25 – Calmed a storm
  • Luke 8:26-36 – Demons entering swine
  • Luke 8:40-56 – Jairus’ daughter
  • Luke 8:43-48 – Woman with issue of blood
  • Luke 9:37-43 – Child with demon
  • Luke 9:11-17 – Feeding 5,000
  • Luke 11:14-15 – Man with demon
  • Luke 13:10-17 – Healing woman with infirmity
  • Luke 14:1-6 – Healing man with dropsy
  • Luke 17:11-19 – Healing 10 lepers
  • Luke 18:35-43 – Blind Bartimaeus
  • Luke 22:50-51 – Malchus, high priest’s servant
  • Luke 24:1-12 – Resurrection of Christ
• Miracles in Acts
  • Acts 1:9 – Ascension to heaven
  • Acts 2:1-4 – Speaking in tongues
  • Acts 2:43 – Many done by apostles
  • Acts 3:7-11 – Lame man at temple
  • Acts 4:31 – Earthquake
  • Acts 5:5-10 – Ananias and Sapphira
  • Acts 5:12 – Signs and wonders
  • Acts 5:12-16 – Healing
  • Acts 5:19 – Prison doors opened
  • Acts 6:8 – Those done by Stephen
  • Acts 8:6, 7, 13 – By Philip in Samaria
  • Acts 9:3-9 – Appearance to Saul
  • Acts 9:17-19 – Saul’s blindness healed
  • Acts 9:32-35 – Aeneas
  • Acts 9:39-42 – Dorcas
  • Acts 10 – Visions seen by Cornelius, Peter
  • Acts 12:10 – Prison gate opened
  • Acts 13:11-12 – Elymus
  • Acts 14:3-4 – In Iconium
  • Acts 14:8-18 – Lystra
  • Acts 16:18 – Woman with evil spirit
  • Acts 16:26 – Earthquake, prisoners released
  • Acts 19:11-12 – In Ephesus
  • Acts 20:8-12 – In Troas
  • Acts 28:3-9 – In Melita
• Reliability of Luke in Acts
  • Specific names
    • 95 different people, 62 of which aren’t mentioned by any other New Testament writer and 27 are nonbelievers, mostly civil or military officials.
  • Specific titles
    • Titles of notable persons didn’t remain constant over time.
    • Luke always uses the correct title at the correct point in history.
  • Specific places
    • In Acts, he accurately mentions 32 countries, 54 cities, and 9 Mediterranean islands.
  • Specific events
    • Acts 11:27-30; 18:2 – Drought throughout all the world, expulsion of Jews from Rome.
  • Luke never made a mistake!
• Sir William Mitchell Ramsey (1851-1939)
  • Raised an atheist
  • Trained as an archaeologist, set out to prove Bible, especially Acts, was fraudulent by traveling areas covered by Paul’s preaching tours looking for mistakes Luke made.
  • At conclusion of his travels, he wrote The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament.
  • Ramsey’s conclusion:
    • “Luke is an historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy … this author should be placed along with the very greatest historians.”
• John Warwick Montgomery
  • History and Christianity
  • “The only way we can known whether an event can occur is to see whether is has occurred. The problem of ‘miracles’ then must be solved in the realm of historical investigation, not in the realm of philosophical speculation.”
• 6 alleged trips to the moon
  • 6 manned landings July 20, 1969 – December 14, 1972
  • 12 men walked on the moon
  • Did these alleged events actually occur?
  • What historical evidence (written, audio, video material) is there?
• I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek
  • “Now why would Luke be so accurate with trivial details like wind directions, water depths, peculiar town names, but not be accurate when it comes to important events like miracles? In light of the fact that Luke has proven accurate with so many trivial details, it is nothing but pure anti-supernatural bias to say he’s not telling the truth about the miracles he records.”

Matthew 9

Matthew 9:1-8 – Healing a paralyzed man

• Matthew 9:2 – Jesus’ first priority was to forgive sins – not physical healing!
• Matthew 9:4 – They completely overlooked the fact that Jesus could read their minds!

Do I delight in God’s word?

• Psalms 1:1-6 – Notice the contrast between verses one and two.
• What if we have a problem in our marriage?
  • Luke 17:4
  • I Corinthians 6:7-8
• We can either listen to the world or listen to God.
• I Samuel 16:1, 12; 21:10; Psalms 56:1-4, 10-13 – David was surrounded by the Philistines, but he trusted God and found peace in God’s word.
• Is God’s word my happy place?
• Psalms 19:7-10

Do I mourn for sin?

• Psalms 14:1; Romans 3:9-10 (quotes Psalms 14)
• Romans 1:18
• Amos 6:1-6 – They did not grieve over the sin of the nation.
• Ezekiel 9:4 – Those who grieved over sin were saved.
• Ezra 10:6 – Ezra mourned the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
• I Corinthians 5:1 – They were arrogant about sin!
• II Corinthians 12:21 – We should look back on our sin with fondness.
• Psalms 119:136 – Have you ever cried because of sin?
• Psalms 32:1-5 – It feels good to be forgiven of our sin!
• Psalms 51:12
• Acts 2:46-47, 41 – They were rejoicing after baptism!
• Acts 8:34-38 – The Ethiopian rejoiced!
• Acts 16:34, 33 – The Philippian jailer rejoiced!
• We need to care about sin!

Galatians 3

Galatians 3:1-5 – “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”

• Galatians 3:2 – The word “rejoice” here could refer to several different things:
  • Holy Spirit
  • The gospel (by metonymy)
  • Salvation that comes from the gospel
• Galatians 3:5 – They had been given forgiveness – were they now going to try and be saved by their own effort under the Law of Moses?

Galatians 3:6-14 – “it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham”

• Galatians 3:6 – Three times this is said about Abraham:
  • Genesis 15:6
  • Romans 4:18-22
  • Genesis 22 – Referenced in James 2:21-24.
• Galatians 3:7 – Confess and faithfully submit to God. This is how to be a true son of Abraham.
• Galatians 3:8 – See Genesis 12:1-7. These are the three promises to Abraham.
• Galatians 3:9 – When I have faith like Abraham, I will also be blessed.
• Galatians 3:10 – See Deuteronomy 27:1, 26. The Law was never intended as a way of justification.
• Galatians 3:12 – See Leviticus 18:4-5. If you try to live by the Law, you must perform it flawlessly. No one except Jesus ever has!
• Galatians 3:13 – No one performed the Law of Moses perfectly and thus, all were cursed (Galatians 3:10). This is quoting Deuteronomy 21:23. Jesus was innocent of our sins but was the blameless sacrifice for us. Jesus died physically so that we could live spiritually.

Galatians 3:15-19 – “Now the promises were given to Abraham and to his seed”

• Galatians 3:17 – The Law of Moses did not invalidate the promises to Abraham that predated it.
• Galatians 3:18 – Salvation is through God’s promise to Abraham, which was before the Law of Moses.
• Galatians 3:16 – See Genesis 22:18. God was talking about one seed in particular – Christ.

Introduction

• Acts 1:1-8

These are inspired, authoritative books.

• I Corinthians 2:13
• Acts 8:18 – The apostles could bestow spiritual gifts on others.
• Galatians 1:1
• The New Testament was written by:

• II Peter 1:13-21 – Peter wanted them to remember these things after he was gone.
• This is the word of God they were passing on!
• II Peter 3:1-3, 15-16 – Peter was referencing Paul’s writings as authoritative.
• We must also respect these words as authoritative.
• Colossians 4:16

They are full of practical instructions.

• John 20:30-31
• Romans 1:5 – These books were written so that people would obey.
• Romans 12:9-14 – These are practical instructions.
• James 1:22-27 – Be “doers of the word.”
• We need to be reading the Bible for the right reasons.
• Luke 7:24-26; 3:10-14 – John’s instructions were simple and practical.
• Let us not alienate the average person trying to understand the Bible by overcomplicating the language we use to talk about it.

Christians 2,000 years ago were struggling with the same problems we face today.

• I John 2:15-17
• III John 1:9 - Diotrephes was lifted up with pride and wanted to rule.
• Jude 1:3-4 – People were trying to turn God’s grace into a license to sin.
• Every generation faces the same sins. They may be dressed up a little differently, but the underlying temptations and sins are the same.
• This is timeless wisdom!
• Ecclesiastes 1:9-10; 12:13-14

Review of the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 8

Matthew 8:1-4 – Jesus heals a leper

• Matthew 8:2 – This shows Jesus’ sympathy. He was willing to help.
• Matthew 8:3 – See Acts 4:16. Jesus’ miracles were undeniable.
• Parallel passages: Mark 1:40-44; Luke 5:12-16.

Matthew 8:5-13 – Jesus and the centurion

• Matthew 8:10, 13 – The centurion showed great faith and acted on it.
• Matthew 8:8 – See Proverbs 29:23. We need to prepare our hearts to receive Jesus.
• Matthew 8:13 – See John 20:30-31 regarding the purpose of these miracles.

Matthew 8:14-15 – Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law

• Matthew 8:14 – This conflicts with the Catholic idea of Peter acting as the first pope since popes are to be celibate. Clearly Peter was married since he had a mother-in-law.

Matthew 8:16-18 – Jesus heals those who were demon-possessed

Matthew 8:19-22 – Jesus warns about troubles brought about by following Him

• If the teacher has earthly difficultie4s, following Him may lead to your own difficulties.
• Matthew 8:22 – We must be careful to not let the cares of the world crowd out spiritual things. These sayings may have been hard on purpose to test those in the audience that would eventually become apostles.

Matthew 8:23-27 – Jesus calms the storm

• The disciples should have known they would survive since they were with Jesus