Jesus’ miracles

1. Jesus’ miracles “Destroying the works of the Devil” (1 John 3:8)

2. “The Son of God appeared for this very reason, to destroy what the Devil had done.” (1John 3:8 GNB) • “The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” (NRSV)

3. What are the “works of the Devil”? • “Now the snake was the most cunning animal that the LORD God had made. The snake asked the woman, ‘Did God really tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?’” (Genesis 3:1) • “You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden…” (Genesis 2:16)

4. “Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, who fought back with his angels; but the dragon was defeated, and he and his angels were not allowed to stay in heaven any longer. The huge dragon was thrown out—that ancient serpent, named the Devil, or Satan, that deceived the whole world. He was thrown down to earth, and all his angels with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9)

5. “Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea…The dragon gave the beast his own power…It opened its mouth in slander against God, misrepresenting his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.” (Revelation 13:1-6)

6. Defeating the “father of lies” • “You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) • “…you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

7. “An idea is like a virus, resilient, highly contagious. The smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define or destroy you.” • Dom Cobb in the movie Inception

8. “From the beginning it has been Satan’s studied plan to cause men to forget God, that he might secure them to himself. Hence he has sought to misrepresent the character of God, to lead men to cherish a false conception of Him. The Creator has been presented to their minds as clothed with the attributes of the prince of evil himself,–as arbitrary, severe, and unforgiving,–that He might be feared, shunned, and even hated by men. Satan hoped to so confuse the minds of those whom he had deceived that they would put God out of their knowledge.” Review and Herald February 15, 1912

9. “Satan has ascribed to God all the evils to which the flesh is heir. He has represented him as a God who delights in the sufferings of his creatures, who is revengeful and implacable. It was Satan who originated the doctrine of eternal torment as a punishment for sin, because in this way he could lead men into infidelity and rebellion, distract souls, and dethrone the human reason. Heaven, looking down, and seeing the delusions into which men were led, knew that a divine Instructor must come to earth. Men in ignorance and moral darkness must have light, spiritual light; for the world knew not God, and he must be revealed to their understanding.

10. Truth looked down from heaven, and saw not the reflection of her image; for dense clouds of moral darkness and gloom enveloped the world, and the Lord Jesus alone was able to roll back the clouds; for he was the light of the world. By his presence he could dissipate the gloomy shadow that Satan had cast between man and God. Darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. Through the accumulated misrepresentations of the enemy, many were so deceived that they worshiped a false god, clothed with the attributes of the satanic character.” Review and Herald, November 17, 1891

11. Have we believed any lies? • “Religion has actually convinced people that there’s an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever until the end of time! But he loves you.”George Carlin

12. How do you defeat lies?

13. Jesus’ first miracle • “Two days later there was a wedding in the town of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine had given out, Jesus' mother said to him, ‘They are out of wine.’ ‘You must not tell me what to do,’ Jesus replied. ‘My time has not yet come.’” (John 2:1-4)

14. “Jesus' mother then told the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ The Jews have rules about ritual washing, and for this purpose six stone water jars were there, each one large enough to hold between twenty and thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill these jars with water.’ They filled them to the brim…” (John 2:5-7) • “Jesus performed this first miracle in Cana in Galilee; there he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.” (John 2:11)

15. 120-180 gallons

16. Exposing the Devil • “Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment." When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the Sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the Sabbath day.’” (Luke 13:10-14)

17. “But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?’” (Luke 13:15-16)

18. God Human Non-Human

19. Satan is “the prince of this world” (John 12:31, 14:30)

20. Paul: “the god of this age” and “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” (2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2) • John: “the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19)

22. "The...question is whether I believe in devils. I do...It seems to me to explain a good many facts." - C.S. Lewis

23. The Holocaust = the result of Hitler’s kingdom Planet Earth = the result of Satan’s kingdom

24. “The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Myself” (John 12:31,32) • “Now is the critical moment of this world, now the ruler of this world will be exposed (12:31).Brant, John, 194

25. Why did Jesus heal? “How you are fallen from heaven, O Shining one...You have destroyed your land and killed your people.” (Isaiah 14:20) • “They have a king ruling over them, who is the angel in charge of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon; in Greek the name is Apollyon (meaning ’The Destroyer’). (Revelation 9:11)

26. Unforgiving? • “Jesus got into the boat and went back across the lake to his own town, where some people brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a bed. When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Courage, my son! Your sins are forgiven.’” (Matthew 9:1-2)

27. Unforgiving? Then Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Where did they go? Has anyone condemned you?" The woman answered, "No one, sir." Jesus said, "I don't condemn you either. Go! From now on don't sin." (John 8:10-11)

28. Severe? One who delights in the sufferings of his creatures? • “A man suffering from a dreaded skin disease came to Jesus, knelt down, and begged him for help. ‘If you want to,’ he said, ‘you can make me clean.’ Jesus was filled with pity, and reached out and touched him. ‘I do want to,’ he answered. ‘Be clean!’” (Mark 1:40-41)

29. Severe? One who delights in the sufferings of his creatures? • “Soon afterward Jesus went to a town named Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a large crowd. Just as he arrived at the gate of the town, a funeral procession was coming out. The dead man was the only son of a woman who was a widow, and a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart was filled with pity for her, and he said to her, ‘Don't cry.’” (Luke 7:11-13)

30. The miracles Jesus didn’t perform • “But when the Samaritans learned that his destination was Jerusalem, they refused hospitality. When the disciples James and John learned of it, they said, ‘Master, do you want us to call a bolt of lightning down out of the sky and incinerate them?” • But He turned and rebuked and severely censured them. He said, ‘You do not know of what sort of spirit you are…’” (Luke 9:54-56, The Message, Amplified)

31. Our Mission • “After this the Lord chose another seventy-two men and sent them out two by two, to go ahead of him to every town and place where he himself was about to go. He said to them, "There is a large harvest, but few workers to gather it in. Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest. Go! I am sending you like lambs among wolves… Whenever you go into a town and are made welcome, eat what is set before you, heal the sick in that town, and say to the people there, ‘The Kingdom of God has come near you.’”(Luke 10:1-3,8-9)

32. Our Mission • “The seventy-two men came back in great joy. "Lord," they said, "even the demons obeyed us when we gave them a command in your name!" Jesus answered them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Listen! I have given you authority, so that you can walk on snakes and scorpions and overcome all the power of the Enemy, and nothing will hurt you.” (Luke 10:17-19)

33. Our Message • “The Father and I are one.” (John 10:30) • “I and the Father are One’ is the center truth of the universe.” – George MacDonald • “Had God the Father come to our world and dwelt among us, humbling Himself, veiling His glory, that humanity might look upon Him, the history that we have of the life of Christ would not have been changed....In every act of Jesus, in every lesson of His instruction, we are to see and hear and recognize God. In sight, in hearing, in effect, it is the voice and movements of the Father.” Letter 83, 1895

34. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. (Romans 5:10,11 NLT)

35. “As a deceiver, Satan wins support for his cause... by something other than what he truly represents. If this is the case, [the] simple demolition of the deceiver will not suffice unless or until his true character has become manifest. Such a perception of the cosmic conflict depends on [the] presentation of evidence for its resolution... he must be unmasked by evidence to the contrary, that is, by the evidence of his own actual deeds... the crucial point relates to the fact that a conflict of this nature cannot be resolved by force... Satan must be allowed to commit evil for his evil character to be manifest. The political risk to the divine government of this projected policy, not to mention the theological risk, hardly needs to be elaborated.” • Tonstad, Saving God's Reputation, page 129

36. “We cannot deduce anything about Jesus from what we think we know about God; we must now deduce everything about God from what we do know about Jesus.” • Brennan Manning

37. The historic Christian doctrine of the divinity of Christ does not simply mean that Jesus is like God. It is far more radical than that. It means that God is like Jesus.D. Elton Trueblood