Here's the passage in John 2,
1 through 11. First, miracle of the Lord, a
wedding. And the third day there was a
marriage in Cana of Galilee. And the mother of Jesus was there. And both Jesus was called and
his disciples to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the
mother of Jesus said unto him, they have no wine. Then said
he unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour
is not yet come. His mother saith to the servant,
whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there
six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of
the Jew, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus said unto
them, Fill the water pots with water, and they fill them to
the brim. And he said unto them, Draw out
now, and bear unto the governor of the feast, and they bear it. When the ruler of the feasts
had tasted the water that had been made wine and knew not which
it was, but the servants which drew the water knew, the governor
of the feasts called the bridegroom and said unto him, every man
at the beginning doth set forth good wine, when men have well
drunk, than that which is worse. But thou hast kept the good wine
until now. This beginning of miracles did
Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested forth His glory and
His disciples believed on Him. I think you ought to emphasize
those last words. And manifested His glory and
His disciples believed on Him. Now in Acts, the second chapter,
Peter is speaking. It is his Pentecostal exhortation
unto Israel. Ye men of Israel, hear these
words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know. Him being delivered by the determined
counsel and for knowledge of God you have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. The 22nd verse again. A man approved of God among you
by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst
of you as ye yourselves also know. Now we go back to John chapter
2, begin there, and work our way through the miracles of the
Lord. I gave our study this title,
The Miracles of Jesus, for he did many of them during his earthly
ministry. And because of them, the fame
of our Lord spread far and wide in that area and in that part
of the world based upon the mighty signs and the miracle and the
wonders which he did. And particularly those done in
the very midst, in the very sight, in the very presence of Israel. And he did them in public. He
did them in plain sight, so that even his worst skeptics could
not deny that a notable work had been done by our Lord. However,
we not only want to consider the miracles done by our Lord,
but also along the way to seek the answer to such questions
as, what is a miracle in the biblical sense of the word? What was the purpose of the many
miracles of our Lord? Now, a miracle, strictly defined,
is something that is above and beyond nature. and ordinary thing. It is something that dispenses
with the law of nature and therefore is done against that that might
be expected. But then, what was the purpose
of the miracle of our Lord Jesus Christ? Was it simply to help
people, to do good unto many, or did it extend beyond that
as well? but also to enlarge upon the
study of miracle, we need to include and consider the Old
Testament miracle done by or through the prophets of God in
days of old. And we also want to notice something
very important, and that is the particular periods of time when
the miracles of God were worked among men and when they were
done. And we find that the most prolific
miracles were done in the time of Moses, in the time of Elijah,
and Elijah, and of Christ, and then of the apostle. And the greatest concentration
of miracles and signs and wonders were in these five periods of
time in the scripture. Though those done by Elijah and
Elisha, then those done by Christ and the apostle were done back
to back without a period of time elapsing between them. So I wanted
to launch our vessels here at John chapter 2 because of the
words in the beginning of rather the words in verse 11 that this
was the beginning of miracle that Jesus did in Cana of Galilee. And we want to notice also that
He manifested His glory and His disciples believed on Him. Now,
concerning this first miracle that we read about from our Lord,
it is notable, I think, it was not done in the temple when it
was full of people on a great feast day or a great holiday. It was done in a private house,
a gathering of family and friends. It was not done before a great
multitude, but before those that had gathered for a wedding. And
it was not per se at a religious service, though weddings were
religious in nature, but it was done at a wedding celebration. And the miracle consisted in
our Lord turning ordinary water into wine. and high quality wine
at that. Now before we get to the matter
of the miracle, let's consider a few things about this fourth
gospel, the gospel of John and its author, who was John, not
John the Baptist, but John the son of Zebedee, who had been
a fisherman by trade until he had been called to follow the
Lord. And his gospel, I think, is unique
among the gospel. So John, among the apostles,
was also unique. George Hutchinson wrote of John
that he was in a special way deep in the favor of Christ and
quote, very intimate with him. It is of John that we read that
he leaned upon the breast of the Lord. And it is John who
describes himself as that disciple whom Jesus loved, and he does
it several times in his gospel. John had the privilege of being
on the Mount of Transfiguration when our Lord loosed a blast
of his glory and he saw that. He leaned on the breast of the
Lord at the Last Supper. and was close and near unto him. He was near Jesus in his agony
in the garden, and he beheld that, and he saw it. He raced
to the empty tomb, and there he saw the grave clothed, but
no body in the tomb. Just to name a few privileges
of this apostle John that has written our text today. Now, as for his gospel, the written
word, it more than the other three previous gospel Emphasizes
one great truth and that is the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. He begins with the Eternality
the Word was God and the Word was with God it is John that
refers to him as the Lamb of God and that taketh away sin. It is John that presents him
as a creator of all things. It is John that presents our
Lord as very divine and as very God and that he was and he existed
before all things. John 1 1 through 18 for that
subject now John omits things which are included in the other
gospel and one thing which we notice about John and his gospel
is that That is that John scales back on the number of the miracles
of our Lord that he records in his gospel. And he's more selective,
if I may say it that way, about the miracle that he includes
in his gospel. And this turning of water into
wine in chapter 2, the healing of the nobleman's son in the
end of chapter 4, the healing of the impotent man at the pool
in chapter 5, the feeding of the 5,000 with the little boy's
lunch in chapter 6, giving sight to a man born blind in chapter
9. And the resurrection of Lazarus
from the dead after four days in chapter 11. Now here in chapter
2, the miracle is the turning of water Now, let's quickly sum
up the details that prevailed at this occasion and at this
time. There was a wedding. It was in
Cana. Cana is in Galilee. Now, Mary is there, whom John
calls the mother of Jesus. Jesus and the disciples are also
invited. Some believe that it was kinfolks
of them because of Mary and Jesus and his disciples. And Mary tells
the Lord they don't have any wine. They're running out of
wine. And Jesus commanded the water
pots to be filled, to draw out and bear unto the governor, and
he did, and the water had become wine, and it saved the day for
the host and the bridegroom and the invited guest. So let's notice,
if we might, two verses here in John chapter 2, that we want
to emphasize. Look at verse 4 if you would.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman What have I to do with thee? Mine
hour is not yet come. Now, the Lord made that statement
several times in his ministry. You'll find it in John chapter
7, verse 6, verse 8. Matthew 26, 18. John 8, 20. 12,
23. 17 and 1, as he talks about my hour,
my time arriving or not arriving. It speaks of his hour or of his
time as being not yet, as not having arrived or not having
come when that thing was to be done. And then the hour is come,
as we read in John chapter 17. Now, hear the words of Mary,
who John calls the mother of Jesus. Again, he calls her his
mother. Chapter 2, verse 1, verse 3,
and verse 5. He does it again in John chapter
19, and verse 25 when he is hanging in his agony on the cross and
again back in John chapter 6 and verse 42. And the Lord Jesus
called her, notice this now, not mother, but woman. He addresses her, woman, what
have I to do with thee? And he does that in John 2 and
4 and 19 and 26. By the way, if you wonder, It is the very same word used
to address the woman that was taken in adultery in John chapter
8. John 8, 10. Woman, where are
those your accuser? Same way, same word that he addressed
Mary in this play. Now, this is a common New Testament
word, and we don't want to get the wrong idea from it. Gune. a woman or a wife. So it is used of a woman, whether
in a married or an unmarried state, and several times this
word is translated wife in the New Testament, gune, the very
same word that we have here. But let's go back to the words
of Mary. There are two short quotes. from her in this passage of the
scripture. Verse 3, spoken to Jesus, they
have no wine. And then in verse 5, spoken unto
the servants, whatsoever he tells you, do it. Now, let's consider
those words. They have no wine. She had observed that, or been
told, and takes the word to the Lord. Now, we're not to conclude
from this that it was a wineless wedding. We're not to conclude
that they never or never had any wine, but that what they
had was nearly gone. The supply was nearly exhausted. It was running low. It was almost
consumed. I'm told from reading that these
weddings lasted several days and was a very festive occasion. And it was not from overt drinking
or drunkenness on the part of the guest. It was not heavy,
excessive drinking that consumed away their wine. But by the providence
of God that their wine ran low, it was the occasion of the Lord
taking the opportunity by the lack of their wine to provide
for them a very high quality wine to finish out their celebration. It was but the first of many
that were done publicly by our Lord, and that was the supply
of wine at a wedding. Nor should any credit go to Mary
in this matter or this affair. As seen in the Lord's reply to
her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? That's kind of difficult,
they say, to translate into English. And it would be something like
this, Woman, what to me and to you is this? What to me and to
you is this? So, Mary, taking that slight
rebuke and correction, says unto the servant in verse 5, whatever
he says unto you, do it. Obey him. Follow his direction
and instruction. Now, I was kind of interested
here. Hope you might be too. Let's try, if we might, to get
into the mind of Mary on this particular occasion of the wedding. And let me make this statement
and see if it connects with you and you agree. And that is, I
think that we can detect a sense of expectation on the part of
Mary when she speaks these words unto our Lord. A sense of some
expectation on her part as she tells the Lord about the shortage
of the wine, and bids the servant to take heed at his command. Such an expectation on her part
was not altogether unfounded, that he would be manifested by
doctrine and miracles, and the question was when. Now why that expectation in the
mind of Mary? Well, I want you to consider
something. In Luke chapter 1 verse 26 through
verse 38, you have the appearance and the announcement of the angel
of God Gabriel unto Mary, more than 30 years prior to his attendance
at this wedding, to tell her that she would bear a special
and a unique son. that she would be given conception
without a man, and that that one born of her would be called
the Son of God, and that great glory would attend His birth
into the world. Luke chapter 2, 8 through 14. great glory that was displayed
the night of our Lord's birth. Then there is Matthew chapter
2 verse 11 when wise men came bearing their gifts and they
worshiped the young child that Mary had born in the manger. Then there's Luke chapter 2 when
the Lord was brought at eight days into the temple that he
might be circumcised according to the manner of the law. And
on that occasion, there was the prophecy of Simeon concerning
that baby that was brought there, the Lord Jesus Christ. And in
verse 28 through verse 37 of that chapter, Simeon called him
An eight-day-old babe in the arms, the salvation of the Lord. Mine eyes have seen the salvation
of the Lord. And he prophesied there would
be a sign which shall not be spoken again. This child is set
for the rise and fall of many in Israel. And he told Mary,
in Luke 2 and verse 35, that a sword will pierce your own
soul also. And that reached its height when
Christ was on the cross in his agony and was dying. And then lastly, There was that
unique but strange saying of the Lord at age 12. And you have
it in Luke 2 and verse 49. You remember they had been up
to celebrate coming back. The Lord had carried behind.
They missed him. They looked everywhere for him.
Finally, when they found him, they scolded him a bit. Your
father and I have looked everywhere for you. And the Lord's answer,
12 years old, And this is the only glimpse we have of him between
the eight-day circumcision and his appearing in the ministry. And his reply unto them was,
Know you not that I must be about my father's business? Now, he's not talking about Joseph
and his carpentry, but about God, about his heavenly Father. Now, Mary had stored all these
things up in her heart, in her memory, over all of those years,
since the announcement of the angel. These things had never
left her heart, never left her very far. In Luke chapter 2 and
verse 19, Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her
heart. Luke 2 and 33, Joseph and his
mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him, that
is in Simeon prophecy. In Luke 2 and 51, his mother
kept all those things in her heart. So in all those times,
these things were in her heart. Now, let's go again to those
words of the Lord unto Mary in verse 4. And the King James has
it like this. What have I to do with you? You find this expression in both
the Old Testament and the New Testament. Joshua 22 and verse
24, Judges 11 and 12. 2 Samuel 16 verse 10. In the New Testament, Matthew
chapter 8, 29, and Mark chapter 1 and verse 24. Now David Brown,
in his commentary on the gospel, commented this on the words of
the Lord to Mary, quote, a gentle yet decided rebuke." Now these
expressions which were referenced have the meaning, no connection
between the two parties. There's no connection between
the two parties, between me and you, the Lord said unto her. And he tells Mary, in essence,
that he will be guided by the will of the Father and not by
her will. And he'll only act when his hour
has come or has arrived. And verse 5 shows that she received
that rebuke and she understood it and acted accordingly. Now,
can we say, with all of that being said about Mary, that everything
which Rome has given unto Mary, Christ and the Scripture takes
it away from her in a few words. She has neither part nor lot
in this matter. She is not immaculately conceived. She was not sinless in her life. She is not ascended into heaven. She is not the mother of God
to be prayed to. She is not the mediator between
Christ and the people of God. So as the servant is not greater
than his master, so in this case the mother is not greater than
the son. As John the Baptist was to decrease,
but Christ was to increase, John 3 and 30, so Mary must decrease
and must worship and submit to the very one who had lain in
her womb. George Hutchinson put it like
this. She had, quote, no motherly authority in the matter of his
office. He strictly did the Father's
business, and that at the proper and appointed time and hour. Still, the Lord performed a miracle
in connection with the wine, using the circumstances at hand,
which was a depleted supply of wine at a wedding, and using
the instruments that were at hand, water pots and common,
ordinary water, having the pots filled with that water. Then
he told them to serve the master, and they did, who decided it
to be of very high quality. And he complimented the bridegroom
for saving the best wine until last, contrary to the usual custom
of that day and of that time. He said, usually they serve the
best wine first. And then, after people have well
drunken and have satisfied their taste, they bring out that which
is of less quality or cheaper. For there's no record here in
this miracle, notice this, of our Lord saying a prayer. He prayed before the grave of
Lazarus, but not here. There's no sign of him looking
into heaven up to the Father as he did on other occasion. He did not go and stir the water
with a hand or an instrument. He did not anoint or touch the
pots at all. Nor was it holy water that is
to blame for the good wine. Nor is there anything about the
six pots that are mysterious. But as J. C. Rowe wrote in his
commentary, it was a natural consequence of the Jewish custom
at that time to have pots and to have water for the washing
and cleansing and such like. The point is, At some point,
the ordinary water was turned into wine. And the further point
is, the Lord did it by a mere act of His will. He did not speak,
he did not touch, he did not annoy. He did it by an act of
his will, not by word of command, not by smiting the water as Elisha
and Elijah did, and after to make waters obey. Let's repeat
for emphasis that it was simply an act of the will of the Lord. And he turned that water into
wine by a silent, unspoken exercise of his will. And it was real
wine. It was good wine. It was pure,
good wine of the best quality. And I know this stumbles a lot
of people. to think that the Lord would
make something intoxicating to drink, but here we have it. But
to not digress, our text says this, that it was the beginning
of miracles that our Lord did. This suggested a couple of things
for us to consider. Think about this. This is very
God, born in the flesh, the Word made flesh, the Son of God incarnate. that we're talking about here,
even from conception in the womb and from birth. Think about that.
Let it sink into our mind. That Christ, number one, had
not done any miracles until this time. about 30 years or so that
our Lord had held in these things that was to be the hallmark of
his ministry. He did none as a member of the
family and for the good and relief of the family or to make life
easier for that family in Nazareth. None to relieve the misery that
he surely must have seen in his earlier days. He did none as
a, quote, private citizen, unquote. Then number two, that this was
only the first. The first, but not the last.
Many more would follow. Miracles of all kinds. So many
that we can't even speak of them today. Our healing of bodies. giving sight under blind eyes,
healing crippled ones and crippled limbs, and healing issues of
blood in a poor woman who had spent all on physician, even
touching leprosy and it being cleansed. and even raising the
dead. Our Lord, the scripture tells
us, raised three people from the dead during the course of
his ministry. But now the question comes back
in connection with our Lord. Why miracles? Why would he be
such a miracle worker? Why would he have such great
power over all things? Why did the Lord's Christ work
miracles? Why only after commencing His
public ministry? We have the question largely
answered here in John chapter 2, and manifested His glory. He manifested His glory by the
miracle of wine. He manifested His glory, which
until now was in great part veiled, and that by design, that on purpose,
that he veiled himself somewhat. But as he begins his ministry,
not just another preacher, not just another prophet, but as
the Messiah, he reveals himself as the Messiah, and one having
come from the Father. And so it's miracles. were confirming
signs and undeniable credentials of His divinity, that He came
from God. No man can do these miracles
that you're doing except God be with him. Up till now, He
was known as Jesus of Nazareth. or Jesus the Nazarene. And in
John 1, 46, the question, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? He was known as the carpenter's
son, as we read in Matthew 13 and 15. He was known as the son
of Joseph and of Mary, Mark 6 and 3, and known to have brothers
and sisters that were raised with him and in the family. And
this one, coming from such a common and an ordinary background, could
this possibly be the Messiah? How can he validate his claims
that he is the Messiah, that he came from God, and that he
is making a sacrifice to put away sin? Could the Lord just
simply one day call a press conference and say to those gathered round
about, I'm the Messiah. I'm the one come from God. I'm
the one promised by the prophets of old. My question is, who would
believe it? Who would believe that? Now,
let me give you, if I might, a comparison. have something
to compare that with. When God would send Moses down
into Egypt to deliver the people out of the land of Egypt, Exodus
chapter 3 and chapter 4, Moses protest when God calls him and
tells him his mission. Moses says to God, they're not
going to believe me. I go tell them Let the people
go? They're not gonna believe me. They're not gonna believe me
at all. Then Moses protests. Look, I'm
not an eloquent man. I'm not a man of words. I'm not
a good speaker. I'm just a keeper of the sheep
in the backside of the desert. For me to say to Pharaoh, let
the people go, God promises Moses signs and wonders and plagues
upon the Egyptians as credentials of his commission." When Moses
protests all of that, excuses, we might call it, God assures
him that he will give him signs and wonders and plagues as credentials
of his commission, by which the people would then be set free. And God actually makes his rod
an instrument of power and of might. With that, he could smite
things, and it would be so. The rod in his very hand turned
into a serpent, then back into a rod. So Moses said, who shall
I tell them has sent me? and God's answer, tell them I
am. The great I am, armed with authority
to do the mighty works as tokens of proof of your commission and
call, and that both to the Egyptian and to Israel. And what does
the Apostle Peter tell the Jews on the day of Pentecost as we
read in the second chapter of the book of Acts. Jesus of Nazareth,
a man approved of God among you by miracles, wonders, and signs
which God did by him in the midst of you as ye yourself also know. Now, we need to consider this
verse as it sets forth a great truth, also a great error of
the Jew. Now, the word approved, as it
is in the King James, this Greek word is four times, I believe,
in all in the New Testament. It is here. It is in Acts 25
and verse 7 where it is translated prove. It is in 1 Corinthians
chapter 4 and verse 9. and is translated set forth. And finally, it is in 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2 and verse 4 translated showing, showing himself that
he is God. Now the apostle speaking to the
Jew purposely uses the expression Jesus the Nazarene, which was
a stumbling block under the Jew, John 1, 46, John 7, 41, and 52. But Peter tells them that Jesus
of Nazareth, whom their leaders crucified and killed upon the
cross, was the Messiah. And that his mighty works and
miracles were signs that confirmed him to having been set forth
to be accredited of God, validated, attested as the one having come
from God. Alexander said that the idea
in Acts chapter 2 and verse 20 by the word approved is proof
or attestation. God has attested this man to
be approved of him by sign, miracle, and wonder. And in this connection,
two things are noted here in this message of Peter. Number one, this attestation
is said to be from God to you. God has attested this unto you,
that is, the Jew. And the Apostle speaks this to
ye men of Israel, Acts 2.22, and in verse 29, men and brethren,
as he addresses it unto Israel. Right in the midst of them they
were done, and you know it beyond denial. Then second, the means
of attestation. We're not just His words, we're
not His looks, we're not His claim, but also the mighty wonders
done right in the midst of them in plain sight. Not far off,
not in secret, not hidden from them, but in the synagogue, in
the temple area, in the public streets as He went on His way,
in a full house, in a full city, for the Jews require a sign. And they had one. They had many
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the Jews believed that Messiah,
when He came, that when God sent Messiah into the world, He would
be a worker of miracles. He would be a mighty one. He would be a mighty worker of
miracles. And the miracles of Jesus were
undeniable evidence of the power of God operating in and through
the man Christ Jesus. Signs that the kingdom of God
had come among them, as the Lord said on one occasion. Luke 11 and 20. If I, by the
finger of God, cast out devil, Then has the kingdom of God come
upon you. Now, there is a wonder that was
done by the Lord. A couple I would like to single
out in the end of our study this morning. And perhaps it was the
last miracle that actually our Lord performed. And if you're
interested in turning, it's John chapter 18 and verse 5 and 6
that give us undeniable proof of his deity. And I wonder if
we have considered it. And it confirmed the words of
others before them who were sent to take or arrest the Lord Jesus
Christ. And they came back in John 7
and verse 46 and said this, never man spake like this man. Never have we ever encountered
a man that spake like this man. So in John 18, and four through
six. They have come to arrest him
after, or in the garden. They have sent a band of officers,
and Judas is following, and who knows who else. And they come
and they accost the Lord Jesus there in the garden. They've
got fires and torches and swords and that kind of thing. And Jesus
says to them, who are you looking for? Who are you seeking? And they say, Jesus of Nazareth
is who we're looking for. Jesus says, I am he. And notice. and they fell backward
to the ground. When our Lord said that, they
fell backward to the ground. Not because they tripped, not
because it was dark, not because they stumbled or they were pushed
or they fainted, but by the power of the word of our Lord did they
fall backward. that as soon as he said, I am,
get those words, I am he, they fell away. Now the Lord might
just have easily killed them. He could have slain them with
the word of his mouth, and they could have all fallen dead, never
to rise again. Or, on the other hand, he could
have escaped them. He could have called angel. He
could have exerted his power, as he did several times before,
and went away out of their hand. But no, he said, I am he. But two things about that. Number
one, Instead of delivering or killing them, he committed himself
to the death of the cross. He would not spare or deliver
himself from the death of the cross, though he might have. And number two, he made a great
display of his deity and of his power. And he did that not by
calling down fire from heaven, He might have done that too.
Or causing the earth to open up and swallow the rebels. He might have done that too.
Not by turning them into a pillar of salt. he might have done that
too, or smiting them with leprosy so that their lives would be
short. But as it was, he slew them with his very words of his
mouth. He spoke and they fell backward,
all the way down to the ground. It is not just that a band of
men with lanterns and torches and weapons fell to the ground. But it was from the effects of
the word that Christ spoke unto them. As soon as he said, I am
he, they fell. This was not something ever seen
in the world before. By the mightiest king, it never
had happened. An example of his power, of his
deity, and of his glory. A foretaste of the heavenly glory
that our Lord would have of the power of his word and of his
will. Now, one more. Come with me. Let's go to the tomb of Lazarus,
where Lazarus has been sick and died, and four days has Lazarus
been in the grave since he fell asleep. buried the day that he
died as the Jews did. And here at this grave, he displays
the ultimate, I would call it, of his power. Now, our Lord had
raised two others from the dead earlier in his ministry. One
of them was a young girl, I think she was 12 years old, had just
died, a nobleman's son, and the Lord raised her. The other one
was the only son of a widow of name. And he was dead and embalmed
and in his coffin and being carried to the grave. And our Lord met
them and He raised him back to life again. Now, with Lazarus,
we notice that he speaks, Lazarus, come forth. And Lazarus arose. And he came out of the tomb and
lived a time longer and partied with his family and his friends. And all he did was say, Lazarus,
come forth. And Lazarus came out of that
grave. Why miracles? to confirm the
miracle worker is sent from God, to be credentials that God is
in this. Christ was approved by signs
and miracles and wonders. So whether Moses or the prophets
or the apostles, their miracles were tokens and credentials of
their calling. Now, we ought to notice this
thought in the scripture. Miracles were chiefly and only
worked in great number. When? there was a new revelation
to be made. When there was a new and great
thing that God would do, such as delivering Israel, such as
the apostasy in the days of Elijah and Elisha, so that God dispensed
His miracles in bunches in those times when there was a new revelation. And in the case of Christ, there
was the new covenant to confirm. and to be manifested in him. And it was attended with great
miracle from the Messiah himself. There were miracles with the
old covenant that brought them out of the land of Egypt. And the miracles were to confirm
and to convince the people, especially the early disciples, the apostolic
circle, that the Lord was the Messiah, that he'd come down
from God. So Christ's miracles were proof
of his divinity to his disciple. And yet not all that saw the
miracles of our Lord became believers. Some said, oh, he did that by
Beelzebub. Others said, he's a transgressor. He did that on the Sabbath day.
So they sloughed off the miracles of our Lord and still did not
believe. Except God send forth the Spirit
into our heart. Except God open our understanding. Then, and only then, do we understand
and do we believe. But the miracles of our Lord
confirmed him as the Messiah beyond proof. He never met a
situation that he could not overpower. And that from simple blindness
to absolute death, our Lord had power over all things. This is the Christ we cry out
in joy. and the last great exercise of
his power on earth, raising from the dead. Death could not hold
him. Death could not keep him. And
another did not come and raise him, but he took his life up
again. As he said, he had authority. And thank God for that. This
is the Messiah. This is the one come from God. We've found him that the scriptures
speak about.