Here would be the translation
of Elijah and the mantle falling upon Elisha. We read verse 9. And it came to pass when they
were gone over that Elijah said unto Elisha, ask what I shall
do for thee before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said,
I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And
he said, thou hast asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if thou
see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee. But
if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they
still went on and talked, that behold, there appeared a chariot
of fire, horses of fire, and parted them asunder. And Elijah
went up by a whirlwind into heaven. You believe that? I do. And Elisha
saw it, and he cried, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel
and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more. And he
took hold of his own clothes and ripped them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of
Elijah that fell from him and went back and stood by the bank
of Jordan. And he took the mantle of Elijah
that fell from him and smote the waters and said, Where is
the Lord God of Elijah? And when he had also had smitten
the water, they parted hither and thither, and Elisha went
over. And when the sons of the prophet,
which were to view at Jericho, saw him, they said, The spirit
of Elijah doth rest upon Elisha. And they came to meet him, and
bowed themselves to the ground before him. Now, as to the question
whether or not the age of miracles is past and shall be seen no
more, at least in our day, I think we ought to go from that onto
another question. And that question would be, why
did miracles commence in the first place? Why were miracles
done by God among and before men? What was their purpose? What was the reason? And what
end did they serve? And it seems to me that we're
well on our way to answering that question when we analyze
those three periods of time that we mentioned in our first study
on the Age of Miracle. How that there was such a heavy
concentration of miracles in three different periods of time
as recorded in the scripture. We'll look over them again. First
of all, that period of Moses and of Aaron, because God would
deliver the Jew out of the land of Egypt and bring them into
the land of promise, and signs and miracles were part of the
way that God accomplished that. Why did God let Moses work these
miracles? Well, A, that the people might
believe Moses' testimony, that the Lord had indeed appeared
unto him, that he was sent by God and from God, and that they
were to follow him, and that they were to recognize him as
having come as a deliverer in the name of God, and they were
to submit unto his authority. Now, had Moses just appeared
out of the blue and began to say, God sent me, come follow
me, we'll go out of the land of Egypt, it's doubtful that
the people would have done so. Now, this was specially given
unto him, being the reason for the mighty signs and miracles
and wonders that Moses performed. For example, listen to Exodus
4 and verse 5 again. That they might believe that
the Lord God hath appeared unto thee. He was able to do those
miracles, throw down the rod and such things. Then Exodus
chapter 4 and verse 31. And the people believed and worshipped,
for except the people believed in Moses, they would not follow
him or they would not obey the voice of one coming and saying,
I'm come to deliver you. For they were going to walk out
of Egypt under their own power without being molested? No, it
was not going to happen. They did not leave under their
own power or ability, but it was a mighty deliverance of God. They were not going to simply
be picked up and transported by the Spirit as Elijah once
was in the period of his life. But then B, the second thing
that Moses be given the power that he might break the hold
of Pharaoh over the people or over the nation of Israel. And
that Moses had power. acting in the name and authority
of God to destroy the kingdom of Pharaoh and even Pharaoh himself. And God did that through Moses. Not only so, but God displayed
his great sovereignty in that he hardened the heart of Pharaoh
against each plague. that he would not let the people
go, and still God brought the people out safely out of Egypt. He was honored, God was, in the
destruction of Pharaoh, that my power might be shown in thee,
that my name might be declared throughout all of the earth. So Aaron and Moses were many
miracles delivering his Egypt out of the land of Israel, of
Asia. Now secondly, there is that period
of Elijah and Elisha, those twin prophets as we may call them,
which came during a special period in Israel, not of delivering
them out of bondage from another nation, but because of great
apostasy and idolatry and the deadness of the things or the
worship of God in Israel at that time. And Elisha leads the pack
in terms of the number of great works and miracles that were
wrought by this any Old Testament prophet of God. In fact, A.W. Pink has written an entire book
on the life of Elijah, he calls it, of the narrative, and he
has pointed out that the history of Elijah actually consists in
little less than a record of the supernatural acts and events,
miracles, and wonders that were performed by Elisha. As Moses was sent unto Israel
when they were in their cruel, cruel bondage, so Elijah and
Elisha were sent when they were in deep apostasy and the things
of God were cast underfoot and thrown down under the ground.
And therefore, these miracles would have been unnecessary if
God had been honored. if they had kept his word, if
they had worshiped in the way that he had ordained, there would
be no need of the miracle and of the supernatural works of
God among them. Now, the mighty works of these
two prophets of God were not the result of the devotion of
the people, neither were they a reward for the people for being
faithful, nor because of the faith of the people at the time. They do not pray down these miracles. as some consider having been
done at Pinnacle. But the very opposite was true. They were necessary because of
the sad and the low estate of the people of Israel and the
worship of God and the spiritual life at that particular time. Thus, the mighty works of Elijah
and Elisha. I won't take much time, but from
the time of our text that we read, If we keep reading over
in the book of 2nd Kings, we find the Shumanite son raised
again from the dead. We find the miracle of Naaman
the leper sent over and healed by the prophet. We find the wither's
cruel of all. We find or a head of iron floating. And on and on are the miracles
of Elisha, continuing those that were done by Elijah that was
before him. A.W. Pink wrote again in that
book, Elisha, His Life and Miracle, by means of a drastic interposition,
by awesome, inspiring displays of his power, by supernatural
manifestation of his justice and of mercy alike, God forced
even the skeptical to recognize his existence and subscribe unto
his supremacy," unquote. The observation of author W. Pink. Now, the great works of
these two prophets, especially they of Elisha, were used to
restore the name and the worship and the truth and the word of
God in Israel. Bring about, I guess we could
use the word revival, a revival of the things of God, a revival
of the true worship of God in Israel, and to expose the sham
and the idolatry of the people. I already mentioned Naaman, iron
to swim, raised a dead boy back again unto life. but then by
the greatest period of miracles of all were performed not by
Moses and Aaron or even Elijah and Elisha, but they are in the
New Testament and performed by our Lord and then by the apostles
themselves. And in the ministry of Christ,
we find every kind of miracle and healing including the raising
of the dead, which most would agree is the ultimate in a miracle,
the raising of the dead. Such great signs and wonders
were done by the Lord. And not all believed, some blasphemed
when they saw the miracles and the works of our Lord. But the
Lord, during His lifetime, healed some physical malady or other,
such as a crippled ankle or a demon-possessed person, was given relief and
deliverance from that awful and the same great magnitude of amazement
under the will, under raising of the dead out of the grave,
particularly Lazarus, who had been four days dead, buried and
deteriorating in the grave. Now our text said in Acts 2 and
verse 22, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you
by miracles and wonders and sign which God did by him in the midst
of you, and then he adds, as ye yourself also no. So who is it that is approved
of God? Jesus of Nazareth is the man
that is in view. The man known as Jesus of Nazareth
or literally Jesus the Nazarene as he was so often called. The
lowly Nazarene we might add. The one born not in a palace
but the one born in a stable, who resided not in the most popular
city and region of the country, but in Nazareth, not one of some
great vocation, but a carpenter's son. Jesus of Nazareth is approved
of God among them by signs and miracles and wonders. Now in
Acts chapter 2, it is Peter's intention to declare that the
man that they knew as Jesus of Nazareth and the one they had
crucified was in fact and reality God's mighty Messiah that he
sent into the world. And in this one sermon in Acts
chapter 2, he produces several very strong arguments for the
Messiah ship of Jesus Christ of Nazareth such as number one
He is the one by whom the Holy Spirit has been poured out He
is the author of the pouring out of the Spirit acts 2 in chapter
2 in verse 17 and chapter 2 and and verse 33, it was by him ascending
to the right hand of God, receiving of God the promise and pouring
forth this which you now see and hear, said the apostle. Secondly,
the testimony David is applicable to none other than the Messiah
and Christ fit that prophecy that was made by David and you
see it in Acts 2 verse 25 through 32 David did not intend or apply
to this resurrection to his own self, but to the victory of our
Lord over death and the grave. And then number three, the sovereign
exaltation of Jesus of Nazareth to mediatorial lordship and glory. None other than this same Jesus. Again, as he was prophesied,
to be exalted to the right hand of God. You'll find that in Psalm
110 and verse 1. In Acts chapter 2, we note in
the 22nd verse, Jesus of Nazareth. In the 32nd verse, the same Jesus
has God raised up. And in the 36th verse, he has
made that Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. And of course, there is the attestation
of the Messiahship of Jesus by the mighty works that he did
in the sight of all of the people. Notice, a man approved of God
among you by miracles, signs, and and wonders which God did
by him in the midst of you. So let us hasten to add that
miracles and wonders and signs were not the only adducing truth
to the messiahship of the Lord, but they were credentials that
he had come from God and a part of his messianic credential.
There was, number one, his victory over death. Romans 1 and verse
4. Declared to be the son of God
with power by the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the
dead. This declared his unique sonship,
that he was dead and buried and came out of the grave. And that
declared him to be the son of God. And he gave attestation
to all of his claims that he had come from God and was the
mighty one. But then secondly, we have the
pure truth which he taught. For our Lord Jesus Christ taught
one having authority and when he spoke there was an air of
authority about the words of our Lord so that he was not in
the class of the scribes as we read in Matthew 7 and verse 29
but He spoke as one having mighty authority. In fact, it is said,
never man spake like this man, said the soldiers, as they came
back empty-handed, having been sent to arrest him, John chapter
7 and verse 46. And then number three, There's
that great book of prophecy that were met together in our Lord
Jesus Christ and had their minute fulfillment in him in what he
did, what he said, and what he was. And of course, there is
the matter of his many and mighty, wonderful works by which he was
approved of God. So not only did they have a clear
knowledge of who he was, Jesus the Nazarene, but they had also
seen and heard the mighty works and deeds, signs and wonders
that he had done. Jesus of Nazareth. Not a stranger, not a foreigner,
not a Gentile, a man. That is, the man Christ Jesus. The man, yet the Son of God. The God-man whom God sent into
this world. Now, let us note a word which
is used here in Acts 2 and 22, and that would be the word approved,
that is, approved of God. The word today might mean one
who is, or it might connotate the idea of moral approbation
or acceptance of a certain individual or his morals or his judgments
and such like. But as many have pointed out,
the word used here in Acts 2.22 is more and has a greater meaning,
the meaning of manifestation, of exhibit, of declaration, that
this one is approved, manifest, he is declared, he is exhibited,
as the Son of God. He is accredited by these many
things that he has done. Gil said it like this, shown,
declared, demonstrated to be the Son of God, the Messiah. the one sent from God, the one
who has come down from the Father, that the mighty works that he
had done in their midst, not in a corner, not in secret, but
in public and in every place, were evidences of his being sent
from God. And in this text, he confines
this supernatural evidence unto the Jew, ye sons of Israel, you
men of Israel. For the Jew required a sign. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 22. Matthew 12 and 38. Master, we
would see a sign from thee. John chapter 3 and verse 2. Rabbi, we know that thou art
a teacher come from God. For no man can do these miracles
that thou doest, except God be with him. And Peter says to them,
you had a testing evidence. You had proof beyond question,
for the Apostle refers to the mighty work of the Son of God
under three heads therein Acts, miracles, wonders, and signs,
such wonders as could not be dismissed. as that such that
saw them must give them consideration that this is a special man. Even the Jew, even the leader
said that he does many miracles we cannot deny and we need to
do something about it. Generally speaking, we are impressed
if we see something which we can put into the category of
being a miracle. But this immediately draws our
attention to the person rather than the miracle. Who is this? How has he done such a thing
or brought it to pass? So then, that in the case of
false prophets, And in the case of their admirers who take up
their way, the honor and the glory is soon heaped upon the
person, not upon God as having been the author of it. And this
allows us then to ask some questions and make some distinction, such
as, number one, how to distinguish the mighty works of Christ from
the mighty works of other servants of God, Moses, Elijah, Elisha,
the apostles, and such like. Some of these did some of the
same works that our Lord himself had done. some of them even raising
the dead, Old Testament and New Testament, healing diseases,
casting out devils, exactly as our Lord did. Did the miraculous
wonders and signs of Moses and Elijah and Elijah or the apostles
establish either of them as the Messiah? Did anyone take them
to be the Messiah by their great works. No, they were not intended
to convey that message or that idea, though they were also able
to do great signs and wonders, yet not a one of them put out
a claim to be Messiah. Not one of them tried to take
the place of the Son of God, or elevate themselves too high,
or make more of themselves than they should. Moses' great works
confirmed him to be God's mediator deliver the people. Elijah and
Elisha's great works confirmed them to be the prophet of God
and therefore true teacher and the Apostles great works to confirm
them to be the servants and the Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. While the mighty public works
of Christ showed manifested him to be Messiah because he claimed
or declared that he was. Secondly, this allows us to make
another distinction or another point. Whether miracles in themselves
are conclusive, since false prophets and the devil and the Antichrist
are said to work signs, wonders, and miracles. For example, A,
Pharaoh's magicians imitated the first miracles of Moses and
Aaron in Exodus 7, verse 11 and 12. B, in 2 Thessalonians chapter
2 and verse 9, we read of him whose coming is after the working
of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. And C, In
Matthew 24, 24, there shall arise false Christ and false prophet
and shall show great signs and wonders that if it were possible,
they would deceive even the elect. That is, miracles of a false
Christ or a false prophet will have the effect of convincing
many that they are indeed of God. Therefore, in the case of
the lost hypocrite, the wonders of a false prophet may be accepted
as attestation of proof that the prophet is from God and is
a man of God, and he will follow that deceiver even unto his ruin. For it is generally true of most
that if they believe they have witnessed a miracle, they will
honor and they will elevate the one by whom that miracle came
rather than glorifying God. While in the case of the miracles
of our Lord, it was clearly shown by the exercise of His power,
and as Calvin said, there is sure enough cooperation, both
of the doctrine and the ministry, to those who have eyes that are
open to see. And if the proof is not conclusive
for the wicked, it is because of the blindness, because of
the ignorance, because of the hardness of their heart, and
their foolish minds are darkened to spiritual matters and the
things of God. Note what the apostle said in
our text. that the miracles of Christ are
not a matter of dispute. No, there is full confidence
and appeals are made to the memory of the hearers and of the seers. God did by him in the midst of
you, in plain sight, in their very presence, not in hiding,
not behind closed doors, but on the streets, in houses where
many were gathered, and places like that. And then Peter adds
these words in Acts 2.22, As ye yourself also know, being
eyewitnesses to them, many of them had seen the works of our
Lord, ye men of Israel, but mighty works done out in the open by
our Lord, made withered limbs to become whole, blind eyes to
see some that had never seen in their life, given hearing
to those who had not been able to hear, the foul disease of
leprosy swept away by a word or a touch of our Lord, and even
the dead commanded to come forth off of their beer and out of
their tomb. Now, this leads to two points
of conclusion. won their wickedness in crucifying
one so imminently approved by God in their midst. Notwithstanding
his undeniable proof of being the Messiah and coming from God,
they in wicked ignorance crucified the Prince of Life in the face
of reliable, undeniable evidence. They did murder the Holy One
of God. Number two, Why did Christ work
so many great miracles in the midst of the Jew? What was the
reason for that, that he let them see the very glories of
heaven? What was proved by them? Why
were they necessary? And I think the answer is much
the same as in the case of Moses down in Egypt. to authenticate
the ministry of Christ and to confirm his claims of Messiahship,
to give evidence of his deity and of his power over all things
in heaven and in earth, to validate that he had come down from God's
own presence. John Gill said, as testimony
both of the divine approbation of him and of his deity and messiahship,
unquote. Therefore, one, a man to be heard,
whose words are to be heeded, who speaks from God and speaks
the words of God and from the authority of God, Hear ye him
was the word of God for he is the son of God. Secondly, as
having the authority to change the customs of Moses and bring
drastic changes in the administration of the covenant of God, to do
away with the temple, to do away with the priesthood, to do away
with Judaism, to do away with days and time and seasons and
all of that, to declare the law at an end, to bring the ceremonial
law to an end, and install evangelicalism in full, to de-emphasize the
law and emphasize the gospel, to authorize his servants to
turn away from the Jew and go into all of the world and preach
the gospel to all people and to baptize them in water, who
had been baptized in the Spirit of God. It gave Christ the authority
to act as mediator between God and men and to be the administrator
of the covenant in a way that it was never administered before,
not by Moses, not by Joshua, not by David or Samuel, Abraham
or any other and to reveal the Father and reveal salvation in
the fullest sense of the word through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now let us close by noting what
Christ said about his works and what they proved and how they
were to be viewed. John 5 and verse 36, I have greater
witness than that of John, for the works which the Father hath
given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness
of me that the Father hath sent me. John 9, 4, I must work the
works of him that sent me. That was our text recently. John
10, 25, Jesus answered, the works that I do in my Father's name
They bear witness of me then again in John chapter 10 37 and
38 Though you believe not me believe the works that you may
believe that the father is in me and I in him John 14 and 11
believe me for the very existence works say. None could do the
great works that our Lord did except he be from God. His great works left them without
excuse. John 15 verse 24. The reason
none could do the works that he did except God be with him
even as Nicodemus observed. So our conclusion is this. By the many works done by Christ
during the years and days of His ministry, He was declared
to be the Son of God with power, approved among them by the signs,
the miracles, and the wonders that He did in their very sight,
undeniable None could deny them, or they called him a blasphemer
for healing on the Sabbath day, but they could not deny the healing. And so it went. Approved of God
among you, as you yourselves also know.