The Miracles of Jesus-Introduction to Series and Jesus’ First Miracle

The Miracles of Jesus - Introduction to Series and Jesus’ First Miracle

Summary: Introduction to series on the Miracles of Jesus which also covers the Miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana.

Text:  John 2:1-11, Mark 4:35

Series: The Miracles of Jesus

Date: 26/08/2018

As we begin our study of “The Miracles of Jesus” there are a few things that we need to examine by way of introduction. 

What Constitutes A Miracle? 

According to Dr. Brian J Bailey...

First of all, we must consider what constitutes a miracle. The English word “miracle” is not the word used in the original Greek. The Greek word for miracle is “dunamos,” which literally means “power.” Miracles are really a demonstration of the power of God.Therefore, the definition of a miracle is an act of power—something that can only be done through supernatural power. This helps us grasp the difference between miracles and healing. Miracles are not limited only to the realm of healing. They apply to every aspect of our lives in which we need a manifestation of God’s supernatural power.At times, we will experience miracles of provision. I would just like to recount a story to illustrate this. When we were pastoring a church of about three thousand people in New Zealand a number of years ago, the Lord spoke to us to buy a certain piece of land which was worth 1.2 million dollars. As you know, that is a lot of money. We asked the Lord, “How are we going to raise this much money?” The Lord replied: “The money will come in through faith. Sunday morning you will teach on faith and tell the whole congregation to believe Me for miracles of provision.” That Sunday morning in obedience to His Word, I declared from the pulpit the direction the Lord wanted the church to take. I challenged everyone ages twelve and older to seek the Lord and believe Him for a miracle of provision so that we could buy this piece of land.It is amazing what happened! Nearly everyone in the church began to experience miracles. Even children who were only twelve and thirteen years old experienced miracles of provision. People would give them money unexpectedly for no reason at all, or they would win art contests and give their prize money. Everyone in the congregation could hardly wait for the opportunity to give money for the building project. We received telephone calls from many parents saying, “Pastor, could you please lower the age of this fund raiser because my little eight year old child wants to be a part of it too?” We were overwhelmed by these testimonies, and so we assured them that anyone could participate.One Sunday we had a cash service. A chest was placed at the front of the church, and everyone who wanted to give that morning put their money into it. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars came in that morning in cash. Also, many people felt the Lord tell them to pledge a certain amount without knowing where it was going to come from. With cash and pledges, the total that came in was over one and a half million dollars.Miracles became common place for everyone in that church, and we accomplished the Lord’s will through these miracles. Therefore, we should be encouraged in the Lord! God can perform a miracle for you in whatever situation you find yourself.Miracles are linked with signs and wonders. Many times in the Scriptures we see these three words mentioned together (Acts 2:22, 6:8, 15:12, 2 Cor. 12:12, Heb. 2:4). Miracles can be used as a sign to illustrate a spiritual truth. The word miracles is used quite often in John’s gospel, but it actually refers to a sign. The Lord always used miracles to teach truth. For example, He used the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand to illustrate that He is the Bread of Life.Teaching people the pure Word of God and correct doctrine is necessary for proper spiritual growth. However, this alone will not usually convince people of the truth and cause them to walk in the ways of God. Miracles are absolutely needed to ground and establish our faith. Paul said in First Corinthians 4:20, “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.” He also said in this same letter to the Corinthians in 2:4, “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”

[Bailey Brian . J. "The Comforter". Waverly: Zion Christian Publishers, 1995. Pages 194-196]

Are all miracles of God?

Not everything that is miraculous is from God. To put it simply, either miracles are based on Christ and the Bible or else they are connected with demons and the world of the occult. Just as Christ’s miracles were intended to lead men and women to Him, Satan wants his miracles to lead multitudes to worship him.

The interesting thing about the notable miracles in the Scriptures is that everyone knew the condition of the people who received the miracle. As a result, people had to give the glory to God. This notable miracle of healing in Acts chapter 3 caused many to believe in the Lord. We read in Acts 4:4 that “many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.” When this miracle made people attentive to listen to Peter’s sermon, five thousand believed. This was more than on the day of Pentecost. In just an instant, five thousand people turned to the Lord! Oh, we must not limit the Lord. He will do great things in these last days. As far as the miracles of Christ are concerned it is particularly notable that the enemies of Christ never sought to deny the powerful works he performed. They attempted to attribute this works to the power of the Devil (Matt 12:22-24) but they did not argue that they had not taken place.

What Is The Purpose Of God’s Miracles?

Usually miracles help someone in need. But the meaning is always deeper: God gets our attention so that we are invited to look beyond the event to a Miracle Worker. Clearly if the purpose of Christ’s miracles was only to help some one in need, thousands more would have been healed etc. The simple fact is this: The primary purpose of the miracles was to authenticate the message of Christ and the apostles.

A sign can be either a miracle or healing, but it is distinctly set apart in that its purpose is to reveal a spiritual truth. The all important thing, of course, is that when we study and meditate on John’s Gospel we receive the truths that are hidden in these signs. We are now going to look at the first sign, which we have entitled, “The Miracle of Turning the Water into Wine.”

As we conduct our study of the miracles that Jesus performed I want us ask two and seek to answer, two principle questions: “What does this miracle reveal about the person of Christ?” And “What does this miracle say to us today?”

Did Jesus Perform Any Miracles As A Child?

Since the record of the miracle at Cana (John 2:11) ends with the statement that this was “the beginning of the signs (miracles)” it would seem to indicate conclusively this was absolutely the first miracle that Jesus had performed.

He had lived for thirty years, and this is the first time he has exercised his power to perform a miracle. As such this nullifies those extra-biblical accounts of miracles performed by Jesus as Child. These miracles are immediately suspect not only because they are not included in the Bible but because they are meaningless. The miracles of Jesus were never meaningless.

This is a study of the miracles performed by Jesus, and so do not include the miracles associated with of His birth.

The order of the miracles as they are given here is the actual historical order – as best that we can tell (indications of time and place are often not precisely given – in which these miracles occurred, although they may be sequenced differently in the different Gospel accounts.

1. Jesus Turns Water Into Wine (Jn 2: 1- 11)

2. Jesus Heals The Noble Man’s Son (John  4:46-54) 

3. Jesus Provides A Great Catch Of Fish (Lk 5:1-11) 

4. Jesus Heals A Demonic In A Synagogue (Mark 1:21-28, Luke 4:31-37) 

5. Jesus Heals His Peter’s Mother-In-Law (Mt 8:14-15, Mark 1:29-31, Luke 4:38-39) 

6. Jesus Cleanses A Leper (Mark 1:40-45, Luke 5:12-15) 

7. Jesus Heals A Paralytic (Mt 9:2-7, Mark 2:3-12, Lk. 5:18-26) 

8. Jesus Heals A Cripple At Bethesada (John 5: 1-18) 

9. Jesus Heals A Withered Hand (Mt 12:9-12, Mark 3:1-6, Luke 5:6-10,) 

10. Jesus Heals A Centurion’s Servant (Mt 8:5-13, Luke 7:1-10) 

11. Jesus Raises A Widow’s Son (Luke 7:11-17) 

12. Jesus Stills A Storm (Mt 8:23-27, Mk 4:35-41, Lk 8:22-25) 

13. Jesus Delivers A Demonic In Gedara (Mt 8:28-34, Mk 5:1-20,Luke 8:27-39) 

14. Jesus A Woman Of A Hemorrhage (Mt 9: 20-22, Mk 5:25-34, Luke 8:43-48) 

15. Jesus Raises Jairus’s Daughter (Mt 9:18-26, Mk 5:22-43, Luke 8:41-56) 

16. Jesus Heals Two Blind Men (Matt. 9:27-31) 

17. Jesus Cast Out A Mute Spirit (Matt. 9:32-25) 

18. Jesus Feeds The 5,000 (Mt 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-17, John 6:1-14) 

19. Jesus Walks On Water (Matt. 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52, John 6:15-21) 

20. Jesus Heals A Syro-Phoneician Girl(Mt 15:21-28, Mk 7:24-30) 

21. Jesus Heals the Deaf and the Dumb Man (Mark 7:31-37) 

22. Jesus Feeds The 4,000 (Mt 15:30-38, Mark 8:1-9) 

23. Jesus Heals The Blind Man (Mark 8:22-26) 

24. Jesus Delivers The Demonized Boy (Mt 17:14-21,Mk 9:14-29, Luke 9:37-43) 

25. Jesus Provides Money In A Fish’s Mouth (Matt. 17:24-27) 

26. Jesus Heals A Man Born Blind (Jn 9:1-7)
27. Jesus Heals A Woman Bound By Satan (Luke 13: 10-17) 

28. Jesus Heals A Man With Dropsy (Luke 14:1-6) 

29. Jesus Raises Lazarus (John 11) 

30. Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11-19) 

31. Jesus Heals Bartimaeus (Mt 20:29-34, Mark 10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43) 

32. Jesus Curses A Fig Tree (Mt 21:17-22, Mark 11: 12-14, 20-24) 

33. Jesus Replaces Malchus’s Ear (Mt 26:51-56, Mk 4: 46-47,Lk 22:50-51, Jn 18: 10-11) 

34. Wonders At Calvary 

35. Jesus Provides A Catch Of Fish (Jn 21:1-14)

[Larry Richards. “Every Miracle of the Bible.” ( Nashville: Thomas Nelson Pub., 1998) pp. 198-199]

There are 35 miracles of Jesus (the number can vary from 33-40 depending on the commentator) given in the New Testament.

• No Gospel writer includes all 35.

• Scripture makes it clear that Jesus performed many more miracles than the Gospel’s record. (John 20:30-31)

• Some miracles are included in all four Gospels and some in only one.

• The miracle accounts may occur in a slightly different order in the different Gospels.

• In the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) the writers tended to cluster miracles together to establish something important about the person of Jesus.

Jesus’ First Miracle at Cana - Water Turned to Wine (John 2:1-11)

This story begins with the words “On the third day,” that is to say just three days after his baptism in the river Jordan, and His identification as the Lamb of God by John (John 1:33-34), Jesus performs His first recorded miracle. Jesus performed his first miracle, not at a funeral but at a wedding; not in the temple but in a private home.

The occasion of the miracle was a village wedding feast to which Mary, the mother of Jesus had been invited. I find it fascinating that the earthly ministry of Jesus began at a wedding and all of human history will culminate with a wedding (Rev 19:9).

Scripture Reading

Let us rise to our feet and together read John 2.1-11

“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. (2) Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. (3) And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." (4) Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come." (5) His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." (6) Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. (7) Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. (8) And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they took it. (9) When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. (10) And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" (11) This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.”

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. May the sweet Holy Spirit add His manifold blessings to our text in our hearing this morning.... Amen! You may be seated in God's Presence. 

The Request that Mary Made. (v. 3)

“And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."

We really have no way of knowing what Mary’s expectations were when she made this statement to Jesus. Some suggest that she is hinting that he and the disciples need to leave, but I hardly think this is likely. J. Vernon McGee suggest that Mary is asking for that he at last vindicate her reputation that he is indeed the son of God. But since He had not yet performed any miracles, this was probably not asking for something supernatural, she just wanted his help. 

[Warren Wiersbe. Classic Sermons on the Miracles of Jesus. Ch 1. “Empty Waterpots.” (Grand Rapids:Kregel, 1995) p.8]

A shortage of wine at a wedding may not seem like a big deal but Warren Weirsbe points out that it was necessary for the groom in those days to have adequate provision at the wedding. It would be extremely embarrassing for him and his family to run out of food or wine. If the supplies had run out at a wedding feast, the family and the young couple would never have lived down the shame.

The Response Of Jesus To His Mother (v. 4).

“Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”

On the surface, Jesus use of the “woman” in addressing His mother seems harsh and abrupt. However, the original Greek brings out that He was gentle and soft with her, using a term of courtesy that referred to a married lady. Jesus’ response seems to be setting new parameters in his relationship with his mother. It could be translated, “Lady, what have I to do with thee?” It is clear here who is now in control. For many years (Jesus is now 30 yrs old) she has raised Jesus as her son. It is a gentle reminder that she could no longer view him as other mother’s viewed their sons.

Note: “Mine hour is not yet come.” By this, Jesus was saying that the miracle He was about to perform, of turning the water into wine, was a sign of His death. Christ uses this little phrase several times in John’s Gospel (cf. Jn. 7:6,8). Christ was very conscious of the fact that He had to die at the specifically appointed time, and not before. It is interesting that in John 17:1, just before He was betrayed, He said, “Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.”  Jesus

knew when His hour had come to offer Himself upon the cross.

Thus this miracle is linked with His resurrection.

The Miracle Jesus Performed (vv. 6-8) 

“Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. (7) Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. (8) And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they took it.”

There were six stone waterpots that were used by the people who attended the wedding for ceremonial washing (according to Jewish customs people’s hands had to be washed before a meal), each of these pots would have held 20-30 gallons. Multiply 20-30 gallons by six and you have some 120-180 gallons. Six is the number of man; two and three are the numbers of witnesses; and water is a type of the Word.There is a spiritual and yet very practical truth in this verse. These six stone waterpots represent man. Therefore, we should at all times be filled with the living Word. This is achieved by reading, meditating upon, and studying the Scriptures, and above all, receiving day by day a fresh word for our souls from the Lord Himself.

Jesus and Wine

Did Jesus create alcohol or “fermented wine”? I wish I could settle this issue once and for all today but men are much more scholarly than I have not been able to do so. So I would just like to make a couple of points in passing.

We need to understand that if indeed this wine did contain any alcohol it is much different than what is consumed today. The Jews did not distill their wine make it more potent they did just the opposite they diluted it with 2 to 3 parts water to make it go further and less potent.

The word translated “wine” here is the Greek word (Oinos) and can be used to describe any “fruit of the vine” and need not refer to fermented wine. Indeed it would seem that why that juice was preserved in ancient times was by boiling it until it became a thick syrup. This substance was then stored in new skin bottles and referred to as “new wine.” (Putting new wine into old wineskins could introduce fermentation). When needed the syrup would be squeezed out of the skin bottles and would be reconstituted as a drink by the addition of water.

Note: Certainly to use this text to justify drinking alcohol, distorts and twists it’s intended meaning. By performing this miracle of turning the water into wine, Jesus accelerated the process of nature. There are a few spiritual truths that may be gleaned from this miracle. As the Word of God waters the garden of our hearts, it causes the fruits of the Spirit (represented by wine) to grow and come to maturity in our lives. The Lord Jesus is represented here by water, which brings out another spiritual truth. When the water was poured out, it came forth as wine. In like manner, when Jesus died, He shed His blood for us. In the communion service, the wine represents the blood of Christ that was shed for the sins of
the world.

The Results of the Miracle. (vv. 9-11)

“When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. (10) And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" (11) This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.”

Some where between the water pots and the master of feast the water became wine.

In verse eleven, John says “This beginning of signs (semeion) Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.” The Greek word (semeion) translated here as “sign” occurs 77 times in the New Testament, and is used to identify an act which calls for the exercise of supernatural power. (John 20:30-31) These miracles, or signs as recorded in the original Greek, were a manifestation of the glory of the Lord and therefore caused His disciples to believe on Him. The miracle stories confront us with the question of whether the power of God was or was not revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ. They compel us to say Yes or No!

Present Appplication.

In closing, I would just like to say again that miracles apply to every aspect of our lives. Perhaps a simple personal illustration will help to encourage you. Many years ago my wife and I were traveling in Africa. We had flown from the Cameroons to Kinshasa, Zaire. From there we were to fly to Nairobi, Kenya. At that time, we needed a visa, but it was impossible to receive one in Zaire before the time we were due to leave. We boarded the plane and arrived in Kenya. We then presented ourselves to the immigration authorities with our explanation. They said that we could not enter the country without an onward ticket, which we did not have. They were threatening to send us back to Zaire, which would have caused serious difficulties for us. We sat down on a bench by immigration somewhat crestfallen. But from within, I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit say, “Expect a miracle.” It came with such firmness and assurance that I was very confident there was going to be a divine intervention on our behalf. Nothing happened for several minutes, but the voice inside continued to encourage me — “expect a miracle.” Then an Indian gentleman living in Kenya, who was a complete stranger to me, approached us and said: “I have just been told your predicament by the immigration authorities, whom I know. I am going to sign a document and be your guarantee, and the officials have agreed to permit you to enter Kenya.” This was a divine miracle of provision. We were able to enter Kenya without money and without an onward ticket through the benevolence of a business man whom we had never met before. God had stirred his spirit to help us. God is the God of miracles. My wife and I have seen His wonderful miracles so many times in our lifetime. What He has done for us, He can do for you. Expect your miracle, whether it be of healing, provision, or any other area of need. He is the faithful, wonder-working God whom we serve.

[Bailey Brian . J. "The Comforter". Waverly: Zion Christian Publishers, 1995. Pages 216-217]

This is a type of what God is going to do in our days. Wine speaks of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Early Church experienced a tremendous revival, but it will be as nothing compared to what the Lord has reserved for the  Church in the last days. God has reserved His best for the Last Day Church. There will be the greatest outpouring of the Spirit of God—even greater than the outpouring on the day of
Pentecost (Hag. 2:9). In addition to this, there will also be the highest quality of Christians.Let us, therefore, look forward with expectant hearts to the greatest revival of all time. Remembering also that wine speaks of joy, we could say that God’s joy will be experienced in the last days as never before.

[Bailey Brian . J. “The Gospel of John”. Waverly: Zion Christian Publishers, 2006. Page 46]