Miracles                                           John 11:38-44

We’ve spent several weeks working our way through John’s gospel, including his description of the morning of Jesus resurrection. If you remember, at the beginning of our exploration of John, I said the purpose of his gospel was to show and prove Jesus’ divinity and God’s work through him. Today I want to look at how John accomplishes this by examining the miracles of Jesus he includes in his text.

In John chapter two, he records Jesus turning water into wine. Through this miracle Jesus starts to teach us. Fitting in with John’s purpose of exposing Jesus’ divinity this miracle reveals Christ’s glory and his divine power over creation. By not calling out the one who was in charge of the wine for failing to secure a proper amount, Jesus shows us he is not here to condemn us for our errors. By changing the water into wine, he demonstrates he is here to forgive our sin, and by doing so, he moves us past them. Jesus shows us his purpose is not to punish us, but to join with us and to celebrate with us at God’s banquet table in heaven.

This miracle shows us how even the bad in our lives can be transformed. The water changing to exquisite wine shows us how with Christ, our lives can go from ordinary, to extraordinary. And this miracle shows us God’s generosity, and his desire for us to enjoy our lives.

In John 4 we see Jesus healing an official’s son. This man came to Jesus and wanted him to come to his home to heal his son. Jesus continues to teach through how he interacts with this father. Jesus is telling us here to have faith, that God hears our pleas. He tells us not to rely on signs and wonders; Jesus healing the boy without going to where he is, is a demonstration of how God is working in your life even if you don’t see the work.

Shortly after this boy’s healing Jesus comes across a man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years. When Jesus comes up to the man he asks him, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6) I believe if this man had said “no,” Jesus would have gone on past him.

Jesus sees us, he knows our pain and condition, he knows our sin, and he is there to heal us and give us God’s grace and mercy. This interaction between this man and Jesus shows us that even though Jesus is here to help us, we must want him to. We have to accept his help and the cross for our sins to be forgiven.

John 5:7, “Sir,” the invalid replied, ‘I have no one to help me into the pool…’” This man didn’t understand faith, he was waiting for another to help him. Jesus teaches us here that for salvation, don’t rely on new ideas, don’t rely on trying to be good, don’t rely on me. Only Jesus can give forgiveness and salvation, rely on him.

This man was a cripple for thirty-eight years, he shows us that we allow ourselves to suffer for too long. Don’t suffer another day, turn to Jesus now.

In John 6 we have Jesus feeding five thousand. By feeding the crowd with bread and fish. Jesus is reminiscent of when God fed Israel in the desert with manna and quail. This miracle shows the world that the God of the ancients is the God for all eternity. It shows us Jesus and God are the same, that Jesus was in the desert with Israel, and that God is on the mountain with the people.

It shows us that this same God has compassion for those who follow him. John 6:11, “Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed it to those who were seated, as much as they wanted.” This miracle shows us that God is an abundant and generous provider. God will not give you part of what you need.

Our lesson is that when you follow Jesus you will not be given only part of what you need. You will not be forgiven only some of your sins. When you follow Jesus, you will be given an abundance, an abundance of forgiveness, an abundance of grace. You will be given all heaven has to give.

John 12:13, “So they gathered the leftovers and filled twelve baskets.” God is showing us that he has more power than we can use up, that nothing we do can be too much for God to deal with.

The next miracle John gives us is Jesus walking on water. Through this miracle, by his calming the storm, Jesus shows us he has control over all of creation and the laws of nature.

These men in the boat knew Jesus, but as the storm went on, and Jesus wasn’t there, the disciples were getting more frightened. This demonstrates for all of us that when we don’t keep our thoughts on Jesus, our faith in Jesus, we can become overwhelmed by the trials and perils of life. This miracle shows us only Jesus can calm the upheavals in our life, in our mind, and in our souls.

John next gives us Jesus healing a blind man in chapter nine. When Jesus and the disciples meet this man, the disciples ask Jesus “…who sinned, this man, or his parents…” (John 9:2). Jesus replied in John 9:3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned.”

We live in a fallen world, bad things happen, not every condition is a judgement from God. By giving this man his sight, Jesus shows humanity we need spiritual healing from sin’s darkness. As Jesus gave physical sight to this man, he offers each of us spiritual sight. This healing points to the transformative power of Christ. This man’s physical healing gives us insight, that Jesus works to heal us of spiritual blindness, that the light of Christ dispels spiritual darkness, that Jesus is the one who transforms sinners into saints.

And finally, we come to the miracle of Lazarus’ resurrection. There is a lot within this miracle, and we probably will return to it someday, but for the sake of time, simply, by raising Lazarus Jesus demonstrated his divine power over life and death. This miracle shows us Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of mankind through his own death and resurrection. When Lazarus walked out of his tomb, it is a foreshadow of all of us leaving our grave at Jesus calling; John 5:28-29, “…for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out…”

In his gospel, John describes miracle performed by Jesus. These miracles show all humanity that Jesus isn’t here to punish us, but to transform our lives. The miracles show us that even when we may not realize it, God is working for us. These events show us we need to rely on Jesus for salvation, that there is no hope if we rely on others or on hopeful wishing. We’re shown that whatever we do, we cannot exhaust God’s grace and mercy. We see that when we lose sight of God, we can flounder, struggle, and be led astray. We see how Jesus is the one who can calm our storms and secure our safety.

The miracles show us that we all need the spiritual healing offered by Christ. We need him to remove our spiritual blindness and restore our sight, our vision of Almighty God.

John uses these miracles to show the world and all humanity that Jesus is the Son of God, that he has power over life and death, and by him we will walk out of our graves.

John uses each of these miracles to build upon each other, to lead each reader to the truth; Jesus is the Son of God, he is our Lord and our savior.

Water to wine, healing an official’s son, healing a crippled man, feeding five thousand, walking on water, healing a blind man, raising Lazarus; seven miracles.

John gives us only seven miracles by Jesus. Even in this John is making his point that Jesus is the Son of God. Seven, the number of days of creation. Seven, the number in the Bible that signifies completion and perfection. Even in the number of miracles he describes for us, John teaches us, and shows us who Jesus is; Jesus is the perfect completion to God’s plan for all of us. Jesus is the Messiah, divine and holy.

May God’s peace and love, grace and blessings always be with you.

May the perfect and completion of God’s plan for you, Christ Jesus, be the lord and savior of your life,

Amen.