August 8, 2018
The miracles or supernatural events performed by Jesus captivate us today, just as they did people over 2,000 years ago. The New Testament records nine nature miracles and 26 healing miracles performed by Christ. But, the “Feeding of the 5,000” is the only miracle reported by all four gospels (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:31-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:1-14).
When we study the miracles of Jesus, we are prone to say, “If I had been there, I would have believed He was the promised Messiah. But would you? Jesus’ disciples traveled and accompanied Him so that He could train and equip them to carry on his work after He returned to heaven.
Take time and pretend you are embedded in the group of Disciple. Jesus is training and equipping you to carry out His Great Commission. He does this in short regular sessions (Education studies report that people learn more effectively in shorter regular meetings than long, infrequent blocks of time). Often He uses a miracle to teach a truth. He uses His standard procedure for calling and training people.
Jesus SELECTS us to carry on His work
He MODELS the life He wishes us to live
He TRAINS us
He TESTS us
Upon the completion of a test, He EVALUATES and ENCOURAGES us to continue to carry out His plan.
Test:
If I had seen the water change to wine, (John 2:1-12)
I would _____________________________________________________________.
If I had seen Jesus cleanse the Temple, (John 2:13-25)
I would ______________________________________________________________.
If I had seen the woman at the well and her fellow Samaritans believe in Jesus, (John 4:21-42]
I would _______________________________________________________________.
If l had seen the nobleman’s son healed, (John 4:46-54)
I would _______________________________________________________________.
If I had seen the paralytic walk, (John 5:1-9)
I would ______________________________________________________________.
If I had seen the five loaves of bread and two fish feed 5,000, (John 6:1-14)
I would ____________________________________________________________.
If I had seen Jesus walk on the water, (John 6:16-21)
I would ____________________________________________________________.
What is the One Thing you need to know about Jesus’ actions on the above six occasions? That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.