Sermon Central
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Miracles That Never Happened!
Contributed by Lark Lewis on Jul 14, 2011 (message contributor)
Summary: This sermon is about things that we miss because we fell to believe!
Miracles that Never Happened!
And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? 55Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? 56And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? 57And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. 58And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
A great part of the ministry of Jesus Christ consist of His miracles.
There are 35 miracles recorded in the gospels.
23 times it is stated that He healed “them all” and “everyone”!
These miracles were meant to teach, to reveal, and to demonstrate His deity.
They served as illustrations to deeper spiritual truths.
But these miracles also were a reminder of the consequences of sin- sickness, blindness, death- and the power of God to do something about those consequences.
The bible lets us know that these 35 miracles recorded are but a few selected miracles among many others that were not recorded.
And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
But as impressive as these miracles are, there are hints and even more than hints, of miracles that might have happened had the hearts of men been receptive, that would have been beyond anything that he did!
It is clear that more than once he was at the point of working a miracle but was somehow hindered.
There are needs here today that only the miraculous power of God can meet!
He who had all power was hindered by causes He could not overcome without invading the human will, in which He will never do.
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 17And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
There were in all likelihood, sick, and leprous, and devil possessed, and sorrow-burdened, and unburied dead in Nazareth.
And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
The total effect of their attitude was that of closed and shuttered windows toward the light.
There was but a short step between them and eternal life, but it was a step they had to take, and they never took it.
There were miracles that never happened that could have!
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
At the end of his life He stood and looked over the city of Jerusalem and wept.
What miracles He must have had in mind for this city had they only known and received Him.
Had Caiaphas, Herod, and Pilate arisen from their evil dreams and opened the opportunity knocking at their many doors, it dazzles one to think of what might could have happened!
