I don’t know about you, but I have always been fascinated by the miracles that Jesus performed during His ministry on earth. While each miracle is a demonstration of Jesus’ power over this broken world it also reveals Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah and rightful king of this world. The miracles that we see recorded in the Gospels not only give us a glimpse into who Jesus is, they also have a very human side to them as well. Each person that Jesus interacts with is someone like you and me. they are experiencing sickness that they can’t control; they are watching loved ones suffer, they are facing circumstances beyond their control; they are faced with spiritual oppression and ultimately they face death. I think there is so much to learn from these stories!
So over this summer we are going to look at the miracles that Matthew records in chapters 8 & 9 of his gospel. We are going to hear accounts of lepers being healed, paralyzed men walking, the blind seeing, the mute talking, a storm being calmed, a dead girl given her life back and even a mother-in-law being healed (I know this may be the most shocking miracle of them all!)
As we study Matthew, you will see a pattern emerge in these two chapters. Matthew will share three miracle stories and then challenge us to follow Jesus. Matthew will repeat this pattern of three miracles and a challenge to follow Jesus three times in these two chapters. This is a reminder that although Jesus can heal the sick, He has power over nature, and can even raise the dead, ultimately what He wants from us is to simply follow Him.
This Sunday, join me as we begin our summer message series, ‘Miracles’ by looking at Jesus and the leper.
Pastor Brent