The Miraculous Jesus

The New Testament presents miraculous Jesus. Everything about them is miraculous. Everything about them is wondrous.

Everything about them as humanly inexplicable.

Everything about it was supernatural divine important we understand we may know who this Jesus Christ really is and deed. The person whose birthday you were celebrating sound ridiculous. Well, you know that's not unlike what millions around the world will do this Christmas. How do you make sure you're not ignoring Christ on his birthday and practically what can you do these next few days to keep Jesus from being overshadowed by last-minute shopping and school pageants and get-togethers with family all the busyness. Find out today on grace to you as John MacArthur points you toward the Jesus of Christmas. That's the title of this series, and now with the lesson here is John. I want us to consider the miraculous Jesus. The New Testament presents miraculous Jesus.

Everything about them is miraculous. Everything about them is wondrous. Everything about them as humanly inexplicable. Everything about it was supernatural divine and it's important that we understand that so that we may know who this Jesus Christ really is and so with that in mind we want to look to the New Testament, and I don't really intend to give you my own thinking I just I just want to show you some things in the word of God. I want the testimony to come from God himself. I don't expect to say anything very profound. In fact, quite the contrary, I will recite you very simple realities concerning the Lord Jesus Christ simple only in terms of their presentation profound in terms of their implication in reality now when you come to the New Testament, there is one dominant theme that marks the life of Jesus Christ that it is the miraculous. He is ever and always the miraculous Jesus is marked out as being divine as being deity as being God in human flesh by signs and wonders by performing that which is humanly naturally impossible and inexplicable.

And so as we look at Jesus Christ. We we must see God because there is no other way to explain him and that he is God's life is so obviously divine that no human mind could ever even conceived of such a person could ever even created such a person, or one of ever done that because why would men invent a man who condemns them all eternal hell if they don't believe in him and how would men know how to present perfection who are so imperfect. No human tend could have ever come up with the words that he said the life that he lived in a skillet shop, the great historian said the life of Jesus Christ is the holy of holies in the history of the world. He must be from God. There is no other explanation. Even the critics and skeptics are struck in all Hg Wells in May 1935 wrote this in the reader's digest when I was asked which single individual is left. The most permanent impression on the world.

The manner of the question almost carried the implication that it was Jesus of Nazareth and I agreed shop that great historian of Christianity. I mentioned a moment ago says this the Jesus of Nazareth without money and arms conquered more millions than Alexander, and Caesar Mohamed and Napoleon without science and learning he had shed more light on things human and divine, that all philosophers and scholars combine without the eloquence of schools. He spoke such words of life, as were never spoken before or since then produce defects which lie beyond the reach of orator and poet without writing a single line you sent more pens in motion and furnished themes for more sermons and orations, more discussions, learned volumes, works of art in songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times." As you look at the miraculous life of Jesus Christ. You see verification that he is God in human flesh. Everything about him is miraculous and miracles speak of God see miracles of always been given to authenticate divine revelation. When God spoke in the Old Testament the written word. He authenticated with miracles when he speaks in the New Testament the living word again. He authenticates with miracles and where you have miracles you have the mark of divine intervention and the fact that the Bible is literally filled with miracles is the testimony that it is the revelation of God himself and we shouldn't be shocked by miracles that there is a God that he can intervene in this world whenever he wants, and the fact that he does not comfort us not cause us to be skeptical. And when God reveals himself.

He must reveal himself in a way that you know is God and not a man, and so he has to do things are supernatural and when you look at the life of Jesus Christ. If there's any one thing you know for sure. You know these God because he does what no man could ever do, and he says what no man could ever say. And there is no other explanation than that Jesus is God and to say they didn't claim that is the height of idiocy because that is precisely what he claimed. Look at John chapter 5 and will start at that point and what is going look at several passages and refresh our minds and the wonder of the miraculous Jesus in John five in verse 18 we read this. Therefore the Jews sought more to kill him.

The Jews wanted to kill Jesus. And here tells you why, because he not only broken the Sabbath. It was the worst thing but said also that God was his father, making himself equal with God not Jesus was making himself equal with God. They knew it they understood and they resented it. There may be some skeptics and some critics today don't know what Jesus was saying, but the Jews, then sure knew they knew exactly what he was saying it was making himself equal with God and doing that he was either godly was the ultimate blasphemer he was either Christ or he was antichrist, and there's nothing in between. Verse 23 he went further than just saying he was equal with God, he demanded equal worship. It says that all men should honor the son even as they honor the father he that honor is not the son on earth, not the father who has sent him.

He demands equal honor equal adoration, equal homage, equal worship with God the father and says you can't separate the two. If you worship the one you must worship the other. If you worship the other.

You must worship the one and so he demands to be known as equal with the father equal in nature and equal in worship house so what evidence do we have that is equal to God that he is God in human flesh. Verse 32 of the same chapter he says there is another that bear witness of me and I know the witness which he witnesses the me is true, and then he discusses John the Baptist who was also a witness but not the supreme witness. Then in verse 36 he goes back to that supreme witness that he mentioned in verse 30, verse 36 he goes back to a dimension of verse 32 but I have greater witness than that of John. What is it for the works which the father had given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the father has sent me. In other words, the miraculous life of Jesus was testimony to his divine nature. I'm if he just did what normal people do there would be no reason for us to assume that he was divine, no reason at all and so he did what people cannot do. He did the miraculous the supernatural.

The divine so there would be no question about his origin and his miraculous works tell us exactly who is look again at the 10th chapter of John's Gospel, and this is a particular emphasis in John that that is the deity of Jesus Christ, to which he returns time and again, but again we find the Jews in verse 24 confronting Jesus Christ and they said to him, how long dost thou make us to doubt how long are you going to be revealing yourself in ways that are not clear to us. If you be the Christ, tell us plainly give us a very plain word so that will understand without any question who you are and he answered verse 25. Here's the plainest statement he could make. I told you, and you believe not the works that I do in my father's name.

They bear witness. You want to clear testimony.

Look at my life with my works. How else can you explain me, but that I am divine, Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and he said we know you're a teacher come from God, because no man can do the miracles you do, except God be with him on the Nicodemus could understand what they couldn't understand, tell us plainly.

Here it is, as plainly as a lever get look at the miracles of my life and then you decide in the miracles in the New Testament are are literally limitless vast and they are verified again and again and again and again by masses of people who are recorded for all of human history. They are verifiable miracles and they are the clear word about who Jesus is. In John 1411. Believe me, he says that I am in the father and the father in me, and if you can't just believe it because I say it didn't believe me for the very warm sake. Believe me for what you see in Luke seven John the Baptist sent a messenger to Jesus said to the messenger. You asked Jesus if he is the one that we believe he is. Is he the Messiah. And Jesus said to the messenger after it asked the question you go back and you tell John this telling that the lot, the lame walk and the blind see in the deaf here in the dead are raised from the grave and you telling those things and he'll know telling of the miracles tell them of the miracles. There is no greater testimony to Jesus Christ than the father's power poured through the son, and that is the testimony of Jesus himself, not the start of the word of God and look at the miraculous Jesus and just look at several elements of the miraculous life of our Lord first. His miraculous birth. Matthew chapter 1 and were just going to touch these themes.

Matthew chapter 1 is miraculous birth verse 18 of the birth of Jesus Christ was in this way, when as his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, that was a really a pre-conjugal engagement. A betrothal where they had not yet come together in a sexual union.

They were betrothed before they came together before they entered into a sexual relationship.

She was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Now that's never happened before or since the Holy Spirit planted the seed in your without a man as an instrument while Joseph, her husband was a just man, a righteous man. Any he was not willing to make a public example. He could've drag her out for the whole community and stoner in front of everybody for being in dollars, but he really didn't want to do that. He was a righteous man you want to do what was right but he didn't want to do what was the most devastating possible option that he had so he decided to divorce her. The law provided in the case of adultery that divorce could occur and so verse 20 says he began to think on these things. After all, here was this woman he imagined to be so pure and so spotless and a virgin of the very highest rank that he had known her long enough to know the quality of her life and now she appears pregnant. He knows it is inherently assumes that it must be somebody else. He is shattered in shock and struck down. He doesn't know what to do except to divorce her and as he ponders this in verse 20, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and says Joseph, thou son of David, don't be afraid to take under the married I wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. There wasn't any other man.

The Holy Spirit did this and she shall bring forth a son, and I shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Jesus, meaning Savior know all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord to the prophet, saying, behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us and Joseph being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord. It bitten him and took on him, his wife and knew her not that is had no conjugal relationship with her till she had brought forth her firstborn son and he called his name Jesus. That is a miraculous birth of birth without human father you say will wasn't that added later on by some pagan myths that found their way into Christianity. No, not at all.

You can go back to some documents that have been found as early as 70 A.D. and you will find a listing of genealogies.

The name Jesus who was an illegitimate son of a married woman. So even then they knew that Joseph was not his father, but they assume the worst and they assume that he was an illegitimate son go back to the old legend of Panthera suppose Roman legionnaire who was to impregnated Mary and well that tells you is that there was no human explanation in terms of Joseph and Mary to explain that she was pregnant with the child in the world wanting to think the worst comes up with an adulterous Mary to solve the problem. What it does tell us is in truth, that there was a virgin birth. That couldn't be explained by the facts of human nature. You see one John 638 says that Jesus said I've come down from heaven not to do mine own will but the will of him that sent me. He was saying something very profound. Jesus did not begin to exist when he was born in Bethlehem, he was sent from God into that human form, he already existed and he came in that human body and when the time was done he went back to the father from whom he had originally come, but he preexisted and all the Holy Spirit did was plant the seed in Mary to give physical form which could be occupied by the second member of the Trinity, who had always existed from all eternity. That's why John wanted says of him all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made.

He was the very creator God himself.

He preexisted his own incarnation. That's why it says in verse 10 he was in the world and the world was made by him in the world nor not.

That's why it says in John 114 the Word was made flesh. The word always lies. It just became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, and we saw that it was the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth. It was deity in human flesh. Jesus carried this to the point where the Jews literally became panicky in John eight verse 56. He is talking about Abraham and he said your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad and that you said it, then you are not 50 years old and have you seen Abraham and he says, before Abraham was, I am what the reaction was to grab stones.

The stoning to death and he escaped from in the 16th chapter of John's Gospel.

In verse 28 I came forth from the father and him come into the world again. I leave the world and go to the father. In other words, he preexisted he came from the father into the world believe the world and go back to the father in John 17.

Five he prayed father restore me to the glory that I had with the before the world began, because I finished the work you gave me here to do. Jesus Christ always existed in deity face-to-face with the father in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God and the Word was with God frost on thing on face-to-face an equal relationship in the Trinity and he came into the world and incarnation.

That's why at first John four verses two and three, it says that if if you are true to the gospel and if you are genuinely representative of God. You will confess that Jesus is God come in human flesh. Anything less than that and you are the spirit of antichrist soul, a miraculous birth is the beginning of the miraculous Jesus as far as his earthly existence is concerned, God. It says in Hebrews 10 five past prepared a body for me so that the man Jesus was God dwelling in human form. God made that embryo apart from Joseph and Mary Plaisted in Mary's womb for care prior to birth. When that child was born into that body was placed the very God of eternity.

Sure it's a biological impossibility.

But that is in shock us does it. If there is a God he can intervene in natural progress and do whatever he wants know the virgin birth is not invented by somebody virgin birth is the only way to explain Jesus Christ what the Bible said is no other explanation is more that what about his sinless life. That's the second element of his miraculous person. Look at Hebrews chapter 4 and it follows as a corollary to the first if he was born conceived by the Holy Spirit, we would expect them to be different than everybody else and that in fact is the case in Hebrews 415 it says we do not have a high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. In other words, were not going to somebody doesn't understand us, but he was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin.

He is sinless. No synonym none at all.

In chapter 7 verse 26 of Hebrews. Similarly, it says he is a high priest who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens and he doesn't need to offer up sacrifice for his own sin. See you sinless, and that is the second element in his miraculous person first Peter two and here comes the testimony of two people who lived with them for three years.

Peter says in said first Peter two verse 21 for hearing two we are called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps. Listen who did no sin. That's Peter. Peter was written for three years closely attached intimately involved with and he said he never did a sin. Never John the beloved leaned on his breast. Some feel the very closest to the heart of Jesus during his life on earth.

First John 35 John says and you know that he was manifested to take away our sins and in him is no sin. And that's the testimony of John, who knew them so well, and of Peter who knew him well. There was no sin in him. Even Judas who want to have delighted to have found some reason to justify the betrayal that he did couldn't find it. He couldn't find anything to pacify his own pain to soothe his own guilt to alleviate the tremendous pain of what he had done and trying to get rid of the money and wash the blood off his hands, he cries, I have sinned, and that I have betrayed innocent blood. Believe me, if he could have found some way out of that guilt trip he would've found. Paul says he who knew no sin became sin for us in John 846 Jesus said which of you convicted me of sin speak silence even at his trial, they couldn't come up with anything in vain do we look through the biography of Jesus Christ for one single stain for the slightest shadow on his utterly pure moral character. Even pilot who would've given anything to have just found just one accusation to be legitimate in the conviction of Jesus Christ to alleviate his own guilt. Who would've gladly found just one thing wrong had to say to the crowd. I find no fault in this man nobody ever did the Romans couldn't the Jews could the disciples could history could nobody could because it wasn't any.

It wasn't only the absence of said it was the presence of ultimate utter righteousness and holiness. Jesus never could've written Psalm 51 never could've written Psalm 32 never could've written Romans chapter 7 Jesus never confess to sin. He never needed to confess the sin there was never any sin to confess he never needed grace.

He never needed mercy. So you begin with a miraculous birth and then you have a miraculously sinless life, can you explain, you can explain it humanly. It's inexplicable.

There's no way to explain Jesus Christ other than as God in human flesh and if you refuse to do that. It is because you love your sin and you choose your darkness rather than light. That's what Jesus said and he said so pensively. You will not come to that you might have life is the spirit of God prompts your heart may you respond is faith and if you have may you take your responsibility to go out and preach the message of reconciliation to the that's John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary showing you why Jesus deserves to be the focus of your celebration and worship this Christmas. The title of his current study here on grace to you the Jesus of Christmas will before time gets away from us today. You probably don't need to be reminded that time is getting short for buying Christmas gifts. And if you're like me, you can kind of feel that pressure building John. I know you have a couple of creative ideas that can help ease that pressure for our listeners. I do, and these are things that are available from Grace to you want to mention something having said a lot about, but it's a devotional book called daily readings from the life of Christ. Actually there three volumes through this and each of the volumes has 365 devotionals takes you through every day of the year, each selection get you in the flow of the life of Christ. That's what they are daily readings from the life of Christ, and you're just going through the Gospels are designed to help you develop consistency in reading and meditating on the truth of Scripture, and more important, focusing on the person of Jesus Christ doesn't take a large time commitment to use these devotionals but it's not lightweight reading excellent gift books, three of them. Volume 1, two and three daily readings in the life of Christ. For those of you want to build a habit of daily feeding on God's word. This is a great tool and then a reminder of something that's a little more extensive. The MacArthur New Testament commentary series 34 volumes in all covers the whole New Testament commentaries there for anybody who really wants to dig down deep into the text of Scripture. These are available you can get the whole set at a great discount or you can order whatever New Testament book is your favorite you get the volumes that relate to that book and if you want the entire said will give you a significant discount on every volume so place your Christmas order today for daily readings from the life of Christ or the MacArthur New Testament commentary yes and friend. Our customer service team can help make sure you get your gift before Christmas called in between 7:30 AM and 4:00 PM Pacific time to order daily readings from the life of Christ or a commentary or another resource. Contact us today our toll-free number is 855 grace and again to ensure delivery in time for Christmas. Call us during normal business hours.

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Box 4000 panorama city, CA 91412 now for John MacArthur and the entire grace to you staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Keep in mind you can watch grace to you television this Sunday on DirecTV channel 378 or check your local listings for channeling times also be here tomorrow for another half hour of unleashing Christmas through one verse at a time on grace to you