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As we've been studying the book of Acts during Sunday morning Bible Study, we've read about the miracles performed by Jesus' apostles. Their miracles bear a striking similarity to Jesus' own miracles that we study in the Gospels. But there is one important difference. Jesus performed miracles by His own power. The apostles don't have the power of healing except by calling on the name of Jesus. They must rely on His power, and not their own.
But what is the point of the miracles in the first place? First, Jesus had a great desire to heal the brokenness that He saw around Him. As the crowds were coming to Jesus to be healed, we are told "He had compassion on them" (Matt. 14:14). God created a good and perfect world with no sickness, infirmity, or death. So, it makes sense that when the Creator is with His creatures, He would desire to restore some of that goodness amid so much suffering and evil. But that's not the main point of the miracles, either those performed by Jesus or by His apostles. Those Jesus healed even those he brought back from physical death, would one day die. We get a hint of the real purpose of the miracles throughout scripture, but especially in the book of John where the miracles are referred to as "signs." Signs point to something else. Road signs inform us of what's ahead. The miracles of Jesus point to Him as true God; only God Himself could do the miraculous things that Jesus did. So, if Jesus is God, it would make sense that the people listen to what He says. So, the signs, the miracles, are performed to convince the people that they should listen to Jesus, and later to His apostles. We see in Jesus' day that not all the people who saw miracles became disciples of Jesus. Some of them may have followed for a while, but then later fell away. Toward the end of His earthly ministry, the miracles tapered off, and so did the number of His followers. Many people just wanted to see more miracles and remained uninterested in Jesus' words. This phenomenon is reminiscent of the Israelites after they left Egypt as recorded in Exodus. They had seen the plagues, witnessed the Red Sea parting, yet still didn't trust in God, and doubted his faithfulness and power. But it is only God’s Word that can create true faith. Remember, miracles point to Jesus and His word. Faith in Jesus doesn't come from seeing miracles. "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Rom 10:17). You may have seen the inscription "ICXC NIKA" in church art or on pieces of church furniture in the chancel area. These letters are frequently found painted or engraved on church altars. But what does this mean?
The 8 letters are sort of an abbreviation (sometimes called a Christogram) that comes from Greek. The first two letters "IC" are the first and last letters of the name Jesus in Greek. "XC" are the first and last letters of the title Christ in Greek. (Christ is equivalent to the Hebrew word Messiah.) Finally, "NIKA" is a single Greek word from which the "Nike" athletic brand takes it's name. It simply means to overcome, conquer, or be victorious over. Put it all together and you get "Jesus Christ conquers," or if you prefer "Victory in (Jesus) Christ!" What or whom does Jesus Christ conquer? On the cross Christ conquered sin. In His resurrection, we see that Christ conquered death. Through His perfect obedience to God's law and by His death and resurrection, Christ has defeated Satan. These are three enemies against which we are powerless. Without Jesus we are slaves to sin, in fear of death, and prisoners of the devil. But Jesus defeats them all and gives us the benefits of His victory. Because of what Jesus has done, it is as if we have defeated sin, death, and the devil. Why have such symbols, like the ICXC NIKA, in the church? They serve as visual reminders. Why have Christ-focused art in the church, or crucifixes? Again, these are reminders for the faithful. Faith comes through hearing the Word of God, it's true. But things we see can reinforce God’s Word. God gave us the gift of sight. This sense can lead us away from a godly life when we look at things we should not, or when we covet things we do not have. But Godly images and symbols can remind us of heavenly things, of what Jesus has done for us, and who He is. So, when we see the ICXC NIKA, we are reminded that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, and He is victorious over all our enemies. "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” There is perhaps no more concise, compact, beautiful statement of who Jesus is than these words from John the Baptist. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Behold, Look, there, that person you see that man named Jesus of Nazareth, look at Him. He is by all appearances merely a man but He is much more than that. He is the lamb. Which is to say, He is the sacrifice. But not just any lamb not any sacrifice, not a lamb raised by a herdsman, but a lamb from God, the lamb of God, indeed this lamb is God. And He comes for a purpose. He comes to take away the sin of the world. All the world’s sin He will atone for, all of it, all at once, forever. Your sin, my sin, the sin of every man, woman, and child, that ever has lived or ever will, Jesus, the lamb of God, takes away that sin. John continues. “After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.” John and Jesus are related by birth, cousins of some sort. John is roughly six months older than Jesus. Yet He says of Jesus, “He was before me.” John recognizes that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, begotten of the Father before all things were made. He is the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega. All things were created through Him. Jesus is greater than every prophet, even John the Baptist, because every word the prophets spoke is a word from Jesus, for He is the Word made flesh. “I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel”, says John. John’s purpose is clear. He is but the forerunner. He is but the herald. He himself is not the light, but he bears witness to the light, the light that was coming into the world, Jesus Christ. John’s ministry has a singular purpose, to reveal Jesus as Israel’s Messiah and to reveal Him as the Savior of the nations. “And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God,” says John. And through John’s words recorded in Scripture, John reveals Jesus to us. John is a witness to us about who Jesus is and what He has done. Jesus is God’s eternal Son. He comes as the Lamb of God, to die on the cross for you, to take away your sin, to give you eternal life. "O Christ Thou lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us." Click here to edSamuel, son of Elkanah and Hannah, was dedicated to God's service at a young age. He served at the tabernacle in Shiloh under Eli the priest (1 Sam. 1-2), ministering to the Lord. One day while Samuel was about His duties the voice of the Lord called to Him, "Samuel!" While neither Eli nor Samuel initially understood what was happening, eventually Eli realized it was the Lord calling to Samuel. After calling out to Samuel a fourth time, Samuel replied to the Lord's call, "Speak, for your servant hears" (1 Sam. 3:10). Some translation render Samuel's words as "Speak, for your servant is listening."
Samuel's response to the Lord, should be our response to the Lord. God desires to speak to us as well, regularly. It should be our constant desire to hear and listen. Of course, God speaks to us through His Word, the very words of Scripture. These are God's words to us. Whether we are reading His word or listening to it recorded or in person, God is speaking, and we are to do the hearing. Sometimes parents will make a distinction between whether their children "hear" them and whether they are "listening" to them. When we "hear," the sounds are coming into our ears and we may even perceive what the sounds are, but it's sort of a passive experience. "Listening" is more active. It includes hearing, but also includes acting upon what is heard. If our children are listening to us, they are acting upon what they hear us saying. It is the same with God's word. It is one thing to hear the word, to know what the words mean, to understand what is being said. It is another to listen and put God's word into practice. Samuel would show throughout his life that he not only heard the Lord but also listened to Him, carrying out God's instructions. Whenever we hear God's word, we should pray that His Spirit would give us hearts, minds, and wills to listen to Him, to actively believe what God is saying to us, and to seek to live according to His word.it. |
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