Doctrine of the Angelic Conflict, part 60 – The essence of God – Omnipotence (miracles). Luk 8:26-39; 5:17-26; Joh 5:1-9; Mar 5:21-23; 24-34; 9:27-31.

Title: Doctrine of the Angelic Conflict, part 60 - The essence of God - Omnipotence (miracles). LUK 8:26-39; 5:17-26; JOH 5:1-9; MAR 5:21-23; 24-34; 9:27-31.      

 

His miracles were a manifestation of the power of God.

 

MAT 11:20 Then He began to reproach the cities in which most of His miracles [dunamis] were done, because they did not repent.

 

I can’t perform miracles [mighty works] as Jesus did but you can be the result of many miracles, i.e. regenerated, learning to love, laying down your life, genuine humility, happiness, peace, etc.

 

9. Healing of the Gerasenes demoniac(s). God’s power gives us power over demonic lies whowhich harass us at every turn. They must obey Him, therefore His mind has power over them and their lies, LUK 8:26-39.

 

Matthew’s account has two demon possessed men, but most likely one of them did all the talking. 

 

LUK 8:26 And they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.

 

LUK 8:27 And when He had come out onto the land, He was met by a certain man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs.

 

LUK 8:28 And seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, "What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me."

 

Just like the demon in Luk 4; they know who He is and who God is, but they do not believe Him to be a deliverer, for they have rejected God’s offer of reconciliation.

 

LUK 8:29 For He had been commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard; and yet he would burst his fetters and be driven by the demon into the desert.

 

LUK 8:30 And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him. [a Roman legion could have up to 6000 men]

 

LUK 8:31 And they were entreating Him not to command them to depart into the abyss.

 

LUK 8:32 Now there was a herd of many swine [2000 - MAR 5:13] feeding there on the mountain; and the demons entreated Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission.

 

LUK 8:33 And the demons came out from the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned.

 

LUK 8:34 And when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country.

 

They are out 2000 pigs. If Jews were the owners it was against the Mosaic Law and therefore they reap what they sow. If Gentiles owned them then the Jews living there should have been glad to be rid of such a nuisance. In any case the deliverance of a man’s life and the fact that now he won’t be a nuisance to them anymore should be worth it. However, the people become afraid and they want Jesus to leave. We must come to understand that some people just don’t get it and they never will. It doesn’t mean to stop revealing or to lose hope, but just the basic principle of don’t be shocked.

 

LUK 8:35 And the people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened.

 

Remember when we studied justice and righteousness - they make one person rejoice and they make another fear. The +J and +R, God’s light doesn’t change, but what it shines upon are different.

 

LUK 8:36 And those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well [eye witnesses to the proof of the miracle].

 

LUK 8:37 And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to depart from them; for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat, and returned.

 

LUK 8:38 But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying,

 

LUK 8:39 "Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you." And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

 

We cannot determine ourselves where God wants us to be or what sort of spiritual gift we will have or service we will perform. We must listen to His word and let His Spirit guide us to where He wants us. And as we see here with this completely transformed man that God’s destiny for us may not be what we initially wanted.

10. Healing of the paralytic and forgiveness of sins. God’s power gives the believer the ability to walk through life in the light without guilt or condemnation, LUK 5:17-26.

 

LUK 5:17 And it came about one day that He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.

 

Mark 2:1 says that this event occurred at His house, which is fun to think about but there is no substance to that translation as the Greek sentence doesn’t make the word for house possessive.

 

LUK 5:18 And behold, some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in, and to set him down in front of Him.

 

LUK 5:19 And not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, right in the center, in front of Jesus.

 

LUK 5:20 And seeing their faith, He said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you." 

 

LUK 5:21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?"

 

LUK 5:22 But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?

 

Matt - Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?

 

LUK 5:23 "Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins have been forgiven you,' [anybody can say that but not with results] or to say, 'Rise and walk'? [anybody can say that but not with results]

 

No one is forgiven and no one can walk in the light except by means of faith in the finished work of Christ.

 

LUK 5:24 "But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins," —  He said to the paralytic —  "I say to you, rise, and take up your stretcher and go home." 

 

LUK 5:25 And at once he rose up before them, and took up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God.

 

LUK 5:26 And they were all seized with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear [or awe - Matt], saying, "We have seen remarkable things today."

 

11. Healing the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda. The power of God will destroy your rituals and taboos and replace them with the truth in light, JOH 5:1-9.

 

The main difference between this lame man and the paralytic is that this man believes that he can be healed by the water in the pool.

 

JOH 5:1 After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

 

JOH 5:2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes.

 

JOH 5:3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters;

 

JOH 5:4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.]

 

JOH 5:5 And a certain man was there, who had been thirty-eight years in his sickness.

 

JOH 5:6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?" 

 

JOH 5:7 The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me."

 

JOH 5:8 Jesus said to him, "Arise, take up your pallet, and walk." 

 

JOH 5:9 And immediately the man became well, and took up his pallet and began to walk.

 

It never actually says that this man had faith. One would think it would be hard not to after an experience like this, but after his experience in the temple he walked off to his own home. Our truth still stands. The taboo or ritual of the Pool of Bethesda couldn’t heal anyone of anything, neither can any of our silly rituals, but Christ can, and with the fog ritualism removed we can walk in His light, in His truth.

 

12. Resuscitating Jairus’ daughter. A pressing need can motivate a believer to choose the power of God and leave behind human power and ignore all scoffers, MAR 5:21-23.

 

MAR 5:21 And when Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered about Him; and He stayed by the seashore.

 

MAR 5:22 And one of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and upon seeing Him, fell at His feet,

 

MAR 5:23 and entreated Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, that she may get well and live."

 

The key here is that he’s a synagogue official and to ask Jesus to do this he is breaking ranks with the religious Jews and risking excommunication, which is banishment from the synagogue, from social graces, and economic potential.

 

But you see, his need, the life of his precious 12 year old daughter, has motivated him to seek for the power of God and to heck with the consequences that come from those who hate Christ, and the scoffers, mockers, and laughers, and that is just what his religious household is going to do to him and the Lord.

 

MAR 5:35 While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?"

 

It’s impossible believer! Nothing is impossible with God. We probably spend more time telling people and even God what He cannot do than we do having faith in what He can do. If He chooses not to do something fine, or to do it right now, fine, that’s faith, but saying with definite conviction that God will not do something is tell God what His limits are.

 

MAR 5:36 But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid any longer, only believe." 

 

MAR 5:37 And He allowed no one to follow with Him, except Peter and James and John the brother of James.

 

MAR 5:38 And they came to the house of the synagogue official; and He  beheld a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing.

 

MAR 5:39 And entering in, He said to them, "Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep." 

 

MAR 5:40 And they began laughing at Him. But putting them all out [who’s going to quiet the scoffers], He took along the child's father and mother and His own companions, and entered the room where the child was.

 

MAR 5:41 And taking the child by the hand, He said to her, "Talitha kum!"(which translated means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!").

 

MAR 5:42 And immediately the girl rose and began to walk; for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded.

 

MAR 5:43 And He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this; and He said that something should be given her to eat.

 

Not time yet - He’s on a heavenly time table. He was not here to physically heal everyone, but to spiritually heal everyone. And, in addition to this, in logistical grace He takes care of our every need, for the parents are so happy they don’t realize that she hasn’t eaten in probably over 24 hours.

 

13. Healing the hemorrhaging woman. The failure of man’s ways to heal a sick heart will lead a believer to grope for God’s power, MAR 5:24-34.

 

Christian science and other cults that refuse medical treatment miss the whole point of this.

 

MAR 5:24 And He went off with him; and a great multitude was following Him and pressing in on Him.

 

MAR 5:25 And a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years,

 

Hemorrhaging, which is bleeding anywhere in the body, results in reduced blood pressure, dehydration, exhaustion from  low O₂ levels, loss of minerals which affect the nervous system causing it to misfire or not fire and so muscles become achy and sluggish, and other side affects means that this woman has been miserable for 12 years. This is clearly evidenced by the fact that she spent all she had in search of a cure.

 

MAR 5:26 and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse,