|
Jesus of Nazareth can be defined in a
variety of ways. At Gateway Bible Church, we believe he is
the Living Son of God, and Savior of all mankind. On this
page, we'd like to give you some highlights of his ministry,
specifically, his miracles and his resurrection.
For more wonderful information about Jesus,
please use the links below:
Who is Jesus?
Accept the Gift
The Resurrection
The resurrection is the central element
of our Christian faith. Jesus promised us that on the third
day after his death, he would return from the dead to walk
again on Earth. That’s just what he did! Because Jesus
did rise from the dead, we know and have faith that all his
claims are true and we can know for sure that there is life
after death.
Although Christianity is based largely
on faith, it is still unbelievable that even those looking
for scientific evidence and support of the resurrection still
don’t believe in the wondrous gifts God gives us. There
is an abundance of evidence that exists to support the resurrection.
Jesus foretold of his death and the
resurrection, and it occurred just as he said it would.
John 2:19-21 "Jesus answered them,
'Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.'
The Jews replied, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this
temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?' But
the temple he had spoken of was his body."
John 10:17 "The reason my Father
loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again."
John 16:16-23 "In a little while
you will see me no more, and then after a little while you
will see me.' Some of his disciples said to one another, 'What
does he mean by saying, 'In a little while you will see me
no more, and then after a little while you will see me,' and
'Because I am going to the Father'?' They kept asking, 'What
does he mean by 'a little while'? We don't understand what
he is saying.' Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about
this, so he said to them, 'Are you asking one another what
I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no
more, and then after a little while you will see me'? I tell
you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices.
You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman
giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come;
but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because
of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you:
Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you
will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy..."
Matthew 12:40 "For as Jonah was three
days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the
Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth."
Matthew 16:21 "From that time on
Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to
Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders,
chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be
killed and on the third day be raised to life."
Luke 18:31-33 "Jesus took the Twelve
aside and told them, 'We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything
that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will
be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They
will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill
him. On the third day he will rise again."
The resurrection is the only way that
makes sense to explain the empty tomb.
A battery of Roman soldiers was placed
in front the tomb where Jesus' body was laid to prevent followers
from “stealing the body.” A huge stone also covered
the grave’s entrance. There were some that claimed Jesus
was not dead, but only weakened. So, what they are saying
is that after being whipped, beaten, nailed and hung on a
cross for six hours, stabbed with a spear, and wrapped in
linen, Jesus was not only able to roll a 4000-pound stone
up hill, but was also able to slip past many soldiers to escape.
No other explanation had any validity
because the Jewish Leaders could not produce Jesus’ body
(it could not be found because Jesus had indeed risen from
the dead.
More people than just the disciples
saw the resurrected Christ.
After he rose from the dead, Jesus appeared
at least ten times and to as many as 500 people at one time.
Luke 24:36-39 "While they were still
talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said
to them, 'Peace be with you.' They were startled and frightened,
thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, 'Why are you troubled,
and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and
my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not
have flesh and bones, as you see I have.'"
John 20:26-29 "A week later his disciples
were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though
the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and
said, 'Peace be with you!' Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your
finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it
into my side. Stop doubting and believe.' Thomas said to him,
'My Lord and my God!' Then Jesus told him, 'because you have
seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not
seen and yet have believed.'"
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 "For what I
received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was
buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the
Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred
of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James,
then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me
also, as to one abnormally born."
Many scholars of the scientific and
historical community accept the fact of Jesus’ resurrection.
After examining the evidence for the resurrection
given by the Gospel writers, the late Simon Greenleaf, an
authority on legal issues at Harvard Law School, concluded:
"It was therefore impossible that they could have persisted
in affirming the truths they have narrated, had not Jesus
actually risen from the dead, and had they not known this
fact as certainly as they knew any other fact." Mr. Greenleaf
was a Jewish professor who became a believer in Jesus the
Messiah after studying the facts for himself.
The Miracles
The following is a listing of passages
that detail the miracles performed by Jesus.
Healing
Cures the official's son In the second
of Jesus’ miracles, Jesus cures the son of an official in Galilee
and warns us not to ask God for proof of his power (John
4:48).
John
4:43-54
Heals the man who could not walk Jesus
heals a man who had been unable to walk for 38 years.
John
5:1-9
Heals Peter's mother-in-law
Matthew
8:14-15
Mark
1:29-31
Luke
4:38-39
Heals the leper
Matthew
8:2-4
Mark
1:40-42
Luke
5:12-13
Heals the man who could not walk Jesus
heals another man that could not walk and shows that through
faith and the forgiveness of sin, we can be whole again.
Matthew
9:2-8
Mark
2:2-12
Luke
5:18-26
Heals the centurion's servant Through
great faith the centurion showed, just Jesus saying the words
heals his servant, as the centurion did not feel worthy to have
Jesus in his home.
Matthew
8:5-13
Luke
7:2-10
Heals a demon-possessed, blind, and
mute man
Matthew
12:22
Luke
11:14
Heals the woman who touched his garment
in the crowd A woman who had been bleeding for 12 years had
great faith in knowing a touch of Jesus’ clothing would heal
here, and it did.
Matthew
9:20-22
Mark
5:25-34
Luke
8:43-48
Heals the Canaanite woman's daughter
Matthew
15:22-28
Mark
7:25-30
Heals deaf and mute man
Mark
7:32-37
Heals the man born blind, deaf and
mute
Mark
8:22-26
Heals the blind, mute, and demonized
son After a failed attempt to heal him by the disciples, Jesus
not only demonstrates his great power, but makes an example
of their lack of faith.
Matthew
17:14-21
Mark
9:14-29
Luke
9:37-42
Heals ten lepers How often do we fail
to thank God for his blessings? Ten lepers are healed, but
only one has enough humility to return to Jesus and thank him
for the miraculous healing of his illness.
Luke
17:11-19
Heals woman of her illness Jesus heals
a woman bound by illness for 18 years.
Luke
13:10-17
Heals the demon-possessed, blind, mute
man
Matthew
12:22
Luke
11:14
Resurrection of the Dead
Raises the widow's
son from the dead Jesus shows not only his great power, but
also his compassion for those who are hurting.
Luke
7:12-16
Raises Jairus's daughter from the dead
Jesus raises a 12-year-old girl from the dead.
Matthew
9:18-19,23-26
Mark
5:22-24,35-43
Luke
8:41-42,49-56
Raises Lazarus from the dead Jesus
brings back to life a man who had been laying in a tomb for
several days. This miracle creates a stir throughout the country,
and many of the religious leaders now began to follow Jesus
after this demonstration of the power of a living God.
John
11:1-46
Jesus is resurrected from the dead
Jesus is raised from the dead, just as he had foretold on numerous
occasions. This is the most wonderful miracle of all, and is
the basis of our faith.
Matthew
28:2-20
Mark
16:1-20
Luke
24:1-48
John
20:1-21:24
Other Miracles
Changes water to wine In his first
recorded miracle, Jesus changes water at a wedding into wine
and the disciples but their faith in him.
John
2:6-11
Abundance of fish Simon Peter had been
trying to catch fish all night at the Sea of Galilee, but had
been unsuccessful. Jesus gives him a command from Jesus to
lower his nets again. Even through Peter’s doubts, so many fish
are caught that his nets begin to break.
Luke
5:4-9
Drives out Demons
Mark
1:23-28
Luke
4:33-37
Calms the storm As an example of
our own lack of faith, the men on the boat were terrified
they were going to drown, even with the Son of God asleep
at their feet. Jesus calms a furious storm on the Sea of
Galilee with a wave of his hand. Amidst the worst we can
fear, Jesus sees us through.
Matthew
8:24-27
Mark
4:37-41
Luke
8:23-25
Drives out Demons Jesus drives out
demons from two men into pigs.
Matthew
8:28-34
Mark
5:1-20
Luke
8:26-39
Feeds five thousand In one of the most
spectacular miracles, Jesus feeds a massive crowd of over 5,000
people with just five loaves of bread and two small fish. Just
as with His word, there was an abundance of food left over!
Matthew
14:15-21
Mark
6:35-44
John
6:5-14
Walks on water and quiets a storm After
seeing Jesus walk on the Sea of Galilee, Peter is called to
walk to him on the water and does so. Beginning to doubt, Peter
starts to sink in the water but is saved by Jesus.
Matthew
14:22-33
Mark
6:45-52
John
6:16-21
Feeds four thousand A similar miracle
to the feeding of over 5000, Jesus takes compassion on a large,
famished crowd of followers who hadn't eaten in three days.
They are fed with seven loaves of bread and a few small fish.
Seven baskets of food are left over.
Matthew
15:32-38
Mark
8:1-9
Curses the fig tree, causing it to
wither
Matthew
21:18-20
Mark
11:12-14,20-21
The final miracle: abundance of fish
The last miracle performed following his resurrection, Jesus
again blesses the nets of the disciples on the Sea of Galilee.
John
21:6
|
