The New Testament reveals to us the nature of Jesus Christ; the first four books in particular give details of His earthly life spanning a third of a century.  What one finds within these documents is a personality that has brought about the greatest change for good in the history of the world.  Even today, 2,000 years removed from when He lived among us, Jesus’ words and deeds impress people to believe in Him as the Son of God and inspire them to mold their lives after His example.

The adage, “actions speak louder than words,” is a truth that can often be seen in the deeds of Jesus of Nazareth.  Unlike the sanctimonious Pharisees, Jesus was “a friend of publicans and sinners” (Luke 7:34).  He was not a friend who participated with them in sinning, but was a true friend who loved them, formed relationships with them, and told them, “go, and sin no more” (John 8:11).  He spoke with a Samaritan woman at the well, asking her for a drink (John 4:7).  He had no container to hold his own water (John 4:11); He was willing to put his mouth to the bucket the Samaritan woman was carrying.  What first-century Jewish writer would have concocted such a story?  Certainly none.  The character of Jesus shines above the prejudices of His day.  Jesus healed the lepers by touching them (Matthew 8:3).  When the band of officers came with weapons to take Jesus by force, He even healed the ear of Malchus after Peter cut it off (Luke 22:51; John 18:10).  Throughout His short life, “he went about doing good” (Acts 10:38).

One can learn much about a man from what he says about himself, what his friends say, and even what his enemies say.  Jesus asked, “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” (John 8:46).  He called on others to repent, but was not in need of repentance Himself (Matthew 3:14-15; 4:17).  He said He always did the things that please the Father (John 8:29).  Which of us could truly say the same?  His teachings are without equal, as the officers admitted, “Never man spake like this man” (John 7:46).  Jesus’ friends said that He was “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16); the Father corroborated this truth by audibly declaring it from heaven (Matthew 3:17; 17:5).  The religious leaders, Jesus’ enemies, did not hesitate to cast reproaches on Him.  They implied that His birth was from fornication (John 8:41).  They said He was a Samaritan and had a devil (John 8:48).  Each confrontation Jesus had with His enemies did not elicit any evil from Him, but manifested His supreme virtues of love and truth; contrariwise, His enemies embarrassed themselves because they showed how manipulative and hypocritical they were (Matthew 22).

The only logical basis for this unparalleled character named Jesus evinced in the Gospel accounts is that He was God in the flesh who actually lived, doing these great deeds and saying these great statements.  No other conclusion squares with the facts.  Man could not create such a character. He surpasses the perfection of any figment of our imaginations, and yet was clearly rooted in the world dealing with real people in places which actually existed.  “What think ye of Christ?” (Matthew 22:42).  Will you examine the character of the Christ portrayed in the New Testament?  If you will honestly consider Him, you will come away with the same conclusion the centurion did when he said, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54).

–Mark Day

When God called Moses in Exodus 3 to appear before Pharaoh in order to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage, Moses had fears and excuses for not going.  With each excuse Moses gave, God provided the adequate reasons and resources for Moses to be successful and to make his excuses null and void.

One fear Moses had was that neither the Egyptians nor the Israelites would believe that the Lord had appeared to him (Ex. 4:1).  Instead of depending on the mere words of Moses, God provided miracles to back up his claims that God had indeed commissioned him.  The miracles of his rod turning into a serpent, leprosy instantaneously appearing and disappearing on his flesh, and water turning into blood were God’s attestations that Moses was His messenger (Ex.  4:2-9).

The miracles recorded in the Bible indicate God’s confirmation of those who were speaking for Him.  Jesus claimed to be sent from God and had works that bore witness to the veracity of the claim (Jn. 5:36).  Certainly the miracles of Jesus were deeds no other man had ever worked (Jn.15:24); moreover, the works were to produce belief in Him (Jn. 14:11).  A sampling of those works are recorded in the New Testament in order to produce belief even today (Jn. 20:30-31).

The apostles and prophets who were to continue the message of God in the first century before the New Testament was completed were also provided with evidence from God that their message was from Him (Mk. 16:18-20; Heb. 2:3-4).  Not all Jesus wished to reveal to us was spoken during His earthly ministry; even His disciples who spent every day with Him had much more to learn (Jn. 16:12).  Jesus promised the apostles the Holy Spirit would come to remind them of what He had taught and teach them all things, guiding them into all truth (Jn. 14:26; 16:13). Thus, the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit were exercised in the first-century church (1 Cor. 12:3-11). They served this confirmatory function while God’s message was delivered in parts: a portion through an apostle here and another portion to a prophet there (1 Cor. 13:9; cf. Eph. 3:5; 2 Cor. 12:12). When the completed message was preserved in written form, the miraculous gifts vanished away, having served their purpose (1 Cor. 13:8-10; Eph. 4:8-15).

Miracles were not for the purpose of making money; Simon the Sorcerer was severely rebuked for greedily devising such a plan (Acts 8:18-24).  Neither Jesus nor His apostles turned the true miracles from God into a two-hour-long television special to excite emotions and make money.  Jesus refused to perform shallow spectacles (Mt. 4:5-7).  The miracles were worked to engender faith in the truths of Christianity.  Those who did not believe when they had seen the miraculous evidence were scolded for their hard hearts (Mt. 11:20).

Today many claim God has sent them, is guiding them, and speaking through them beyond the message of the Bible.  The Muslims claim Muhammad was the last and greatest prophet of God.  The Roman Catholic Church claims the Magisterium is guided by the Holy Spirit.  The Mormons have their Prophet and Council of the Twelve.  The Jehovah’s Witnesses look to the Watchtower organization for their guidance.  A Pentecostal preacher gets up in front of an audience and tells them God told him something.  Who are we to believe?  Do any of these groups have the miraculous credentials from God equivalent to what we see in the Bible?  Belief in their claims rests on a matter of demonstration, not argumentation.  God has backed up the Bible, His true word, with miracles.  Nothing of that nature is happening today.

-Mark Day