Lesson 1.23: The King Proves His Authority

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LESSON 1.23: THE KING PROVES HIS AUTHORITY

Loved ones, in every way possible, Jesus said, "I AM divine." Then He proved His claims by working miracles. (Miracles were amazing works that Jesus did by the power of God.) These miracles demonstrated His authority over nature, evil, and death. He was fully human, yet He was fully divine.

Jesus Demonstrates His Power Over Nature

1. Jesus Calms The Sea Of Galilee

One evening, Jesus said to His followers, "Come with me across the lake" (Mark 4:35-41). So they got into a boat and started across. As they were sailing across the lake, a strong wind started blowing. The waves grew higher and higher, and the boat began to fill with water. But Jesus was asleep in the bow of the boat with His head on a pillow.

Jesus' followers were terrified. They woke Him up and cried, "Lord, save us! We are going to drown."

Jesus stood up and gave a command to the wind and the water. He said, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind stopped blowing, and the lake became calm.

Jesus said to His followers, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

The men were amazed. They said, "What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the water obey him."

2. Jesus Feeds 5,000 Men

Later, Jesus saw a large crowd of people coming toward Him. He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He taught them many things (John 6:5-13).

Toward evening, Jesus' followers said to Him, "Send the people away so that they can go to the towns and buy food for themselves."

Jesus replied, "You give them some food to eat."

Philip said, "We would all have to work a month to buy enough bread for each person here to have only a little piece."

Andrew said, "Here is a boy with five loaves of barley bread and two little fish. But that is not enough for so many people."

Jesus said to His followers, "Tell the people to sit in groups of about 50." So the followers did this, and about 5,000 men, plus women and children, sat down on the grassy hillside.

Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two fish. He looked up to heaven and thanked God for the food. Then He broke the bread and fish into pieces, and gave them to His followers. His followers gave them to the people. The people all ate until they were full.

When the people finished eating, Jesus said to His followers, "Gather the pieces of fish and bread that were not eaten. Don't waste anything." So they gathered up the pieces and filled 12 large baskets with food that was left.

When the people saw that Jesus had power to create food, they wanted to make Him their political leader. But Jesus said goodbye to them and went up into the hills to pray (vs. 14-15).

3. Jesus Walks On Water

Jesus' twelve followers went down to the lake, got into a boat, and started across the lake toward Capernaum (Matthew 14:22-27). The wind was blowing against them, and the waves were growing bigger. At three o'clock in the morning, they were still in the lake rowing against the wind.

Suddenly, they saw Jesus coming toward them walking on the water. They were terrified. They screamed, "It's a ghost!" But Jesus spoke to them and said, "Don't worry. It is I. Don't be afraid."

After this, He got into the boat. The wind stopped blowing, and the twelve followers in the boat worshiped Jesus saying, "You really are the Son of God" (vs. 32-33). Immediately, the boat reached the shore.

4. Jesus Demonstrates His Power Over Disease

Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in Jewish synagogues and telling people the good news about God's kingdom. He also healed sick people, and His fame spread. People with all kinds of diseases were brought to Him, and He healed them all (Matthew 4:23-24).

Jesus Heals Peter's Mother-In-Law And Others

One day, Jesus went to Peter's house. When He learned that Peter's mother-in-law was sick with a fever, He went over to her bed and touched her hand. Immediately, the fever left her. Then, she stood up and began to serve them (Matthew 8:14-15).

That evening, people brought many sick people to Jesus. Everyone in town gathered around the door of the house. Jesus healed all kinds of terrible sicknesses and demonstrated His divine power over disease (v. 16). Jesus had power over bacteria, viruses, and crippling diseases of every kind. Jesus demonstrated that He was the divine Son of God.

Jesus Heals A Sick Man At The Pool Of Bethesda

One time, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a Jewish festival. In the city, north of the temple, there was a pool with five porches. This pool was called Bethesda. Many sick, blind, and crippled people were there beside the pool (John 5:1-9).

One of the men lying there had been weak and sick for 38 years. When Jesus saw him and realized that he had been an invalid for a long time, He said, "Do you want to be well?"

The man answered, "Sir, there is no one to help me get into the water when it starts moving. I try to be the first one into the water. But when I try, someone else always gets there first."

Jesus said to him, "Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk." Immediately, the man was healed. He picked up his mat and started walking. This happened on the Sabbath day, a day when Jewish people were not allowed to work.

When the Jewish leaders saw the man carrying his mat, they said, "Today is the Sabbath. It is against our law for you to carry your mat on the Sabbath day" (vs. 10-15).

But he replied, "This man who made me well told me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'"

They asked him, "Who is the man who told you to pick up your mat and walk?" But he did not know who had healed him.

Later, Jesus met him in the temple and said to him, "See, you are well now. But stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." The man went back to the Jewish leaders and told them that it was Jesus who had healed him.

When the Jewish leaders criticized Jesus for healing on the Sabbath day, He said to them, "My Father never stops working, and I work too."

This made them want to kill Him. They said, "First, this man broke the law about the Sabbath day. Then he said that God is his Father! He is making himself equal with God" (vs. 16-18).

Jesus Heals A Blind Man

In Jerusalem, Jesus and His followers saw a man who had been blind since he was born (John 9:1-7). Jesus' followers asked, "Teacher, why was this man born blind? Whose sin made it happen? Was it his sin or the sin of his parents?"

Jesus replied, "It was neither his sin nor that of his parents that caused him to be blind."

Then, Jesus spat on the ground and made some mud. He put the mud on the man's eyes and said to him, "Go and wash the mud off in the Pool of Siloam." So the man went to the pool and washed his eyes. Now, he was able to see.

The man's neighbors and those who had seen him begging said, "Look! Is this the same man who always sits and begs?" Some of them said, "Yes! He is the one." Others said, "No, he can't be the same man. He only looks like him." But the man said, "I am that man."

The people asked him, "What happened? How did you get your sight?" He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. Then he told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went there and washed. And then, I could see" (vs. 8-11).

Some of the Jewish leaders said, "This man [Jesus] does not obey the law about the Sabbath day. So he is not from God." Others said, "But someone who is a sinner cannot do these miraculous signs." So they could not agree among themselves (v. 16).

The man who had been healed said, "This is the first time we have ever heard of someone healing the eyes of someone born blind. This man must be from God."

The Jewish leaders said, "You were born full of sin! Are you trying to teach us?" And they told the man to get out of the synagogue and to stay out (vs. 25-34).

When Jesus heard about this, He found the man and asked him, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

The man said, "Tell me who he is, sir, so I can believe in him."

Jesus answered, "You have already seen him. The Son of Man is the one talking with you now."

The man said, "Yes, I believe, Lord!" Then he bowed down and worshiped Jesus (vs. 35-38).

5. Jesus Demonstrates His Power Over Evil Spirits

Jesus Drives An Evil Spirit Out Of A Man In Nazareth

One Sabbath day, Jesus went into the synagogue in Capernaum and instructed the people. There was a man there who had an evil spirit (Luke 4:33-36). He shouted, "Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are God's Holy One!"

Jesus said to the evil spirit, "Be quiet, and come out of him." The spirit shook the man, made a loud noise, and came out of him.

Everyone was amazed. They said, "What is happening here? What does this mean? With authority and power he commands evil spirits, and they obey him."

Jesus Drives Evil Spirits from a Wild Man.

One day, Jesus and His followers got into a boat and crossed the Lake of Galilee (Mark 5:1-15). When they landed on the eastern shore where the Gadarenes lived, a naked man full of demons came out to meet them.

This man lived in the tombs and was so wild that no one could bind him, not even with chains. When people tried to bind him, he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his ankles. Day and night, he cried out in the hills and among the tombs and cut himself with sharp rocks. When the man saw Jesus coming, he ran up to Him and knelt down before Him.

Jesus said, "You evil spirit, come out of this man."

The man shouted, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you not to punish me!"

Jesus asked, "What is your name?"

The man answered, "My name is Legion, because there are many spirits inside me."

The evil spirits begged Jesus not to send them away. But Jesus ordered the demons to leave the man.

The demons left him and went into a herd of pigs that were feeding on the hillside. The pigs rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

When the men who were taking care of the pigs saw this, they ran and spread the news to people on farms and in the town, and people went out to see what had happened.

When they came to Jesus, they saw the man sitting there at His feet. The man had clothes on and was in his right mind. The demons were gone.

6. Jesus Proves His Power Over Death

Jesus Raises A Widow's Son

As Jesus and His followers approached the town of Nain, they saw some people carrying the dead body of a young man. The dead man's mother was a widow, and he was her only son (Luke 7:11-16).

When Jesus saw the woman, He felt sorry for her. He said, "Don't cry." Then, He walked over and touched the bier, and the men who were carrying the body stopped.

Jesus said, "Young man, get up!" And the boy sat up and began to talk. Then, Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Filled with fear, people began praising God.

Jesus Raises Lazarus From Death

When Jesus and His followers arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead and in the tomb four days (John 11:17).

When Jesus saw Mary and Martha crying over their brother's death, He was deeply troubled. He asked, "Where did they put him?" They answered, "Lord, come and see" (vs. 33-34).

Lazarus' body was in a cave with a large stone covering the entrance. Jesus said, "Move the stone away" (vs. 38-44).

Martha said, "But Lord, it has been four days since Lazarus died. There will be a bad smell."

Jesus said to her, "Remember what I told you? I said that if you believed, you would see the glory of God."

So they rolled the stone away from the entrance. Jesus looked upward and prayed. Then, He shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" The man who had been dead came out. His hands and feet were wrapped with pieces of burial cloth, and a cloth covered his face.

Jesus said, "Take off the cloth and let him go."

36 times in the New Testament, Jesus performed miracles that demonstrated His divine authority over nature, disease, evil, and death. These miracles proved that He was telling the truth when He claimed to be the Son of God.

The apostle John wrote, "Jesus did many other miraculous signs that his followers saw, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you can believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Then, by believing, you can have life through his name" (John 20:30-31).