The greatest miracle of Christianity

No doubt, here

Truly, one of my favorite E. Stanley Jones quotes:

"Here is the central miracle of Christianity: Christ. The central miracle is not the resurrection or the virgin birth or any of the other miracles; the central miracle is just this Person, for he rises in sinless granduer above life. He is life’s Sinless Exception, therefore a miracle. Now turn from that Central Miracle toward these lesser miracles and they become credible in the light of his Person. Being what he was, it would be amazing if he did not touch blind eyes and make the lame walk. These miracles fit in with the central miracle of his Person. 'Being a miracle, it would be a miracle if he did not perform miracles.' The miracles do not carry Jesus-- he carries them. The “whom” carries the “what,” the Person carries the manifestation. But say miracle apart from him and it is confusing.… Christianity breaks into meaning when we see Jesus. The incredible becomes the actual; the impossible becomes the patent." (E Stanley Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road, Page 161, 163)

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The passage I’m wrestling with this week is Acts 3. Healing of the lame man and Peter preaching to those amazed at the miracle. One thing has kind of captured my thinking - how many times did Jesus pass by that very same location with the lame man planted in the very same place and…did nothing?

Jesus may never have passed by that place. But I suspect it was somewhere between a few and several times he did and never once moved to heal the man. Perhaps, one day, their eyes locked - for the lame man had heard of the healing gifts of this one they called Jesus and, of course, he wanted that gift exercised on him. But, if the man could have read the purposeful eyes of Christ they might have said to him, “Not today, perhaps someday. But if and when it happens, you will see why we waited.”

Jesus died, is resurrected, and then ascends into heaven. Still, the man is lame.

Until Acts 3 - Peter and John walk by and proclaim “Silver and gold - not in our pockets. But in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.” And he did - “walking and leaping and praising God.”

And from that moment (and in to the next chapter) it is noted that the crowd rises from 3,000 to 5,000 men (not counting, apparently, the women and children). And so, because of this delayed (perhaps) miracle hundreds upon hundreds came to know and put their faith in Jesus.

Worth the wait?

I preach in a prison some 3x a week. Loved preaching this one Tuesday night. In the middle of the message I had us all sing that Dottie Peoples classic:

He’s an on-time God, yes He is.
He’s an on-time God, yes He is.
He may not come when you want Him,
But He’ll be there right on time.
He’s an on-time God, yes He is.

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Phineas Bresee, founder of the Church of the Nazarene, says that Acts 3 is important as the first miracle of the Church post-Pentecost.

The first miracle after the baptism of the Holy Ghost was wrought upon a beggar. It means that the first service of a Holy Ghost-baptized church is to the poor; that its ministry is to those who are lowest down; that its gifts are for those who need them the most. As the Spirit was upon Jesus to preach the gospel to the poor, so His Spirit is upon His servants for the same purpose.

And this:

Let the Church of the Nazarene be true to its commission; not great and elegant buildings; but to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and wipe away the tears of sorrowing, and gather jewels for His diadem. Our church is a missionary church. It knows no difference between home and foreign fields – in these days all fields are near. We were convinced that houses of worship should be plain and cheap, to save from financial burdens, and that everything should say welcome to the poor…