What of Miracles?
A Sermon on John 5:36
Scripture
Testimony of Works
36But the testimony I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.
36¶ But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
Sermon Description
Who was Jesus of Nazareth? This question, according to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, is the central question of Christianity. The answer to this question becomes the filter for all other questions that surround Jesus. “What do we make of his miracles?” is one such question. In this sermon on John 5:36 titled “What of Miracles?” Dr. Lloyd-Jones continues his series on John 5:36. According to the Old Testament, Jesus’s testimony alone was not enough to verify His claims to His identity. Knowing this, Jesus offers multiple testimonies to His identity as being fully God, the Son of God. One such testimony is that of His works. What does Jesus refer to by claiming that His works testify of Him? Certainly the entire corpus of His work is in view, but in the context of John 5 and the healing He performed at the Pool of Bethesda, the works that He refers to were His miracles. When John the Baptist questioned Jesus’s identity, Jesus answered Him by pointing to His miracles. The miracles testify of His divine nature, but His miracles have been and continue to be a stumbling block to belief in Him.
The Book of John
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.