The purpose of this series is to address the challenge our Lord has given Christians to preach the Gospel and make disciples. We are doing that by looking deeply into the basics of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how to share it effectively with family, friends, and others who God leads into our lives.
Much is made of healing and miracles in churches today. Unfortunately, many of those who promote healing and miracles do little preaching of the Gospel. I encourage those people to read the Gospels, the Book of Acts, and the apostolic letters in the New Testament to see how Jesus and the apostles used ‘signs and wonders’ for the express purpose of confirming the authenticity of the preaching the Gospel of Christ. The preaching of the Gospel must be first and utmost in every Christian’s ministry.
Jesus – Preacher of Good News
The word “preach” is synonymous with the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.
Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali … From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Matthew 4:12-13, 17
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom… Matthew 4:23
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom… Matthew 9:35
Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. Matthew 11:1
Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him. Luke 8:1
Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him. Luke 20:1
Jesus also taught His disciples the importance of preaching the Gospel and they did it:
Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. Matthew 10:27
And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. Acts 5:42
Notice that the early disciples did not cease to teach and preach “Jesus as the Christ.” That was the primary message of Jewish disciples in the early days following the Lord’s death, resurrection, and ascension. The Apostle Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, ended his sermon with these words about Messiah Jesus:
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Acts 2:36
Earliest Sermons in Acts
As you look at other sermons by Peter and Stephen, you will see them calling on Israel to repent for the sin of killing the Messiah and their individual sins. That was the Gospel of the Kingdom they preached.
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:37-39
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. Acts 3:13-15
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:8-12
But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him. Acts 5:29-32
You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it. Acts 7:51-53
Signs and Wonders
Did ‘signs and wonders’ follow the preaching of the Gospel? Absolutely! Why? Because signs and wonders “confirmed” to those who heard the preaching that the message was from God.
Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— Acts 2:22
And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. Mark 16:20
That’s the reason we see so many signs, wonders, miracles, and healings in the Gospels and early days of Acts. Anyone could claim to be the Messiah. Anyone could claim to be an apostle of Christ. Anyone could claim to be a prophet of God. However, just as when Moses confronted Pharaoh with God’s demands, signs and wonders confirmed that Moses was God’s prophet.
He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years. Acts 7:36
The same was true with the preaching of Jesus. When John the Baptist questioned from prison whether Jesus was the promised Messiah, Jesus said:
Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. Luke 7:22
The signs and wonders of the blind seeing, the lame walking, lepers cleansed, the deaf hearing, and the dead raised to life, the poor having the Gospel preached to them, confirmed that Jesus was the Messiah.
The same was true of the preaching of the apostles:
Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Acts 2:43
Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.’ And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:29-31
And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed. Acts 5:12-16
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Acts 6:8
Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. Acts 14:3
It’s interesting to note that Acts 14:3 is the last time we find the phrase “signs and wonders” written in Acts. Paul did use the phrase “miracles and wonders” in Acts 15 as confirmation that God was working through his preaching to the Gentiles. That’s the last time the word “wonders” is used in Acts.
The Apostle Paul did use the phrase “mighty signs and wonders” in Romans 15 as he wrote about God’s confirmation of his ministry “from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” Paul used similar phrases as evidence to his apostleship in 2 Corinthians 12.
In all of these examples, we find that the message is the focus. Signs and wonders confirm that the message is from God. People are saved through the preaching of the Gospel.
[Podcast version of this study coming soon.]
eBook
You can download a free eBook of Chapters One – Five of this study here. Please share with family and friends as God leads.
Next Time
We will look more closely at the Gospel that Jesus preached as our special series, Evangelistic Apologetics – A Closer Look, continues.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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