Pharisees Are Jealous of Those Who Can Do Miracles That They Cannot Do
Zac Poonen warns against the dangers of jealousy and encourages believers to trust God for miracles and healing.
Zac Poonen addresses the jealousy of the Pharisees towards Jesus, who performed miracles that they could not, highlighting their inability to rejoice in God's work due to their pride and sectarianism. He emphasizes that true miracles occur where the gospel is preached for the first time, often through ordinary believers, and warns against the counterfeit miracles seen in modern times. Poonen encourages believers to trust God for real miracles and to pray for healing, reminding them of their privileges as children of God. He also stresses the importance of giving glory to God for any miracles that occur, to avoid falling into the same trap of pride as the Pharisees.
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"The Pharisees said, 'What are we doing? For this man is performing many miracles'. From that day on they planned together to kill Him" (John 11:47, 53).
Here, in John 11, Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead. The Pharisees should have been excited about it. But they were not - because the Man who did the miracle was not from their group!! Jesus belonged to another denomination!! The Pharisees were green with jealousy over this. Jealousy is such an obvious thing, that even a worldly person like Pilate could recognise it in the Pharisees (Matthew 27:18). Beware of jealousy.
Pharisees are jealous of those who do miracles. I am not talking now about the counterfeit "miracles" being done by television evangelists today that fool many believers. We have all seen plenty of those. I am talking about real miracles that are taking place even today. But you don't see those on television or at the so-called "healing crusades". The real miracles taking place today (exactly as in the Acts of the Apostles) are in places where the gospel is being preached for the very first time - for example, in some places in North India. Many don't realise the fact that in the Acts of the Apostles, the miracles God performed were in places where the gospel was going for the first time. The people through whom God is doing such miracles today are ordinary, unknown believers; and just like Jesus, they also do not advertise the miracles they have seen.
God is a God of miracles, and if you cannot trust Him to do a miracle for you, then you are a Pharisee. When you are sick you must pray to God for healing, and not just accept the sickness. We have some privileges as God's children that others do not have. We can "taste the powers of the age to come" (Hebrews 6:5). And if it is not God's will to heal you (for any reason), then you can ask Him to give you "something better than healing", as He gave Paul (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). If you are an elder in a church and some sick person comes to you for prayer, you must pray (with whatever faith you have) that God will heal him and draw him closer to Himself thereby. And when God answers your prayer, be careful to give Him the glory and not to boast about it - or else you will end up as a greater Pharisee.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Pharisees' Jealousy
- A. They were jealous of Jesus' miracles
- B. They wanted to kill Jesus because of His miracles
- II. The Cause of Jealousy
- A. The Pharisees were jealous because Jesus was not from their group
- B. They were threatened by Jesus' miracles
- III. Real Miracles Today
- A. Miracles are happening in places where the gospel is being preached for the first time
- B. These miracles are done through ordinary believers
- IV. Trusting God for Miracles
- A. We must pray to God for healing when we are sick
- B. We can ask God for 'something better than healing'
Key Quotes
“God is a God of miracles, and if you cannot trust Him to do a miracle for you, then you are a Pharisee.” — Zac Poonen
“We have some privileges as God's children that others do not have. We can 'taste the powers of the age to come'.” — Zac Poonen
Application Points
- We must be careful not to become Pharisees by boasting about our miracles and not giving God the glory.
- We should pray to God for healing when we are sick and trust in His sovereignty.
- We can ask God for 'something better than healing' if it is not His will to heal us.