The following bible study was given at Marshall, MI on April 22, 2006 by Mike Vinson

Psa 78:2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old.

New Testament version:

Mat 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
Mat 13:35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

When did this change?

Mat 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
Mat 13:35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

When did this come to an end? Did this request by the Jews bring Christ’s parables to an end?

Joh 10:24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly

They referred to their condition as “doubtful.” Christ told them to their face that they were blind:

Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him hear these words and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

We will come back to this verse

So maybe Christ began to speak plainly right after He made this statement:

Joh 16:25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: bu the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father.

This is just before Christ’s crucifixion. Surely after His resurrection He will begin to speak to the disciples plainly.

But He does not. And when we come to the book of Revelation many years later, He seems to be deeper than ever into types, shadows, parables and dark sayings. So what does this tell us of everything concerning the physical events which occurred during Christ’s ministry? Here is what it tells us:

1Co 10:11 (a) Now all these things happened unto them [ the people of Christs day] for ensamples [ as ‘tupos’]: and they are written for our admonition…

Some Types

Healing the leper

Mat 8:1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
Mat 8:2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Mat 8:3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Mat 8:4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

We are healed of our incurable sins to go and be a testimony against the house of Israel.

Healing the paralytic

Mat 9:1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.
Mat 9:2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
Mat 9:3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
Mat 9:4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
Mat 9:5 For whether is easier, to say, [ Thy] sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
Mat 9:6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

Why was this man healed? Was it because he was sick? “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins…“

Healing of the man blind from birth

Joh 9:1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from [ his- all of us] birth.
Joh 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Joh 9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
Joh 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
Joh 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
Joh 9:6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
Joh 9:7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
Joh 9:8 The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?
Joh 9:9 Some said, This is he: others [ said], He is like him: [ but] he said, I am [ he].
Joh 9:10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?
Joh 9:11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.
Joh 9:12 Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.
Joh 9:13 They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.
Joh 9:14 And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.
Joh 9:15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.
Joh 9:16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
Joh 9:17 They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.
Joh 9:18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.
Joh 9:19 And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?
Joh 9:20 His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:
Joh 9:21 But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.
Joh 9:22 These [ words] spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
Joh 9:23 Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.
Joh 9:24 Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.
Joh 9:25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner [ or no], I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
Joh 9:26 Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?
Joh 9:27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear [ it] again? will ye also be his disciples?
Joh 9:28 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples.
Joh 9:29 We know that God spake unto Moses: [ as for] this [ fellow], we know not from whence he is.
Joh 9:30 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and [ yet] he hath opened mine eyes.
Joh 9:31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
Joh 9:32 Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.
Joh 9:33 If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.
Joh 9:34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
Joh 9:35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
Joh 9:36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
Joh 9:37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
Joh 9:38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40 And [ some] of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Why are we born blind? “that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”
Why has Christ healed us of our disease? “that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.”

Healing of a man who was deaf and dumb

Mar 7:32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.
Mar 7:33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;
Mar 7:34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
Mar 7:35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.
Mar 7:36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;

Feeding the four and the five thousand

Jesus feeds the multitudes – [ part of a study done by Noelia Loomis]

Mat 14:16-21

The first time Jesus fed the multitudes, the disciples had asked Jesus to send the multitude away because there was nothing to eat. Jesus told the disciples to feed them themselves. Of course, He knew they could not feed the multitude. The disciples did not know how or where to even begin the task. After all, He is the vine, we are the branches; the vine takes the nourishment from the ground and passes it onto the branches.

Mat 14:16 But Jesus said to them, They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.

The disciples realized they were not up to the task (without Him we are nothing) and “they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish” – five- signifying grace & faith in the word and, two- fish signifying to witnesses- Jesus and the Father. Jesus came to reveal the Father
The disciples were learning, like us, that only Jesus could feed the multitude. We like, they were, are vessels of God.

Mat 14:17 Jesus then said “Bring them here to Me“.
Mat 14:18 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.
Mat 14:19 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.
Mat 14:20 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

In this account, Jesus is establishing in type the Kingdom of God, the Government of God. The Kingdom is established through grace and faith. The gift of God’s Word is poured onto all men (5000 men). Abraham (God) gave all that He had to Issac (Jesus and the Elect), but to the 6 sons son of Keturah (all men), he gave gifts. Gen 25:3-6.

The second time, Jesus feeds the multitudes- Four thousand

Mat 15:31 Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
Mat 15:32 Then Jesus called his disciples [ unto him], and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, (process of maturation) and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
Mat 15:33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
Mat 15:34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
Mat 15:35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
Mat 15:36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. (seven signifies completion in judgment; being completely judged by the Word of God in this life; we are but little fish with no strength of our own realizing this we rely completely on Him at every moment).
Mat 15:37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. [ Christ’s Words will always exceed our ability to distribute it to the multitudes]
Mat 15:38 And they that did eat were four thousand men [ the whole earth is fed of the Word of God through His elect], beside women and children.
Luk 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
Luk 24:50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
Luk 24:51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven
Luk 24:52 And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:
Luk 24:53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen

Where did Jesus go?

Mat 28:20 (b) … Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Conclusion

Now we have opened eyes, opened ears, our inability to speak plainly is healed. We have eyes to see; we have ears to hear; and we are given a commission:

Mat 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Mat 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Mat 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Mat 14:16 But Jesus said to them, They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints
Eph 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

Miracles of Jesus

This lists all the miracles of Christ in order. And Christ tells us “Greater works than these shall ye do… “

Joh 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [ works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Other Miracles of Jesus