The miracles Jesus performed are His credentials as the Messiah.
The role of miracles
Miracles validate Jesus’ message. They are designed to show the deity of Jesus Christ. They are God’s way of attesting to the deity of His Son. God placed a curse upon mankind and all of nature following the fall of Adam and Eve into sin. But His plan is to ultimately redeem a people unto Himself by His grace. Jesus’ miracles reveal the power of God to reverse the effect of the curse on sinners and nature itself.
The miracles are one more great affirmation of the messiahship of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 1-9, the apostle presents how Jesus fulfills several categories of messianic qualifications. His genealogy attested to the legal qualifications of the Messiah. The virgin birth and fulfillment of other prophecies attested to the prophetic qualification of the Messiah. His Baptism attested to the divine approval of his messiahship. Jesus’ temptation attested to His spiritual qualifications to be the Messiah. His teaching like “one who had authority” speaks to His theological qualifications. And His miracles prove the most essential qualification that Jesus is God.
What are miracles?
A miracle is a special act of God that interrupts the natural course of events, according to Baker Theological Dictionary of the Bible.1Elwell, W. A. (2001). Baker Theological Dictionary of the Bible. Baker Academic. Page 450.
There are various views about what constitutes a special act. For example, Augustine did not believe it was contrary to nature, but that it was contrary to our knowledge of nature. Whereas, Aquinas took the position that a special act is an event outside of nature’s power. In either case, however, a miracle is an unusual, irregular, specific way in which God acts within the world.
Miracles are possible, probable and have actually occurred
If God is the all-powerful Creator of the universe, as we have shown, then we know miracles are possible. After all, creation itself by definition is a miracle. The only question that remains is whether or not God has the desire to perform miracles. His desire to perform miracles is certainly congruent with His divine attributes of omniscience (all-knowing) and omnibenevolence (all good).
Here are some of the reasons why God would desire to perform miracles if He could:
- He is the kind of God who desires to communicate with His creatures and do good for them.
- Miracles heal, restore, bring back life, communicate God’s will, and vindicate His attributes.
- Miracles befit the nature of the One performing them and the need of the one for whom they are performed.
- Miracles are God’s way of confirming the Word of God through a messenger of God.
Therefore, we know miracles are not only possible but also probable. But did they actually happen? This question can only be known by looking at the historical record. And what we conclude is that the New Testament records numerous miraculous event, which is based on the reliability of the New Testament documents and witnesses.
Belief in miracles undergird our faith
There were three types of miracle witnesses. First, there were those who were committed to Jesus because they were convinced that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. They believed Jesus’ claims of deity as they witnessed the power of God He displayed through His miracles. The apostle Peter is a good example of this type of witness.
Secondly, there were curious witnesses who intellectually knew that Jesus was doing things that only God could do. They knew Jesus had to be someone very special, but they weren’t ready to believe He was divine. There was a lot of debate over who Jesus was. Some were saying that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life (Luke 9:7-9). Their commitment to following Christ was shallow at best.
Jesus confronted three such uncommitted followers and pointed out why they weren’t ready for the kind of commitment He requires. One person was apparently not ready to sacrifice his comforts in order to follow Jesus (Matthew 8:19-20). Another person apparently wasn’t ready to sacrifice his portion of the family inheritance to immediately follow Jesus (Matthew 8:21-22). While the third person apparently wasn’t ready to break family ties to follow Him (Luke 9:61-62).
Jesus expects full commitment from His true disciples. He said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord. Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Jesus also said, “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple…In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27, 33). Saving faith places Jesus first in the life of His people.
Thirdly, there were the critics of Jesus who witnessed His miracles. They never claimed that He hadn’t performed them, but they hated Him for showing them to be the hypocrites they really were. So, they accused Him of doing these miracles by the power of Satan, rather than God.
Types of miracles:
God ordained that man would have dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:28). But man fell into sin, and he lost his right to rule. God immediately placed a curse on the earth, and Satan usurped man’s control over it. The Bible now refers to Satan as the prince of this world (John 12:31).
Paradise was lost as a result of the curse. Now the earth is subject to sickness, pain, death, strained human relationships, sorrow, injustice, lies, diseases, natural disasters, and demonic activity. But God has an amazing plan to redeem man and the universe in which he lives. He plans to reverse the curse.
The miracles Jesus performed are previews of the kind of power He will wield to redeem man and all of creation. God would first come to earth, in the Person of Jesus Christ, to die on a cross and rise from the grave for the redemption of man. Then, He would come back a second time in blazing glory to establish a millennial kingdom, followed by the creation of new heaven and new earth for eternity.
Miracles of restoration and redemption
Jesus showed compassion for those who had illnesses of every sort. “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them” (Matthew 4:23-24).
The Lord’s healing miracles foreshadowed His ultimate restoration of His redeemed people in God’s eternal kingdom. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
Miracles over nature
All creation has been affected by man’s sin and is in need of restoration. “For the creation was subject to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21).
Jesus demonstrated complete control over nature by performing miracles that only God could do. Jesus’ could feed thousands of people with five barley loaves and two fish (John 6:1-14, Matthew 15:30-38). He walked on water (Mark 6:45-54), and He calmed the fierce wind and sea by His command (Luke 8:22-25). On at least two occasions, Jesus caused great gatherings of fish to be caught (Luke 5:1-11, John 21:1-14).
These and other miracles over nature that Jesus performed are previews of the power of God He will wield as He reverses the curse on all of creation. They affirm His authority over nature.
Supernatural miracles
In the end, Jesus will restore all things back to their original state of perfection. But first, He must not only resist the demonic forces that keep them the way they are, He must also overpower them.
To demonstrate His power over the supernatural powers, Jesus cast out demons from people who were possessed. In one instance, Jesus gave orders to an evil spirit that possessed a man who was in a synagogue. Jesus sternly told the spirit to come out of him, and the evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek (Mark 1:21-28).
At another time, Jesus rebuked the evil spirit that had seized a boy. The demon threw the boy to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father (Luke 9:37-43).
These and other similar miracles clearly show that Jesus has power over Satan and his demons. One day, Satan’s reign will come to a final end, and he will be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur. He and anyone else, whose name was not found in the book of life, will be tormented day and night for ever. (Revelation 20:7-15).
Responding to the miraculous proof of Jesus’ claims
Responses of unbelief
The Bible describes the various ways people responded to the miracles Jesus performed. Nobody denied that Jesus was performing amazing miracles, but their reaction to them often led them away from faith in Him.
Some people were temporarily fascinated by what Jesus could do. It seemed like they wanted to follow Him, but their personal comforts, riches, and relationships were too important for them to commit fully to Jesus.
Multitudes of people marveled at what Jesus was doing, but for the wrong reasons. They were fine with following Jesus for what He could do for them. But when Jesus message demanded that they pay a personal price to follow Him, they soon lost interest and turned against Him.
The religious leaders hated Jesus. He was a threat to their privileged status. Jesus publicly denounced them and pointed out their hypocrisy. So, they attributed His power to Satan rather than God and wanted Him killed.
Responses of Belief
Still others, who were often the outcasts of society and may have had little to lose, embraced Jesus as their Lord and Savior. When Jesus was just a baby, Simeon prophesied that the child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed (Luke 2:34). We see this coming true as we read the gospel narrative and as we witness the varied reactions to Jesus even today.
Jesus Himself is the dividing line that will determine every individual’s eternal destiny. Either you place your full faith and trust in Him, or else you have rejected Him. There’s no middle ground. My prayer for you is that you will follow the One, who is the Way and the Truth and the Life!
Come to the wellspring of life
Ask yourself two very important questions. First, are you sure that you’ll go to heaven when you die? Secondly, are you certain why God should let you into heaven? If you don’t know for sure, you can settle that matter today. Visit my post, How to Begin Your Life Over Again and you’ll know where and how you’ll spend eternity.
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References
- 1Elwell, W. A. (2001). Baker Theological Dictionary of the Bible. Baker Academic. Page 450.