MIRACLES OF JESUS
His purpose, evidently,
was not to get famous, rich or powerful through them, not to impress His
followers, not to gather a crowd of admirers around Him and inspire them to
follow Him. We know this for a fact – on most occasions He tried and avoided
publicity; He actually warned beneficiaries of His attention against revealing
His identity. He firmly turned down Satan’s “proposal’’ to jump off the temple
tower and demonstrate to the world He is the Son of God.
So what was the purpose
in carrying out these super-natural actions? I can see six reasons, at least.
These are the ones we will be discussing below:
1. To reveal and prove His identity: Nicodemus told Jesus
(according to John 3:2) “Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a
teacher, because no one can perform these
signs that you are doing unless God is with him." Is it not amazing
that, of all the people, a hard-boiled Pharisee should be making a confession
of this sort? Jesus Himself made this point when he stated in John 4:11
“Believe me, I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe me
because of what I've been doing”.
2. To assert His divine authority: it was part of Jesus’
ministry to reveal His power and glory to select audiences. What better way to
do this than demonstrating His control over nature? The passage at Mat 8:23 -27
narrates an incident when Jesus rebukes the howling winds and turbulent sea in
order to restore calm. What sort of a man is this, the disciples wondered! Jesus
walking on the water also falls in this category.
3. To fulfill Old Testament prophecies: About 350 prophecies, spread all over the Old
Testament were fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. (Some are yet to be
fulfilled). His miracles are specifically mentioned in these prophecies – the
healing of the sick, blind, lame, deaf and dumb, raising the dead, ostracizing
demons, freeing the bonded etc.
4. Some of Jesus’ miracles are actually parables acted out, like the cursing of
the fig tree; (Matt 21:19), A few are, teaching
through examples, e.g. Healing of the Canaanite woman’s daughter (Matthew
15:21-28).
5. Some miracles serve as witnesses and point out God to people, e.g. the raising to life the
dead son of the widow of Nain. The result of this particular miracle was,
according to Luke 7:16, fear gripped everyone, and they began to praise God,
saying, "A great prophet has appeared among us," and "God has
helped His people"
6. Some of the miracles are occasions when Jesus acted out
of the compassion of His heart and reached out to the people in dire need.
Let us examine some of
the miracles in-depth:
Changing water into wine (John 2:1-11)
Moses, who represents
law and judgment, changed the drinking water of Egypt
The feeding of 5000 (John 6:1-15)
The only miracle
recorded in all four gospels, it is also among the most spectacular ones.
Phillip was being ‘practical’, looking for a human solution – a quick calculation
of the cost – examining possibilities – but failed to contemplate on a possible
divine solution. It took a little boy who was ignorant of costs or the enormity
of the task at hand, to provide the solution, in simple, pure faith. Jesus
prefers to work through people; if we offer nothing to God, God will have
nothing to work with; those who place their trust in Him, those that fear him,
and serve him faithfully, will have their needs met.
This is not only a
miracle but a parable. It is thus that the Creator is ever multiplying the
slender stores leftover from one harvest to produce another. It is thus that
He will feed you and yours, if only you will trust him and not run hither and
thither in panic. You need not depart from Christ in search of any good thing.
All is in Him. When He bids us feed the crowds, He makes Himself ultimately
responsible but paves the way by forcing home the inadequacy of our resources
apart from Him. It is as we break and distribute, that the living bread
multiplies in our hands. The Church is the intermediary between the living
Savior and the desperate hunger of the world. You may sit at the world’s table
and remain hungry. But at Christ’s table you are filled. There is always more
than enough left for the distributor.
Healing blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52)
No one told Bartimaeus
Jesus was there. In fact, people tried to stop him from going to Jesus. The
blind man not only recognized Jesus, he called out to Him, addressing Him by
His ‘official title’. “Have mercy on me” he pleads, overcomes obstacles,
reaches Him and states his need only after he Jesus asked Him. Once his need was
met, he followed Jesus, the Bible
tells us. Jesus told people it was His mission to heal the blind - including
the spiritually blind - but many chose to remain blind.
The raising of the widow’s son (Luke 7:11-16)
This is one of those
rare occasions when Jesus volunteered to help. Jesus raised the man out of
compassion. The widow was exactly the kind of person Jesus had come to help – a
woman with uncertain future - and help her He did. But He achieved more. Onlookers witnessed
Jesus was a great prophet among them, that God has met His people (how true!).
The good news spread beyond Judea . “Don’t cry”
He comforted the mother – assuring her hope at a time of great tragedy.
Incidentally, the
miracle also illustrates the complete salvation story. We are dead in our sins,
unable to save ourselves, unable even to ask for help. Like the dead man, we do
not deserve a second chance in life, but Jesus reaches out to us in grace.
Raising Lazarus from death (John 11:1-45)
Most of Jesus’ miracles
so far were confined to Galilee , the countryside. But this one – in addition to
healing the man bed-ridden for 38 years (John 5) and healing the man born blind
(John 9) – was done in the city. These miracles were more spectacular, drawing
the attention and provoking the resentment of the religious establishment.
Jesus’ delay in arriving at the spot tells us it is never too late for God.
Martha, who was once
rebuked by Jesus for getting her priorities wrong, had obviously matured in her
spiritual life. She makes four strong faith statements here: 1. If Jesus were
there, her brother would not have died. 2. Whatever Jesus asks of God, God
won’t deny. 3. There is resurrection
after death (a concept that had a few takers among the Jews those days). 4. Jesus was the messiah, the Son of God, the
One who was to come into the world. This was also the occasion when Jesus made one
of His strongest statements on eternal life and resurrection ("I am the
resurrection and the life – John 11:25). He also publicly prayed to God for the benefit of on-lookers – an effective
witness.
When Jesus raised
Lazarus from death, He also signed His own death warrant. The high priest and
Pharisees hardened their resolve to kill Jesus, after the above miracle and as
a direct result of it. The plot to kill Him started here and ended in
crucifixion. The Crucifixion paved the way to mankind’s redemption and to salvation,
the greatest miracle of all times!
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