Signs and Miracles of Jesus
The signs and miracles of Jesus clearly proved He was
the Messiah. However, the Jews would not accept Him, because they were looking
for a conquering Messiah, not the Messiah, who would take away the sins of the
world.
It is easy for
us, on this side of history, to question how they couldn’t believe Jesus
was the Messiah. But, we also know it is only through the Holy Spirit we are drawn to the Father, therefore, drawn to Jesus Christ. Let’s take a look
at eight of Jesus’ miracles. In them, we will see that Jesus was the Messiah,
the Son of Man, the Son of God, and the Savior of the World.
Jesus and His disciples went to a
wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11). We don’t know who invited him; His mother or a
member of the wedding party. During the wedding, they ran out of wine, which would
bring shame to the host. Knowing the situation, Mary asked Jesus for help.
Jesus had the servants fill six
ceremonial jars (twenty to thirty gallons per jar) with water. When the
servants came back, Jesus told them to take a glass of the wine to the host. The host tasted the wine, and
questioned why the best was saved until the end of the wedding feast.
Jesus revealed
to His disciples and to those aware of the miracle He was in control of
everything in the universe. Jesus is the “Creator of the Universe.” Jesus also
showed the He was the master of quality as well, for the wine was the best.
This was the first glimpse of the Messiah come to earth.
Shortly afterward, Jesus went to Galilee after spending
two days in Samaria (John 4:46-54). The Galileans welcomed Jesus because of the
miracles they had seen Him do in Jerusalem during the Passover feast. While
going through Galilee, Jesus stopped in Cana once again.
There was a
nobleman from Capernaum, who went to see Jesus, hoping that He would heal his
son, who was close to death. He begged Jesus to go with him back to his home.
Jesus responded, “Do I always have to show you signs and wonders for you to
believe in Me? My words alone should be sufficient.”
The nobleman
was desperate, “Please Lord, come home with me before my little boy dies.”
Jesus, filled with compassion, told him to go home, for his little boy has been
healed. While on his way home, the nobleman’s servants met him, giving him the
good news that his son was well. When the nobleman
found out what time his son’s fever had broken, the nobleman knew that it was
the same time Jesus told him that his boy was healed. When he got home, he
celebrated with his family and servants, praising God for sparing his little
boy.
Jesus proved
that He was not only willing and able to heal the boy that was dying but that
He didn’t have to be where the boy was to heal him. Jesus proved that He was in
control of all things, including distance and space. Though He lowered Himself
to live in the flesh, Jesus was still able to control events that were in a
different location than He. Jesus is the giver of life; not only physical life,
but life in the Spirit.
Jesus returned to Jerusalem after He
healed the nobleman’s son. He walked up to a man at the Pool of Bethesda, who
had been sick for thirty-eight years (John 5:1-9). He asked the man if he would
like to be healed. The man said that he didn’t have anyone that could help him,
so Jesus said, “You are healed, pick up your matt
and walk away.” This happened on the Sabbath, which angered the Pharisees. Jesus
responded to their questions by emphasizing His relationship to God the Father.
Jesus is the Divine Son.
Jesus proved
it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been facing struggles in your life, whether
they are spiritual or physical; he is able and willing to help you in your time
of need. Time is not a roadblock to Him. Jesus is the master of time.
On another occasion, at the far side
of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus sat down with His disciples on a hill (John
6:1-14). Many people continued following Jesus because of the miraculous signs
and healing they had heard about and seen.
Jesus, because of His compassion for
the people, and also to show His Deity once again, asked Philip where they
could buy food. Philip responded like any of us would, “We don’t have the money
to feed such a crowd.” But Andrew took matters into his own hands and found a
boy who brought his lunch; which consisted of five barley loaves and two fish.
After the crowd had sat down, Jesus
prayed and had the disciples hand out the
food. The disciples were able to feed all five thousand, and still had enough to
feed themselves. Not only did Jesus meet the need of the crowd, but He also
showed that He is in control of food, as well.
Over and over again, Jesus has demonstrated that He is in charge of all things spiritual and
physical. Only God can do that. Feeding the 5,000 was not a difficult task for
Him, for He is the master of quantity.
After the feeding of the 5,000, the
crowds wanted to make Jesus king, so He slipped away. His disciples waited for
Him at the shore, but when it got dark, they decided to get in a boat and cross
to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (John 6:15-21).
A strong wind
swept down on them, creating fear and panic as they struggled to cross the sea.
Three or four miles into the storm, the disciples saw Jesus walking on the
water toward them. Naturally they were afraid, but Jesus calmed their fears by
letting them know it was He. When Jesus stepped into the boat, they were at
their destination. Jesus is the master of natural law.
On another occasion, Jesus gave sight
to a man born blind. When Jesus and His disciples saw the man, the disciples
asked Jesus if he was born blind due to his parent’s sins or his own. Jesus
told them that it wasn’t because of his sins, nor his parents’. He was born
blind so that God’s power can be seen in Jesus (John 9:1-12).
Of course,
after Jesus healed him, the crowds were amazed, and the religious leaders were
angered. I think this is a beautiful story. Jesus
not only proved that He is Lord over any physical ailments, but the one born
blind went from being excited that he could now see to a true believer in
Jesus. Jesus is Lord of any physical laws
and Lord of Salvation. He is also the master of misfortune.
This takes us
to one of the best known miracles in the
life of Christ (best known being the feeding of the 5,000). Jesus’ good friend
Lazarus was very ill. Although Lazarus’ sisters sent a messenger to inform
Jesus of his illness, Jesus decided to wait (John 11:1-44).
Jesus could have gone right away and healed Lazarus
(if he were still alive at that point). However, Jesus wanted to strengthen His
disciple's faith and the faith of those who would see the incredible miracle
that was about to take place.
On the fourth day after Lazarus had died, Jesus,
knowing the Jew’s belief that the spirit hovers over the body of a dead person
for 3 days, showed that He was the Resurrection and the Life. Jesus
cried out to Lazarus, and he walked out of the tomb. Jesus proved that He was
Lord of life and death. He is the Resurrection and the Life. He is the master
of death itself.
After His resurrection, Jesus once again
showed that He was God (John 21:1-11).
Simon Peter decided that he was going fishing, so the disciples who were
with him, tagged along. They fished all night without success. On the shore,
Jesus cried out to them to throw the net on the right side of the boat. The net
was so full that they couldn’t pull it into the boat.
Jesus showed that He was the master of nature itself.
John, in my opinion, the most
intuitive of the bunch, knew that it was Jesus who cried out to them. Of
course, Peter, who acts first, and maybe thinks second, jumped into the water
and swam to shore. Jesus questioned Peter’s allegiance, not to tear him down,
but to build Peter up, for he would soon become part of the leadership of the
early church.
Jesus proved
once again that He was more powerful than all creation. He can turn water into wine, heal a young boy without even being in the
same town, heal a lame man, feed 5,000 people with 2 fish and five barley
loaves, walk on water, raise a dead man, and send fish into an empty net.
Jesus is Lord of all.
I personally
cannot leave out Jesus death and resurrection from this equation. When Jesus
said, “It is finished,” the most incredible miracle of all time occurred. If
you believe in the One God the Father sent to earth, your sins would be
forgiven. Jesus atonement for our sins is by far the most incredible miracle of
all. Jesus made it clear that He was in control over His own death (John
10:15).
Jesus’
resurrection was also a miracle. He is the Resurrection and the Life. Through
His teachings and miracles, Jesus proved to us all that He was the True and
Living God. Although He was fully man while here on earth, He was still fully
God.
Bibliography
Morris, L. The Gospel
of John. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970,
26
Tenney, Merrill, “John, the Gospel of Belief”: 30, quoted in
Harold Willmington: What You Need to Know About the Book of John (Digital
Commons @ Liberty University, 2009)
Towns, Elmer. The Gospel of John: Believe and Live.
Twenty-First Century Biblical Commentary Series. Nashville: AMG, 2002, xiii.
