A miracle cannot be explained with the laws of sciences or the ordinary human understanding, attributed to supernatural forces that exist in the world. The Bible provided GOD’S teaching, instructions and His will on humankind. The performance of miracles started in the Old Testament with the prophets and believers such as MOSES who were anointed by GOD to lead the children of Israel. GOD proved HIS existence to the people through performing miracles that an ordinary man would not perform. Those who doubted the existence of GOD in the Old Testament were convinced that there was a true GOD after observing the leaders tortured the miraculous acts that GOD’S people were performing. Some of the prophets who performed miracles in the Old Testament while others influenced people to believe in GOD. In the New test, GOD sent HIS only son Jesus Christ whose birth was considered a miraculous birth .Jesus continued performing many miracles, and many people were amazed, just as John the Baptist had told them, many people were convinced that Jesus was the messiah that the prophets and John the Baptist talked about (Decker ,2004).
Theologians have tried to analyze and discuss the miracles that Jesus Christ performed; some of them have even differed on why some of the miracles were performed. The miracles have also created a hot debate between religion and science; there are those who have tried to explain the miracles using a scientific approach, their explanations have, however, not been clear since science cannot provide an answer to biblical miracles. Relying on science cannot provide the reason Jesus performed miracles, and it is only through a theological approach and understanding how GOD works on the world that one can get to understand why Jesus performed miracles (Ellens,2008). Those who explain the miracles using sciences using a biased approach that only dismisses the miracles since they do not have a scientific explanation. Preachers and believers in religion have provided a different reason why Jesus performed miracles, the explanations differ, but the conclusion is almost similar.
Jesus performed thirty-seven miracles that are recorded in the four gospels of the New Testament. The miracles ranged from healing the sick, multiplying food to feed a crowd, raising the dead and many others. The miracles can be categorized into three groups that are; the miracles of nature, miracles of physical healing and miracles of resurrection. All the miracles proved that there was an existence of a stronger force, which was on the world, and GOD was in control of the world.
The Miracles of Nature started with a miracle in the wedding, in Cana. Jesus had been invited to a wedding in Cana together with his first five disciples. In a wedding, there are many festivities and the wine was not enough in this wedding, Mary mother of Jesus approached Him and told him that there was no more wine, Jesus did not understand why they had to involve Him before his time had come, the answer that Jesus gave shows that there was a time that Jesus performed miracles. He turned the water into wine and people were amazed, this was his first miracle, which revealed HIS glory to the world. This miracle proved that Jesus was not an ordinary human being; his disciples put their faith in him after witnessing what he had done. His miracle proved the Jesus was sent by GOD to save the world. His first miracle proclaimed the existence of greater powers above the understanding of man.Jesus turned water into wine that marked the first miracle, which was meant to mark the authentication of Jesus Christ as the son of GOD sent to the world.
When Peter and other anglers out fishing and they had caught nothing. Jesus got into one of the boats and asked them to move into the deep waters and cast their nets .After casting their net they made a huge catch, Jesus revealed himself to the fishermen and proved to them that he had control over nature .When Peter saw what Jesus had done, he went down on his knees and asked Jesus to go away since He was a sinful man, Jesus wanted Peter and the other fishermen to follow Him. Even before Peter went down on his knees, Jesus knew that he was a sinner Jesus wanted Peter and other disciples to know that He forgave sins. Through this miracle, Jesus was able to make Simon, John, Andrew and James His disciples. Through this miracle, Jesus was able to make the disciples realize that there was a supreme being who was able to forgive people their sins. The miracle convinced them to follow Jesus, and they became disciples of Jesus. Like the other miracles, this was also performed in front of a big crowd that witnessed the power of GOD. Those who witnessed the miracles started believing in the word of the prophets and John the Baptist. People started believing in the messiah that the prophets had preached about. Many people, who doubted John the Baptist, who had prepared the way for the Messiah, saw and believed in what John had preached about.
GOD’s power over nature was revealed through HIS son Jesus Christ, when the disciples got into a boat with Jesus Christ; huge winds started blowing with high tides on the water. The disciples were afraid that they were going to drown; they called upon Jesus to save them, and he asked them why they were so afraid. He stood up and after rebuking the wind and waters, and all was calm. Jesus proved to the people that he had control over nature. Even his disciples were astonished by the powers that Jesus had even in commanding the wind. Many of the disciples had little faith in GOD; they did not understand how GOD worked, by calming the water Jesus showed the purpose of true faith in GOD. The true humanity of Christ was also reflected; Jesus was tired and He needed some rest and even when the boat was being how sweet it is since GOD is in control. Rescuing the disciples from the storm symbolized the rescuing of mankind from the many evils that human beings face. The true meaning of faith was revealed in the miracle that showed how even those who are close to GOD in every moment of their lives are shaken by the storms of life. Another miracle that showed the control of GOD over nature was revealed when Jesus walked on the water at the Sea of Galilee. Jesus d did not have to tell people that He was the son of GOD, through the miracles that he performed; he revealed his identity to the world. Many of His disciples were surprised by this miraculous act and those who had doubt that He was truly the son of GOD believed after this miracle. When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, they thought He was a ghost; this was not something that they had ever seen before. The miracle proved the words of the scriptures that Jesus always comes to our aid during the storms of life. The storms of the water symbolize the challenges that face in life and cry out to GOD for help. This miracle was meant to show that GOD was in control of every situation that people face in life. The miracle also showed the key weapon towards fighting fear among Christians. Through miracles, Jesus used difficult situation to preach to the world. Previous prophets had used words to preach to the people; many people doubted them, but Jesus was able to preach to the world through miraculous actions. This miracle proved that everything was possible through faith. When Peter was walking on the water, he started sinking, and Jesus saved him, he told him that it was through faith that he would walk without sinking
Another miracle that showed that Jesus had control over nature and control the importance of faith was feeding the crowd of five thousand people. This is the only miracle that has been recorded in all the four gospels of the New Testament. Jesus told his disciples that he had compassion for the people who had gone for three days with nothing to eat. The disciples told Jesus that there was no enough food for the crowd. Jesus asked them to bring the fish and bread and after giving thanks, the food was served enough for all people. This was the first miracle that Jesus performed with a big crowd witnessing. The miracle proved to the people that Jesus was the sent Messiah. Through miracles people were able to see what had been prophesied being fulfilled, this miracle showed that Jesus had the power to feed the hungry. Many people started believing and trusting in GOD after this. Jesus taught His disciples that unless one was with GOD, it was not possible to the miracles that HE performed. As much as people had faith in GOD; many of them were just followers and not true believers in Christ. Through performing miracles, Jesus showed the people that GOD was in him (Laurie, 2013).
There were other miracles of physical healing that Jesus performed. In Cana, he healed the son of a nobleman; Jesus healed the son through the faith of the father. He also healed the centurion servant through faith; these miracles were done so that people would trust and have faith in HIM. Those who were sick and had no faith could not be healed. He healed a leper who had been isolated from the people at it was written in the Law of Moses. Jesus touched the leper to the astonishment of many people who were there. He also healed a paralytic and forgives him his sins; the preachers were surprised by the man who also had the ability to forgive sins (Willson & Torrisi, 1993). These miracles continued to reveal the identity to the people, Jesus was the law, and He was not just like any other priests who did not have the power to forgive sin. Through His miracles, Jesus proved to the people that He had the powers of the Supreme GOD and that He had the pore over human life. He raised the daughter of Jairus, Lazarus and the widow’s son. Raising the dead was a miracle that very few prophets were able to do in the Old Testament. GOD was the giver of life and through HIS son Jesus Christ, HE gave life to the dead. The powers of Christ were revealed to the people.
In John 10:25, Jesus told the people that they should believe in the miracles HE did because they showed that the Father was in HIM and He was in the Father. The true nature of Jesus was best revealed thorough his miracles. The prophets and the disciples were not able to perform some of the miracles because the father was not in them. Jesus was the son of GOD and all the miracles He performed was a revelation of GOD to the word. Jesus had a duty to perform to the world. In John 14:11, Jesus asked the people to believe what He said and if they did not believe in his word, they should believe in the miracles that he performed. The miracles were, therefore, a practical illustration that GOD existed in the world. Even though there were many preachers during that period, people were not convinced that the preachers and prophets served a supreme GOD. The miracles that Jesus Christ performed cleared any doubts that GOD’s power was over the world. Jesus did not perform the miracles as a sign of showoff. Through miracles GOD showed the approval of Jesus, as HIS sign who had come to the world to clear any doubts that there was true GOD.
Jesus used miracles as a way of bringing people closer to GOD through repentance and trust. According to the gospel of Luke 10:12-15, it is written that it would be horrible for those who saw the miracles Jesus perfumed, and they did not repent. Jesus Christ did not come for those who believed and trusted in GOD, He was came to the world to save the sinners and those who did not believe in GOD. Jesus gave an opportunity for the sinner to repent, even when he was being arrested he healed one of the officers whose ear had been cut off, many would have expected Jesus to leave him to bleed to death but this did not happen. Jesus Christ did not perform the miracles discriminatively; he healed and fed even those who did not believe in GOD. The miracles that Jesus performed convinced the non-believers; after he healed the sick, he told them that their sins were forgiven to show that he wanted them to be followers of Christ. In Mathew 11:20, Jesus denounced the cities where he had performed miracles, but the people failed to repent. The people in Korazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, has experienced GOD’S power through His healing; he also had preached to them, but they were stubborn to repent their sins, Jesus rebuked the people who still followed their wicked ways even after without trusting and believing in GOD. The miraculous things that Jesus was able to convince many people that He was indeed the Son of GOD and those who had not yet accepted Christ started believing in Him. When a man came to Jesus seeking for the healing of his on, Jesus told him that unless the signs and wonders were revealed to him, he would not believe .Jesus knew that people easily forgot what they were told, and they needed more than just words to believe in the existence of GOD. The miracles were proving of the words that he was preaching. When the disciples went out to preach, Jesus was with them, and he gave them the power to perform miracles. The miracles revealed the truth that of what was written in the gospel (Rich & Nissen, 2003).
In the modern society, there are very many people who claim to be preaching and teaching the truth as it is written in the scriptures. Only Jesus Christ was able to preach the truth and define the truth through words and signs. Many people who believed in GOD cannot be able to perform miracles since it is only Jesus Christ who revealed the truth to the world. GOD did trust man with the miracles because HE had seen the wicked nature of man.If man was given the power to perform miracles, greed and pride would have taken over the will of GOD.
Jesus did not want humankind to suffer; He wanted people to live a happy life where they would celebrate with Christ. Many miracles that Jesus performed were meant to stop the suffering that people went through. GOD had created man and the world at large and HE was not happy to see humankind suffer this explains why Jesus performed miracles such as healing the sick and raising the dead. Unlike man who had no authority over nature and things that exist in the world, Jesus represented GOD in the world and HE, therefore, had authority and control over all creation. Miracles represented GOD’S authority as well as the supreme nature of GOD. Even when the preachers and teachers of the law questioned the authority of Jesus, He was not afraid because he had the authority over any law set by man.Jesus did not fear any man when he was performing the miracles or showing the signs of existence of GOD, He did not need to get the approval of any man or the teachers of the law for him to perform a miracle. Through miracles and signs, HE showed that He had the authority over man and all other creation.
In the modern world, there are still miraculous acts that happen to those who believe and have faith in GOD, the presence if GOD continued to be revealed through and signs. Jesus had set the way for even his disciples to preach the gospel and prove the words of the gospel through various miraculous acts. Understanding the reason Jesus performed miracles and used signs when preaching to the world gives a better understanding of the word of GOD. GOD knew that HE needed to send a supreme being whom would change the world and bring people closer to HIM, even during HIS persecution and death; there were signs that showed that Jesus was the son of GOD. Many of those who has doubted him and called for his persecution saw what had happened, the darkness and earthquake that fell over the world, and they admitted that Jesus was truly the son of GOD. His resurrection and ascending to heaven cleared all doubt on human kind that Jesus was GOD sent (Wilber & Foote, 2004).
References
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