The Purpose of Miracles
The more you know about Jesus and the longer you live with Him the more you know that no human category can contain Him. He is God with us.
Jesus said, “The very work that the Father has given Me to finish and which I am doing testifies that the Father has sent Me” (John 5:36).
The apostle John called miracles “signs” because they signified something. For example, the “sign of Jonah” was a token of the death and resurrection of Christ. They pointed to the presence and the work of God in Christ. Everything Jesus did was done to reveal the person and character of God. The miracles show us the nature of Christ. They demonstrate that God is with us.
The miracles of healing prove that Jesus is the Lord and the giver of life. The feeding of the five thousand demonstrates that He is the sustainer of life. The healing of the man born blind shows that He gives physical and spiritual sight. In every one of His miracles Jesus demonstrates over and over again that He does what the Father does (John 10:37). He is equal with the Father, and the only way you can know the character and nature of the one true God is through His unique Son (John 14:9).
The apostle John pays special attention to several “signs” that point clearly to the nature of Christ. He is God with us (John 1:14, 18).
Jesus changed the water to wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee and filled a young couple with joy that His “glory” might be revealed, and as a result the disciples first believed on Him (John 2:1-11). The creative power of Christ was revealed in that miracle. It was “through Him that all thing were made” (1:3).
A little later Jesus healed the nobleman’s son. Jesus brought faith and peace to a father whose heart was filled with fear, anxiety and dread that his son would die.
The healing of the disabled man in 5:1-18 brought out the hardness of men spiritually blind. Jesus sets us free from the bondage of sin. God is a great God of great grace.
When Jesus fed the five thousand men, and many more women and children (6:1-14), He demonstrated that He can satisfy the deepest hunger of the human soul. He is “the bread of life.” Jesus said, “He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty” (6:35). He alone is able to satisfy your deep spiritual hunger right now.
Jesus walked on water and demonstrated that He has power over the laws of nature (6:16-21).
When He healed the man born blind not only did He demonstrate His power over physical and spiritual blindness, but He also showed that He is “the light of the world” (9:1-41). Through a series of steps the blind man came to the place where he said, “Lord I believe,” and worshipped Christ (vv. 35-38).
The last public display of His power over nature, sickness and sin was the demonstration of His total victory over death (11:1-46). At the raising of Lazarus from the dead Jesus declared, “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25). Jesus alone is the source of eternal life. The raising of Lazarus points to the supreme manifestation of the glory of Jesus in His own resurrection from the dead (20:14, 17-21, 26-29; 21:1).
The miracles are the testimony of God as to the nature and person of Jesus Christ. He is God with us.
John 20:30-31 reads, “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” John selected certain “signs” from many other miracles that Christ performed to provoke and strengthen the faith in Christ of those who read his gospel.
It is my prayer that as you read the Gospel of John and reflect on both the miraculous and non-miraculous works of Christ you will put your faith in Him as your Lord and Savior. He really is all that He claimed to be. The miracles are “signs” that the “Father is in Me, and I in the Father” (John 10:38). They are God the Father’s testimony to His Son, Jesus Christ.
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
The more you know about Jesus and the longer you live with Him the more you know that no human category can contain Him. He is God with us.
Jesus said, “The very work that the Father has given Me to finish and which I am doing testifies that the Father has sent Me” (John 5:36).
The apostle John called miracles “signs” because they signified something. For example, the “sign of Jonah” was a token of the death and resurrection of Christ. They pointed to the presence and the work of God in Christ. Everything Jesus did was done to reveal the person and character of God. The miracles show us the nature of Christ. They demonstrate that God is with us.
The miracles of healing prove that Jesus is the Lord and the giver of life. The feeding of the five thousand demonstrates that He is the sustainer of life. The healing of the man born blind shows that He gives physical and spiritual sight. In every one of His miracles Jesus demonstrates over and over again that He does what the Father does (John 10:37). He is equal with the Father, and the only way you can know the character and nature of the one true God is through His unique Son (John 14:9).
The apostle John pays special attention to several “signs” that point clearly to the nature of Christ. He is God with us (John 1:14, 18).
Jesus changed the water to wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee and filled a young couple with joy that His “glory” might be revealed, and as a result the disciples first believed on Him (John 2:1-11). The creative power of Christ was revealed in that miracle. It was “through Him that all thing were made” (1:3).
A little later Jesus healed the nobleman’s son. Jesus brought faith and peace to a father whose heart was filled with fear, anxiety and dread that his son would die.
The healing of the disabled man in 5:1-18 brought out the hardness of men spiritually blind. Jesus sets us free from the bondage of sin. God is a great God of great grace.
When Jesus fed the five thousand men, and many more women and children (6:1-14), He demonstrated that He can satisfy the deepest hunger of the human soul. He is “the bread of life.” Jesus said, “He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty” (6:35). He alone is able to satisfy your deep spiritual hunger right now.
Jesus walked on water and demonstrated that He has power over the laws of nature (6:16-21).
When He healed the man born blind not only did He demonstrate His power over physical and spiritual blindness, but He also showed that He is “the light of the world” (9:1-41). Through a series of steps the blind man came to the place where he said, “Lord I believe,” and worshipped Christ (vv. 35-38).
The last public display of His power over nature, sickness and sin was the demonstration of His total victory over death (11:1-46). At the raising of Lazarus from the dead Jesus declared, “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25). Jesus alone is the source of eternal life. The raising of Lazarus points to the supreme manifestation of the glory of Jesus in His own resurrection from the dead (20:14, 17-21, 26-29; 21:1).
The miracles are the testimony of God as to the nature and person of Jesus Christ. He is God with us.
John 20:30-31 reads, “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” John selected certain “signs” from many other miracles that Christ performed to provoke and strengthen the faith in Christ of those who read his gospel.
It is my prayer that as you read the Gospel of John and reflect on both the miraculous and non-miraculous works of Christ you will put your faith in Him as your Lord and Savior. He really is all that He claimed to be. The miracles are “signs” that the “Father is in Me, and I in the Father” (John 10:38). They are God the Father’s testimony to His Son, Jesus Christ.
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
