The Miracles of Jesus: Introduction
Isaiah 35:4-6 Signs, wonders, and miracles from our Lord
“Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah.”
Isaiah 35:4-6 NASB1995
I pondered several topics for my next devotional series and finally decided to explore in-depth the miracles of Jesus as documented in one or more of the Gospels. In doing some preliminary research, almost every one of the specific miracles has some revelatory lessons that are insightful and applicable to our faith journey. There are also many passages in the Gospels that talk about Jesus healing many people in a given day, but since there are no specifics except for the ones noted in the list, those instances will not be studied. In settling on the number of miracles to explore, it seems like most of the authoritative sources list 37 miracles, so I will go with that number. As noted in the verses from Isaiah 35, the healing miracles were predicted by the prophet Isaiah.
In rough chronological order the miracles are noted in this table found looking at many resources on-line (the same list is duplicated in several places that I found):
This list agrees for the most part with the list in the Blue Letter Bible (that resource also includes the two temple cleansings as miracles, where most other lists do not include those).
So what is a miracle? According to the Blue Letter Bible, there are two Greek words that are used for miracles, works and signs. The first is dynamis, which is defined as follows (relevant to this word usage):
strength power, ability
inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth
power for performing miracles
The second Greek word is semeion, defined as follows:
a sign, mark, token
that by which a person or a thing is distinguished from others and is known
a sign, prodigy, portent, i.e. an unusual occurrence, transcending the common course of nature
of signs portending remarkable events soon to happen
of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God's
And the secular dictionary definitions of “miracle” are also appropriate, from Wordnik (and the American Heritage Dictionary):
noun An event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God.
noun One that excites admiring awe; a wonderful or amazing event, act, person, or thing. synonym: wonder.
A miracle is from supernatural power and creates wonder!
So now that the boring word studies are out of the way (actually, I find them very useful in understanding things that I read), I hope you will enjoy this series. Jesus as the Son of God is truly defined by His death on the Cross for our sins and His Resurrection promising eternal life, of course, but during His ministry He made His way known to the disciples, His followers and His critics by demonstrating His power and showing His compassion. If He had gone straight from reaching adulthood to the Cross, no one would know about God becoming Man. His miracles and His teachings paved the way.
My next devotional examines the first miracle: Water to Wine, as found in John 2:1-11.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord, as I begin a study of Your miracles that You performed, guide my thoughts and research and writing to make those lessons truly impactful for me and those who read my devotionals. You demonstrated Your power and compassion through those miracles, bringing many to faith in You before your death on the Cross. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org