Jesus’s miracles are very closely connected to his teaching about the kingdom of God, since they demonstrate that Jesus is indeed the Messiah and God’s mighty power is at work through him. These mighty works provide glimpses of how life will go when God reigns over all.
The Gospels record roughly thirty-five miracles of Jesus, which fall into four different categories: healings, resuscitations, exorcisms, and nature miracles.
The healing miracles clearly show the kingdom of God breaking into this world. In Matthew 11, John the Baptist (who is in prison) sends disciples to ask Jesus if he is the “Coming One” (Messiah). Jesus responds by saying, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (Matt. 11:4–5). In other words, the healing miracles are evidence that the kingdom has arrived.
Healing Miracles
| Man with leprosy | Matt. 8:1–4; Mark 1:40–45; Luke 5:12–15 |
| Centurion’s servant | Matt. 8:5–13; Luke 7:1–10 |
| Healing Peter’s mother-in-law | Matt. 8:14–17; Mark 1:29–31; Luke 4:38–39 |
| Paralyzed man | Matt. 9:1–8; Mark 2:1–12; Luke 5:17–26 |
| Bleeding woman | Matt. 9:20–22; Mark 5:25–29; Luke 8:43–48 |
| Two blind men | Matt. 9:27–31 |
| Man with withered hand | Matt. 12:9–14; Mark 3:1–6; Luke 6:6–11 |
| Blind Bartimaeus | Matt. 20:29–34; Mark 10:46–52; Luke 18:35–43 |
| Deaf and mute man | Mark 7:31–37 |
| Blind man | Mark 8:22–26 |
| Woman crippled for eighteen years | Luke 13:10–17 |
| Man with dropsy | Luke 14:1–6 |
| Ten men with leprosy | Luke 17:11–19 |
| High priest’s servant | Luke 22:49–51; John 18:10–11 |
| Royal official’s son at Cana | John 4:46–54 |
| Paralytic at Bethesda | John 5:1–18 |
| Man born blind | John 9:1–41 |
On three occasions, Jesus raises people from the dead. He resuscitates or revives the people to normal mortal life, eventually to die again. Resurrection occurs at the end of this present age when Christians receive new bodies (see 1 Cor. 15). The message is the same as with the healing miracles, only more dramatic—the kingdom of God is a kingdom of life! One day death will be defeated and completely eliminated from God’s new creation.
Resuscitation Miracles
| Jairus’s daughter | Matt. 9:18–26; Mark 5:22–24, 35–43; Luke 8:41–42, 49–56 |
| Widow’s son at Nain | Luke 7:11–16 |
| Lazarus | John 11:1–45 |
By casting out demons, Jesus launches an all-out, frontal assault on the kingdom of Satan by the power of the kingdom of God. In an exorcism, Jesus attacks Satan and takes back a precious life that has been held captive and tortured by the enemy. These liberated captives begin to be human once again.
Exorcism Miracles
| Possessed man in synagogue | Mark 1:23–27; Luke 4:33–36 |
| Gadarene demoniac(s) | Matt. 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–20; Luke 8:26–39 |
| Daughter of Canaanite woman | Matt. 15:21–28; Mark 7:24–30 |
| Demon-possessed boy | Matt. 17:14–20; Mark 9:14–29; Luke 9:37–43 |
| Blind, mute possessed man | Matt. 12:22; Luke 11:14 |
| Mute possessed man | Matt. 9:32–34 |
The nature miracles often carry a great deal of symbolic significance. For example, the feeding of the multitudes teaches that God supplies what we need for life (i.e., Jesus as the bread of life). Turning water into wine symbolizes how the “new wine” of the kingdom is replacing the “water” of legalistic Judaism. The cursing of the fig tree shows what God will do with Israel if it fails to respond to Jesus and the kingdom he inaugurates. The nature miracles also show that God is renewing the whole created order.
Nature Miracles
| Calming the storm | Matt. 8:23–27; Mark 4:35–41; Luke 8:22–25 |
| Feeding of five thousand | Matt. 14:15–21; Mark 6:35–44; Luke 9:12–17; John 6:5–15 |
| Walking on water | Matt. 14:22–33; Mark 6:45–52; John 6:16–21 |
| Feeding of four thousand | Matt. 15:32–39; Mark 8:1–9 |
| Coin in fish’s mouth | Matt. 17:24–27 |
| Withering of the fig tree | Matt. 21:18–22; Mark 11:12–14, 20–25 |
| First catch of fish | Luke 5:1–11 |
| Turning water into wine | John 2:1–11 |
| Second catch of fish | John 21:1–14 |
At the very beginning of this book we talked about living the story. One way we can live the story is by taking a fresh look at Jesus’s miracles. However, we should never demand that God work a miracle so that we will believe in him. Faith sometimes stands out as the reason that Jesus works a miracle (though not always), but Jesus’s many miracles did not always produce faith in those who witnessed them (e.g., even the raising of Lazarus in John 11 produces mixed results). To demand miracles from God is to fall victim to one of the temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness—testing God rather than trusting him. That being said, many of us struggle with an opposite problem. Having been unduly influenced by a naturalistic worldview, we struggle to open ourselves to God’s special activity in our lives and our churches. Have we withdrawn from the mystery of the miraculous into the comfortable confines of materialism and rationalism?
Jesus should be our focus, not miracles. But the Spirit of Jesus continues to work miracles today, and we should be open to them. Above all, Jesus’s miracles should encourage us as visible reminders of the way things ought to be and one day will be when the kingdom of God comes in all its fullness.