A miracle is an unusual or extraordinary event in human life done by divine intervention. God, as a supernatural being, had performed many people miracles through people.
Miracles Jesus performed while on earth were not the first recorded in the bible, but he was different from others. In the Old Testament, God gave his servants the power to perform wonders to the people.
Moses could divide the red sea through the intervention of God. He made water come out of the rock by merely striking it with his staff. Elijah, during his time, had raised a boy from the dead.
So had Elisha. These servants of God could only perform these miracles by the power of God vested in them. Jesus, on the contrary, is a son of God, and so he has supernatural power.
He had performed miracles on earth to let the world know of his mission on earth. These miracles brought people closer to him as he preached to them.
Jesus had a mission on earth to unite God and people (Romans 5:1), and he did that by performing miracles to testify well in his name.
Classification of miracles Jesus performed
Jesus performed several miracles on earth that were not all recorded. If they were all written down one by one, the whole world would not contain the books (John 21:25).
Based on the one recorded in the bible, Jesus’ miracles are group into four categories. They are;
- Healing miracles
- Exorcism
- Restoration of life, and;
- Nature miracles.
Healing miracles of Jesus
Jesus had healed so many diseases. He still heals now. He made a blind man see, a lame man walk, a deaf and dumb to hear and talk, a leprosy man to be clean again.
There are bible verses that can put you on track with the healing miracles Jesus performed.
1. Jesus healed an official’s son (John 4:46-54)
It was the second miracle Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee. He healed the son of a government official who came to him for help.
2. Jesus healed a man with leprosy (Luke 5:12-14, Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45)
Jesus healed a leprosy man who asked him to make him clean. The leprosy man got healed spread the good news to the people.
3. Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:30-34; Matthew 8:14-17; Like 4:38-41)
Jesus took the woman by her hand, and she got healed. He also healed others by the sunset and made them whole again.
4. Jesus healed a paralyzed man (Mark 2:3-12, Matthew 9:1-8, Luke 5:17-26)
He healed a paralyzed man carried by his four friends through the roof to reach out to Jesus. He as well let some teachers know he has the power to forgive sins.
5. Jesus healed a Roman officer’s servant (Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7:1-10)
He entered Capernaum, and a Roman officer met him to heal his servant by just saying the word. Jesus was fascinated by his faith and healed the servant while still standing with the Roman officer.
6. He healed the woman with the issue of blood who touched his cloak (Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34, Luke 8:43-48)
On his way to meet a Jewish official’s daughter who had died, a woman who had been suffering from severe bleeding believed if she touched Jesus’ cloak, she would get healed. And her faith healed her.
7. Two blind men (Matthew 9:27-31)
He healed two blinds just after he had restored Jairus’ daughter to life. They asked him to heal them, and through faith, they got healed.
8. A man who had been ill for 38 years (John 5:1-9)
Beside the pool of Bethzatha laid a man who had been sick for 38 years but did not have anyone who could put him in the water when stirred up. Jesus saw him and healed him.
9. A man with a paralyzed hand (Matthew 12:10-13, Mark 2:23-28, Luke 6:1-5)
Jesus went to the synagogue and met a man who had a paralyzed hand on a Sabbath day. He healed the man and made some people understand that anything worth doing is worth doing right.
10. Jesus healed those who were ill (Matthew 14:14)
When he heard of John’s demise, he left a lonely place, but the crowd followed him. He took pity on them and healed those who were sick.
11. Jesus healed a deaf-mute (Mark 7:31-35)
Jesus went to lake Galilee through Sidon, and some people brought a man who was deaf and dumb to him. And they asked him to heal him.
He touched the man’s tongue and put his fingers in the man’s ear, and spat. He said Ephphatha, which means “open up” to the man, and he got healed.
12. A blind man at Bethsaida ( Mark 8:22-25)
Some people brought a blind man to Jesus to heal. He spat on the man’s eyes, placed his hands, and asked him if he sees anything. He said he sees people, but they look like trees. Jesus touched him again, and he got healed completely.
13. A man born blind (John 9:1-6)
Jesus met a man born with blindness while walking on the road. He spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. He rubbed the mud on the man’s eyes and asked him to wash it in the pool of Siloam. He did as Jesus said, and he got healed.
14. Jesus healed a sick man on a Sabbath day (Luke 14:1-4)
A man whose legs and arms swelled came to Jesus, and he healed him.
15. Ten leprosy men (Luke 17:11-19)
Jesus made his way to Jerusalem into a village where he met ten men with leprosy. They asked him to heal them. He commanded them to the priest to examine them. On their way, they got healed. Although, only one came back to thank him.
16. Two blind men (Matthew 20:30-34, Mark 10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43)
Two blind men sitting by the roadside heard that Jesus was passing by. They called out on him to heal them. With their faith, they got healed.
17. The high priest’s slave (Luke 22:50-51, John 18:10-11)
When Jesus was about to be arrested, Simon Peter drew a sword and cut off the high priest’s slave’s ear. His name was Malchus, and Jesus healed him.
Exorcism by Jesus
Jesus, during his time on earth, had also cast out demons. He healed those that demons made blind, crippled, deaf, and dumb. Some scriptures here will tell you better.
18. A man with an evil spirit (Mark 1:23-26, Luke 4:31-37)
In the synagogue where Jesus was preaching, a man with an evil spirit came and told him he is God’s holy messenger. Jesus shunned him and cast him out of the man.
19. Two men with demons (Matthew 8:28-32, Mark 5:1-20, Luke 8:26-39)
Jesus met two men who had evil spirits in them in Gadara. They came out of burial caves and asked Jesus to cast them in those herd of pigs around the area. And Jesus cast them out to those pigs.
20. A man who could not speak (Matthew 9:32-33)
Jesus cast out a demon from a man who could not speak because of the evil spirit. And he talked again.
21. The daughter of a Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:21-28, Mark 7:24-30)
The Canaanite woman went to Jesus to save her daughter possessed by an evil spirit that makes her perform terrible things. Because of her faith in Jesus, her daughter got healed.
22. A boy with a demon (Matthew 17:14-18, Mark 18:14-29, Luke 9:37-43a)
A boy possessed by s demon that made him epileptic. He could fall inside fire and water. His father came to Jesus to heal him after he had met Jesus’ disciples, and the demon got cast away.
23. A lame woman on the Sabbath day (Luke 13:10-13)
A woman had an evil spirit that made her sick for 18 years. She couldn’t stand straight at all. Jesus saw her and declared that she was free from her illness.
Restoration of life Miracles
The resurrection of the body is bringing back to life that got lost. Jesus had restored people to life. Even he came back after three days of his death.
24. The official’s daughter (Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:40-56)
A Jewish official met Jesus to come and heal his sick daughter. Before they could reach his house, the girl gave up the ghost. Jesus went there and said she was only sleeping. He took her by her hand, and she woke up.
25. The resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:38-44)
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead after four days of his demise. To show the world that God sent him.
26. The resurrection of Jesus (Luke 24:5-7, Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-8, John 20:1-10)
Some women went to the tomb where they buried Jesus and found an empty tomb. The two angels they found there told them that Jesus had risen from the dead to fulfill his work on earth.
Nature miracles of Jesus
Jesus had shown power over nature several times in the bible. He had proven that he is a son of God and could control all things.
27. The wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11)
Jesus turned water into wine after his mother requested him to make wine available for the celebration. It was after the first one had finished.
28. Great catch of fish (Luke 5:4-7, Matthew 4:18-22, Mark 1:16-20)
Jesus entered Simon Peter’s boat and asked him to push the boat further to the deep water and cast his net. He did as Jesus said, and he caught a large number of fish with his partner. That was when Jesus made them his disciples.
29. Jesus calmed a storm (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, Luke 8:22-25)
A fierce storm hit the lake, and the boat was in danger of sinking. The disciples got scared, and they had to wake Jesus up. He stood up and calmed the storm. ‘what kind of a man is this that even wind and storm obey him’, they asked themselves.
30. Jesus walked on water (Matthew 14:25-33, Mark 6:45-52, John 6:15-21)
Jesus walked on water to meet his disciples. They thought it was a ghost, but he made it known to them that it was him. And they were astonished by his powers.
31. Jesus fed five thousand men (Matthew 14:15-21, Mark 6:30-34, Luke 9:10-17, John 6:1-14)
Jesus broke five loaves of bread and two fishes to feed five thousand men (not counting women and children), and they are to their satisfaction.
32. Jesus fed four thousand men (Matthew 16:32-38, Mark 8:1-10)
Jesus broke seven loaves of bread and few fishes and fed four thousand men (without counting women and children). They ate to their brim, and it remained seven baskets full of pieces.
33. Jesus cursed a fig tree (Matthew 21:18-20, Mark 11:12-14, 20-24)
Jesus was so hungry that he went to a fig tree by the roadside and was disappointed to see nothing. He cursed the fig tree not to bear fruits again, and it instantly dried up.
34. Coin in the mouth of a fish (Matthew 17:27)
Jesus asked Peter to go to the lake and drop a line. Peter should open the mouth of the first fish he catches and takes a coin. He should use it to pay their tax. And Peter did.
35. Great catch of fish again (John 21:4-11)
After his resurrection, Jesus met his disciples again, catching fish but could not get any. Jesus commanded them to cast their net in the water again, and they got lots of fish.
Significance of the miracles Jesus performed
- He performed those miracles to people to bring them close to God.
- Through his resurrection and the resurrection of others, he had let people know he is the true son of God.
- To fulfill the prophecies of the old prophets
- To unite all men to God and themselves
- The calming of the storm and drying of a fig tree is for the people to know he has control over everything on earth.
- He showed the people how amazing it is for one to be with God.
- The casting of demons is to show people that God has power over every uncleaned spirit.
- His resurrection shows that he has power over death.
Conclusion
Jesus performed many miracles in front of his disciples that were not all recorded. But those written could make us believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God and that through faith in him, we may have life (John 21:30-31).