The Bible contains the record of many miracles. We are given detailed accounts in the Old Testament, especially in the narratives of Moses, Elijah, and Elisha. The opening pages of the New Testament also record miracles, such as the birth of John the Baptist and the conception of Jesus Christ. And after Christ’s ascen­sion, many notable miracles were performed by His dis­ciples. But the miracles performed by Christ Himself, while He walked this earth, are perhaps the most well known and loved by Christians.

I do not want us to study these miracles only because they are loved. They are valuable also because of what they teach us about Christ. Peter put it this way on the day of Pente­cost:

Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know.Acts 2:22

The miracles magnify the glory of Christ, pointing to Him as one approved by God. If Christ is approved by His Father, then who can resist His claims?

Defining Miracles⤒🔗

The miracles of Christ were special signs that He performed during His public ministry. He did things that others could not do – things that proved that God was with Him, as Nicodemus noted (John 3:2). These events ran counter to expected natural processes.

Now, in a certain sense, everything God does is a mir­acle. There were many miracles involved in God’s creation of heaven and earth in six days. The fact that God upholds everything by His providence is a miracle. The sunshine and rain, the springtime and harvest, and many other nat­ural phenomena point to the might and power of God, who works in ways we cannot trace (Eccl. 11:5). Yet, as we will see, the Bible itself specifically speaks of miracles, and means those events that distinguish themselves from normal and expected processes.

The Bible uses three main words for miracles.¹ Each word emphasizes a certain aspect of the miraculous char­acter of an event. In many instances, only one of the three words is used in a narrative. But in Acts 2:22 (cited above), as Peter describes the miracles of Christ, we find all three of the words in the same verse.

The first word is dunamis, or “powerful deed.” This word stresses the might or power required in order to perform the miracle. For example, Christ used this word when He said, “If the mighty works which had been done in Tyre and Sidon had been done in you, they had a great while ago repented” (Luke 10:13).

The second word is teras, or “wonder.” This word empha­sizes the response required by or expected from the miracle. A person witnessing the event or hearing about it ought to be amazed. This word is used in John 4:48: “Unless ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.”

The third word is semeion, or “sign.” In other words, the miracle serves as a signal or signpost, pointing the person who sees it or hears of it to something else. This word is used in John 20:30: “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples.”

The Kinds of Miracles←⤒🔗

Students of the Bible have sought to classify the miracles into groups. One common method divides them according to who or what is involved, as follows:

1. The miracles involving human beings: This is the most common kind of miracle in the gospels. Christ cured people with diseases and even brought the dead back to life again. Some were healed with a touch, others from a distance. In each case, it was clear that Christ was the source of healing. Miracles involving demon-possessed people could be mentioned as a special class within this group of miracles.
      
2. The miracles involving creation or nature: The well-known miracles in which there is a calming of the sea, walking on water, or division of loaves and fishes would be included in this group. Something within the created order was being acted upon, and became subservient to its Creator in a new and incredible way.

The Purpose of the Miracles←⤒🔗

Why did Christ perform miracles on earth? Luke 9:19-23 helps us answer this question. While in prison, John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus whether He was the promised Messiah or whether people had to wait for some­one else. In answer to his question, Christ sent the disciples back to John with reports of the miracles He was perform­ing. This response is key in helping us understand why Christ performed miracles. We can identify the following four main purposes:

• To announce the arrival of the kingdom of grace in Christ’s coming, in accordance with prophecy (see for example Isaiah 35:3-6);
   
• To illustrate Christ’s teaching of redemption by grace and the turning back of the consequences of the fall into sin;
   
• To foreshadow the benefits Christ would accomplish in His work of redemption on the cross; and
   
• To show forth Christ’s glory as the Son of God.

As we study the miracles, we will see these points surface again and again.

Believing the Miracles←⤒🔗

In the past as well as in the present day, some have denied that the miracles actually took place. If time and space allowed, we could go on at length about some of the argu­ments people use and how to refute them. But suffice it to say that a person who decides that Christ’s miracles couldn’t actually have taken place is simply forcing his or her own view of reality on the Scriptures. Since no one can prove that the miracles did not really happen, this viewpoint is not a statement of fact, but of faith, or rather, unbelief. Such a person is simply saying that he or she does not believe that Christ performed miracles.

Take a look at the four purposes of the miracles listed above. To go along with each of them, suggest an appropriate response on our part.

The Christ of the Miracles←⤒🔗

Is it any wonder that Christ performed miracles, when He is Himself such an extraordinary person? He was both per­fectly human and perfectly divine. While on earth, He was entirely unique from any other human being.

When we study the miracles, we should never lose sight of the glorious and magnificent Christ who performed them. He still performs miracles in hearts and lives today. If we have been brought from darkness to light, He has done such a miracle in our hearts. He has regenerated us, justified us, and reconciled us unto God. These things should astound us no less than the miracles He did when He was on earth.

Let’s not only regard the power displayed in Christ’s miracles, but also other divine attributes. They are harmoni­ously displayed in the miracles, though one or other of them seems to shine more than the others. For example, Christ’s wisdom, omniscience, love, mercy, and longsuffering are readily apparent in many of His miracles.

Ultimately, all the miracles should lead us to Calvary and the empty tomb, where we see the fullest display of all the miracles of a Triune God. On the cross and in the empty grave, we see how God brought life and immortality to light in the gospel through the death of a sinless Surety. In each of our studies, we hope to travel the journey from the miracle itself to the cross and the empty tomb. Our aim should not be on the miracle itself, but on the triune God, who purposed the miracles, performed them, and applies their truth to the hearts of those who are spiritually blind, lame, leprous, and dead.

Questions←⤒🔗

1. Which of Christ’s miracles is your favorite? Why?
    
2. It seems that people are either obsessed with look­ing for miracles where God is not doing them, or else easily dismiss the miracles God did in the Bible. Have you encountered this, and how would you explain and address these reactions?
    
3. Take a look at the four purposes of the miracles listed above. To go along with each of them, suggest an appropriate response on our part.
    
4. Does Satan perform “miracles” (2 Thess. 2:9)? If so, how are they different from Christ’s miracles?