IT’S A MIRACLE!
THE PURPOSE OF MIRACLES

We have talked about some of the miracles of the Bible, the definition of miracle and wonder, and now I want us to address why there were miracles.

In John 20:30-31, John tells us that there were many signs that Jesus did while on earth that are not recorded. In fact, he says these were done in the presence of Jesus’ disciples.

In verse 31, John says, “But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (KJV).

Based on John’s record of Jesus and His life on earth, all the things he (John) wrote about were for the purpose of convincing people of the divine authority of Jesus.

In the last verses of Matthew 9, Jesus talked to the disciples about the harvest and sending laborers into the harvest. From the context we can see that He was talking about people and not literal fields.

In chapter 10, Jesus called His disciples to Him and, “He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.”

In verse 5 of this same chapter, He told these disciples not to go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans; but they were to go to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. They were told to preach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. They were to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils. Luke 9:6 tells us that they left and went through the towns preaching and healing.

How did the disciples get the ability to do these miracles? They received the power from Jesus. We see that in the texts above.

If you read the context of these passages, you will see that Jesus expected that some people would accept the disciples, their teaching, and their miracles. The miracles would assist them in proving their authenticity.

Performing miracles often caused Jesus problems with the Pharisees and other rulers. They most often complained that He had performed a miracle on the Sabbath Day, and they used that to discredit Him with the people.

Miracles had a purpose. They were proof of Jesus divine authority. They proved His power over nature, sickness, and even death.

The apostles received their power on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit came upon them in verses 3 and 4. They were able to speak in languages they had never spoken, and they were able to remind the Jews of the prophecies of the Old Testament spoken by the prophets in Isaiah 2, Daniel 2, and Joel 2.

The disciples possessed this ability throughout the New Testament, but there was an end to them. We will study next.

Sandra Oliver