According to Kruse, Jesus performed eight great sign miracles that are recorded by John, a disciple of Jesus in his book found in the New Testament of the Holy Christian Bible.1 John accompanied Jesus wherever he went and therefore acted as an eye witness of what Jesus did.
Even today, Jesus performs miracles by transforming lives of Christians. Dr. Elmer Towns a professor of Liberty University and author of “The Gospel of John, Believe and Live” points out that the eight miracles acted as a proof of His Divinity, that Jesus Christ was God. The miracles of Jesus are used to show the mighty power of God manifested through Jesus Christ who lived on earth like normal human beings though he was God.2
Changing water into wine
The first miracle to be performed by Jesus was at a wedding in Cana, a town in Galilee during which he turned water into wine. Jesus was invited to the wedding and he went in the company of his disciples. Wine that had been prepared got finished before all the guests could be served. Mary the mother of Jesus informed him that people had run short of wine. Jesus instructed the servants to take six pots and fill them with water. The water in the pots was turned into wine that served the rest of the guests. Turning water into wine shows that as a Deity, Jesus has power over creation.3
Healing the son of the nobleman
In the book of (John 4: 46-54), the bible records that at one time, as Jesus walked around the town of Galilee, he was approached by a nobleman from Capernaum who explained to him about his dying son who was sick and still lying in bed. The nobleman requested Jesus to heal the boy. Just through uttering the healing words, and the faith that the nobleman had in Jesus’ healing power, the boy was healed. On his return home, he found that his son was healed in exactly the same time Jesus uttered the healing words.
This miracle shows that Jesus has power over space. This is because he spoke the healing words at Cana and the boy was healed at Capernaum. The miracle shows that space does not limit the power of Jesus. His mighty hand can reach people from all corners of the world even today.
The Lame Man
Towns describe the story of how Jesus healed the lame man in Jerusalem.4 He had been for a longtime living beside the pool of Siloam where the angel of God healed the sick. It was a routine that the Angel of God came and troubled the water and the first person to enter the pool was healed. However much the lame man tried, his condition could not allow him to be the first to enter the pool. Jesus told the lame man to rise, carry his bed and walk and the man was healed.
Jesus healed the lame man on the Sabbath day an act that annoyed Jews because it was to be kept holy. Jesus told Jews that he worked under Gods instructions on when and how to use his power. This miracle was meant to show that God had the power over the Sabbath day. Time is not a determining factor of when God should manifest his power. He does it in his convenient time.
Feeding the 5,000 people
On the eve of the Passover, a large crowd of people gathered around Jesus to listen to his teachings. The food that was available was not enough to feed the large number of people. There was a boy with five loaves of bread and two small fishes within the crowd. Jesus ordered about 5000 men not inclusive of women and children to sit down. He thanked God, took the loaves and fish and gave it to his disciples to distribute it to the crowd.
The crowd ate to their satisfaction and a remainder of twelve baskets full of leftover was collected by the disciples. The miracle shows that God has power over food. The miracle implies the word of God that fills the souls of men. It means that small amounts of spiritual word satisfy large numbers of people.5
Jesus walks on water
Jesus Christ rose to the mountain to pray while his disciples boarded a ship that travelled to Capernaum. In the course of their journey sometime at night, there was a great wind blowing against them that made the ship in which they were travelling in to lose direction thereby endangering their lives.
During this time, they spotted Jesus walking on the sea towards the ship. This astonished them but Jesus assured them that it was him, Christ Jesus and that they should not fear. Soon, the ship reached its destination. The miracle was meant to show that Jesus has power over nature.6
The healing of the blind man
Jesus came across a man who had been blind right from birth. Through the miracle, Jesus showed that he was the light of the world while on earth. Jesus anointed his eyes with a mixture of clay and his saliva and ordered him to rinse his face in the pool of Siloam. The blind man was healed. The miracle shows God’s power over physical laws. Even today, Jesus has the power to cure all diseases.7
Lazarus resurrection
John 11: 1-44 records the story of Lazarus’ resurrection. Lazarus the brother to Mary and Martha was raised from the dead by Jesus to show the glory of God. Jesus visited Bethany four days after Lazarus had passed away. Jesus assured Mary that Lazarus was not dead and would live again because he is the resurrection and life and whoever believed in him would rise from dead.
Mary believed in the power of Jesus. Jesus went to the grave and ordered them to remove the stone at the entrance of the tomb. He said a word of prayer and in a loud voice ordered Lazarus to come out. Lazarus resurrected and lived again. The miracle was meant to show Gods power over death. Those who witnessed Lazarus resurrection believed in God.8
The Miraculous Catch of Fish
Simon Peter, Nathanael, James, Thomas, John among other disciples had been fishing in the sea of Tiberia for a whole night with no success. Jesus visited them early in the morning and instructed them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. They cast so many and big fish that they could not pool the net into the boat. They had to pull their nets to the show.
The miracle showed that Jesus can save many people. However hard an individuals heart may be, Jesus can save them from their sins. The eight sign miracles of Jesus were meant to show glory and mighty power of God manifested in different places to different people. The miracles act as evidence to Christians that God is real and his prophesies must come true.9
Bibliography
Holy Bible. The King James Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1988.
Kruse, Colin. The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: John. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003.
Towns, Elmer. The Gospel of John: Believe and Live. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2002.
Twelftree, Graham. Jesus the miracle worker: a historical & theological study. New York: InterVarsity Press, 1999.
Footnotes
1 Colin, Kruse. The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: John. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003. p. 20.
2 Elmer, Towns. The Gospel of John: Believe and Live. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2002. p. 26
3 Holy Bible. The King James Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1988. Jn 2: 1-11.
4 Elmer, Towns. The Gospel of John: Believe and Live. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2002. p. 56.
5 Colin, Kruse. The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: John. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003. p. 30.
6 Graham, Twelftree. Jesus the miracle worker: a historical & theological study. New York: InterVarsity Press, 1999. p. 274.
7 Holy Bible. The King James Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1988. Jn 9: 1-12
8 Elmer, Towns. The Gospel of John: Believe and Live. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2002. p. 60.
9 Holy Bible. The King James Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1988. Jn 21: 1-11.