If God exists, as we have discussed in many other videos,
and if He ever decided to put on flesh and reveal Himself as God,
it’s logical that He would have performed supernatural miracles
for the purpose of offering proof to His human creation that He is Who He is claiming to be:
the Supernatural, Miracle-Working Creator of the Universe.
Centuries before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah foretold of a time when,
"the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped;
the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing.”
Although this language has a figurative element to it,
it literally is true of the coming of the Messiah.
When John the Baptizer heard about the works of Christ,
he sent two of his disciples to Jesus asking if He was,
“the Coming One," or do they look for another One?
Jesus responded to John’s disciples by pointing to the people whom He had miraculously healed,
thus fulfilling Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy.
“Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:
the blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear;
the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”
Jesus wanted them to know that He was doing exactly what
“the Coming One”--the Messiah--was supposed to do.
Whereas the apostles and prophets of the New Testament
worked miracles to confirm their message that Jesus was the Son of God,
Jesus performed miracles to bear witness that He was, in fact, the Son of God.
Unbelievers should consider seven reasons why
the miracles of Christ are credible testimonies of His divine nature and teachings.
(1) Countless Thousands Witnessed His Miracles
Aside from the fact that Jesus’ miracles are recorded in
the most historically documented ancient book in all of the world,
which time and again has proven itself to be a reliable witness to history,
it also is significant that Jesus’ miracles
were not done in some remote place on Earth with only a few witnesses.
Instead, the miracles of Jesus were attested by multitudes of people,
all across Palestine, throughout His ministry.
According to John, Jesus once healed a sick man at the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem,
where a great multitude of sick people had congregated.
According to Luke, Jesus healed a paralytic in Capernaum,
in a house there in Capernaum, full of
“...Pharisees and teachers of the law...
who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.”
Later, Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fish
and miraculously fed five thousand men, plus their women and children,
while afterwards taking up twelve baskets full of leftovers.
On another occasion, Jesus took a few little
fish and seven loaves of bread and fed four thousand men besides women and children.
Truly, countless thousands of Jesus’ contemporaries witnessed
His miracles on various occasions throughout His ministry.
They were not hidden or performed in inaccessible locations,
incapable of being tested by potential followers.
Rather, they were subjected to analysis by
Jews and Gentiles, believers and unbelievers, friends and foes.
They were evaluated in the physical realm by physical senses.
(2) Jesus’ Miracles were Many and Various
More than a few of Jesus’ miracles are recorded in Scripture.
The gospel accounts are saturated with a variety of miracles that Christ performed,
not for wealth or political power, but that the world may be convinced
that He was sent by the Father to bring salvation to mankind.
He cleansed a leper with the touch of His hand
and healed all manner of sickness and disease with word of His mouth.
One woman, who had a hemorrhage for twelve years,
was healed immediately, simply by touching the fringe of His garment.
Generally speaking, “great multitudes came to Him,
having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others,
and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them.” (Matthew 15:30)
He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and to many blind He gave sight.
Jesus not only exhibited power over the sick and diseased,
He also showed His superiority over nature, more than once.
He calmed the Sea of Galilee during a turbulent storm,
walked on water for a considerable distance to reach His disciples,
and caused a fig tree to wither away at His command.
In truth, Jesus’ supernatural superiority over the physical world, which He created,
is exactly what we would expect from One Who claimed to be the Son of God.
Jesus even performed miracles that demonstrated His power over death.
The widow of Nain’s son had already been declared dead and placed in a casket
when Jesus touched the open coffin and told him to arise.
Immediately, "he who was dead sat up and began to speak.”
Lazarus had already been dead and buried for four days by the time Jesus raised him from the dead.
Such a great demonstration of power over death caused
“Many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did to believe in Him."
What’s more, Jesus’ own resurrection from the dead was the climax of all of His miracles
and serves as perhaps the most convincing miracle of all.
Indeed, the miracles of Christ were varied and numerous.
He healed the blind, lame, sick, and leprous,
as well as demonstrated His power over nature and even death.
(3) Even the Enemies of Christ Attested to His Works
Though many of Jesus’ enemies who witnessed His miracles rejected Him as the Messiah
and attempted to undermine His ministry, even they did not deny the miracles that He worked.
After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in the presence of many Jews,
The chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said,
"What shall we do? For this Man works many signs.”
According to Luke, even King Herod had heard enough reports about Jesus
to believe that He could perform some miracle in his presence.
Once, after Jesus healed a blind, mute, demon-possessed man
in the midst of multitudes of people, the Pharisees responded saying,
“This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
While many of Jesus’ enemies did not confess belief in Him as being
the Heaven-Sent, Virgin-Born, Son of God, but attributed His works as being from Satan,
it is important to notice that they did not deny the supernatural wonders that He worked.
In fact, they confessed that He worked a miracle by casting a demon from a man,
while on another occasion, they scolded Him for healing on the Sabbath.
(4) Multiple Writers Attested To His Miracles
The case built for the authenticity of Jesus’ miracles is further strengthened by the fact
that His supernatural works were recorded, not by one person,
but by multiple independent writers.
Even unbelievers admit that various miracles in Jesus’ life,
including His resurrection, were recorded by more than one writer.
If scholars of ancient history generally rendered facts “unimpeachable,”
when two or three sources are in agreement, then the multiple attestation of Jesus’ miracles
by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul is extremely impressive.
Consider that the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000,
as well as His resurrection, are recorded in all four gospel accounts.
What’s more, the writers’ testimony of Jesus' life and miracles
is similar enough so as not be contradictory,
but varied enough so that one cannot reasonably conclude that they participated in collusion
in order to perpetrate some kind of hoax.
Truly, the fact that multiple writers attest to the factuality of Jesus’ miracles
should not be taken lightly.
(5) The Bible Writers Vowed They Reported Facts, Not Fairy Tales
They insisted that their teachings and writings were not based on
imaginary, non-verifiable people and events,
but instead were grounded on solid historical facts,
and they were willing to suffer persecution and death for these facts.
The apostle Peter, in his second epistle, wrote that,
“We did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”
In a similar statement, the apostle John insisted:
Henry S. Curr remarked many years ago:
The claim that the Bible is filled with "miracle myths" can be made,
but it cannot be reasonably maintained.
The evidence is overwhelming that the Bible writers understood and insisted that their
information about Jesus and His miracles was accurate and factual,
just as were all other details in their narratives and letters.
(6) The Miracles of Jesus Were Not Silly and Overboard
People may reject the miracles of Christ because of their disbelief in the supernatural altogether,
or because of their inability to attach naturalistic explanations to various miracles,
but they cannot be denied because they are characterized by the absurd and ridiculous;
that they are not.
The miracles of Christ certainly were extraordinary,
otherwise they wouldn’t be miracles,
yet they were performed and recorded with all sanity and sobriety;
exactly what one would expect if they really were signs from God.
Since the Omnipotent Creator chose to control His infinite power,
and to use it in orderly and rational ways in creating the Universe in the beginning,
one would expect that when God put on flesh and exerted His supernatural power on Earth,
it likewise would be characterized as power under control;
miracles performed with infinite sobriety and rationality.
Unlike the stories of many alleged miracle workers from the past or present,
Jesus' miracles are characterized by restraint and dignity.
Consider the miracle that Jesus performed on Malchus, a man who was about to arrest Jesus.
Instead of doing something like commanding the left ear of Malchus to whither or fall off,
after Peter severed his right one with a sword,
Jesus simply touched the detached ear and healed him immediately.
A man who was about to turn Jesus over to His enemies has his ear cut off with a sword,
and Jesus simply, yet miraculously, puts his ear back in place instantaneously.
What’s more, that is all any Bible writer wrote about the matter.
An amazing miracle was worked the night before Jesus’ death,
and the only thing revealed is that Jesus touched his ear and healed him.
Furthermore, unlike those in other writings,
Jesus’ miracles were not characterized by the sorcerer’s hocus pocus.
In fact, there are few parallels to Jesus and the magicians of the ancient world.
Jesus could have performed any miracle that He wanted.
He could have pulled rabbits from hats for the sole purpose of amusing people.
He could have turned His enemies into stones or given a person three eyes.
He could have lit the robes of the Pharisees on fire.
Certainly, Jesus could have done any number of silly, outlandish miracles.
But, He didn’t.
He was a Meek Miracle-Worker.
He was and is Power Under Control.
(7) Jesus Worked Wonders That are Not Being Duplicated Today
Neither the modern alleged “faith healer” nor the twenty-first century scientist
is duplicating the miracles that Jesus worked while on Earth 2,000 years ago.
Pseudo "wonder workers" today, stage seemingly endless events
where willing participants with supposed sicknesses appear and act as if
they are being healed of their diseases by the laying on of hands.
Nebulous aches and pains and dubious illnesses that defy medical substantiation are supposedly
cured by prominent “faith healers” who, simultaneously,
are building financial empires with the funds they receive from gullible followers.
Modern day frauds have made many millions of dollars off of viewers who naively send
them money without stopping to consider the real differences between the miracles that
Jesus worked and what they observe phony "faith healers" doing today.
The Bible indicates that Jesus went about healing every sickness and every disease.
His miraculous wonders knew no limitations. He could cure anything.
Luke, the learned physician, recorded how He could restore
a shriveled hand in the midst of His enemies and heal a severed ear with the touch of His hand.
He healed many of their blindness, including one man who had been born blind.
He even raised the dead simply by calling out to them.
What modern day alleged "miracle-worker" has come close to doing these sorts of things
that defy natural explanations?
Who is going into schools for the blind and giving children their sight?
Who is going to funerals or graveyards to raise the dead?
These are the kinds of miracles that Jesus worked; supernatural feats that testify to His identity
as the Heaven-sent Savior of the world.
Indeed, as should be expected from the One Who claimed to be God incarnate,
scripture records that Jesus performed miracles throughout His ministry
in order to provide sufficient proof of His divine message and nature.
Jesus worked miracles, not for the sake of
entertaining individuals or in order to make a profit off of His audiences,
but, as John wrote,
“...that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that believing you may have life in His name.”