So what was the point of these miracles - do we believe God did these (or truly, anything He ever did) for no consequence? Doesn't He say when He comes to raise Lazarus that it was so they would believe, in Him as the Son of man? At least to start their belief (oh Lord help my unbelief), like when He did signs for the disciples early to begin their turning towards belief in Him - for me it's a life long journey every day I pray He will open my heart head and humility more so I can kmow and do His will - I've not had the Damascus moment maybe, but many small a ha moments where I begin to see His work around us. Thank you Peter for sparking our fellowship.
I can't say why Jesus did miracles, but the fact that the people killed him DESPITE the miracles shows just how hypocritical and lost they were and in desperate need of rescuing, like all of us. Even his disciples did not truly understand his message until they were given the Holy Spirit.
We do well to remember that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees who came seeking a sign from him, saying that "faithless generation" would only receive the sign of Jonah--that Jesus would rise again after three days.
We perhaps should also consider the counterfactual: would all the miracles Jesus performed be memorable some two millennia later had He NOT died on the cross and been resurrected? I tend to think not. We see the miracles as true signs of Jesus' divinity and His authority because we are looking back at those miracles on the other side of His death and resurrection. The crowd in Jerusalem did not have that perspective, and could not have that perspective.
We've seen claims of faith healing in the modern world, and of other miracles, enough so that the Catholic Church maintains the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints specifically to investigate possible miracles as part of the process of canonizing a person as a saint. I suspect the crowd in Jerusalem approached displays of seemingly divine power with a similar sort of cynicism and skepticism--such things are impressive, yes, but do they by themselves establish that someone is a divine being and the only begotten Son of God? Could the crowd in Jerusalem really comprehend this prior to the Resurrection?
Prior to the Resurrection, accepting Jesus as the Messiah was a true leap of faith--as Jesus himself pointed out when Peter proclaimed Jesus was the Christ.
Perhaps that what it is to be "born again"--to be able to let go of the cynicism and skepticism we acquire in dealing with the world, and be able to embrace faith (and thus embrace a life of faith).
If you look at the settings for all the miracles Jesus performed, they were almost all incidental. He didn't go looking for the opportunities to display His authority or that He was the Son of Man. The moments just happened.
This is not to say they were without meaning. Merely to say that He performed them not because they were a part of His mission and ministry, but because they were a part of who Jesus was and is.
I'm so thankful that He came to save me. Have a blessed Easter week.
So what was the point of these miracles - do we believe God did these (or truly, anything He ever did) for no consequence? Doesn't He say when He comes to raise Lazarus that it was so they would believe, in Him as the Son of man? At least to start their belief (oh Lord help my unbelief), like when He did signs for the disciples early to begin their turning towards belief in Him - for me it's a life long journey every day I pray He will open my heart head and humility more so I can kmow and do His will - I've not had the Damascus moment maybe, but many small a ha moments where I begin to see His work around us. Thank you Peter for sparking our fellowship.
I can't say why Jesus did miracles, but the fact that the people killed him DESPITE the miracles shows just how hypocritical and lost they were and in desperate need of rescuing, like all of us. Even his disciples did not truly understand his message until they were given the Holy Spirit.
We do well to remember that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees who came seeking a sign from him, saying that "faithless generation" would only receive the sign of Jonah--that Jesus would rise again after three days.
We perhaps should also consider the counterfactual: would all the miracles Jesus performed be memorable some two millennia later had He NOT died on the cross and been resurrected? I tend to think not. We see the miracles as true signs of Jesus' divinity and His authority because we are looking back at those miracles on the other side of His death and resurrection. The crowd in Jerusalem did not have that perspective, and could not have that perspective.
We've seen claims of faith healing in the modern world, and of other miracles, enough so that the Catholic Church maintains the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints specifically to investigate possible miracles as part of the process of canonizing a person as a saint. I suspect the crowd in Jerusalem approached displays of seemingly divine power with a similar sort of cynicism and skepticism--such things are impressive, yes, but do they by themselves establish that someone is a divine being and the only begotten Son of God? Could the crowd in Jerusalem really comprehend this prior to the Resurrection?
Prior to the Resurrection, accepting Jesus as the Messiah was a true leap of faith--as Jesus himself pointed out when Peter proclaimed Jesus was the Christ.
Perhaps that what it is to be "born again"--to be able to let go of the cynicism and skepticism we acquire in dealing with the world, and be able to embrace faith (and thus embrace a life of faith).
If you look at the settings for all the miracles Jesus performed, they were almost all incidental. He didn't go looking for the opportunities to display His authority or that He was the Son of Man. The moments just happened.
This is not to say they were without meaning. Merely to say that He performed them not because they were a part of His mission and ministry, but because they were a part of who Jesus was and is.
Amen! Amen!
Beautiful, Peter.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.”
- Psalm 119:105
High praise indeed. Thank you