Being a Christian for a few years now I always wondered: what is the gift of miracles? So, I did a little research.
The gift of miracles or the working of miracles is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit confirming the gospel proclaimed by Jesus and the Apostles not just in their lifetime but even until today. It is one of the spiritual gifts described by Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:10.
The gift of miracles is an exciting topic and I’d love to tell you more about some miracles that Jesus did and how they can encourage us to move in the working of miracles through the Holy Spirit today.
What Is A Biblical Miracle?
Maybe you think it would be a miracle if your boss would give you a raise or at least acknowledge your effort at work.
I bet my wife thinks it would be a miracle if I would take her out on more dates.
The Bible shows us that a biblical miracle can be a healing but is not limited to being one. Usually, a biblical miracle happens in an instant and is visible, while healing can be gradual and over time.
If something cannot be healed because it’s not present, like a missing body part, then that is a miracle. In contrast, healing only restores someone who is sick or heals a broken body part.
The word “miracle” stems from the Greek word δύναμις which means “strength power, ability”. It appears often in the context of deliverance, which is the casting out of demons. A version of this word is used by Jesus when He told His disciples that they will receive “power” by the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:8.
The Webster’s Dictionary defines a miracle as “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs”.
So, in short: A biblical miracle is God moving on behalf of mankind because of their faith and to build up their faith.
What Is The Gift Of Miracles?
The gift of miracles or the working of miracles as the Bible calls it is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit for the profit of all (1 Corinthians 12:7). The Apostle Paul lists the working of miracles among other manifestations of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:10).
Other manifestations of the Holy Spirit can be the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:10).
In the Bible, we can see the working of miracles connected to healing like the healing of a paralytic man (Mark 2:1-12) or making a deaf and mute man hear and talk (Mark 7:31-37). But miracles are not limited to healing only. Famous examples of miracles not being healing would be Jesus making water into wine or walking on water (John 2:1-11, John 6:16-21).
God uses miracles as a confirmation of the gospel and to bear witness of the truth proclaimed by Jesus and the Apostles (Hebrews 2:4). The reason why miracles were recorded in the Bible is so “(…) you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:31, Acts 2:22)
42 Miracles That Jesus Performed In Chronological Order
In His approximately 33 years of life on this earth, only in the three years of His ministry did Jesus perform miracles.
Here I listed 42 recorded miracles of Jesus in chronological order.
# | Miracles | Matthew | Mark | Luke | John |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jesus Turns Water into Wine at the Wedding in Cana | 2:1-11 | |||
2 | Jesus Heals an Official’s Son at Capernaum in Galilee | 4:46-54 | |||
3 | First Miraculous Catch of Fish on the Lake of Gennesaret | 5:1-11 | |||
4 | Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit From a Man in Capernaum | 1:21-28 | 4:31-37 | ||
5 | Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-in-Law Sick With Fever | 8:14-15 | 1:29-31 | 4:38-39 | |
6 | Jesus Heals Many Sick and Oppressed at Evening | 8:16-17 | 1:32-34 | 4:40-41 | |
7 | Jesus Heals All Kinds Of Sicknesses, Diseases, Torments, And Demon-Possessed | 4:23-25 | |||
8 | Jesus Cleanses a Man With Leprosy | 8:1-4 | 1:40-45 | 5:12-16 | |
9 | Jesus Heals a Paralytic Who Was Let Down From the Roof | 9:1-8 | 2:1-12 | 5:17-26 | |
10 | Jesus Heals a Man at Bethesda | 5:1-15 | |||
11 | Jesus Heals a Man’s Withered Hand on the Sabbath | 12:9-14 | 3:1-6 | 6:6-11 | |
12 | Jesus Heals A Great Multitude | 12:15 | 3:7-12 | ||
13 | Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Slave in Capernaum | 8:5-13 | 7:1-10 | ||
14 | Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son From the Dead in Nain | 7:11-17 | |||
15 | Jesus Heals a Blind, Mute Demon-Possessed Man | 12:22-23 | 11:14-23 | ||
16 | Jesus Heals a Woman Who Had Been Crippled for 18 Years | 13:10-17 | |||
17 | Jesus Calms a Storm on the Sea | 8:23-27 | 4:35-41 | 8:22-25 | |
18 | Jesus Casts Demons into a Herd of Pigs | 8:28-34 | 5:1-20 | 8:26-39 | |
19 | Jesus Heals a Woman in the Crowd With an Issue of Blood | 9:20-22 | 5:25-34 | 8:42-48 | |
20 | Jesus Raises Jairus’ Daughter Back to Life | 9:18, 23-26 | 5:21-24, 35-43 | 8:40-42, 49-56 | |
21 | Jesus Heals Two Blind Men | 9:27-31 | |||
22 | Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Man Unable to Speak | 9:32-34 | |||
23 | Jesus Heals Many People | 14:14 | 6:34 | 9:11 | |
24 | Jesus Feeds 5,000 Plus Women and Children | 14:13-21 | 6:30-44 | 9:10-17 | 6:1-15 |
25 | Jesus Walks on Water | 14:22-33 | 6:45-52 | 6:16-21 | |
26 | Jesus Heals Many Sick in Gennesaret as They Touch His Garment | 14:34-36 | 6:53-56 | ||
27 | Jesus Heals a Gentile Woman’s Demon-Possessed Daughter | 15:21-28 | 7:24-30 | ||
28 | Jesus Heals a Deaf and Dumb Man | 7:31-37 | |||
29 | Jesus Heals The Mute, Blind, Lame, And Impaired | 15:29-31 | |||
30 | Jesus Feeds 4,000 Plus Women and Children | 15:32-39 | 8:1-13 | ||
31 | Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida | 8:22-26 | |||
32 | Jesus Transfigured On The Mount | 17:1-13 | 9:2-13 | 9:28-36 | |
33 | Jesus Heals a Boy With an Unclean Spirit | 17:14-20 | 9:14-29 | 9:37-43 | |
34 | Miraculous Temple Tax in a Fish’s Mouth | 17:24-27 | |||
35 | Jesus Heals A Man Born Blind | 9:1-41 | |||
36 | Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers on the Way to Jerusalem | 17:11-19 | |||
37 | Jesus Heals a Man With Dropsy on the Sabbath | 14:1-6 | |||
38 | Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead in Bethany | 11:1-45 | |||
39 | Jesus Restores Sight to Bartimaeus in Jericho | 20:29-34 | 10:46-52 | 18:35-43 | |
40 | Jesus Withers the Fig Tree on the Road From Bethany | 21:18-22 | 11:12-14,20 | ||
41 | Jesus Heals a Servant’s Severed Ear While He Is Being Arrested | 22:50-51 | |||
42 | The Second Miraculous Catch of Fish at the Sea of Tiberias | 21:4-11 |
How To Work Miracles Today
Some people say that the biblical working of miracles stopped with Jesus and the apostles, or happens only seldom nowadays.
I disagree.
The Bible describes only one way how one may work miracles. It is through faith in Jesus Christ. This faith activated through an act like prayer may minister a miracle into someone’s situation.
Jesus said that “(…) he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do (…).” (John 14:12). Every believer and a true follower of Christ should live in faith and do the works that Jesus did as well. Doing works like preaching the full gospel, which is salvation, spiritual deliverance, and healing. And out of faith performing miracles like healing the sick and delivering the oppresses in Jesus’ name. That is what Jesus did everywhere He went.
Yes, Jesus performed extraordinary miracles like walking on water or multiplying food. But those miracles only happened in individual situations. Commonly people got healed, delivered, and restored.
Jesus even commissioned His disciples in Mark 16:15-20 to do the same; to preach, heal, deliver, and restore. Now in Matthew 28:18-19, Jesus is telling His disciples to make disciples of their own and teach them the same principles that they were taught. That includes the teaching of working miracles of healing and deliverance.
That created an endless master-apprentice-loop which Christians call discipleship. In Ephesians 4:11-16, the five-fold ministry is introduced who we know should work in the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.
Another good reason why miracles should continue even beyond the time of the apostle is in 1 Corinthians 12:10. Here, Paul is addressing a church, yes, the early church, but he doesn’t define say under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that these gifts will cease at some point. If God wanted the gifts to cease, would He have told us in order to protect us from doubt and unbelief?
Just think about it. Who would have the most interest in a teaching that says, that miracles stopped flowing through believers about 2000 years ago? God or Satan?
My point is that the body of Christ (as the church), has not stopped growing, the Holy Spirit has not stopped working, why then should the Holy Spirit stop working miracles?
Maybe the problem is a lack of faith and that people have given room to doubt, the fear of man, and a bunch of other stuff.
I get it. This whole miracle business is not something every believer experiences every day. But we should, shouldn’t we? Isn’t that one of the things that the book of Acts teaches us?
Speaking of acts, it needs an act of faith to experience the working of miracles in your own life. God works miracles based on faith and to build faith (Galatians 3:5).
Faith – is the formula for the working of miracles.
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