The Miracles of Jesus

One of the most influential movements in the history of western civilization is the advent and growth of Christianity. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was the seminal event of Christianity. But before his death, Jesus engaged in three years of ministry. At that time, the Israelites they had become obsessed with following their religious rules to the detriment of their lives. The overall purpose of Jesus' teachings was to remind the Israelites that theirs is a religion based on love, not obedience. As part of his ministry, he performed miracles wherever he went.

But how do Jesus' miracles support his ministry? The Israelites required some proof of his power before they would listen to him; performing miracles is way of proving himself to the Israelites. The healing of the sick, feeding of great crowds, and calming of storms show Jesus' compassion. Jesus performed miracles for people who had faith in him, thus illustrating one of the more important religious tenets that he had been sent to foster.

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Ch...

English: Resurrection of Christ

English: Icon of Jesus Christ

The miracles are an amazing display of his power and deity, particularly when he refuses to perform miracles to save himself. Faith and love is the core of the religious values Jesus wishes to proclaim. Jesus used all of these practices to highlight his message that faith and love must be the core values of the Israelites' religion. Let's look more closely at each of these practices.

Buttram 2

Before Jesus could begin teaching, he needed to establish his credentials, as it were. At the time Jesus set out on his ministry, there were many men performing "miracles"; they were known as magicians. Garret Keizer in his article "You Who Are Evil" notes, "the Jewish historian Josephus referred to Jesus as 'a magician'" (Keizer 2001). Jesus' first miracle was the conversion...