Essay on Sign Miracles

Essay on Sign Miracles

Introduction

John, the fourth and the most beloved disciple of Jesus Christ provides a different explanation of the ministry of Jesus. There are 34 miracles recorded in the 4 Gospels out of which John particularly selected 8 miracles to include in his Gospel. In this paper we will discuss how each of the 8 sign miracles reveals that Jesus is exactly the Messiah and the Son of God.

Discussion

The eight sign miracles of Jesus Christ are:

Water Made Wine, John 2:1-11 ----- Power over Creation

Jesus performed the very first sign miracle by turning the water into wine. He along with His followers arrived at a marriage ceremony that was already in progress. The mother of Jesus, Mary, approached Him and told Him they were out of wine, most likely since she knew that He was proficient of doing something about the quandary. Jesus replied that His hour had not come yet. Hence, Mary, the woman of faith understood what he meant and instructed the servants to do anything Jesus asked them to do. Jesus directed the servants to fill up 6 pots with water, which He after that miraculously changed into a very fine quality wine. As according to Leon Morris, this is how Jesus actually turns the water of Judaism into the wine of Christianity as in the water of Christlessness into the wine of prosperity and the richness of never-ending life in Christ, the water of the commandment into the wine of the doctrine. Thus, this miracle reveals the deity of Christ in that it also exhibits His supremacy over creation. (Morris, 1989)

Healing of the Nobleman's Son, John 4:46-54 ------ Power over Space

The second sign miracle performed by Jesus was the healing of the nobleman's son. The nobleman, possibly a high status official of Herod Antipas came to Jesus and pleaded Him to cure his dying son. Jesus told the man to just go home and his son would survive. The man trusted Jesus and on his way home, he met his servants who told him that his son has recovered and is alive. When the man gets to know through his servants, the time when the healing had occurred, he understood that it was the exact time when Jesus had conversed with him. After that, the nobleman along with his entire family believed. Dr. Towns give details on how the initial belief (verse 50) was in the Word of God, whereas the next belief (verse 53) was trust in the incarnate Word of God. This miracle also discloses the power of Christ over space since He was not physically available with the nobleman's son to perform the healing, but instead He did it remotely. (Towns, 2002)

Healing the Lame Man, John 5:1-18 ----- Power over Time

This is known as the third sign miracle of Jesus Christ. There was a man who had been lame for thirty eight years at the Pool of Bethesda awaiting for anyone who could let him into the water to be ...