The reasons for people wanting miracles and Jesus performing them, don’t necessarily coincide. When Jesus healed a man who lived as an invalid for 38 years, He said worse things could happen to him (read the story in John 5:1-14). The people who experienced the miraculous feeding of 5000 simply looked to Jesus for another freebie (read about it in John 6:25-26).

So, if Jesus didn’t perform wonders simply to solve temporary human problems, why did Jesus do miracles?

The Gospels often use the word “signs” to describe the miracles Jesus did. Signs of what? We find the answer in a conversation between some leading Jews and Jesus in John 10:22-39. The Jews questioned Jesus, asking if He was the Messiah, the promised Redeemer. Jesus responded, “The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me” (John 10:25).

Everything Jesus did — the words He spoke, the miracles He performed, His sinless actions— proved that He was the Messiah, God’s perfect Son come to save us.

And John recorded these supernatural works so that we would believe.

When God intervenes in your life providing unexpected money, He doesn’t do it just to keep you solvent. When the doctors can’t explain where the cancer went, God isn’t simply concerned about your comfort. When the phone rings with offers of help after you’ve cried out to God, it isn’t a coincidence.

These things happen so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

God, I confess that I often want a miracle so that I can avoid pain and grief. Yet, you’ve made the reason for miracles clear. You perform miracles — when Jesus was on earth and now — so that I will believe that Jesus is your Son. I know that real eternal life comes only through believing in Jesus. Lord, I believe. Fill me with your life. Amen.

Go Deeper — Read through the Gospel of John this month looking for the people who believed in Jesus because of His miracles.



Tags: The Gospel of John John 20
Photo Credit: Andreas Selter