Jesus Christ And His Miracles

Some call him the “Son of God”. Others believe he was merely a man on a religious mission. Nevertheless, no one can take away the fact that he performed many miracles in his lifetime that healed and inspired many. He walked on water, yet they crucified him. Was this man a magician? Or was he performing “Acts of God” as the “Son of God” was expected to?

The name “Jesus” means “The Lord is salvation” or “The Lord saves” in Greek and is commonly referred to as “Joshua” in Hebrew. The name “Christ” means “anointed” in Greek and “Messiah” in Hebrew.

Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod and during the reign of the Emperor Augustus. He was born of his mother, the Virgin Mary (as conception was made possible through the grace of God) and Joseph (who was her husband and his stepfather).

The birth of the baby Jesus was “announced” to shepherds, particularly three wise men, who came to visit the baby Jesus by following the North Star and traveling from the East to bring gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. These three wise men were instructed by King Herod to report back to him so he could, allegedly, visit this “King of the Jews” and eventually worship him as well. In spite of what they were told, they knew this was an evil ploy. Upon visiting the baby Jesus, they departed and returned to their origins. Were these men psychic? Their physical gifts were not nearly as important as their gift of “seeing”, which enabled them to find the child who was destined to save the world from eternal damnation and sin.

After the visitation from the three wise men, Joseph decided to flee from Bethlehem to Egypt with his family . This decision was based upon an apparition by an angel of the Lord. The angel told Joseph that the baby Jesus was in danger of being destroyed by King Herod. Eventually, King Herod, out of sheer rage and insult to mockery, ordered each and every child in Bethlehem, that was two years old or under, to be murdered. When King Herod died, Joseph had another apparition (in a dream) by an angel of the Lord. The angel told Joseph to travel with his family to Israel. Was Joseph clairvoyant? Or was he merely being a protective father to his newborn child?

Jesus Christ spent thirty years of his life mostly private and only three years of his life public. During that small amount of time, Jesus Christ left a tremendous impact on many people in more ways than one. Jesus Christ also performed various miracles and developed a group of disciples who continued to spread the teachings from his ministry. Even in death , his words, teachings and profound beliefs, lived on. No man has ever captured the goodness and love of the world quite like Jesus Christ and no man probably ever will again.

Like his stepfather Joseph, Jesus Christ grew up and became a carpenter. Unlike his stepfather, when he reached the age of thirty, he decided to venture out to become a preacher, teacher and healer.

Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan River. The man who baptized him was John the Baptist. After he was baptized, he retired into the wilderness for forty days, which was intended to be a period of fasting and meditation . During this experience, he was tempted, but to no avail, three times by Satan:

The devil tried to tempt Jesus Christ initially by suggesting that he turn the stones into bread if he was really the “Son of God”. One of the most famous quotes came from Jesus Christ, when he responded in part by saying “Man shall not live by bread alone”.

The devil tried to tempt Jesus Christ a second time by taking him to the holy city, seating him on a pinnacle of the temple and suggesting that he throw himself down so the angels could save him. Jesus Christ responded in part by saying to the devil “Thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God”.

The devil tried to tempt Jesus Christ a final time by taking him to an extremely high mountaintop and promising him the world if only he would bow down to worship him. Jesus Christ responded in part by calling the devil by his name “Satan” and saying “Thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and him only shall thou serve”. Satan finally left Jesus Christ alone and angels soon came to visit him.

After his forty day period of fasting and meditation , Jesus Christ visited his home of Nazareth (until he was looked upon in a skeptical manner), returned to Galilee and eventually moved to Capernaum (where he freely began teaching his gospel).

One day, Jesus Christ was walking along the waters of Galilee as he saw Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea. These men were obviously fishers. Jesus Christ called to them “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”. Both fishermen followed him. Jesus Christ soon came across two other brothers. He called for James and John, who were also fishermen, and they followed him. These men (Peter, Andrew, James, John) along with several others (Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, Thaddeus, Simon, Judas) became known for being the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ traveled throughout nearby towns and villages with his twelve apostles, to proclaim the mystery and belief of the kingdom of God. Most followers and believers were the sick, the oppressed and the outcasts. Those, who were rejected and not treated well by society, were always accepted and respected by Jesus Christ and his apostles. Jesus Christ was a compassionate man. He was as nonjudgmental as he was looked upon as holy and revered by those whose lives he touched.

As his popularity increased with the people, Jesus Christ became a threat to the religious authorities that dominated most territories. His Sermon on the Mount was one of the most powerful speeches in history. Whereas some feared that the people would inevitably disregard the Law or the Torah, others feared that the people would ultimately question the authority of the Roman Empire. Too much was at stake politically, yet so much was to be gained religiously.

The followers of Jesus Christ became so dedicated and undaunted in their devotion to him, that at some point, they wanted to use force to make him king. This was neither the motive, nor the goal of Jesus Christ, so he chose to continue traveling with his disciples to spread the word of God.

Miracles ? There were many. The second most memorable was the one in which Jesus Christ raised Lazarus from the dead. The most memorable was the one in which Jesus Christ resurrected himself from the dead. His teachings were convincing alone, yet his many miracles performed were the final acts that convinced many that he was truly the “Son of God”.

Jesus Christ healed those who were diseased, possessed, mentally ill and physically handicapped. A woman with a blood disease touched the back of his cloak and Jesus Christ healed her because of her faith and conviction. A maid who was pronounced dead was merely “sleeping”, according to him, and arose at the “call” of his will. Two blind men were asked if they believed and soon were able to see. A dumb man who was possessed with a devil was set free. He gave his disciples the power against unclean spirits as well as the power to heal those who were possessed by them. Jesus Christ was indeed on a mission and healed as many people as possible along his spiritual journey.

Those who were diseased and merely touched his cloak were immediately healed. Many chose to follow him as he traveled. Those who followed him and wanted to stay with him were too many to share the small amounts of food he traveled with. His followers were often numbered in the thousands. On one occasion, they were not only able to share five loaves of bread and two fish provided, but they were able to have twelve baskets full of fragments left over. On another occasion, he took seven loaves of bread along with a few fish, and enabled thousands to eat with seven baskets of food left over. Many continued to follow him as he continued to heal and feed them miraculously.

Eventually, Jesus Christ would dismiss the multitudes of people. Being left with his disciples, he would often go on his own to pray. One day, he sent them into a ship and retired to himself upon a mountain. At some point, his disciples witnessed him walking on the water towards the ship to visit them. Not knowing what or who was approaching them, they cried out for fear. However, Jesus Christ spoke out to them so they would know that it was he who was walking on the water. Peter called his name and was soon walking on the water to him. As Peter showed a lack of faith , he fell somewhat into the sea. As Peter felt a renewed faith , he was raised back on top of the water along with Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ knew the inevitable. He knew that his mission was approaching a week of the earthly end…and the heavenly beginning for all of mankind:

On the Sunday before Passover, Jesus Christ approached Jerusalem for the very last time.

On Monday, he was greeted warmly by a wildly enthusiastic crowd.

On Tuesday, he angrily drove those conducting monetary business in the temple, out of the temple, even though it was an accepted custom. He questioned those in religious authority (priests and scribes) on many matters and held closely to his convictions. Those who saw him as a definite religious threat (primarily priests and scribes) conspired with one of his own disciples (Judas) who betrayed him. They feared that Jesus Christ would turn the Romans against them as well as the Jews, because of his unconventional religious activities.

On Wednesday, he was anointed on his forehead with a special ointment. The person who anointed his forehead was a woman named Bethany. Jesus Christ took this as a symbolic preparation for his impending burial.

On Thursday, Jesus Christ ate the Passover supper with his disciples. This became known as the “Last Supper”. During this supper, he took bread and wine and made them symbolic of his body and blood. It was a passionate dinner and one to be remembered for all of time. After the meal, Jesus Christ and his disciples went to the Mount of Olives, where Jesus predicted his resurrection. Jesus soon retired to the Garden of Gethsemane, where “being in agony” over his systematic betrayal by Judas, he decided to meditate and pray. Eventually, a religious crowd, led by Judas, took him and had him arrested. Jesus Christ was taken to a supreme council meeting of the Jews, and was asked by Caiaphas (a high priest) whether he was the “Son of God”. Upon his affirmation , he was condemned to death for blasphemy.

On Friday, Jesus Christ was taken to Pontius Pilate. Only the Roman procurator was able to impose capital punishment upon someone. Upon facing Pontius Pilate, he was officially sentenced to death . It is debatable whether Pontius Pilate made the decision entirely himself or whether he gave the Jews the authority to make the decision and they did. Nevertheless, Jesus Christ was indeed sentenced to immediate execution. He was taken to Golgotha and was executed by means of crucifixion. The Romans punished all political offenders and criminals by means of crucifixion. As they brutally crucified him, they mocked him by placing a crown of thorns on his head as well as an inscription atop his cross, which read “This is Jesus the King of the Jews”.

On the following Sunday, Mary Magdalene (a prostitute that was associated with him) and Mary (the mother of James) discovered the empty tomb of Jesus Christ. According to the scriptures, a young male angel appeared, after an earthquake moved the stone that covered the tomb, and announced to the two women that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead.

Even death could not keep Jesus Christ from proclaiming the word of God, as he appeared to many people after he was resurrected. Not only did Jesus Christ give people the belief of life after death, but he also gave humanity a chance to enter the gates of heaven by freeing mankind from their sins. The “blood of Jesus Christ” enabled mankind to be “free”.

So was Jesus Christ the “Son of God” or was he merely a magician? Such miracles could not have been done by way of magic alone. Whether he was the “Son of God” or not, he was clearly blessed with supernatural powers, which enabled him to perform so many marvelous and miraculous acts in his lifetime.