3.2 Did Jesus Perform Miracles?

I've always loved magic tricks. I want to be the guy who can get the bunny out of the hat, the coin behind the ear, and make the ball just disappear. I just don't have the magic touch and I'll be forever jealous of people who have that one cool party trick. Now, people would often accuse Jesus of being that way but Jesus never performed a miracle to get a cheap laugh or to impress the crowds. Everything Jesus did while on earth was to show us how life should be or better yet how life will be. People shouldn't have to struggle with sight so Jesus made them see others and shouldn't have life-limiting conditions so Jesus made them fully able. Even when his critics demanded a miracle he refused. Jesus was more interested in sharing the miracle of forgiveness. He made a point of saying to a paralytic man before healing him that 'his sins were forgiven' and the religious leaders at the time were so furious that they wanted to kill him because they believed only God could forgive sins but they were missing the whole point. This was God in the flesh showing love, acceptance, and forgiveness because ultimately this is what we need most and they thought that Jesus was just a man with some tricks up his sleeve. There were many who didn't get healed during Jesus' ministry and even fewer who were raised to life like Jairus's daughter our good friend Lazarus and a widow's son. There was a real hopelessness in the case of Jairus. He was a Jewish leader whose daughter was on death's door. He reached out to Jesus for help but thought that all hope was lost. Scripture Paints the scene of family and friends wailing at the sheer anguish of losing this young girl. As Jesus approached the house Jairus' servant ran out and sadly stated, 'There's no use troubling the teacher now', believing nothing could be done. Jesus turns the whole situation on its head, bringing peace and calm to a chaotic scene, he takes the cold hand of the dead girl and speaks as if her alarm clock had just gone off, 'my child, get up'. Jesus' words made no sense to the people around because everybody knew that she was dead but to everyone's shock, she actually stood up. The mourning turned to laughter and song and the disappointment of Jairus turned to joy. In the case of Jesus' friend Lazarus, Jesus came to the tomb where his friend was buried. Again, we see tears only this time they're the tears of Jesus. Faced with people's grief and loss, Jesus enters into their pain. Jesus hates pain and suffering as much as we do and this is why the resurrection is so amazing because Jesus was willing to pay such a heavy price to make sure pain and suffering wouldn't be the end and to take the sting out of death. I can only make sense of all that we suffer because I have the hope that Jesus will have the last word. We may not get to experience what Jairus's daughter did or what Lazarus did but these stories do give us a glimpse of what life with Jesus will ultimately be like, no more tears, no more pain, no more suffering. One of the other amazing things about the resurrection is that I'm talking about it, in Ireland over, 2000 years after Jesus was on the earth and over 5000 Km away from where he walked. Now, this message spread because this is good news worth dying for. From what we know of history most of the disciples were killed for proclaiming the truth of the resurrection and the apostle Paul who spent most of his later life in prison for his faith, said that he considered 'Everything a loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ.' (Phil 3:8). Paul told his listeners that the reality of Jesus's resurrection had changed his life but 'I've learned the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' (Philippians 4:11-13) Whatever you're going through, whatever you're feeling, Jesus has gone through it, Jesus has felt it, and Jesus has defeated it. Because of the resurrection nothing we endure will last forever. This is the power of the resurrection.