Matthew 4:23-25
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,[g]Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
Matthew 4:23-25 Jesus heals the sick.
ReplyDeleteThings to wonder about:
- Why did Jesus perform miracles back then and why are we not doing that in the United States?
My first take on this is that I wonder how many people Jesus won over to the kingdom through His miracles? He won over crowds who wanted to see the miracles, but no one (except 12 or so) really wanted to follow Him. I wonder if the net effect of miracles is that there aren't any more believers that enter the kingdom of God. The miracles themselves (and the performer) becomes the target of attention, instead of Jesus Himself. I wonder if in the end, it's just better to let the Holy Spirit quietly convict people?
ReplyDeleteWhich begs the question, what are miracles good for then?
http://www.jesus.org/life-of-jesus/miracles/why-did-jesus-perform-miracles.html says He performed them to vindicate His claim.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.whataboutjesus.com/jesus-christ/christ-among-us-series/why-did-jesus-do-miracles reminds us what Jesus said - "Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves" (John 14:11).
It also says that Jesus used miracles to draw people to listen to His messages. It also says that Jesus was compassionate and couldn't let people suffer. Also, Jesus used miracles to bolster the faith of His disciples.
http://www.gotquestions.org/miracles-Bible.html says that the purpose of miracles in Jesus time was to authenticate Jesus and His message. Otherwise, miracles don't work to build faith. People would follow for a short time and than fall away when hard times came.