Jesus was known in his time and today as a teacher and miracle worker. This dual emphasis of his ministry can lead to separate discussions on these topics, focusing at times on the powerful teaching of Jesus and other times on the miraculous deeds of Jesus. While there is certainly a logic to such a division, there is a sense in which separating Jesus’s ministry into these two categories is not helpful because the miracles of Jesus also teach important truths about himself and his ministry. That is, Jesus’s miracles were not just acts of compassion to help people in need or astonishing actions that attracted people so they would listen to his message. Rather, they serve as something like “object lessons” that reveal his identity and mission. Since we’re studying the Gospel of Mark at the time of the writing of this blog, and that gospel narrates more of Jesus’s activities than his discourses, I’ll explore some of the lessons behind the miracles found in Mark
Jesus’s Miracles Reveal He is God in the Flesh
As noted in a recent post, Mark’s overarching goal in his gospel is to show that Jesus is the Son of God and he does this in a narrative format. Thus, it makes sense to recognize how various miracles recorded in the Gospel of Mark show that Jesus is not just the promised anointed one, but God who has come in the flesh to save His people on the cross. A number of Jesus’s actions are things that only God could do or that would draw close associations with God. For example, when Jesus calms the storm, he shows this control over the winds and the waves, something no human can control and something that only God has (Mark 4:35-41). Similarly, when Jesus walks on water (Mark 6:45-51) – in the midst of great winds, no less! – he does something that God does as Psalm 77 says that God’s path is the sea, and the story of the people of Israel includes God parting the sea so that people would walk through it. Therefore, these miracles point to Jesus having the power of God!
Even some miracles that do not reflect actions reserved for God affirm Jesus’s identity as the Son of God. The healing of the paralytic man in Mark 2:1-12 is not something no other miracle worker could do, but the reason that Jesus does this miracle is to show his power to forgive sins – which only God can do. Some of the miracles of Jesus have parallels to the miracles performed by Elijah and Elisha – such as the resurrection from the dead (Mark 5:21-43; see 1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:18-37) and multiplication of food (Mark 6:30-44; 8:1-11; 1 Kings 17:8-15; 2 Kings 4:1-7, 42-44). However, there is also a sense in which Jesus’s miracles surpass what they did as there are miracles that Jesus performs, like healing the blind (Mark 8:22-26; 10:46-52) and the deaf-mute (Mark 7:31-37). The way that Jesus heals is different too, as he heals the leper through a touch (Mark 1:40-45) rather than like Elisha telling Namaan to bathe in 2 Kings 5. Thus, these are also pointers to his greater identity; he is more than another prophet. The feeding of the 5,000 (Mark 6:32-44) is also reminiscent of God’s feeding His people in the wilderness under Moses’s leadership, but Jesus’s actions here go beyond that and point to him as the true and good shepherd of God’s people, a title that ultimately belongs to God.
The encounters with demons in Mark also point to Jesus’s identity. One way is that these demons are the first to identify Jesus as the Son of God – using even loftier language than might be expected for the Messiah as they call him the Holy One of God (Mark 1:24) and Son of the Most High (Mark 5:7). While this ministry against demons is given to the disciples (Mark 6:7-13), there is something unique in Jesus’s power of them – which he delegates to them. This aspect of Jesus’s work is also a hint about his identity…not just as a king or teacher but also as Lord of the spiritual realm.
Jesus’s Miracles Reveal the Kingdom of God Has Come
Discussion of Jesus’s encounter with demons serves as a good point to also recognize how Jesus’s miracles point to his ministry in bringing the kingdom of God, restoring the rule of God to the broken world in which we live. This is the message that Jesus preaches (Mark 1:15), and his actions serve as object lessons of this truth. For example, the feeding of the 5,000 also stands as a picture of the arrival of the kingdom of God (Mark 6:32-44), as it is a picture of the fulfillment of God’s promise to feed His people in the kingdom and the feasting that would happen in God’s kingdom (often called the messianic banquet).
The most common miraculous act we see in Mark is defeating demons (Mark 1:21-28; 5:1-20; 7:37-24-30; 10:14-29), highlighting that Jesus comes to defeat the power and influence of Satan in this world. The defeat of Satan and restoration of the world is also seen in the way Jesus cures physical ailments such as a fever (Mark 1:29-31), leprosy (Mark 1:40-45), paralysis (Mark 2:1-12), a shriveled hand (Mark 3:1-6), a woman’s 12-year bleeding ailment (Mark 5:25-34), deafness and muteness (Mark 7:31-37), and blindness (Mark 8:22-26; 10:46-52). The reason for these ailments is the fallenness of the world and Jesus’s work thus shows that he will restore the world back to health. Of course, the ultimate consequence of sin in this world is death, and Jesus shows that he has power over that (Mark 5:35-43), with the resuscitation of Jairus’s daughter a foreshadowing of Jesus’s resurrection and the hope that we have for resurrection.
The miracles also reveal that the arrival of the kingdom is good news for Gentiles as well as Jesus. The miracles we see in Mark 7-8 – casting out a demon from a Syrophencian woman’s daughter, healing in the Decapolis, and feeding the 4,000 – all seem to occur to Gentiles and in Gentile territory. The kingdom coming is good news for Jews and Gentiles – for all people! That truth emerges through the object lessons of these miracles.
Jesus’s Miracles Reveal What Happens When We Don’t Listen
There is one other miracle in the Gospel of Mark that is often overlooked but definitely serves an object lesson: the cursing of the barren fig tree. Between the curse being given (Mark 11:12-14) and then actualized (Mark 11:20-25) stands Jesus’s clearing of the temple (Mark 11:15-19). This organization seems intentional, drawing a connection between the fruitless tree and the fruitless activity happening in the temple. Such a connection is even more apparent when you recognize how God would refer to His people as a tree or vine (see e.g, Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 12:10). The cursing of the tree thus foreshadows the destruction of the temple but also serves as a warning against being busy but not producing fruit, of worship that is an outward show rather than an inward disposition.
This object lesson is a reminder of the lessons behind all the miracles. The goal in revealing Jesus’s identity as the Son of God and the arrival of the kingdom is that we might repent and believe this good news (see Mark 1:14-15). That is, we should worship and trust Jesus! May reading and pondering his miracles cause us to do so.
Questions about the Bible or theology? Email them to Pastor Brian at Theology@WeAreFaith.org. You can also request to receive weekly emails with our blog posts by filling out the information on the right side.
