Echoes of the Miraculous

Jesus did many amazing miracles, each showing more of who He is – the Son of God. And, they did more than this, they proved that Jesus not only was filled with the Spirit of God, He is the Spirit of God.

 

He is the Second Person of the Triune God. How did the miracles shed light on such a powerful One’s identity? In part, many of the miracles Jesus made occur resembled those God did through prophets in the Old Testament. However, each of the miracles Jesus did exceeded those done previously. In this way, Jesus showed that He did not merely speak for the Lord (‘Thus says the Lord’ was the prophets’ message) but He is the Word of God. Jesus showed that He did not merely have some of God’s Spirit as the prophets experienced God’s indwelling Power, but Jesus is God Himself, possessing all the power of God. Consider some of these amazing similarities between the miracles of the prophets and the miracles of Jesus, and how Jesus exceeded their deeds. Interestingly, Elisha had a double portion of Elijah’s spirit (perhaps one of the more Spirit-filled prophets of the Old Testament). Yet, Jesus was not “more” Spirit-filled, He is perfectly Spirit-filled because He is God.

Passage	Prophetic Miracle	Passage	Messianic Miracle
2 Kings 4:1-7	Elisha helped a widow by giving her jars of oil	John 2:1-11	Jesus helped his mother by providing wine filling gallons and gallons
2 Kings 4:32-35	Elisha brought a boy back from the dead by laying on the child twice	Mark 5:40-42	Jesus raised a girl from the dead by merely saying “Talitha Coum”
2 Kings 4:42-44	Elisha multiplied 20 loaves to feed 100 men	John 6:1-13	Jesus multiplied 5 loaves to feed 5,000 men