Introduction

† Many people believe Jesus performed miracles simply to demonstrate His power or compassion. While both are true, the Scriptures reveal something much greater. Every miracle Jesus performed fulfilled what the prophets had spoken centuries earlier. His miracles weren't random acts of supernatural power, they were living prophecies announcing that the promised Messiah had arrived and that God's New Covenant Kingdom was being established. Every blind eye opened, every deaf ear heard, every lame person walked, and every dead person raised testified that God's promises were being fulfilled before Israel's eyes.

Isaiah 35:3-6

Strengthen the exhausted, and make the feeble strong.
Say to those with anxious heart,
"Take courage, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
The retribution of God will come,
But He will save you."
Then the eyes of those who are blind will be opened,
And the ears of those who are deaf will be unstopped.
Then those who limp will leap like a deer,
And the tongue of those who cannot speak will shout for joy.
For waters will burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.

† Isaiah described what would identify the coming of the Messiah centuries before Jesus was born. (Isaiah 35:5-6)

† These miracles weren't merely displays of divine power. They were the very signs God promised would accompany the arrival of His salvation. (Isaiah 35:4-6)

† Every miracle Jesus performed declared that the promised age of fulfillment had arrived. (Luke 4:21)

Isaiah 61:1-2

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord anointed me
To bring good news to the humble;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim release to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,

† Isaiah foretold the mission of the coming Messiah.

† Jesus fulfilled these promises through both His teaching and His miracles, demonstrating that God's Kingdom had come near. (Matthew 12:28)

† His miracles revealed that He wasn't simply another prophet but the One whom the prophets had announced. (Acts 3:18)

Matthew 8:16-17

Now when evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled: "He Himself took our illnesses and carried away our diseases."

† Matthew doesn't leave the purpose of Jesus' miracles to speculation. He says they fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy. (Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:4)

† The miracles were visible evidence that the promised Messiah had come exactly as the prophets foretold. (Isaiah 35:5-6; Matthew 11:4-5)

Luke 4:16-21

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."

And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him. Now He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

† Jesus didn't postpone Isaiah's prophecy to a distant future.

† He declared that it was being fulfilled in the hearing of His first-century audience. (Luke 4:21)

† Every miracle that followed confirmed the truth of His declaration. (John 10:37-38)

Matthew 11:2-6

Now while in prison, John heard about the works of Christ, and he sent word by his disciples, and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or are we to look for someone else?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: those who are blind receive sight and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is any person who does not take offense at Me."

† Jesus answered John's question by pointing to fulfilled prophecy rather than simply saying, "Yes, I am the Messiah."

† His miracles were the evidence because they fulfilled exactly what Isaiah had written. (Isaiah 35:5-6; Isaiah 61:1-2)

† The miracles themselves testified that the promised Christ had come. (John 5:36)

John 5:36

But the testimony I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish-the very works that I do-testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.

† Jesus said His miracles testified that the Father had sent Him. (John 5:36)

† The miracles weren't performed simply to amaze the crowds but to bear witness that He was the promised Messiah. (John 20:30-31)

John 9:1-7

As Jesus passed by, He saw a man who had been blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must carry out the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world." When He had said this, He spit on the ground, and made mud from the saliva, and applied the mud to his eyes, and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he left and washed, and came back seeing.

† Giving sight to the blind fulfilled one of Isaiah's greatest Messianic promises. (Isaiah 35:5)

† Jesus demonstrated that He is the Light of the world by giving both physical and spiritual sight. (John 8:12; John 9:5)

† This miracle pointed beyond one man's healing to the greater work Christ came to accomplish. (Acts 26:18)

John 11:43-44

And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" Out came the man who had died, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

† Raising Lazarus demonstrated Christ's authority over death itself. (John 11:25-26)

† This miracle revealed that Jesus is the resurrection and the life long before His own resurrection. (John 11:25)

† It also pointed forward to the greater covenant victory Christ would accomplish through His death and resurrection. (Hebrews 2:14-15)

Acts 2:22

Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a Man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know

† Peter reminded Israel that Jesus' miracles publicly testified that He had been sent by God. (Acts 2:22)

† Israel wasn't lacking evidence. The miracles themselves confirmed the fulfillment of God's promises. (John 5:36; John 20:30-31)

John 20:30-31

So then, many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing you may have life in His name.

† John calls Jesus' miracles "signs" because they pointed to something greater than themselves.

† Every miracle testified that Jesus is the promised Messiah foretold by the prophets. (Acts 10:38-43)

† The miracles weren't the destination, they were signposts directing Israel to Christ and the fulfillment of God's promises. (Luke 24:44)

† John deliberately calls the miracles "signs" because a sign points beyond itself to a greater reality. Every miracle pointed to Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. (John 20:30-31; Luke 24:44)

Historical References

† Isaiah foretold the miracles that would identify the coming Messiah more than seven centuries before the birth of Christ.

† The Gospel writers repeatedly record Jesus' miracles as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, confirming that He is the promised Messiah sent to Israel.

How It Applies To Us Today

† Our faith rests upon the One who fulfilled every promise God made concerning the coming Messiah. (2 Corinthians 1:20)

† The miracles remind us that God's Word never fails. Every prophecy concerning Christ was fulfilled exactly as God declared. (Luke 4:21; Matthew 5:17)

† We don't simply admire the miracles, we believe in the One to whom every miracle pointed, Jesus Christ, our fulfilled Messiah. (John 20:30-31)

Q & A Appendix

Q: Why did Jesus perform so many miracles?

A: Jesus' miracles fulfilled the prophecies concerning the Messiah and demonstrated that God's promised Kingdom had arrived. (Isaiah 35:5-6; Matthew 11:4-5)

Q: Were Jesus' miracles only acts of compassion?

A: No. They certainly showed His compassion, but they also served as prophetic signs identifying Him as the promised Christ. (John 20:30-31; Luke 4:21)

Q: Why does John call the miracles "signs"?

A: Because they pointed beyond themselves to Jesus as the Christ, fulfilling the promises spoken by the prophets. (John 20:30-31; Acts 3:18)

Q: Were Jesus' miracles random acts of power?

A: No. Every miracle fulfilled Old Testament prophecy and testified that Jesus is the promised Messiah and that God's Kingdom had arrived. (Isaiah 35:5-6; Matthew 11:4-5; John 20:30-31)

Of all these, Matthew 8:16-17 is the one I would definitely add because it explicitly states that Jesus' miracles were performed "that it might be fulfilled." It directly supports the sermon's title better than almost any other passage.

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †

© Fulfilled Prophecies - Dan Maines.

Source Index

† Isaiah 35:3-6, Isaiah 61:1-2, Matthew 8:16-17, Luke 4:16-21, Matthew 11:2-6, John 5:36, John 9:1-7, John 11:43-44, Acts 2:22, John 20:30-31

† Isaiah the Prophet, Matthew, Luke, John the Apostle, Peter the Apostle