What do I do now? Now that the storm has hit? Now that my plans have crashed? Now that the marriage has failed? Now that the diagnosis has come? If you ever ask such questions, meet Jesus! He’s God’s answer for Man’s problems.
Jesus alone is God’s answer to our disappointment, doubt, desires, despair, darkness, and death.
Jesus understands us. He knows life is hard and that it is often filled with physical and emotional pain and even life and death struggles. During His ministry, He turned His attention frequently to people who were looking for answers, for miracles, to meet their immediate needs. But He also knew that their greatest need was for something deeper.
The miracles Jesus did during His earthly ministry did more than meet immediate needs. They testified about who Jesus is, revealing His deity, His supremacy, and His power. They also demonstrated His mission and His ability to bring about the most astonishing feat of all—the regeneration of the human heart.
Jesus is God’s Answer to Our Disappointment
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. …And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine” (John 2:1,3).
Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” (John 2:6-10).
Jesus’ first public miracle was not performed to rescue hospitality or display power. When we look deeper, we see that Jesus used this miracle to demonstrate His offer of abundant life.
He performed His first miracle at a wedding. Jesus loves life’s celebrations. The biblical accounts don’t mention the identity of the bride and groom, so they were probably common people. Jesus loves ordinary people and cares enough to be involved in their daily lives.
Jesus worked with six waterpots. In the Bible, six is the number for Man. Wine is symbolic of joy and strength. Jesus filled the pots to the brim with the best wine anyone had ever tasted. Jesus offers abundant forgiveness and fills Man all the way up with joy and strength—with abundant life!
Part of that abundant life is collaborating with Jesus. The servants were in on the secret. He let them participate in the miracle…to be the bearers of joy!
The master of the feast remarked that it was odd for the bridegroom to offer the best wine last. Satan offers his best first—all the empty pursuits of this world that ultimately cause disappointment. But Jesus offers the best last—once we’ve had our fill of what the world has to offer, we come to Him. Jesus is the wine that satisfies and never disappoints!
Jesus transformed worthless water into delicious wine, and He is still at work transforming human hearts today. This miracle was a demonstration of salvation that brings transformation!!!
The wine that the hosts served at the beginning of the wedding feast was their best, but it was inferior and limited because it would eventually run out. Through this miracle, Jesus demonstrated that He is a well of joy, marked not only by quality, but also by endless quantity. This is the abundant life Jesus’ followers will enjoy with Him in eternity!
When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”
The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!” Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.
And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!” Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.
And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household (John 4:47-53).
A wealthy and prestigious man begged Jesus to heal his dying son. This man had difficulty believing in Jesus. But Jesus stepped in and performed a miracle in a way that addressed the man’s doubts.
Jesus helped this man overcome four doubt-filled obstacles to strong faith: second-hand faith, self-centered faith, strong-willed faith, and sign-demanding faith.
Second-hand faith: When the nobleman first came to Jesus, he had only heard rumors that Jesus could perform miracles. Jesus requires that we develop our own faith in God.
Self-centered faith: “The nobleman said to Him, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies!’” (John 4:49). This man was interested in the physical, not the spiritual—in the temporal, not the eternal. Jesus strengthened the man’s faith by centering the nobleman’s focus on God and not on Himself.
Strong-willed faith: The nobleman didn’t ask Jesus to come and save his child; he demanded it. Jesus did heal his child, but He did not submit to his demand to “come.” Instead, Jesus required the nobleman to obey, saying, “Go your way; your son lives” (John 4:50). Weak faith is strong-willed and demanding. Strong faith waits upon God and listens to hear His will.
Sign-demanding faith: “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe’” (John 4:48). Nothing is wrong with asking for a miracle; just don’t make your faith conditional on seeing it happen.
The real miracle in this story is not what happened to the nobleman’s son but what happened to the nobleman’s faith. This miracle led him to a saving belief in Christ as the Messiah.
After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world” (John 6:1-14).
Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 pointed to Jesus’ unique ability to meet not only the common physical need of those in the multitude—hunger—but also the greatest spiritual need of every individual: the hunger to be made right with God.
In this miracle, we see that no problem is too big for Jesus, that no person is too small to be used by Him, and that Jesus, who said, “I am the Bread of Life” (John 6:35), eternally satisfies our souls.
The people had a problem: they were hungry and didn’t have food. We often try to solve problems in our own strength. But problems are opportunities to run into God’s strength. No matter how big your problem is, God is bigger.
When Jesus solves problems, He uses people. There was one small boy with a lunch. Jesus used this little boy in a bigger story that would display His glory for generations to come.
Jesus fed the 5,000 to teach them that He was the true bread of life. They could have physical bread that satisfied them for a little while, but through Christ, they could have spiritual bread that would satisfy them forever. Jesus is the spiritual, supernatural, satisfying, sustaining Bread of Life. There is no hunger too deep for Jesus to satisfy.
Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going (John 6:16-21).
We all have a companion we may not recognize as a friend. This “friend” causes us to draw closer to Jesus, gives us more strength, and gives us the opportunity to develop a mature faith. His name is “Trouble.”
After Jesus fed the 5,000, He used a moment of trouble to teach the disciples six valuable lessons. Jesus taught these lessons through a literal storm. Because these lessons are recorded in Scripture, we can also learn how to use them to survive our metaphorical storms today.
You are governed by His providence.
The storm did not take Jesus by surprise. He was the one who created the Sea of Galilee in the beginning. Jesus knew the storm was coming and He commanded His disciples to sail into the coming storm.
You are growing by His plan.
The Lord Jesus engineered the storm for His disciples because He wanted to develop them. The difficult moments grow us into stronger Christians.
You are graced by His prayers.
When Jesus sent the disciples across the Sea of Galilee, He had a vantage point from the top of the mountain. He saw the storm brewing. He saw them rowing, toiling, and growing distressed as the waves swelled. As He watched them, He prayed for them.
You can be gladdened by His presence.
Jesus came and dispelled the disciples’ fears. He also grew their faith. He came to them between 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM (see Matthew 14:25). He could have come sooner, but He wanted to teach them to trust Him. Jesus wants us to remember that He is always with us, no matter how dark the night or difficult the rowing.
You are guarded by His power.
As the waves crashed against the disciples’ boat, they were terrified. Suddenly, a figure appeared out of the mist. “He said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid’” (John 6:20). In the Greek translation, Jesus literally said, “I AM” as He approached the disciples. He used the powerful name Jehovah.
You are guided by His purpose.
God did not promise you smooth sailing; He promised you a safe landing. After Jesus sent the disciples out into the storm and came to them, He brought an end to their tumultuous journey. He had a purpose in their trouble, and He had accomplished it.
Next time you find yourself in grave difficulty, consider saying this aloud to Jesus:
You know what’s overtaken me. You have a plan to grow me through this difficulty. You are at the right hand of the Father, praying for me. You are also right here with me in my trouble. You are the great I Am, and you are guarding me with Your power. I praise You because You will accomplish your purpose in this storm.
Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing (John 9:1-7).
When light enters a darkened space, darkness immediately gives way; there is no coexistence. Jesus is the light of the World. When He enters the human heart, darkness is banished; one day, the entire world will be illuminated.
In John 9, Jesus miraculously healed a blind man to demonstrate that He is the light of the world—the cure for our spiritual blindness.
God used the blind beggar as an illustration of Man without a Savior. The beggar was physically blind, but spiritual blindness makes beggars of us all.
When the Lord went out of Adam’s spirit, the life went out (see John 1:4). When the life went out, the light went out and darkness entered.
All people have the nature of Adam; we are born separated from God in spirit. Each of us is spiritually blind until we accept the light of Jesus into our spirits through salvation. We are naturally depraved, dead, and darkened without Christ. You don’t have to be a murderer, a bank robber, or an arsonist to be lost; you just have to be separated from God. The Bible makes this clear: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5).
You might see physical, material things, but you cannot see true, spiritual things without Jesus. In this miraculous story, Jesus healed both the man’s physical and spiritual blindness.
After Jesus revealed Himself as the Light of the World, He anointed the man’s eyes with clay. The clay represented the man’s humanity, weakness, and dependence on God. God made Adam from the clay (see Genesis 2:7), and Jesus sealed the blind beggar’s eyes with clay, which blocked out the light.
Then the Lord told the blind man to wash in the pool of Siloam, which means “sent.” John showed us why this was significant by recording Jesus’ defense of His actions to the Pharisees. In John 8:23, Jesus made it clear that He was sent by the Father: “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world” (John 8:23). Jesus further explained, “And He who sent Me is with Me” (John 8:29).
Jesus said that He must do the work of the One who sent Him. In the same way that Jesus sent the blind beggar to wash in the pool of Siloam, God sent Jesus into the world.
Once healed, the man could see physically, but not yet spiritually. Opened eyes can perceive the light, but they must learn to see. The formerly blind man was still ignorant of the fullness of who Jesus was. When the man shared what happened, he was cast out of the synagogue because the spiritually blind Jewish leaders were afraid that others would follow Jesus. But consider how Jesus responded when He heard this:
Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”
He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.”
Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him (John 9:35-38).
The Pharisees shut the man out, but Jesus sought him out. They were the blight of the world, but Jesus was the light of the world. Not only did Jesus want the man to know who He was, but He also wanted the man to believe. He pursued this man so that he would be saved.
And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”
Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go” (John 11: 41b-44).
Scripture records three instances in which Jesus raised a person from the dead. The first was when a ruler came and asked Jesus to resurrect his sickly daughter (see Matthew 9:18-26). The second was when Jesus came to a funeral and resurrected the only son of a widow (see Luke 7:11-17). The third resurrection miracle was when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11).
Each person was physically dead. But there are people all around us who are worse than these three; they are physically alive but spiritually dead. The only thing that brings eternal life is salvation in Christ. Eternal, abundant life can’t be gained by anything we can accomplish on our own, but by receiving life from the death of Christ. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead to teach us that we can only experience true life through the saving power of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).
The miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus was about teaching us that Jesus Christ is the resurrection; we will live eternally if we are alive spiritually. But it is also about teaching us that Jesus Christ is the life, the abundant life, we can live NOW.
When Lazarus first came out of the grave, he was alive but still covered in the stench and clothes of death.
And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go” (John 11:44).
When we are saved, we need to let go of the grave clothes of our old lives. We need fellow believers to help us.
The ministry of the Church is to call the spiritually dead into abundant life and to unwrap the saints from sin, to help them flee sinful desires and to know what a righteous life looks like. Sanctification is a constant progression of becoming more like Christ, and it’s not something we can do alone.
Lazarus shed his grave clothes and then sat face to face with Jesus, simply enjoying His presence.
Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him (John 12:1-2).
To live life abundantly, you must enjoy love for Jesus. This means that you spend time with Him and with others who love Him. Jesus wants to fellowship with all those who invite Him into their lives.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me (Revelation 3:20).
Relationship with our Creator, our Savior, our King, this is the miracle that cancels death…even while we are still physically alive!!!
