Miracles
Jesus not only preached—though that
was the reason why he came (Mark 1:38)—but he also performed many mighty
miracles, which were visible evidence that his authority was from God (Matt.
9:1-8). Most Christians believe that Christ could do such mighty works because
he is God, but here we must tread with some caution.
Miracles are visible sermons conveying
spiritual truth, often concerning the person and work of Christ. When Christ
gave sight to the blind man (John 9), for example, it provided evidence that he
was the divine Messiah (Isa. 29:18; 35:3-5; 42:7; Matt. 11:5; Luke 7:22). The
miracle spoke to who he was, as well as to the fact that he had inaugured the
kingdom of God in their presence. Likewise, his first ‘sign’ in John 2—the turning
of water into wine—proved that he was the divine Messiah (when read against the
Old Testament background of Isaiah 25:6-12 and Amos 9:13-15). In all of this,
however, the means (or ability) by which he performed these miracles was the
power of the Holy Spirit. (Mark Jones, Knowing Christ [Edinburgh: The Banner
of Truth Trust, 2015], 57-58)
On Jesus walking on water (Mark 6:48, 50):
What Jesus did was hugely significant:
he was testifying to who he was. Nevertheless, while the miracle of walking on
water in that context proved that Jesus was God, he was able to do it because
of the power of the Holy Spirit upon him. (Ibid., 58)
Christ performed miracles because
the Holy Spirit enabled him. Sometimes, however, Christ could not perform
mighty works (Mark 6:5) because the Spirit did not enable him. God’s power is
greater than man’s sin, but nevertheless, in Mark 6:5, we have striking
testimony to the fact that Jesus in his human nature was entirely dependent
upon the Holy Spirit to perform miracles. This can only be explained if Jesus
was under the authority of his Father, who was the great orchestrator of all
Christ’s prophetic, priestly, and kingly acts while on the earth. If the Father
withheld from Christ the prerogative to perform mighty works, he could only
say, ‘for such is your perfect will.’ He could have depended upon the will of
the Father, who gave to him the spirit as he needed. (Ibid., 59)
