The Miracles and Wonders--Part Two

{This is the eighth part of a twelve part series attempting to answer the question "Who is Jesus?". The song "I AM" by Mark Schultz is utilized in this series as a reference point, and the lyrics can be found in the "I AM series" post found earlier.}

The Miracles and Wonders--Part Two

The One Who Walked On Water/The One Who Calmed the Seas

Jesus's miracles and wonders defied physical reality. I suppose that is the defition of a miracle, something that is outside the explainable realm of science. In the last installment of the series, the healing powers of Jesus were examined and explained. In this segment of the series, the focus will not be upon how he was able to physically change people, but how he was able to control his surrounding environments.

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" (Matthew 8:23-27)

In this instance, Jesus was able to simply manipulate his environment. When he went to sleep, I wonder if it was with a smile on his face, knowing what was to come, and what events would transpire. I wonder what it was like to wield such power, but Jesus did not abuse this power, in fact he respected it and rarely used it. In all cases, it was used to display the glory of God. In this case, it was yet another way of showing that he was the Son of God, invested with power from above. Let's look at another example.

When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on the land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. (Mark 6:47-51)

Here we see Jesus physically able to walk on liquid water, something that is impossible for any of us to do. The corresponding passage in the gospel of Matthew has the disciples exclaiming "Truly you are the Son of God!", for what they were witnessing was not possible for mortal man. That is one thing that I like about the disciples, that they are always impressed, surprised, and amazed were something like this happens. They have been travelling with, listening to, and learning from Jesus for months and have seen many miracles, including when he calmed the stormy seas, yet every time something like this happens it is like they are recognizing his abilities for the first time.

It is interesting that of the two miracles studied today, both involved water. In tomorrow's series installment, we will see the Jesus is The Fount of Living Water. Certainly, his miracles were not limited to the watery realm. Indeed, Jesus twice fed thousands of people with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. After his baptism, Jesus spent forty days and nights in the desert without food or water, worth note it itself, but in his weakened physical and mental state, he was able to withstand extreme temptation, using his knowledge of the Word of God. In addition to this, we was able to heal the blind, the mute, the deaf, the paralyzed, the leprous, the sick, and even the dead.

Jesus's miracles and wonders are many, but each one was done for the glory of God, and each one offers proof that Jesus Christ was the Son of God.