Jesus' Top Ten Miracles

10. The Ear of the Man in Jesus' Arrest Party (Luke 22:45-54)
In this story, when Jesus was approached by Judas and the rest of the arrest party, one of Jesus' followers (some accounts say Peter) cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest who was in the arrest party. Jesus scolded the man who cut off the ear and healed the man's ear though many would consider him to be Jesus' enemy. Even though this man was with those arresting Jesus and probably disagreed with Jesus' teachings and actions, Jesus still felt compelled not to support the swordsman's actions, but instead to help out his enemy.

9. Blind Bartimaeus (Luke 18:35-43)
In this story, Jesus and his followers were travelling in Jericho when blind Bartimaeus was by the roadside and heard Jesus walking by. When he called out for Jesus' help, the crowd rebuked him treating him as unworthy. Of course Jesus came over and healed the man. This story is remarkable on two accounts. First off, though Jesus' followers (you might say the early Church) rebuked the man, possibly calling him a sinner and ridiculing him for his infirmity (back then it was thought that physicial ailments were caused by sin and well deserved; see #8 below) Jesus saw fit to heal this man, having compassion on him, and did not ask any questions or ask for any commitments from the man. Secondly, the man's name being Bartimaeus (translated son of Timaeus) indicates that this man was Roman or Greek. He was therefore a Gentile who worshiped pagan gods, and yet Jesus healed him anyway, without any hesitation or question.

8. Healing a Man Born Blind (John 9:1-41)
In this story, Jesus and his disciples came across a man who is born blind when Jesus' followers ask "who sinned that this man was born blind, him or his parents." Jesus' statement was that it was not sin that caused this man's blindness but that it was more an opportunity to show God's glory. What is so remarkable about this story is that Jesus broke the myth that misfortune is due to sin. It really shows God's grace by establishing that sin is NOT God's focus. His focus is on blessing us and having a relationship with us. Therefore, maybe our focus can change from people's sins to how we can have relationships with them and help them.

7. Healing the Woman with the Issue of Twelve Years (Mark 5:25-34)
In this story Jesus was walking with a large crowd when a woman who has been bleeding for twelve years touched his cloak to be healed. When Jesus was made aware of this, he did not scold this woman for what she did, but instead applauded her faith. Again, this shows the incredible grace Jesus has and shows that he is not concerned with us following rules but on our faith and desire to have a relationship with him, which he is not pushy or forceful about. He did not ask this woman if she would commit herself to him. He never even brought it up.

6. The Widow's Son at Nain (Luke 7:11-17)
In this story, Jesus is walking by Nain (a small village in Israel) when he saw a funeral procession where a woman (a widow) is burying her only son. Jesus is said to have compassion on her and heal her son. Jesus is not asked by her to heal her daughter, nor does he make sure she meets any preconceived conditions before he heals her son. He simply sees a need and meets it. He doesn't see sin, he doesn't judge, he simply sees the need and meets it. I wonder if we can learned from this example of such readiness to help out and such willingness to look past differences.

5. The Royal Official's Son (John 4:46-54)
In this story, Jesus is approached by a Royal Official (presumably a Roman official as that is the occupying regime) whose son is on his death bed. What is remarkable about this story is what makes many of these stories remarkable, Jesus healed the man's son without hesitation despite the fact that being a Roman, this man was a pagan who would have worshiped many of the Roman gods and would have seen Caesar as a god. Despite this man being of a different religious persuasion than Jesus, Christ did not ask for a commitment from this man before or after healing his son. He simply met this man's need without asking anything in return. What a wonderful model for us Christians to follow today.

4. The Gerasene Demoniac (Mark 5:1-20)
In this story, Jesus and his followers end up in Gerasene after a boat trip and are met with a man possessed of many demons. Jesus readily expels the demons from this man with no hesitation. As it turns out, this man was a Gentile as indicated by the location and being so close to the Decapolis. So, this man was not a Jew (as Jesus was), was a heathen/pagan, and did not follow the same God as Jesus. Yet Jesus healed the man and asked nothing of him. Because of Jesus' willingness to help this man without any question or desire for a commitment, without any ulterior motives, this man wanted to follow Jesus without any compulsion. Maybe we can learn from this style of evangelism where instead of trying to convert people, we help them first and desire nothing in return. How bold would that be?

3. The Samaritan Leper (Luke 17:11-19)
In this story, Jesus is approached by ten lepers who call out for Jesus to heal them. Jesus, without any hesitation, heals them immediately. They all went to tell the priest, as Jesus asked them to do, when one of the ten came back to thank Jesus. The one that came back was a Samaritan, one of the hated enemies of the Jews. Jesus did not care that this man was a Samaritan or held different beliefs, and performed actions that the Jews considered sinful. what mattered to Jesus was that this man had a need, and Jesus met it.

2. The Syro-Phoenician Woman's Daughter (Mark 7:25-30)
Like some of the miracles already discussed, this woman was a Gentile, a pagan who was considered unclean (sinful) by the Jews, and yet Jesus was impressed by her faith. Imagine a Christian today saying a Muslim or a Buddhist had incredible faith. It really is amazing what we can learn from Jesus.

1. The Centurion's Servant (Matt 8:5-13)
Finally, in this story Jesus is approached by a Centurion, a Roman officer, who asks Jesus to heal his beloved servant who is on his deathbed. Jesus, without hesitation, starts to go with this man who stops Jesus saying he is not worthy to have him in his home. Jesus commented on this man's remarkable faith, saying it was greater than any he had seen in all of Israel, and healed his son. The kicker is that this Roman Centurion, being a soldier of the Roman military, was most likely a Zoroastrian. These were followers of the god Zoroaster and believers in dualism (the belief that there are good and evil forces, equal in power, struggling with each other for control). This was hardly a follower of the true God and a heathen. Yet Jesus healed him. He did not hesitate to heal him. Jesus did not even ask anything of him. He left it up to the Centurion if he wanted to follow him or not; he did not ask of him any commitment but showed his willingness to help him without ulterior motives and even called his faith the greatest he had ever seen.

So what can we learn from Jesus' miracles? That he modeled for us to be receptive to the needs of all people, regardless of who the person is, what they believe, or what they have done. We learn that we are to look passed sins and behavior we disapprove of, and focus on what people's needs are. We exemplify Jesus by having compassion on people, which means being non-judgmental and focusing on what we can do for people and how we can support them and love them and meet their needs. That is what Jesus did.
Blessings,
-Brandon