Why Miracles?
Jesus knew when He began His ministry how long it would be, and He knew how it would end.
From the very beginning of His ministry, Jesus began revealing that He was the Messiah in what He said and what He did. His words and His miracles fulfilled Old Testament prophecy.
Men had claimed to be the Messiah before Jesus came. They even convinced others to follow them. We are told the names of two of these false Messiahs in Acts 5:36-37: Theudas and Judas of Galilee. In each case, the false Messiah was killed and their followers scattered.
Jesus’s miracles were the proof that he was the one and only true Messiah. His words, accompanied by incredible miracles, showed the world that He was who He said He was. Only the Messiah could give sight to the blind, heal the lame, heal every sort of disease, raise the dead, and cast out unclean spirits. (Later, Jesus would give His disciples this power.)
Jesus accomplished countless miracles during His ministry. But His first one was at a wedding in Cana. Jesus, His disciples, and His mother, Mary, attended a wedding feast. It must have been a family close to Mary because she is aware of a big problem that would have been very embarrassing for the hosts. They realize there was not enough wine for the celebration. Mary tells Jesus the problem. Of all the people at the wedding and all the people in world at this moment-Mary was the only one who really understood who Jesus was. She had raised Jesus and kept all she knew about Him in her heart. Mary knew that Jesus had begun His ministry as He had been baptized and had endured the temptation in the wilderness. His mother knew His work had begun.
His first miracle happened at a simple wedding celebration in Cana. Jesus turned water into wine because His mother asked Him to.
“This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.” John 2:11.
This first miracle was the first step as Jesus “manifested His glory.” Manifested means something that was hidden, is suddenly revealed. Glory means the honor, majesty, and splendor that rightly belongs to God.
For the first time, the Messiah suddenly revealed His splendor, His power over all creation in the form of a miracle. His discipled believed in Him. They probably didn’t understand what was happening, but they believed in Jesus.
There was no turning back after this first miracle. The clock of Jesus’s earthly ministry was ticking.
Carla Killough McClafferty