Humans have lost many privileges by becoming separated from God by their disobedience. This miracle shows Jesus acting like God, having power over the sea and the wind. This indicates that Jesus was united with God and was able to show what it was like to be Lord of nature.
The next miracle that Luke puts in his Gospel, is ‘Jesus and the Man with the Demon at Gadara’. This miracle and the previous one were probably positioned next to each other to show that Jesus not only has power over nature, but over all evil as well. In this miracle, Jesus once again cures a man who has been possessed by evil spirits for some years. In this, there is an implication that to Jesus, everyone is equal. The man would have been an outcast, who was rejected by his local community. However, Jesus does not show the same brutality and discrimination. Instead, he accepts the man and helps him. Luke wants us to know that to Jesus everyone is welcomed into the kingdom of God. This miracle shows the kingdom of God defeating Satan’s army of evil. It tells us that Jesus with his gift of speech alone, he can heal anyone of anything. It is implying that Jesus is not afraid, for the trusts in the power of his father. He has faith in the power God has entrusted in him, for his is the Son of God.
Jesus did not only have power over evil and the natural world. He also controlled death and illness. In “Jesus and Jairus’ Daughter” Luke is illustrating Jesus’ power over death. Many Jewish leaders were against Jesus, unlike Jairus. However, in this story, Jairus shows his courage by asking Jesus for his help. He is devastated that his only daughter, who is twelve, is dying. Just as Jairus is speaking with Jesus, a Jewish official delivers the news that his daughter is dead. Jairus is distraught and Jesus, being a truly compassionate person, responds to Jairus' heartache. He sees how unhappy Jairus is and as an act of love, he brings his daughter back to life. This story shows the depth of God’s love. When Jesus sees Jairus his own heart is also touched with grief and sorrow. The miracle does not only show Jesus’ ability to perform the impossible, but also that Jesus has a genuine love and compassion for Jairus and the whole human race. The miracle demonstrates to people something of the power of God and how much God cares for us.
On his way to Jairus’ house, Jesus shows his power over illness. There is a woman who is suffering with continuous haemorrhages. She has marvellous faith in God and genuinely believes that Jesus can cure her. She had been classified as dirty by her society and considered unclean to worship publicly by all those around her. She touches Jesus’ cloak and from her touch he is able to recognise the great faith she has in him. So, with one simple touch she is healed, through Jesus. The importance of this story is shown by the persistence of the woman. Jesus did not want to embarrass the woman, but he did not want her to feel that it was just his power that had helped her, but also the faith that she had in him. This is a story about faith, the faith that Jesus expects us to have in him, more than the healing power of Jesus.
In “Jesus Heals a Man,” Jesus shows his compassion for those who are outcastes or for those who are shunned by their society. There was a man with leprosy, a dreaded skin disease who had great faith in Jesus. He threw himself at Jesus screaming, “Sir, if you want to you can make me clean”. He has great faith in Jesus and Jesus, determined to help, tries to show the man that to him everyone is equal. His way of doing this was to perform a miracle and heal him. Although most people believed that God punished the man by receiving leprosy, Jesus did not feel that this kind of unkindness was fair. This miracle demonstrates the importance of touch. Jesus has the authority to forgive sins and cure people. He was not afraid of the man and his dreaded skin disease and touches him because he knows that he can defeat evil in any form. This miracle is a sign of God’s salvation and it shows God breaking into history and saving the lost and the outcast.
“Jesus Heals a Paralysed Man, “ shows how Jesus has the authority to forgive sins. The fact that Jesus tells the man that his sins are forgiven shows the power of God. Not only did the man himself have great faith in God but his friend also did. They are so sure of Jesus’ power that they make an opening in the roof of the house and lower him down to Jesus in the middle of the crowd. Jesus has mercy on the man because of the faith of the group as a whole. Although the people around did not know that Jesus is the Son of God, this story shows to them that he is. Jesus performs the miracle as a declaration of who he is.” I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on Earth to forgive sins.” Although the man has sinned, Jesus heals him to show the love of God reaching to those who are suffering.
The healing of “The Centurion Servant” is Jesus’ response to people’s faith in him. In Capernaem, a Roman officer was there with his servant who was dying. Although the officer was Roman, he had faith in Jesus and sent some Jewish elders to ask for Jesus’ help. They told Jesus that the man was a well liked good person who deserved his help. So Jesus, seeing the mans' faith, went with them. The officer did not consider himself worthy enough for Jesus to come to his home and expressed confidence that even if Jesus would only speak a word from a long distance away, the servant would be cured. Jesus was astounded by the mans great faith and when he had healed him, he turned to the crowd and said, “I tell you, I have never found faith like this, not even in Israel.” The centurion’s faith became part of Jesus’ miracle. It was not only the healing which was important but also the fact that the centurion recognised Jesus’ healing ability came from God. The miracle helped people to have faith in God and therefore brought them closer to God’s kingdom.
In “Jesus raises a Widows’ Son”, Jesus was in Nain when he witnessed a funeral procession for the son of a widow. He saw how distraught she was and with a touch of Jesus’ hand the boy woke, alive. This miracle is important because it backs up the teaching that the "kingdom of God" was coming through his life and his work. It brought great recognition of who Jesus was, as people shouted, “God has come to save his people”.
The most important reason that Jesus worked miracles was to prove to people that God was coming through him to offer salvation. Some miracles were performed to show the power of God and his kingdom and to give people a taste of what the kingdom of God is really like. These miracles are the direct intervention of God. In them, evil, sickness, and natural phenomena’s are all being overcome or harnessed in some way. Jesus was a very powerful individual and Luke wants us to know, from the miracle stories, that there is nothing that Jesus cannot do with the help of God.
