Miracles of Jesus

Lesson #1 Why did Jesus have to do Miracles (Deuteronomy 18:15-19)

 In this series we will look at some of the miracles Jesus performed during his earthly ministry. We will not look at every miracle, but we will look at specific ones that are significant in his ministry and that we can apply spiritually to ourselves.

This first lesson will not really focus on a miracle that Jesus did but rather it will show us why Jesus was performing miracles when he came. The miracles not only showed that he was God but as we will see in this lesson the miracles identified him as the prophet that Moses had said would come.

A Prophet like unto Moses:

In Deuteronomy 18:15-19 Moses prophesied that God would raise up a prophet like unto him. This prophet was to have God’s words in his mouth and those who do not harken unto this prophet would be judged by the words he spoke. Note this is what Jesus said would judge people as well (John 12:48). Israel was looking for this prophet and that is why they asked John the Baptist if he was “that prophet” (John 1:24-25).

The prophet that Moses prophesied would come was to be like Moses. God gave Moses 3 signs to show Israel that God had sent him to deliver them (Exodus 4:1-9). The first sign was to throw down his rod and it became a serpent, then he was to pick it up by the tail and it would become a rod again. The second sign was to put his hand in his bosom and pull it out when he did so it would be leprous. Then he was to put his hand back in his bosom and pull it out and it would become whole again. The last sign was to take water out of the river and pour it onto the ground and it would become blood.

In these three signs we see Moses doing miracles. This is the first recorded healing in the Bible. The nation of Israel starts with signs and wonders which is why the word of God says, “Jews require a sign” (1 Corinthians 1:22). Therefore, if the prophet that God would raise up (Note the words raise up, signifying that Jesus would rise from the dead) was to be like Moses, then he must do miracles.

Jesus is connected to these three signs:

 We have seen that Jesus needed to do perform miracles to identify himself as “that prophet”.  But in the three signs given to Moses we see a connection to Jesus Christ. In the rod that became a serpent we see a connection to Jesus Christ becoming sin on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus compared himself to the serpent that Moses raised up in the wilderness (John 3:14). The serpent is a symbol of sin as Jesus became sin on the cross for us. But not that the rod of Moses which became a serpent also turned back into a rod again.  This points to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his coming the second time without sin (Hebrews 9:28).

When Moses’ hand became leprous, we also see a type of sin. Leprosy was always a type of sin and anyone who had it was unclean. Also anyone who touched a leper was considered unclean. So once again we see Jesus becoming sin for us in the flesh and then be healed in the flesh by the resurrection from the dead. The last sign Moses was given was water becoming blood. The first miracle Jesus performed was turning water to wine. Wine is connected with blood in the Bible (Deuteronomy 32:14). It was blood and water that came out of Jesus’ side at the crucifixion (John 19:33-34). In this last sign we see a connection to the blood of Jesus that saves us from sin (Revelation 1:5).

Miracles of Jesus

Lesson #1 Why did Jesus have to do Miracles (Deuteronomy 18:15-19)

Handout

 1)  What is Moses prophesying in our passage for this lesson?

2)  Give a New Testament verse for showing that the Jews were looking for that Prophet.

3)  What were the first three Miracles that Moses did in public for Israel?

4)  How are these connected to Jesus Christ?