Signs and Miracles

Strong’s Concordance #4592 (NT)

In the New Testament, the Gospel of John is more intentionally structured around Jesus’ signs than the other Gospels. These signs reveal His divine identity as the Son of God. John states the purpose of his Gospel near its close, in 20:30–31: that readers may believe Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of God.”

The Gospel according to John begins with a striking parallel to the creation narrative in John 1:1–18. Rather than starting with Jesus’ earthly birth, John begins with His eternal existence. Jesus is the Word who was with God, who was God, and who was present from the beginning; through Him all things were created, and nothing was made apart from Him. This is a powerful introduction to the Vertiwords theme of “signs,” especially since the first half of John’s Gospel focuses on His seven signs.  Through these signs and miracles, Jesus does not just perform wonders; He actively invites seekers into a deeper discovery, issuing the same timeless invitation found in chapter 1:39: “Come and you’ll see”.

Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed glory, and his disciples believed in him.
John 2:11 (CSB)

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe the Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 20:30-31

Of course, before you can believe, you must behold—a word with its own Vertiwords page. Behold the signs that were supernaturally sent by God through His Son to bring glory to the Father and fulfill the words spoken by the prophets centuries before Jesus’ arrival. Isaiah 35:5–6 says the Messiah will open the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf, make the lame leap, and cause the mute to sing. In Malachi, the final book of the Old Testament, God foretold that the “Sun of Righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings” (4:2). Malachi also closed with the promise of the “coming of Elijah,” another sign fulfilled through John the Baptist—not because he was Elijah himself, but because he came “in the spirit and power of Elijah”

He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go before him in the spirit of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.
Luke 1:16-17 (CSB)

So the disciples asked him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
“Elijah is coming and will restore everything,” he replied. “But I tell you: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him. On the contrary, they did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”
Matthew 17:10-12

After Malachi concluded, God was silent for four hundred years until the birth of Jesus, when the prophetic signs began to be fulfilled. These prophecies gave an indication that miracles were designated to identify the Messiah, who would be distinguished and made known through manifested signs and wonders. These descriptive words form the A-list—the words that fit—but the words that fortify deepen the meaning greatly: the signs were proof that Isaiah’s prophecy had been fulfilled, revealing the deeds of a divine power that were done out of the ordinary.

 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:10-12 (NKJV)

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
Matthew 1:22-23 (NKJV)

God’s original pattern has always been His presence with His people, whether Adam and Eve, the children of Israel or the Body of Christ. In Eden, mankind enjoyed unhindered fellowship with the Creator until sin brought separation. Millenniums later, the birth of Jesus fulfilled the promise of Immanuel — “God with us” — revealing God’s unwavering commitment to restore what had been lost and reconcile humanity back into His presence. This was the sign that fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies, “God with us.” — now that is the miracle to behold and believe!

The words “signs” and “miracles” share overlapping descriptions, such as “manifested” and “power,” and each helps define the other.

“Miracle” comes from dunamis, the Greek word behind the English word “dynamite.” Dynamite releases explosive power to break rock, demolish structures, and remove hard obstacles. In a similar way, Jesus’ miracles displayed divine power that brought change to a religious system that had drifted from the mercy God desired. This points back to Hosea 6:6—“I desire mercy, not sacrifice”—a verse Jesus quotes twice in the Gospel of Matthew.

Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 9:13 (CSB)

If you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent.
Matthew 12:7 (CSB)

The sinners Jesus referred to needed mercy, not the approval of the religious system that favored those it considered righteous. Rather than shunning or judging sinners, Jesus showed them mercy and welcomed fellowship with them—such as Matthew the tax collector (Matthew 9:10–13), Zacchaeus, another tax collector (Luke 19:1–10), and the woman caught in adultery in John 8. In each account, mercy exposed sin while also offering restoration. These people became witnesses to the mercy and miracles of Jesus’ ministry. His many miracles had a “dynamite” effect—a force of divine power that broke through the hardened, rock-like heart exposing the religious system of His day. Jesus performed these signs, wonders, and miracles with excess and abundance, as seen when He fed the crowd of five thousand with one boy’s small lunch of five barley loaves and two fish (John 6:5–13). The disciples marveled as the leftover pieces filled twelve baskets, a powerful picture of provision and a reminder that obedience to Jesus always reveals more than enough.

Jesus’ public ministry spanned only about three years, beginning with His baptism in the Jordan River when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove and the voice of the Father declared, “You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). That moment was itself a remarkable manifestation of God’s presence, marking the beginning of a ministry that would culminate in Christ’s death and resurrection only three years later. Such a short period of time seems astonishing when considering the immense task before Him—to reveal the Father, proclaim the Kingdom of God, fulfill the Law and the Prophets, and call Israel, its religious leaders, and even the surrounding Gentile world to repentance and faith. From His first public miracle of turning water into wine to His final triumph over death, Jesus continually demonstrated the omnipotence, compassion, and authority of Almighty God.
The shortness of Jesus’ ministry becomes even more striking when compared with the approximately fourteen centuries that had passed since the Israelites stood at the foot of Mount Sinai. There they witnessed God’s awesome displays of power through fire, smoke, thunder, lightning, and His audible voice. Throughout the centuries that followed, God continued to reveal Himself through the Law, the prophets, and His mighty acts among His people. Yet in the fullness of time, Jesus came as the perfect revelation of the Father. His signs and miracles were not performed merely to astonish the crowds, but to reveal God’s glory, confirm that He was the promised Messiah, and invite people to turn their hearts toward the mercy and salvation that God had prepared from the beginning.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
Ezekiel 36:26-28 (CSB)

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:10 (CSB)

Strong’s Concordance #6381 (OT)

While the New Testament often emphasizes miracles as signs, wonders, and mighty works that testify to the identity of Jesus Christ, the Old Testament presents miracles with a slightly different emphasis. The Hebrew word translated “miracle” (Strong’s #6381) is closely associated with extraordinary and impossible works that display God’s sovereign power, accomplish His purposes, and bring deliverance to His people. From the plagues in Egypt to the crossing of the Red Sea, these miraculous acts revealed that the God of Israel alone possessed the authority to save, redeem, and lead His people.

Yet whether described in the Old Testament or the New Testament, miracles consistently point beyond the event itself to the God who performs them. They reveal not only His power, but also His purpose, His presence, and His desire to draw people into a relationship with Himself. These miracles were not simply proofs of omnipotence—they revealed the character of God as Jesus glorified His Father. They showed that the same God who descended on Mount Sinai in power had now come near in Christ with power and mercy as He came to seek and save the lost.

Jesus spoke these things, looked up to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent —Jesus Christ. I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed.
John 17:1-5 (CSB)

“Search the Scriptures”
Take a few moments to explore how this word is used throughout cross referencing Scripture. Let these passages guide your own study and reflection.
M: Jeremiah 32:17-21
I: Matthew 26:64
R: Psalm 106:21-22, Acts 2:22
A: Mark 5:30
C: John 4:48-50
L: Luke 1:35
E: Exodus 3:20