Matthew 8-14 – Miracles and Parables

Throughout the three-and-a-half years of His earthly ministry, Jesus performed many miracles and told many parables. John wrote in the last verse of his gospel that “there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). It was through these miracles and parables, in addition to prophecy (see yesterday’s post), that Jesus gave proof of His identity.

Note the way Jesus performed miracles. He didn’t call a bunch of people together just so that He could perform some miracles. The leper came to Jesus (8:2); so did the centurion (8:5), those who brought the demon-possessed (8:16; 9:32), the demon-possessed (8:28), the companions of the paralytic (9:2), the Jewish official (9:18), the woman with a hemorrhage (9:20), the blind men (9:27), and others. These were spontaneous acts of healing.

These were also verifiable acts of healing. The people who had these conditions were known to have the conditions before Jesus came on the scene. These were not random people no one had ever seen before. Jesus’ miracles, unlike those of individuals claiming to perform miracles today, were obviolusly and undeniably miracles.

Jesus’ parables would serve a proof of His identity because they were simple stories that people could remember that foretold of things to take place. When the kingdom came, people may have looked back at these parables, realizing that the things of which Jesus spoke had come to pass.