The book of Matthew is the most Jewish of the four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ earthly ministry. You can only fully appreciate Jesus’ miracles in Matthew if you pay attention to the Old Testament context and the culture of 1st-century Jerusalem. The Jews knew the ancient prophecies regarding the Messiah; so Matthew linked Christ’s actions to the Old Testament background and Jewish expectations of the Messiah.

Let’s analyze how Jesus’ ministry in the Gospel of Matthew proves He is the promised Messiah. 

His Birth

The Jews knew where the Messiah would be born. We see this clearly in Matthew 2 when the wise men came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” (v. 2). Feeling troubled, King Herod summoned chief priests and scribes who revealed Christ must have been in Bethlehem. You can imagine the priests and scribes rushing to open an ancient scroll of the prophet Micah and pointing to the words confirming the Messiah’s birthplace was to be Bethlehem of Ephrathah.

The prophecy in Micah is even more remarkable when we understand that there were two Bethlehems in ancient Israel. The books of Joshua and Judges reference a town called Bethlehem located in the historical territory of the tribe of Zebulun in northern Israel. The Jews knew it was not the Bethlehem of Zebulun but the tiny town of Bethlehem in the Judaean Hills five miles south of Jerusalem. Herod knew it also, so he concentrated his massacre of infant boys in Bethlehem in the territory of Judah. The Messiah could not be born in a different place; and despite significant opposition, Jesus was finally born in Bethlehem. 

The Abundance of Miracles

The Jewish people expected the Messiah to perform miracles to authenticate His message. The Gospel of Matthew records many of Jesus’ miraculous acts to strengthen His Messianic claim. Jesus cleansed the lepers (8:2–4), healed the lame (9:1–8), gave sight to the blind (vv. 27–30), and cast out demons that made people deaf and mute (vv. 32–33).

These impressive miracles showed Jesus’ power, but they also corresponded to prophecies in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). Matthew 11 records John the Baptist sending his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the Coming One. Jesus responded by alluding to the prophecy in Isaiah 35:5–6:

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. 

Jesus, by saying to John’s disciples, “go and tell John the things which you hear and see” (v. 4), performed the specific miracles Scripture attributed to the promised Messiah.

Therefore, Jesus, by saying to John’s disciples, “go and tell John the things which you hear and see” (v. 4), performed the specific miracles Scripture attributed to the promised Messiah. 

The Messianic Miracles

Jesus performed many miracles the rabbis classified as “Messianic miracles,” remarkable wonders only the Messiah could perform. Jesus performed a particularly noteworthy Messianic miracle when He healed a leper (Matthew 8:2–4; Mark 1:40–45; Luke 5:12–16).

Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is a chronic bacterial infection. It primarily affects the skin and nerves and can lead to symptoms including skin lesions, numbness or loss of sensation in affected areas, and muscle weakness.

In the Bible, leprosy was seen as a serious and contagious disease; and those who were afflicted with it were often ostracized from society and required to live outside of towns and cities.

The book of Leviticus provides detailed instructions for identifying and treating cases of leprosy (Leviticus 13—14). It also describes the rituals that were performed to cleanse someone who had been healed of the disease. In Matthew 8:2–4, Jesus instructed the healed leper to talk to no one but to go straight to the priests “and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” The priests, therefore, would have to investigate this miracle and activate a procedure of declaring someone clean from leprosy. 

Though Miriam was previously healed of leprosy and Naaman the Syrian commander was healed but was not Jewish, this event is the first time the Bible records that a Jewish person was healed of leprosy since the completion of the Mosaic Law. The Jewish priests could not ignore this miracle but had to follow the instructions that would force them to acknowledge that Jesus performed a Messianic miracle.  

The Response Is Key

Despite Jesus’ remarkable ministry on Earth full of wonders and miracles, most Jewish leaders chose not to accept Him as the Messiah. However, many other Jewish people trusted Him, and their lives were changed forever. Both groups saw the same miracles, but only one believed in Him. Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies by performing miracles only the Messiah could do. He did not do so to impress people but to show He is humanity’s only salvation.

About the Author

The following article is an excerpt from Renald Showers’ book The Foundations of Faith. Dr. Showers examines Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom of God, which has given rise to varying interpretations of the nature and timing of the Kingdom. Understanding these passages will help you comprehend God’s authority and plan for our world today and forever. We hope this excerpt edifies and encourages you in your faith and your knowledge of Jesus’ teaching!

The Kingdom of God has at least two aspects: the universal and theocratic. Given these distinctions, to which of these aspects of the Kingdom was Jesus Christ referring when He said, “the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15) and when He taught His disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10)?

Christ’s Reference to the Kingdom

Jesus’ statement, “the kingdom of God is at hand,” indicated that there was some sense in which the Kingdom was not yet present. The fact that He taught His disciples to pray for God’s Kingdom to come indicated the same thing. That prayer was a petition, asking that God’s Kingdom come, in some sense, in the future.

Since the universal Kingdom has existed continually since God created the universe, that aspect was already present when Christ indicated that there was still some way in which the Kingdom of God had not yet arrived. Evidently, Christ was not referring to the universal Kingdom aspect of the Kingdom of God in His statement and teaching on prayer.

However, since the theocratic Kingdom ceased to exist after the fall of man, that aspect of the Kingdom was not present when Christ said, “the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Thus it is the theocratic Kingdom of God that corresponds to what Christ’s statement indicated—that there was some sense in which the Kingdom was not yet present.

The same holds true with regard to Christ’s model for prayer. He taught His disciples to pray for God’s Kingdom to come in the future. The theocratic Kingdom of God will exist again during the future Millennium when Christ Himself will reign for 1,000 years. It will be the last phase of God’s universal Kingdom-rule over this present earth. Thus the theocratic Kingdom aspect of the Kingdom of God matches the sense of the Kingdom of God involved in the prayer that Christ taught.

In both instances, therefore, Christ was referring to the future theocratic Kingdom of God, not to the universal Kingdom. Clearly, He indicated that the theocratic Kingdom of God was not yet present but will be in the future.

Meaning of Christ’s Reference

Since Christ referred to the future theocratic Kingdom of God in His statement and model for prayer, what did He mean when He indicated that the Kingdom was “at hand”?

Because Jesus Christ, who possessed the power necessary to establish the future theocratic Kingdom of God, was present on Earth, that Kingdom had the potential to be established while He was here.

Normally, when people say that something is “at hand,” they mean that it is near. Consequently, when Christ said, “the kingdom of God is at hand,” He indicated that there was some sense in which the future theocratic Kingdom of God was near while He was present on Earth. In fact, the word translated “is at hand” means “approach, come near,” and the tense indicates that Christ was saying, “The kingdom of God has come near.” But in what sense was it near then?

It was near in the sense of its potential for establishment in the world. Because Jesus Christ, who possessed the power necessary to establish the future theocratic Kingdom of God, was present on Earth, that Kingdom had the potential to be established while He was here. That is what Christ meant when He said, “The kingdom of God is at hand”; and that is why He taught His disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come.”

Requirements for the Kingdom

What is required before the theocratic Kingdom of God can be reestablished in the world? John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1–2), Jesus Christ (4:17; Mark 1:15), and the apostles of Christ (Matthew 10:1–3, 7) all declared that the future theocratic Kingdom was “at hand.” Their message also referred to that Kingdom both as “the kingdom of heaven” and the “kingdom of God.”

But the fact that both versions of the message are designated “the gospel of the kingdom” (4:17, 23; Mark 1:14–15) indicates that both referred to the same Kingdom. Thus John the Baptist, Christ, and His apostles all indicated that the future theocratic Kingdom of God was near in the sense of its potential for establishment in the world while Christ was present on Earth.

Yet the gospel of the Kingdom included more than the declaration that the future theocratic Kingdom was near. It also included a twofold command for its hearers: They were to believe that it was near (“believe in the gospel” [Mk. 1:15]), and they were to repent because that Kingdom was near (“Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” [Mt. 3:2; 4:17]).

The Kingdom would not be established until the hearers believed in the content of that gospel and repented.

The declaration that the Kingdom was at hand, combined with the command to believe and repent, implied that the theocratic Kingdom would not be established until the hearers of that gospel obeyed its twofold directive. In other words, the Kingdom would not be established until the hearers believed in the content of that gospel and repented.

The theocratic Kingdom of God is yet to come. It was not established with the nation of Israel of Christ’s First Coming. Instead, its establishment has been postponed until His Second Coming.

We have much to look forward to when Christ comes again!

About the Author

As we read the Bible, it is tempting to focus on the differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament. After all, the Old Testament is centered on God’s relationship with Israel; while the New Testament, particularly the epistles, largely deals with the church. But we must remind ourselves that the two testaments are part of the unified whole of Scripture, penned by a variety of human authors, yet inspired by the same God.

It should not surprise us, then, that throughout the Old Testament Scriptures, God shows Israel shadows of the Messiah. Whether it’s Melchizedek, the prophet-priest of Jerusalem, or Joshua, the man who takes Israel into the Promised Land, God gives the Jewish people glimpses of the coming Savior through the lives and ministries of some of the nation’s early leaders.

For Israel, though, no man in biblical history is so revered as Moses—and for good reason. He is often pictured as the great emancipator, a godly man whom God used to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. He is, if you will, the Abraham Lincoln of Jewish history. That’s a big deal!

As great as Moses was, though, God told him that another leader of Israel would come, one like Moses. “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him” (Deuteronomy 18:18).

Although many prophets succeeded Moses, no one was as great as he (34:10). No one, that is, until the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Is it appropriate, though, to say that Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, is like Moses? I believe that it is. There are a number of similarities between Moses and the Lord, demonstrating that Moses was a foreshadow of the Messiah.

Life

Like Jesus, Moses was a Jewish man, born into a Gentile-ruled culture. The pharaoh who ruled Egypt at the time of Moses’ birth was a man who had not known Joseph and the good that came to the land through him and his people (Exodus 1:8). He, like the future Herod the Great, was a paranoid man who feared that the Israelites might cause him political and military harm (v. 9). 

One of the ways Pharaoh sought to rid himself of this threat was to order the murder of Israel’s baby boys (vv. 15–16). Similarly, Herod the Great ordered the murder of all Jewish boys under 2 years old in Bethlehem following the visit of the magi (Matthew 2:16).

Moses’ and Jesus’ lives were also similar in that they were both royal. Moses, though the biological son of oppressed parents, was adopted into the royal family of Egypt (Exodus 2:10). The Lord Jesus, born of a virgin, is the Son of God, the King of all creation (Psalm 10:16).

Ministry

The ministries of Moses and the Lord Jesus are also strikingly similar in a variety of ways. 

Moses and Jesus are both mediators of God’s covenants with Israel.

Both Moses and the Messiah are sent by God (Exodus 3:10; Matthew 3:16–17). Both are described as Israel’s deliverers (Matthew 1:21; Acts 7:35). Both validated their ministries with miracles (Exodus 7—12; Luke 5:17–26). Both had ministries of intercession (Exodus 32:11–13, 30–32; Hebrews 7:25). And both led their people out of slavery (Exodus 12:51; Romans 6:5–6).

Furthermore, Moses and Jesus are both mediators of God’s covenants with Israel. In Moses’ case, he was the mediator of the Mosaic Covenant at Sinai (Exodus 24:7–8). Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant, which will be fulfilled with Israel upon their national conversion (Hebrews 9:15; Jeremiah 31:31–37; Romans 11:26–27).

One of their most significant similarities is Israel’s response to their leadership. When Moses first tried to help his people, “he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand” (Acts 7:25). But 40 years later, when Moses went back to his people, they accepted his leadership.

So, too, the Messiah was rejected by the nation at His First Advent. As Moses left Egypt for a time, He left Israel following the nation’s rejection of Him (Exodus 2:15; Matthew 23:37). But the Scriptures affirm that He will one day return, and at that time the nation will accept Him as Messiah and Lord (Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 23:37).

Additionally, the second advents of Moses and of the Messiah result in judgment on Israel’s enemies. In Moses’ case, it meant plagues, plundering, and the military defeat of the Egyptians (Exodus 7—12; 14:23–28). When the Lord returns, it will mean the destruction of Antichrist’s armies and judgment of those Gentiles who mistreated Israel during the Tribulation (Revelation 19:11–21; Matthew 25:31–33, 41–46).

The Ultimate Deliverer

It would have been an awe-inspiring experience to follow Moses as the Lord used him to lead the nation of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. The plagues, the parting of the sea, the destruction of a powerful army—what a spectacle!

As great as Moses is, though, we must remember that he was just a man, a foreshadow of the ultimate Deliverer who would come.

As great as Moses is, though, we must remember that he was just a man, a foreshadow of the ultimate Deliverer who would come. Believers in the Lord Jesus have seen even greater things than the Israelites did. We are those who have been delivered from the slavery of sin and who will one day return with Him to Earth.

When Jesus sets up His Kingdom, the entire world, Moses included, will say with the writer of Hebrews: Indeed, “this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses” (Hebrews 3:3).

About the Author

Psalm 16:10 is a key verse from the Old Testament the apostles used to defend the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord: “For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” Both Peter and Paul strongly suggested that this verse looks forward to and predicts the fact that although Christ died on the cross, He did not undergo corruption and decay. This prediction, in turn, leads to the conclusion that Jesus is now alive by the resurrection on what we call Easter Sunday. This is our supreme hope as Christians.

While suffering great loss, Job had asked the penetrating question, “If a man dies, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14). The answer that Jesus gives is a loud “Yes!” He told His disciples, “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19). Resurrection Sunday means that if we know the Lord and if our loved ones who have died have trusted Christ as their only hope for heaven, we will hug their necks again one day when we are all with the Lord. Christ makes it possible by His death for our sins and His resurrection from the dead.

David or Christ?

However, the use of Psalm 16:10 as a statement about Christ’s coming resurrection is somewhat controversial. Psalm 16 is a psalm of David, and the features of the psalm as a whole reflect David’s thoughts about his own life. In light of this, some prefer to see David as only talking about himself and not Christ in verse 10. They believe David was resting on the promise that God will not allow him to experience ultimate decay in the grave (taking the Hebrew word Sheol as “grave”). Instead, God would raise David to new life in a resurrected body one day in the future.

Another view, one that is popular among some conservative Bible-believing Christians, is that Psalm 16:10 is a typological statement. This means that the passage is about David but is also a type or picture of Christ who was to come. The passage is taken in the same way as the animal sacrifices offered under the Mosaic Law in the Pentateuch. Those sacrifices functioned well within God’s purposes for the generation that made the animal sacrifices. Yet those sacrifices pointed ahead to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary’s cross. With respect to Psalm 16:10, this view says that David wrote of both his own future resurrection and Christ’s resurrection in the future.

The Apostles’ Proof

However, the apostles seemed to argue in a different direction using Psalm 16:10. In doing so, their interpretation was still consistent with the meaning of the verse in its own context. In Acts 2:29, Peter reminded the audience that the tomb of David was with them and that he was “both dead and buried.” The point seems to be that God had allowed David’s body to suffer corruption in the grave. The apostle then noted that David was a prophet (2:30) who foresaw the coming of Christ, David’s descendant (2:31). Peter quoted Psalm 16:10, showing that Jesus’ body did not see corruption in the grave due to His resurrection soon after His death. 

Psalm 16:10 could not be speaking about David but had to be speaking of a future descendant of David, namely Jesus.

Psalm 16:10 could not be speaking about David but had to be speaking of a future descendant of David, namely Jesus. In Acts 2:32, Peter added that they knew Jesus was raised from the dead because they were witnesses of this historical miracle. Likewise, Paul, after alluding to Psalm 16:10, said, “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; but He [Christ] whom God raised up saw no corruption” (Acts 13:36–37).

The last interpretation of Psalm 16:10 fits best. Many other psalms, particularly written by David, contain elements that do not fit the life of David perfectly. They predictively allude to a future One, the Jewish Messiah, who was coming. Thus, we can confidently use Psalm 16:10 in the same way the apostles did. In doing so, we have one more piece to the exciting news that “Jesus is alive!” That is the centerpiece of our Christian faith. Without it, we have nothing. With its truth overwhelming us, we have everything!

About the Author

As I grew up, my dad pastored a small church in downstate New York. Our building was centrally located on the village’s main road, which attracted many kids who passed through on their way home from school.

James, a boy who loved to explore the ins and outs of the neighborhood on his bike, stopped in at the village office next door to the church one afternoon a few days before Easter. He noticed a sign that read, “Closed for Good Friday.” James was puzzled. He had never heard of Good Friday before. So he parked his bike and walked inside the office to see if he could learn more about this unfamiliar holiday.

Stepping up to the village clerk’s desk, with an earnest curiosity in his voice, he said, “Good Friday, huh? So what’s so good about Friday?”

Why Do We Call It “Good”?

How would you answer James’s question? What’s so good about a day when we remember the death of the One we call our Savior? The One we placed our faith in died a brutal, humiliating death. Worst of all, His Father, the God of the universe, turned His face away as Jesus bore the sins of the world on Himself. Nothing could be worse than separation from the Father. Yet this is the state in which we are all born, distant from the Lord.

But this Friday is good because we know the ending. The bad parts of Friday were necessary to set the stage for the glory to come. Yes, Jesus was betrayed, beaten, bruised, and broken, nailed to a cross to die painfully and publicly. But without His death, we would be separated from the Father forever. Our sin condemns us to an eternity in hell apart from the Almighty God. 

This Friday is good because we know the ending.

By our own efforts, we can never pay our debt of sin and find redemption, since “by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight” (Romans 3:20). Only the blood of a sinless Savior could redeem us, as “without shedding of blood there is no remission,” no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22). But humans are inherently sinful: “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). How, then, could we be saved? What made this Friday so good?

Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

The village office clerk, Darlene, who attended our church, shared a short, helpful answer to introduce James to Good Friday. He left after hearing her explanation, but he was soon drawn back, hoping to learn more. 

“So, this Jesus—He was a good guy, right?” James asked.

“Yes, he was,” Darlene replied. “He was the Son of God, and He never sinned or did anything wrong.”

“Then why did they kill Him?” James asked.

His innocent question was deeper than he realized. How could anyone choose to murder the only perfect person who ever lived? 

This question has two answers: (1) Humanity is sinful, and (2) Jesus’ death was the key to God’s plan to redeem humanity. Jesus was led by human hands to the cross, where He was condemned to suffer and die.

How could anyone choose to murder the only perfect person who ever lived?

But Jesus willingly gave up His life. His death fulfilled a phenomenal amount of prophecy, from overarching truths like His identity as the Suffering Servant and Messiah (Isaiah 53) to the smaller details of lots being cast for His garments (Psalm 22:18). This was the Seed of the woman God promised would crush Satan after humanity’s very first sin (Genesis 3:15). His sacrifice was God’s plan for our redemption long before you and I first sinned.

Scripture says that “all we like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6). But Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid “down [His] life for the sheep” (John 10:15). This Good Shepherd is the One we remember on Good Friday, as His willful decision to lay down His life for us as the sinless “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” was our only means of salvation (1:29).

Just as God commanded the Israelites to sacrifice innocent animals to make atonement (Leviticus 17:11), we needed a perfect sacrifice, one who was human yet committed no sin. Jesus Christ is the only One who could ever fulfill these requirements. So He chose to take our sin on Himself, bearing God the Father’s wrath, so that we could have eternal life and access to the Father through Him. 

His death was not the end of the story. After three days and three nights, our Savior resurrected, defeating death and rising again. He was seen by more than 500 witnesses before ascending to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, now making intercession for all who believe in Him so that we can enjoy eternal life with Him (Romans 8:34). And that’s why this day is such a Good Friday to me!

A Great Friday

James’s Good Friday question led him to attend our church. As he learned more and more about Jesus through the pages of Scripture over the next several months, he chose to put his faith in Christ to save him from his sins. Praise the Lord! 

I pray that you, too, trust in Jesus the Messiah as your sinless, sacrificial Savior with whom you can enjoy eternal life because of His finished work on the cross.

That will make this Friday, a day we remember the death of the One we love most, a truly great Friday.

About the Author

Our God is a God of design and purpose—nothing is trivial or unimportant. The unfolding plan of redemption from Genesis to Revelation clearly reveals this truth.

Isaiah 46:9–10 assures us that God is sovereign and always accomplishes His purposes.

Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.”

God affirmed this in the following verse, saying, “Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.” While these promises were specific to Israel, we can certainly glean the truth principles that God fulfills His promises and that everything He does is purposeful. 

In studying Jesus’ miracles, we notice a purposeful design behind His actions. Is it possible that there is a correlation between His miracles and what will take place in the future Millennial Kingdom? 

Why Are Jesus’ Miracles Listed in Scripture?

The word miracle comes from the Latin word miraculum, which means “object of wonder.” More specifically, the Oxford Dictionary defines a miracle as a “surprising and welcome event [unexplainable] by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.” While many attempt to dismiss or explain away the miracles of Jesus, we who believe God’s Word agree that His miracles were certainly of divine agency. 

These signs, or miracles, are listed so that we would believe He is the Son of God and that we would believe in His name and have eternal life.

The apostle John gave the most basic reason for the listing of these specific miracles in the Gospel record: “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30–31). 

These signs, or miracles, are listed so that we would believe He is the Son of God and that we would believe in His name and have eternal life.

Miracles in the Gospels

All four Gospels record many of Jesus’ miracles—and all had a specific purpose. Let’s break these down into two categories:

• Miracles of physical healing: Jesus healed and cleansed lepers (Matthew 8:1–4), gave sight to the blind (Mark 8:22–26), healed people of many diseases (Matthew 9:35; Mark 1:29–31), restored an ear cut off (Luke 22:47–53), cast out demons (9:37–42), and raised the dead to life (John 11:1–45).

• Miracles of natural phenomenon: He fed multitudes (Luke 9:12–17), walked on water (John 6:15–21), calmed the stormy sea (Mark 4:35–41), filled nets with fish (John 21:1–14), turned water into wine (2:1–11), and caused a cursed tree to wither (Matthew 21:18–22).

Without a doubt, these miracles are unexplainable by natural or scientific laws and therefore must be regarded as of divine agency—to verify the truth of Jesus as the Son of God and lead people to believe in Him. 

Keep in mind that the Pharisees, the spiritual leaders in Jesus’ day, refused to accept this truth and attributed His miracles to Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons (12:22–32). Up to this point, Jesus had been offering the Kingdom to Israel; but after this point, the offer was withdrawn.

Miracles in the Kingdom

While the Old Testament prophets prophesied of a literal earthly kingdom over which Messiah would rule, that offer from Jesus would now be delayed and remains an unfulfilled prophecy until the end of the Times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24), which conclude at the end of the Tribulation. Then the Lord Jesus will set up His Kingdom in the 1,000-year reign of Christ, the Millennium. 

The Millennial (theocratic) Kingdom will be “times of refreshing” and the “times of restoration of all things” (Acts 3:19–21). Mankind will not bring about these changes, but clearly these will result from the presence and power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Undoubtedly, the “times of restoration” will be miraculous. 

In his book What On Earth Is God Doing? Renald Showers notes, “When He establishes the theocratic kingdom, Christ will begin to reverse many of the tragic consequences of man’s rebellion in Eden.” That reversal includes these miracles, which are notably similar to Jesus’ miracles in the Gospels:

• Miracles of physical healing: Jesus will heal all diseases and deformities (Isaiah 33:24; 35:5–6) and will increase the lifespan of man (65:20). While this is clearly miraculous, sin will still exist in the world until the present heavens and earth are destroyed and there is a new heaven and earth (Revelation 21:1–4).

• Miracles of natural phenomenon: He will make all the wild animals tame again (Isaiah 11:6–9; 65:25). There will be an abundance of trees and fruit (55:13) and wine and grain (Joel 2:24). A multitude of fish will swim in the healed waters of the Dead Sea (Ezekiel 47:7–10).

The curse’s removal from the earth will be miraculous and beyond our imagination. This time will be surpassed only by the coming of the new heavens and the new earth when sin will be forever abolished.

The Correlation

Is there a correlation—and why? All of these miracles, both in Jesus’ time on Earth and in the coming Kingdom, declare Jesus’ authority and power over all creation. The world shifted from a theocracy to a Satanocracy (Satan’s rule over the earth) in Genesis 3. Though God remains sovereign over everything, Jesus will take back the title deed to the world (Revelation 5) and miraculously restore this cursed world. 

All of these miracles, both in Jesus’ time on Earth and in the coming Kingdom, declare Jesus’ authority and power over all creation.

Perhaps Jesus’ miracles recorded in the Gospels were designed to be a foreshadowing of the Kingdom He offered Israel—which, though delayed, will be fulfilled in the future. Perhaps those miracles were designed and purposed to verify His deity as the King of the Kingdom He was offering. We can be confident that God has a purpose in all He does, and His purposes will be fulfilled in His time and in His ways. 

Romans 8:18–23 reminds us that even creation groans and anxiously awaits the miracle of restoration. Verse 23 says we also (as redeemed individuals) await the “redemption of our body.” Jesus’ miracles declare His deity and are also a guarantee of what the future holds and the hope we have as believers.

About the Author