Miracles In The Bible
Feeding of the 5,000
The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children." (Matthew 14:21)
The Large Catch of Fish
Cast Your Nets On the Other Side!
Raising Lazarus From the Dead
Lazarus, Come Forth!
About The Bible
The Word of God
The Bible is the word of God and the absolute authority for the Christian faith and practice. Although the books of the Bible were written by human authors down through the ages, it is believed to have been written by over 40 authors. Some were written by kings, prophets, disciples and apostles, but all were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The Bible contains 66 books; 39 are in the Old Testament and 27 are in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul is believed to have written 14 of the books in the New Testament. The world 'Testament' means covenant or contract. The Bible was written over a period of around 1,500 years, approx. 1450 B.C. to 100 A.D. The first translation of the Bible in English was in 1382 A.D. by John Wycliffe.
Old Testament
The covenant of the law
New Testament
The new covenant of Grace – The Cross and blood of Jesus
Genesis
This book opens with how God created the world and the first Man and Woman, Adam and Eve, and puts them in charge of the Garden of Eden.
Revelation
The Bible ends with the book of Revelation, the youngest book of the Bible. It speaks of events to take place in the end-times, the end of age and eternity.
Feeding the 5,000
Two Fishes & Five Loaves of Bread
There was no other miracle Jesus did that impacted so many people at once than the feeding of 5,000. Most Bible scholars will agree, this would have been between 10,000 and 20,000 people, as the crowd of 5,000 men mentioned did not include all the women and children.
The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children." (Matthew 14:21)
The feeding of the 5,000 is recorded in all four gospels. This took place not long after John the Baptist was beheaded. Jesus went out on a boat. The disciples were with him, they had just returned from a missionary trip Jesus had sent them on. After they had told him all they had done, he took them with Him on the boat on the Sea of Galilee to a remote place, for rest and prayer.
Crowds of people heard that Jesus was near and gathered at the shore to meet Him with sick friends and relatives. Jesus felt compassion for them, greater than His own needs. So He went ashore and healed all those who were sick. It was getting late on in the day, and the disciples were concerned that the crowd did not have any food. They wanted to send all the people away as evening was approaching and they were in a remote place (Matthew 14:15). Jesus instructed the disciples to feed the crowd. A young boy had five loaves of bread and two small fish.
"Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. (Matthew 14:19-21)
Jesus ordered the crowd to sit down in groups of fifty. Jesus asked for the bread and fish to be brought to Him. He took the five loaves, looked up to heaven and gave thanks to the Father. Jesus broke the bread up and then gave it to the disciples to hand out to the crowd, He did the same with the fish. There was more than enough to feed everyone. Jesus fed the entire multitude. They all ate and were satisfied (Matthew 14:20). Jesus did not just meet their needs with enough! Afterwards Jesus instructed the disciples to gather up all the left-overs so nothing would be wasted. There were 12 baskets of left-overs, which were symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel. This miracle shows us how God is a generous provider with unlimited resources.
The bread and fish were multiplied until everyone ate their fill, and there was even food left over (John 6:11–13).
The crowd were overwhelmed by this miracle, they were convinced that Jesus was indeed the Messiah who had been promised. But the people did not under-stand the kind of King Jesus was, they wanted to force him to be their king, so Jesus withdrew from the crowd to go to a solitary place (John 4:16).
Feeding Of The 5,000
Through feeding the 5,000, God demonstrates that He is capable of abundantly providing all our needs. His goodness exceeds our imagination.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20)
When Christians are willing to sacrifice their time, money and talents, God will use it to do extraordinary things. As Christians, our resources are never too small to serve God. Jesus provided for the multitude through His disciples. He used them to provide for and bless the crowd by distributing food. Like the disciples, God wants us to be involved in the work of blessing others.
Jesus told them “You give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:16).
Andrew asked, “What are five loaves and two fish for so many?” (John 6:9). Philip said, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” Philip in his natural understanding tried to calculate the cost and labour involved, which made it impossible! But God can take the little that we have and make it go beyond what we are able to distribute in the natural. The disciples had seen Jesus do many miracles, one of them had been changing the water into wine.
Another miracle was when Jesus fed the crowd of 4,000 with seven loaves of bread and some fish, recorded in Matthew 15:32-39 and Mark 8:1-9. The feeding of the multitudes is similar to when the Israelites were in the wilderness (Exodus 16), not long after the people left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, they had no food left. But God supernaturally sent manna from heaven.
God performed a similar miracle in 2 Kings, when Elisha told his servant to feed the crowd of 100. The food was not enough to feed 100 men. Like the disciples, Elisha’s servant questioned his master’s request.
“How am I to set twenty loaves before a hundred men?” “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha, “for this is what the LORD says: ‘They will eat and have some left over." So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord. (2 Kings 4:43)
a large number of fish
Cast your nets on the other side!
"Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. (John 21:16)
The disciples were depressed after the death of Jesus, so they went to Galilee to return to what they knew best, fishing! They had to make a living, so they spent the entire night out on the lake. Early the next morning, they headed back to shore, a mysterious voice called to them asking if they had caught any fish. They had not caught any all night. So the voice called again, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” Their nets were still in the water, to the left side of the boat, but nothing appeared to be happening, so what difference would it make by lowering the nets to the right-hand side of the boat? After all, they were professional fishermen. They had no idea at this point who the stranger was calling to them.
However, they pulled out the nets and threw them back into the water to the other side of the boat. John says, “they were unable to haul the net in, because of the large number of fish.” They were amazed and suddenly realised who it was calling out to them. The Bible says, “Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!” They knew no-one else was able to do this miracle but Jesus, as He had done it previously, before they knew Him (Luke 5:1-7). Jesus’ relationship with the disciples started and ended with a miraculous catch of fish. What Jesus asked them to do made no sense, as what difference would the nets on the other side of the boat make? But It was obedience to Christ that made a significant difference.
A radical change could require a radical shift, or it could mean making a slight adjustment, such as a change in direction or a different location. But the change of method or position could lead to abundance. This could be a new job or business, a new outreach program, a new relationship or new fellowship. Like the disciples, for a miracle, God may ask you to do something that does not make sense.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. (Isaiah 55:8)
Jesus at the start of His ministry approached Simon and James on the shore of lake Gennesaret. The two men had been fishing for hours and had not caught a thing. They were about to call it a day, when Jesus told them to get into the boat with Him, if they wanted to catch fish, they were to cast their nets over the other side of the boat.
"Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break for a catch." (Luke 5:3-7)
If Jesus is in the boat , it makes all the difference. When the disciples lowered their nets on the other side of the boat, their nets were so full they started to tear, and the boat started to sink. Jesus said to Simon:
“Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men…So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him” (Luke 5:6, 11).
Is Jesus part of the plan?
It would have been difficult for the fishermen to listen to suggestions of some-one else, especially being professional fisherman. How could fish so close to the boat be on the other side when they had been fishing there so long? The fish are there, but are we catching them? What if all you had to do was fish in another place. Maybe your nets have been empty for a long time. The story of empty fishing nets may resemble your current situation. You may have been fishing a long time without any results. Jesus compared the catching of fish to the fishing of men, the winning of souls for the kingdom. It could be you’ve become like the fishermen, tired after fishing all night, tired of life or tired of trying and nothing seems to be happening.
'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty. (Zechariah 4:6)
Abundance or Bareness & Emptiness
The lake is deep and there are more resources than you can possibly imagine. It could be a slight realignment or letting down your nets in another location to pull in the resources. Maybe you are not seeing the rewards of all your spiritual efforts. It could be you’ve been praying for a long time, going to church, but nothing is happening in your life. Some of us have been doing the same thing for weeks, or even years but going nowhere or receiving nothing from a ministry or relationship. It is not about failure or success. Listen to the voice from the shore! It is about obedience, in doing a new thing. Something as simple as lowering your net in another location is doing something new. One simple step of obedience from the disciples was the small change that made a significant difference.
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isaiah 43:18-19)
The Raising of Lazarus
Back From The Dead!
The story Lazarus being raised from the dead is in John 11. Lazarus was one of Jesus’ closest friends, Jesus loved Lazarus. When Lazarus fell ill, his sisters, Mary and Martha sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick." When Jesus received the news, He waited two more days before going to Lazarus' home-town of Bethany. It appeared that Jesus was not concerned over His friend’s sickness, but Jesus knew He was going to do a great miracle and was not in a hurry. Bethany was only two miles from Jerusalem, where the Jewish leaders were plotting against Jesus. His enemies had recently tried to stone Him, so Jesus was well aware of the dangers of going back to Bethany (John 11:8). Jesus said the illness would not lead to death but would be for God’s glory (John 11:4). During this time, Lazarus died, Jesus referred to Lazarus as ‘asleep’ (John 11:11). The disciples responded, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better,” thinking he was physically asleep (John 11:12). But Jesus told them Lazarus had died but they would see him again (John 11:14).
When Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead in the tomb four days. They were confused, as Jesus was their friend. When Martha discovered Jesus was on His way, she went out to meet him. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Jesus told Martha "Your brother will rise again." Martha thought Jesus was referring to the final resurrection of the dead. But Jesus told her:
"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." (John 11:25)
Martha told Mary Jesus wanted to see her. When Mary met Jesus, she was grieving for her brother's death. The Jews with her were also weeping and mourning. Jesus wept. He was not afraid to show His emotion. Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus with Mary, Martha and the rest of the other mourners. Jesus asked them to remove the stone over Lazarus’ tomb. He had been dead four days so his body would have started to decay.
Take away the stone," he said. "But, LORD," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days." (John 11:39).
Jesus looked up towards heaven and then prayed to his Father. "Lazarus, come out!" When Jesus called Lazarus forth, He emerged from the tomb alive and well. Such is the power of Christ. When Lazarus came from out of the tomb, Jesus told the people to remove his grave clothes.
“But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away and believed on Jesus”
(John 12:10-11).
After Lazarus was raised from the dead, all the chief priests and the Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus. They even plotted to kill Lazarus, as he was evidence of an undeniable miracle. Many people witnessed this miracle and as a result they now believed in Jesus (John 12:9–11). The raising of Lazarus upset the chief priests and the Pharisees. They had witnessed Jesus doing many miracles, but this one had proved Jesus could do more than just heal the sick, it proved He had power over life and death. If this continued, then everyone would believe in Jesus. So they conspired against Jesus, He “should die for the people” (John 11:46-53). Jesus’ time was drawing near to a close.
Why Did Jesus Wait 4 days?
Jewish law states that a person is not dead until in the grave three days, which is why Jesus had waited till the fourth day. The belief was that his soul would have still been in the body before then. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection, angels and demons, unlike the Sadducees (Acts 23:1-11). Sadducees did not believe in life after death, final judgement, angels or demons (Mark 12:18; Luke 20:27; Matthew 22:23).
"if you had been here 4 days earlier, you could have saved my brother’s life"
(John 11:21)
Why did Jesus mourn Lazarus when He was about to be raised from the dead? Jesus showed compassion for the people by grieving with them, even though He was about to raise Lazarus up. Mary and Martha had faith, they knew Jesus could have healed Lazarus, but had watched their brother die. They had sent a message to Jesus, telling Him Lazarus was ill. But they had buried their brother four days earlier and Jesus had not come to help.
There are times in the midst of difficult circumstances, we wonder why God has not responded or intervened. God at times will allow our situation to go from bad to worse because He is about to do something miraculous, which will only bring glory to Him. Just like Martha and Mary, if you are in the middle of a trial and feel God is delaying you, you can trust God during the delay. Just like Lazarus, the situation may not be able to get any worse. But God has a purpose for the trial as He will only bring glory to himself through it, as with the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
