“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know–” – Acts 2:22 

Scripture reading: Mark 1:29-39

Jesus did a lot of miracles. And yet, in Mark 1:38, He considers preaching as the reason He came. What place do His miracles play in His ministry?

First, as Peter mentions in his Pentecost sermon, God did works, wonders and signs through Jesus to commend Him publicly. God was putting His seal of approval on Jesus’s ministry.

Second, miracles are illustrations of Jesus’s preaching. He had come, Mark 1:14-15 tells us, to proclaim the gospel and kingdom of God. What was the good news of God and His kingdom? Certainly this: the tyranny of sin was over. Jesus Christ had come to set things right. By His death on the cross Jesus would reverse the curse and make all things new. A new day had dawned in the history of God’s dealings with His creation.

Well, what does that look like? What does the reverse of the curse mean? Jesus illustrates this by His miracles. Diseases and demonic oppression are a result of sin. When Jesus heals sickness and drives out demons, He pushes back against the kingdom of darkness. These miracles are glimpses of His redemptive work. But they are always temporary. For example, Lazarus died again.

But miracles also look forward. Christ’s first coming is the dawning of the kingdom. The full arrival of His kingdom is in the future. Then sin and its effects will be eradicated and all things made new. He preached this in His sermons and illustrated it by His miracles.

Suggestions for prayer

Praise God that we can look forward to the day when all things will become new and ask Him to hasten that day. Pray that the gospel of the kingdom would be heralded among the nations so that people would place their trust in Jesus.

Rev. John van Eyk began his ministry in Cambridge, Ontario as a Church Planter and Minister of the Riverside Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. After 13 years there, he served almost 10 years in the Tain/Fearn congregation of the Associated Presbyterian Churches in the Scottish Highlands. John has served as Senior Pastor of Trinity Reformed Church (United Reformed) in Lethbridge, Alberta since 2017. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. It is also available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.