The purpose of Jesus' miracles

[Justin108]

What was the purpose of Jesus' miracles?

a) To help people.

While this might explain some miracles, such as healing the sick and feeding the hungry, other miracles just seem unnecessary. Why turn water into wine? Was it necessary? Or did Jesus just want to be the life of the party?

If Jesus did perform these miracles to help people, why are such miracles not nearly as common today? Jesus found it important enough to intervene at a wedding that had no booze, but he won't intervene to feed starving children in Africa?

b) To prove his divinity.

If Jesus went out of his way to prove his divinity 2000 years ago when people were generally far less skeptic and far more gullible than they are today, why is it that Jesus no longer does so today? Why was proof of divinity appropriate 2000 years ago but not today? Back then we had proof. Today we need to have faith. Why the inconsistency?

c) Other (please elaborate)

[Justin108]

a) To help people

2000 years ago, Jesus went around helping people get wine for their parties, but today Jesus won't bother helping children dying of hunger?

b) To prove he had divine power

So he cared enough about proving his divinity then, but won't bother proving anything today? See I mentioned all of these reasons already in my OP accompanied by criticism for these reasons. You repeat the reasons... yet you don't bother addressing the criticism?

c) As evidence of his Messiahship

Again, why provide proof then but refuse to provide proof now?

d) OTHER: To provide evidence on a small scale, what he will do on a global scale

Same issue. Why did he stop providing proof?

[1213]

Is it no longer necessary for people to 'go and preach the message'?

I think it is good to tell the message, but it is not anymore necessary to make same things for that. People can hear the message nowadays without same things that happened when Jesus was on earth. This is what I think, God may have different idea.

Is it possible that the 'miracle' tales were invented as a sales pitch for the new religion?

Perhaps, but for me the miracle things are secondary, in comparison to what Jesus taught. The teachings of Jesus are for me the greatest thing, not the miracles.

Is there assurance (other than unverified tales, testimonials, and opinions) that anyone receives 'eternal life'? If that is not assured (known / shown to be true) it is nothing more than empty rhetoric, religious propaganda, and perhaps wishful thinking

I just wanted to say what is promised for righteous, in the Bible. I have no reason to convince anyone to believe it will really happen. It is not useful to believe in eternal life. Useful could be to understand what Jesus said. if you don’t understand, then all the other stuff is quite pointless.

[1213]

So how and why are things different today?
Is it no longer 'necessary for that people will go and preach the message?'
Why?

If miracles were important to establish Jesus' authority and divinity 2000 years ago, why is that no longer necessary?

Because we have already the message available. That is why I think it is not necessary to do the same things. However, I believe “miracles� still happen and all the promises in the Bible are valid.

[Zzyzx]

.

Perhaps, but for me the miracle things are secondary, in comparison to what Jesus taught. The teachings of Jesus are for me the greatest thing, not the miracles.

Were the supposed 'miracles' just a 'dog and pony show' to get people's attention?

What, exactly, is Jesus said to have taught that is 'the greatest thing'?

'Be nice to each other' doesn't seem very profound. 'Love your enemies' seems ridiculously idealistic and inapplicable. 'Turn the other cheek' encourages bowing to coercion / force.

Useful could be to understand what Jesus said. if you don’t understand, then all the other stuff is quite pointless.

Understanding the words attributed to Jesus (whether he actually said them or not) isn't beyond the capabilities of even low-intelligence / uneducated people; however, those who profess to follow them seem to have great difficulty.

[McCulloch]

[Replying to post 14 by Zzyzx]

Great question! It deserves to be debated separately.

viewtopic.php?p=860830

[ttruscott]

What, exactly, is Jesus said to have taught that is 'the greatest thing'?

'Be nice to each other' doesn't seem very profound. 'Love your enemies' seems ridiculously idealistic and inapplicable. 'Turn the other cheek' encourages bowing to coercion / force.

Ummm, you have accidentally missed what is really important:
Luke 10:27 He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

and

John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

[marco]

What was the purpose of Jesus' miracles?

a) To help people.
b) To prove his divinity.
c) Other (please elaborate)

If (a) then a larger question is - why did he withhold his miracles from the 99.999% left unhealed? It would seem that by picking a blind man here and a leper there he wasn't helping the human race very much. Just showing off.
If (b) then he relied on reports rather than performing a miracle that would withstand the uncertainties of time. The astonishing resurrection of Lazarus would surely have got into the main news if a stinking corpse returned to life, but there is not a whisper of Lazarus later. It would seem that the story is just there to enhance the preacher's reputation.
c) You don't sell a new religion simply by recounting the beatitudes or narrating a parable. Miracles were a big selling point to gentiles who had been brought up on sundry miracles. Christ would be less than Pan or Pluto if he couldn't perform wonders. Today people flock to Fatima and Lourdes precisely because they are associated with miracles. Same idea.

[zjsd26]

The purpose of miracles was to open up people's eyes to the truth. The bible says he would come in many signs and wonders. So he was fulfilling scripture. Miracles were a popular trait that he had. Examples can be healing the sick, raising people from the dead, and turning water into wine, was his divine purpose that he fulfilled on this earth

[marco]

The purpose of miracles was to open up people's eyes to the truth. The bible says he would come in many signs and wonders. So he was fulfilling scripture. Miracles were a popular trait that he had. Examples can be healing the sick, raising people from the dead, and turning water into wine, was his divine purpose that he fulfilled on this earth

It is not clear how the restoration of hearing or sight increases man's knowledge of truth. It certainly surprises. Rather than stop by the roadside, spit and restore sight he might have explained the wonders of penicillin or given a permanent cure for leprosy. He might even have raised his eyes and cured every leper instead of a few. But he didn't. Wisely or unwisely, he wrote nothing down so that everything he did is cast in a veil of doubt. Odd for a God.

[Derrrpp]

[Replying to post 1 by Justin108]

The purpose of all the miracles of Jesus and any other Biblical occurence is a statement of God's purpose/power/or upheld covenant. I find the miracles to best represent the proof that God can deliver on his promised eternity.
At the time, the reports of miracles were not game changers. The written account of the apostles demonstrates that they struggled with the idea of divine action even when they witnessed it. For the time of 1st century BC such reports were everwhere- so there was just as much incentive to ignore it and keep farming. We are only now biased in our viewpoint that a miracle is a gamechanger to our belief/faith.
I think that this is becuase we are in the State of Choices. Having choice biases our viewpoint of the governor of , the rules of, and the State of No Choice -which was Eden- the uncracked vase of original design. Everyone is barred from that path. Other forums questions are requesting this kind of literal proof that supercedes choice. (And Jonah- who had no choice- wasnt a non beiliever - he just didnt want to) I dont think anyone gets that special privilege- even the chosen apostles couldnt deal with it and rationalizations about choices will always put us into that state of mind- that there is another answer and to judge between them.
So that 'theory of choice' delegates present day miracles to the bin of natural wonders and random chance- to be believed or not- your choice:
Why would anyone not choose the State that guaranteed the perputation of the wave function that they are, to the good and proper (coherent) propogation (unhindered) thereof???