Jesus of Nazareth is a figure known for his moral teachings, in addition to the miracles the Bible attributes to him. These two aspects of his ministry are intrinsically linked to his claim of being the Son of God. If this claim is discarded, the various principles that Jesus taught can be thought of as moral axioms for consideration. However, acceptance of the claim transforms these moral suggestions into obligations. This philosophical implication was something Jesus was well aware of.

Upon being asked how he could claim to forgive the sins of a paralyzed man, Jesus replied “Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?” [1] In essence, Jesus professes to possess authority over the moral and physical realms for the same reason: his claim of divinity . In our postmodern context, we prefer the comfort of choosing whether or not to value any combination of moral systems. Clearly, Jesus’ own approach to morality is incompatible with this. The miracles performed by Jesus are intended to be evidence for his divinity claim, which is in turn the foundational basis for his ethical laws. This ultimately means to discard Jesus’ miracles is to undermine the moral grounding of his teaching. Therefore, it becomes necessary to investigate the nature of the miraculous premise behind Jesus’ miracles.

” To discard Jesus’ miracles is to undermine the moral grounding of his teaching. “

Any proposed moral precepts should be subject to logical analysis for self-consistency, and those of Jesus are no different. However, such analysis does not address the desire of many evidentialists for physical proof of divinity. The internal image many people have of God is one outside of that of a purely deistic description. One often expects that if God exists, God will intervene. This perception of an intervening God is also echoed in numerous places in the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament. The wonders that Jesus performed are intended to satisfy that description by not only providing practical aid to the recipients, but also by the supernatural means in which they are achieved. The miracles Jesus performed provide tangible evidence for him having some sort of authority or power over the physical realm, and strengthen the weight of his moral claims.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll discuss various topics on the miracles of Jesus, such as extrabiblical sources, in-depth evidential analysis of the miracles, and even compare Jesus to a modern healing charlatan televangelist. It is my hope that this discourse will shed light on the historical and present significance of Jesus’ miracles, as well as inspire fair reconsideration of their plausibility.

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