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Jesus - Son of God?

Like that boat in peril, Christians in Rome might have feared that their church was in danger of sinking. And like Jesus, asleep on the boat, they might have worried that Jesus had forgotten them. But Jesus reproaches them for their doubts ["Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?" He then tells the storm to calm, and it does]. The message of the story was simple, if they had faith in Jesus, he would not abandon them. He could calm the storm on the Sea of Galilee or in Rome.

I'm nearly at the end of my quest to understand the stories of the miracles of Jesus. I found that there's no single answer to their meaning. To those who believed they were cured, Jesus was a remarkable wonder-worker, and perhaps no more than that. But to the Jewish crowds longing for freedom from Roam oppression he was much more. Some saw in the miracles a sign that Jesus was the great prophet foretold by the scriptures. Some Jews even saw in them that he was the Messiah, the saviour who would free them from the Romans.

But what about Jesus himself? Who did he think he was? His actions were often hard to make sense of. Sometimes they were even shocking. From the miracles in Galilee to his death in Jerusalem, Jesus seemed to be acting in ways that only belonged to the God of the Jews. We'll never know if Jesus saw himself as God. And whether you think he was God is a matter of faith. But we do know what his followers thought. They believed that the miracles of Jesus continued after his crucifixion. Three days after his death, and then again 50 days on at Pentecost the disciples had a series of life-changing experiences. Even if you think that miracles don't happen, such deeply held beliefs have left a massive legacy.

Growth rate of Christianity : miracle

Put together, they all point to yet another miracle, that God had revealed himself uniquely in a man, Jesus of Nazareth. He showed anger, like most of us. Sometimes, he seemed as unsure of himself as we are of ourselves. But he always seemed to act with the authority of God. At first, that very idea would have seemed scandalous to first century Jews. But the rumour spread. It grew into a conviction of faith. By the middle of the first century, the Christian movement was growing at the phenomenal rate of 40% a decade. Now, almost a third of the world's population call themselves Christian.

Of all of Jesus' miracles, that was the greatest.

More resources:

Downloadable resource for episode 3

http://www.bibleresources.org.uk/9780564038466/

Miracles of Jesus

Part 3   The Resurrection  16