Give Us a Sign

Previous: Following Christ is Hard.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS POST AS A PODCAST!

This is Day 35 of my 40 day Lenten Blog.

Contrary to what some may claim, Jesus did not descend to Earth expecting everyone to listen to Him without proving who He was (even though those who need no proof are more greatly blessed). Jesus performed great miracles which are signs that point to His divine nature.

The first of His miracles was turning water into wine. Jesus, along with His mother Mary and His disciples were invited to a wedding in Cana. The host ran out of wine, and Mary, fearing that they would be greatly embarrassed, went to Jesus to ask Him to help. "What does this have to do with me?" Jesus asked His mother. But Mary persisted, and as a good son, Jesus listened to His mother and even though He was not very keen to perform the miracle, turned jugs of water into wine.

One of the most important lessons of this miracle is that Jesus, like all good sons, will listen to His mother. He'll do things He doesn't especially want to do if she asks Him to. This can be beneficial to all of us. We should ask Jesus for help when we need Him, but also ask His mother Mary to intercede for us. Perhaps Jesus isn't very keen to help you out. Maybe you got yourself into the jam and He'll leave you to get yourself out of it. But perhaps Mary is more sympathetic like she was at the wedding and can convince Jesus to help you like she did with the wine.

Many will balk at this. "It's a sin to commune with the dead!" they will insist. And that's true. But Mary isn't dead. Like all of the saints in Heaven, Mary is alive in Christ. There is nothing wrong with asking her to intercede for you just like you would ask someone here on earth to intercede for you.

Turning water into wine was Jesus' first miracle, but hardly His most impressive. Jesus gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and speech to the mute. He fed thousands of people with just a few loaves of bread. He healed the sick, including lepers, and brought the dead back to life. All life was created through Jesus and He has the power to restore it.

Jesus also demonstrated His power over nature by calming the winds and the seas and by walking on water. The story of Him walking on water is one of my favorites. His disciples were out in a boat and Jesus came walking toward them over rough seas. At first they were afraid, thinking that He was a ghost, but then He called out to them, identifying who He was. His disciple Peter was so impressed He said, "Lord call me and I can walk to you!" This showed great faith on Peter's part. Jesus called to Peter and Peter climbed out of the boat and began walking on the water toward Jesus. But then Peter started to get scared. He took his eyes off of Jesus and started looking at the terrifying waves and the seas around him. When that happened, his faith dwindled and he began to sink beneath the water. But Jesus rescued him, pulling him out of the water.

When we are going through rough times in our lives we need to keep our eyes on Jesus even though it is really difficult sometimes. As long as we are focused on Jesus and have faith in Him we will make it through anything. But when we start focusing on the storms around us instead, our faith lessens and we start to sink beneath the waves.

But through all of these miracles there were those who always refused to believe. They kept saying to Jesus, "show us a sign and we will believe." But He did many signs and they never believed. There are many people like that today who claim that if God would just show Himself they would believe. But they wouldn't. Those with a heart too hard to believe will not come around by signs and wonders. Only through God's mercy and grace can their hearts be softened enough to believe.

Jesus eventually told His doubters that the only sign He would give them was His resurrection, though He did not use those words. He told them He would rise again in three days. And when He was on the cross, His enemies mocked Him saying that He could save others but couldn't save Himself. But He did save Himself, He just did it on God's timing not man's. The resurrection is the greatest sign of Christ's divinity. Other prophets had brought people back from the dead, and healed lepers, and cast out demons through the power of the Holy Spirit. But none had ever brought themselves back from the dead. This miracle, Christ's greatest, was the one He always pointed to as proof of His divinity. And if we do not believe in Him after that, there is nothing that will convince us.

Next: Christ Came to Save Sinners.

R.C. VanLandingham is a Catholic homeschool dad just trying to make it through this life and into the next! He has written a Christian children's fantasy series about a boy named Peter Puckett!