Jesus in Christianity

=== Miracles of Jesus ===
{{blockquote|''Believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father''. —[[s:Bible (American Standard)/John#10:38|John 10:38]]<ref>''The emergence of Christian theology'' by Eric Francis Osborn 1993 {{ISBN|0-521-43078-X}} page 100</ref>}}
In Christian teachings, the miracles of Jesus were as much a vehicle for his message as were his words. Many of the miracles emphasize the importance of faith, for instance in [[cleansing ten lepers]],<ref>{{bibleverse|Lk|17:19}}</ref> Jesus did not say: "My power has saved you" but says "Rise and go; your faith has saved you."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Marthaler |first1=Berard L. |title=The creed: the apostolic faith in contemporary theology |url=https://archive.org/details/creedapostolicfa0000mart/page/220 |year=1993 |publisher=Twenty-Third Publications; 3rd Revised edition |isbn=0-89622-537-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/creedapostolicfa0000mart/page/220 220] }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1= Lockyer|first1=Herbert |title= All the Parables of the Bible|year=1988 |publisher= Zondervan|isbn=978-0-310-28111-5 |page=235}}</ref> Similarly, in the [[Jesus walks on water|Walking on Water]] miracle, [[Apostle Peter]] learns an important lesson about faith in that as his faith wavers, he begins to sink.<ref>{{bibleverse|Mt|14:34-36}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Perkins |first1=Pheme |title=Reading the New Testament: An Introduction |url=https://archive.org/details/readingnewtesta00perk/page/54 |year=1988 |publisher=Paulist Press |isbn=0-8091-2939-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/readingnewtesta00perk/page/54 54] }}</ref>

[[File:Palma il Giovane 001.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Jesus [[Healing the paralytic at Bethesda|healing the paralytic]] in ''The Pool'' by [[Palma il Giovane]], 1592]]

One characteristic shared among all miracles of Jesus in the Gospel accounts is that he delivered benefits freely and never requested or accepted any form of payment for his healing miracles, unlike some high priests of his time who charged those who were healed.<ref name="Blomberg197" /> In [[s:Bible (NIV)/Matthew#10:8|Matthew 10:8]] he advised his disciples to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, and drive out demons without payment and stated: "Freely you have received; freely give".<ref name="Blomberg197">{{cite book |last1=Blomberg |first1=Craig L.  |title=Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey |year=2009 |publisher=B & H Academic |isbn=978-0-8054-4482-7 |page=197}}</ref>

Christians in general believe that Jesus' miracles were actual historical events and that his miraculous works were an important part of his life, attesting to his divinity and the [[Hypostatic union]], i.e., the dual natures of Christ's humanity and divinity in one [[hypostasis (philosophy)|hypostasis.]]<ref name="Catholic Encyclopedia on Miracles">{{Cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10338a.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia on Miracles |access-date=2011-10-14 |archive-date=2017-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116010649/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10338a.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Christians believe that while Jesus' experiences of hunger, weariness, and death were evidences of his humanity, the miracles were evidences of his deity.<ref>Lockyer, Herbert. ''All the Parables of the Bible''. Zondervan, 1988. {{ISBN|978-0-310-28111-5}}. p.25</ref><ref>Brande, William Thomas, George William Cox. ''A dictionary of science, literature, & art''. London, 1867, also Published by Old Classics on Kindle, 2009, page 655</ref><ref>Ramm, Bernard L. ''An Evangelical Christology: Ecumenic and Historic''. Regent College Publishing, 1993. {{ISBN|1-57383-008-9}}. p.45</ref>

Christian authors also view the miracles of Jesus not merely as acts of power and omnipotence, but as works of love and mercy: they were performed to show compassion for sinful and suffering humanity.<ref name="Catholic Encyclopedia on Miracles" /> Authors Ken and Jim Stocker state that "every single miracle Jesus performed was an act of love".<ref>Stocker, Ken. Jim Stocker.  ''Facts, Faith, and the FAQs''. Xulon Press, 2006. {{ISBN|978-1600347535}}. p.139</ref> And each miracle involves specific teachings.<ref>Maguire, Robert. ''The Miracles of Christ''. Ulan Press, 2012. ASIN: B009QMIYOW. p.133</ref><ref>Wiersbe, Warren W. ''Classic Sermons on the Miracles of Jesus''. Kregel Academic & Professional, 1995. {{ISBN|0-8254-3999-X}}. p.132</ref>

Since according to the [[Gospel of John]]<ref>{{bibleverse|Jn|20:30||20:30}}</ref> it was impossible to narrate all the miracles performed by Jesus, the [[Catholic Encyclopedia]] states that the miracles presented in the Gospels were selected for a twofold reason: first for the manifestation of God's glory, and then for their evidential value. Jesus referred to his "works" as evidences of his mission and his divinity, and in {{Bibleref2|John|5:36}} he declared that his miracles have greater evidential value than the testimony of [[John the Baptist]].<ref name="Catholic Encyclopedia on Miracles" />