miracles & signs
The Gospels recount a large number of miracles and signs performed by Jesus. The Gospel According to Matthew 12:15 (NABRE) describes Jesus healing a large number of people: “When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many [people] followed him, and he cured them all.”
The Greek word translated as “cared for” is the word θεραπεύω (therapeuo), the root of the English word therapy. It has a range of potential meaning including “do service to the gods” or “treat medically.”
In the Gospel According to Matthew, Jesus’ healing is seen as a medical process. He treats people medically, and his healing abilities are seen as the result of his having superior knowledge about medical practice. This is not the same picture of Jesus that emerges from the Gospel According to John, however. In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus’ miracles are referred to as signs instead of miracles, suggesting that they have significance (a word closely related to the word sign).
How do these two different views of Jesus’ healing signs and miracles relate to the way in which you think about Jesus’ acts of healing? How do you think it is that Jesus heals people in the world today? When have you experienced Jesus’ healing in your life?
related topics: disease; healing; illness; salvation; sin
you also may like our study of the Gospel According to John
The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth, a 25-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, examines the Fourth Gospel’s view of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, with special emphasis on the institution of the sacraments of the Church as the means by which Christians are purified and made holy. This recently revised study includes maps and additional commentary, and takes a closer look at the way in which Jesus relates to individual men and women. Click on the book’s cover to view a sample lesson.
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