Miracles

A few of many Miracles
(the words of Jesus in red)

LUKE 5:1-11

1One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets, and you will catch many fish.”

5“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, we’ll try again.” 6And this time their nets were so full they began to tear! 7A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

8When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.” 9For he was awestruck by the size of their catch, as were the others with him. 10His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

MARK 6:30-44

30The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and what they had taught. 31Then Jesus said, “Let’s get away from the crowds for a while and rest.” There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. 32They left by boat for a quieter spot. 33But many people saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and met them as they landed. 34A vast crowd was there as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he taught them many things.

35Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and it is getting late. 36Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy themselves some food.”

37But Jesus said, “You feed them.”

“With what?” they asked. “It would take a small fortune to buy food for all this crowd!”

38“How much food do you have?” he asked. “Go and find out.”

They came back and reported, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.” 39Then Jesus told the crowd to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat in groups of fifty or a hundred.

41Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and asked God’s blessing on the food. Breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples to give to the people. 42They all ate as much as they wanted, 43and they picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. 44Five thousand men had eaten from those five loaves!

MATTHEW 14:23-33

23Afterward he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. 24Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves.

25About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came to them, walking on the water. 26When the disciples saw him, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost. 27But Jesus spoke to them at once. “It’s all right,” he said. “I am here! Don’t be afraid.”

28Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on water.”

29“All right, come,” Jesus said.

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

31Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him. “You don’t have much faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 32And when they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.

33Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

MARK 8:22-26

22When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch and heal the man. 23Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?”

24The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.”

25Then Jesus placed his hands over the man’s eyes again. As the man stared intently, his sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. 26Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go back into the village on your way home.”