Catholic Replies
Editor’s Note: This series on Apologetics is based on the book Catholicism & Reason. Please feel free to use the series for high schoolers or adults. We will continue to welcome your questions for the column as well. You can send them either to the postal mailing address or to the email address below, and we will interrupt this series to answer them.
Special Course On Catholicism And Reason (Chapter 6)
While the divinity of Jesus can be indicated by His flawless personality and His extraordinary holiness, the Gospels give us three other signs that He is God: (1) the prophecies concerning the Messiah that were fulfilled only by Jesus, (2) the accurate prophecies of the future that were made by Jesus Himself, and (3) the numerous and spectacular miracles that He performed.
Jesus is the only Person in human history to have His biography written hundreds of years before He was born. In the Old Testament section of the Bible, there were many references to the coming Messiah, who would turn out to be Jesus. For example, the Bible predicted that the Messiah would be born of the House of David, of a virgin mother, in the town of Bethlehem, and that kings would come with presents and adore Him. The prophecies said that the Messiah would perform great miracles, that He would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, that He would suffer willingly for our sins, that He would be led like a sheep to the slaughter, and that His hands and feet would be pierced. All of these things were fulfilled by Jesus.
A prophecy is a prediction of future events, and Jesus made many such prophecies. For example, He said that He would be handed over to the chief priests, who would condemn Him to death; that He would be handed over to the Gentiles (the Romans), who would scourge Him and crucify Him; that the Apostle Judas would betray Him; that the Apostle Peter would deny knowing Him three times; and that the city of Jerusalem and the magnificent Jewish Temple would be destroyed by the Romans. He made that startling prediction in the year AD 30 and the Romans leveled the city forty years later, in the year 70. Jesus said that “not one stone” of the Temple would be left standing, and that’s what happened.
A miracle is a happening or event beyond or outside the course of nature, that can be seen with one’s eyes, and that can be explained only by the direct intervention and power of God. Some say that science has disproved miracles. That is not true. Science says that certain physical laws must be followed, for example, that mud cannot cure blind persons or that prayer cannot bring dead persons back to life. But God is not bound by physical laws; He made these laws and He can suspend them through actions we call miracles, which are above and beyond science.
Jesus used miracles to help the sick and suffering. Thus, He cured the deaf, the lame, the paralyzed, and those with the horrible disease of leprosy. He gave sight to a man who had been blind from birth by smearing mud on his eyes (see John 9:1-41). Mud does not cure blindness, but in Jesus’ hands it did. Jesus also used miracles to show that He was God. He changed water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana. He walked on water and with a word calmed the raging sea. He fed more than 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish.
He cast out demons who were possessing people and, on three occasions, brought dead people back to life, including his friend Lazarus, who had been dead for four days (see John 11:1-44).
These miracles were witnessed by many people, including the enemies of Jesus, but they could not deny what they had seen with their own eyes. So instead they plotted to kill Jesus because too many people were believing in Him. They also plotted to kill Lazarus because he was proof of Jesus’ miraculous powers.
Jesus said that His miracles were proof that He is God. He said that these miracles “testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.” If Jesus’ many miracles establish His divinity, then we must listen to Him and follow His teachings if we wish to get to Heaven.
List Of Answers
BETHLEHEM
BLIND
DEATH
DEMONS
GOD
FIVE
JERUSALEM
LAZARUS
MESSIAH
MIRACLE
PROPHECIES
SCIENCE
THIRTY
VIRGIN
WATER
WINE
Quiz:
- _________ are predictions about future events.
- Jesus fulfilled many prophecies about the ____.
- Jesus was born in _ of a ________ mother.
- Jesus would be sold for _________________pieces of silver.
- Jesus made many predictions of the future, including His own _and the destruction of the city of _________
- A _______ is a happening outside of nature that can be seen, but can only be explained by the power of God.
- ___ cannot disprove miracles because they are outside its scope.
- Jesus cured a __ man by putting mud on his eyes.
- Jesus changed water into ____________at the wedding in Cana.
- Jesus raised His friend ______ from the dead.
- Jesus walked on ________________.
- Jesus cast out _____ from possessed persons.
- Jesus fed more than __ thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish.
- Jesus said that His miracles proved that He was _