The First Miracle

Jesus’ first ever public miracle is recorded a little differently in the synoptic Gospels. Mark has Jesus casting out an unclean spirit, thus demonstrating His power over the forces of evil. But Matthew records the healing of the leper as His first miracle. When the leper said, “Lord, if you WILL, you can make me clean,” Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and touched him, uttering those eagerly awaited words, “I WILL, be clean.”

The word WILL in the leper’s request and in Jesus’ reply is the Greek word for WISH and DESIRE. The leper was asking Jesus what His deepest desire would be, and Jesus revealed it by healing him. Matthew, Mark, and Luke recorded Jesus’ first miracle as a compassionate response to human need, pain, and suffering. But John, the beloved disciple, recorded Jesus’ first miracle as the transformation read more...