How Jesus Made Miracles

How to Make a Miracle According to Jesus

When I tell my story, I often talk about my sexually repressive Christian upbringing and how it hurt me. Today I am going to share with you one of the gifts of my growing up Baptist.

NOTE: I am in a miracle-making phase of life right now, and a repost of this article I wrote on miracles is timely. 

Jesus is my spirit guide. I feel him now as Yeshua, a virile, confident, courageous embodiment of Divine Masculine, and Christ Consciousness, a spiritual genius. He walks with me as a brother, with tender-hearted humor, and no bullshit Love. He loves the ceremonies: the Sweat Lodge and the Vision Quest Dances. Even after all those years in church, I got to know Yeshua for the first time in a Sweat Lodge.
 
While I believe that our experience of Divine is an ongoing personal revelation, when you want good stories, the Bible is a resource. I've included wikipedia links so anyone who did not grow up going to a protestant church three times a week can follow the miracle stories too.
 
I was thinking about miracles, and Jesus is famous for his miracles. I grew up believing that he's the Son of God, so he does miracles. Period. But he's not like a wizard casting spells, or magic, so HOW?

The first story I remembered was about a miracle that did not happen, the story of the Rich Young Ruler.

Jesus is approached by the rich young man, who asked, “What can I do to attain the Kingdom of God?”  Jesus says: “Obey the Commandments.” The young man says, “I have followed the commandments since I was a boy. What more must I do?” So Jesus tells him, “Sell all your goods to feed the poor, and follow me.” The young man went away sad, for he had great wealth.
 
Then Jesus shares his famous teaching “It is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”
 
As I ponder this story, I see it in a new light. Jesus is not pronouncing the rich or riches themselves to be wrong or evil. He is talking about the requirement of getting out of one’s comfort zone in order to receive a miracle. He’s talking about sacrifice: letting go of something of a lesser nature in order to have something of a higher nature. When we allow this to happen, which is contrary to our human nature, we feel like we are in the middle of a miracle!
 
The rich young ruler asks for a miracle, the ultimate miracle. He already keeps the law. Yet he has not received his miracle. There must be something more. When he hears the price, as he understands it, he is not willing to pay. He doesn’t want the Kingdom of Heaven badly enough. He misses out on the miracle through lack of faith, and unwillingness to take the necessary action.
 
Here’s what I believe. The Rich Young Ruler didn’t know what he was really asking for when he asked what did he need to do to have the Kingdom of God. His error was in believing he did not have it within him already. With a blind spot that big, not even Jesus can help you.
 
Two things I learned from remembering these stories.  One is that miracles are normal, everyday experiences—for some people. The other is that miracles have a cost. Jesus did not give away miracles. People claimed them through the intensity of their desire and their faith to follow through on what Jesus told them to do.
 
They had to take action without knowing what the outcome would be, like the 10 Lepers.
They had to show ingenuity and drive, like the friends of the paralyzed man, who cut a hole in a roof so Jesus could heal him.
They had to share their lunch, like the boy who brought Jesus 5 loaves and 2 fishes to feed the multitudes.
They had to break the rules, like the man healed of paralysis who was harrassed for carrying his mat on the Sabbath.
Sometimes desire proved faith enough, like the healing of the bleeding woman, who touched the hem of his garment.

Even Lazarus had to give up the comfort of the grave. “Lazarus come out!” Jesus called to him. What if Lazarus had refused?
 
I am going to pose to you the question I’ve been asking myself.
 
What are you resisting that is keeping you from making miracles?
 
I’ll bet something pops into your mind right away. Don’t brush it aside! It’s as if Jesus himself were telling you what you had to do to demonstrate your faith and be healed. You don’t want to miss that message!
 
Contrary to the bumper sticker, Jesus never tried to save anybody. He told them to pick up their mat and walk, or go wash the mud from their eyes and see, or sell all their worldly goods and follow him.  He told the dead man to walk out of his own tomb. They either did it or they did not. He didn’t ask again.