Matthew 8; Luke 7:11–17
The Miraculous Power of Jesus Christ
One of the ways Jesus demonstrated His power was through miraculous healings, which included raising a widow’s son from the dead. This lesson is intended to strengthen your faith in Jesus Christ’s power to perform miracles in our day and in your life.
Using the curriculum. As you prepare each lesson and study the scripture block, also prayerfully review the curriculum. As you do, the Holy Ghost can help you adapt the lesson to the needs of your students. You may choose to use all or some of the teaching suggestions for a scripture block, or you may adapt the suggested ideas according to the needs and circumstances of your class.
Student preparation: Invite students to ask family members or friends what events in their lives and in the Church they consider to be miracles. Remind students that while some miracles are dramatic, others are more subtle.
Possible Learning Activities
Miracles
Consider writing the following definition on the board and displaying images of some miraculous events in the scriptures (see the accompanying images).
A miracle is “an extraordinary event caused by the power of God. … Faith is necessary in order for miracles to be manifested” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Miracle,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
-
What are some of your favorite miracles recorded in the scriptures? Why?
-
What do you learn about Jesus Christ from these miracles?
If circumstances allow, students who did not do the student preparation activity before class could be invited to text a family member or friend to ask what events they consider to be miracles. Students could share these responses near the end of the lesson.
During the Savior’s life, He performed many miracles. As you study some of these in this lesson and throughout the week, ponder how you would answer the following questions:
-
What do you understand about miracles?
-
What questions do you have about them?
-
What miracle(s) do you hope God will perform in your life?
You may want to record your answers in your study journal. Look for answers to your questions this week as you study miracles performed by Jesus Christ.
What do miracles teach us about Jesus Christ?
One scripture study skill that can help you come to know Jesus Christ better is to look beyond what He does and prayerfully ponder what His actions reveal about His character. As you read, consider asking questions such as “What do I learn about the Savior’s motives, priorities, and attributes from what He is doing and saying?”
Read Luke 7:11–17, looking for details in the story that teach you about Jesus Christ. For example, pay attention to what verse 13 helps you understand about why He performed this miracle. You may also want to watch the video “Widow of Nain” (2:22), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, as you study this account.
-
What did you learn about the Savior’s motives, priorities, and attributes from what He did or said as He performed this miracle?
-
How can what you learned help you right now in your life?
Jesus performed many miracles
Choose one or more of the following miracles to study. Continue paying attention to what you learn about the Savior from these accounts.
Consider displaying the following images and scripture references. Point to each image while reading aloud the brief description that pertains to it. Then divide the class into groups of three. Assign each member of the group a different account to study, and invite students to share with their group details of the account they read.
Jesus heals a leper.
A leper would have been shunned from society because leprosy was a painful, contagious, and sometimes deadly disease. Most people would have avoided approaching or touching him.
Jesus heals a centurion’s servant.
A centurion was a commanding officer of about 100 men in the Roman military. Many Jews in Jesus’s day hated Roman soldiers because of religious differences and because they represented the nation that had conquered them.
Jesus casts devils out of a man living among tombs.
A man lived among tombs, yelling and hurting himself. When the people in the area could not bind him with chains, they avoided him, leaving him isolated among the tombs.
Invite students to discuss in their groups questions like the following that help them focus on the Savior rather than on just the miraculous event. Be sure students understand that the miracles of Jesus Christ demonstrate His love and compassion for us.
-
What did you learn about the Savior’s motives, priorities, and attributes from what He did or said as He performed this miracle?
-
How can what you learned help you right now in your life?
-
What can you do when you feel the need for the Savior’s help?
Miracles in our day
Have you ever wondered if the Savior still performs miracles today? While many people have not experienced some of the dramatic miracles recorded in the scriptures, such as the parting of the Red Sea or the raising of the dead, it is important to remember that miracles still occur today. The Savior declared, “I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever” (2 Nephi 27:23).
President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught:
Many miracles happen every day in the work of our Church and in the lives of our members. Many of you have witnessed miracles, perhaps more than you realize.
(Dallin H. Oaks, “Miracles,” Ensign, June 2001, 6)
-
What thoughts or questions do you have about this statement by President Oaks?
Before asking the following questions, consider reminding students of the student preparation suggestion or inviting them to check for replies from family members or friends they may have texted at the beginning of the lesson. Caution them not to share details that may be too personal or sacred.
-
What are some miracles the Savior has performed as part of the Restoration and through the work of His Church?
-
What miracles have you or your loved ones seen in your lives?
-
What do these personal miracles reveal about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
Consider inviting students to think about how their understanding of miracles has increased during this lesson. Also invite students to pay attention to the Lord’s miraculous influence in their lives. Encourage them to seek inspiration from the Holy Ghost to help them find answers to the questions they still have about miracles.
Commentary and Background Information
What is the ultimate miracle?
President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught:
Some miracles affect many people. The ultimate such miracle is the Atonement of Jesus Christ—His triumph over physical and spiritual death for all mankind. No miracle is more far-reaching or more magnificent.
(Dallin H. Oaks, “Miracles,” Ensign, June 2001, 9)
Do dramatic miracles like those recorded in the scriptures still happen today?
One example of a remarkable modern-day miracle was shared by President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008):
I was asked if I would visit a woman in the hospital whose doctors had told her she was going blind and would lose her sight within a week. She asked if we would administer to her and we did so, and she states that she was miraculously healed. … I said to her, “I didn’t save your sight. Of course, the Lord saved your sight. Thank Him and be grateful to Him.”
(Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 343)
Why don’t people receive every miracle they seek with faith in Jesus Christ?
President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency said:
Miracles are not available for the asking. … The will of the Lord is always paramount. The priesthood of the Lord cannot be used to work a miracle contrary to the will of the Lord. We must also remember that even when a miracle is to occur, it will not occur on our desired schedule. The revelations teach that miraculous experiences occur “in his own time, and in his own way” (D&C 88:68).
(Dallin H. Oaks, “Miracles,” Ensign, June 2001, 9)
Why would the devils in the account in Mark 5:11–13 desire to enter swine?
The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) explained:
We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment. He is pleased when he can obtain the tabernacle of man, and when cast out by the Savior he asked to go into the herd of swine, showing that he would prefer a swine’s body to having none. All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not.
(Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 211)
Will more miracles occur before the Savior returns?
President Russell M. Nelson testified:
Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory.
(Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 96)
Supplemental Learning Activities
Jesus Christ is and will continue to be a God of miracles
To help students see that miracles still happen, consider inviting them to study Mormon 9:11–21. Invite them to find answers to the following:
-
What are some of the miracles of Jesus Christ that Moroni identified in these verses?
-
What advice does Moroni give to those who do not believe in miracles?
-
Why would God stop performing miracles among His people?
Casting out evil spirits
After learning that the Savior has power to cast out evil spirits, students could read King Benjamin’s prophecy in Mosiah 3:5–6. Invite them to discuss what it means that the Savior can “cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men” (verse 6). Invite them to ponder if there is anything holding them back spiritually that they would like to remove from their own hearts. Testify of the Savior’s ability to remove evil desires from our hearts as we turn to Him in faith.