And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see Him of a long season, because he had heard many things of Him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by Him. (Luke 23:8)
When Pilate could find no fault in Jesus, He sent Him back to the Jewish king, Herod. Herod was glad because for a long time he had wanted see Jesus perform a miracle. The questions he asked Jesus made this desire obvious, but Jesus did not say or do anything in response. Miracles are one way God meets the needs of those who seek Him in faith. Sometimes He will demonstrate His supernatural ability to inspire faith in people (Mark 2:10-11), but He will not perform a miracle for skeptics who are tempting Him and have no desire for Him (Luke 4:9-12).
A miracle is a supernatural intervention of God’s power over natural law. Healings occur within the boundaries of natural law while miracles are not limited to natural law. A person with a high fever who receives prayer and then begins to recover is experiencing a healing. The Lord intervened, but in natural ways. The virus, infection, or whatever was rebuked, left the body (Luke 4:39), and then the natural healing process that the Lord built into people took over. When something totally supernatural happens, like reattaching the guard’s ear and it being instantly whole (Luke 22:51), that is a miracle. It was also a healing, but it was a miraculous healing.
Feeding the five thousand (Matt. 14:19-20), walking on the water (Matt. 14:25), translating a ship and all aboard to the other side of the sea (John 6:21) — all these are miracles—and you, being in Christ, can do them too! Today you have the full authority of the name of Jesus, which means that anything He did, you can do also. As long as your heart is in the right place and you desire a miracle to reveal Jesus to someone, you should have no hesitancy in believing God for one.
