The Strategic Miracles of Jesus

 (Unless otherwise noted, scriptural quotes are from the NKJV.)

Strategy – it can be, very simply, a clever plan or method.  However, from its origin from the Greek strategos, it had a much fuller concept.  From Merriam Webster’s Deluxe Dictionary, Tenth Collegiate Edition, we have:  “the science and art of employing the political, economic, psychological and military forces of a nation, or a group of nations, to afford the maximum support to the adopted policies in peace or in war.”  Its secondary definition follows: “The science and art of military command exercised to meet the enemy in combat under advantageous conditions.”  Let us keep this as we explore the unique power of the strategy employed by Jesus in the performance of His miracles with regard to the impact they and their strategic implementation had on the minds of those to and among whom He ministered.

We can see, at one level, a clear distinction between the warfare that occurred in the Old Testament and that in which Jesus engaged and in which he empowered His disciples to participate.  In the Old Testament we read of great battles between men, e.g. David and Goliath, or between nations, e.g. Joshua leading the armies of the tribes of Israel against the Amalekites.  When Jesus comes on to the scene, He “ramps it up,” and He starts casting out demons, unclean spirits, even a “Legion” of them.  Now we are dealing with spiritual warfare as Paul declared in Ephesians 6:12 –

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  In addition, Jesus has given to His disciples (that includes us) this power, this authority, over demonic forces.  Note, from the very first time Jesus sent His disciples forth, we read that “He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of diseases” (Matthew 10:1b).  Awesome, is it not?  Hallelujah!

But, wait.  Was there no dimension of spiritual warfare in the Old Testament?  Indeed there was!  We have only to look to the Ten Plagues God sent upon Egypt as one of many such examples in the Old Testament.

These Ten Plagues were, each and every one of them, strategically directed against one of the major demon deities of the Egyptian pantheon of their false gods. 

Over the next few installments of this teaching, which will constitute the first part of this series, we are going to examine these miracle plagues and then we will examine how Jesus strategically utilized them when He performed some rather unique miracles that stand with, in comparison, and against, in contrast, those Egyptian plagues and how Jesus took them “to the next level!”  Stay tuned ~