Did you know Jesus never performed any miracles until the Holy Spirit came upon Him?
That’s right—there is no record of Jesus performing miracles before the Holy Spirit descended on Him at His baptism. In the Gospels, His public ministry, including the miracles He performed, begins only after this pivotal event.
John the Baptist was the one who baptized Jesus, and at that moment, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him “like a dove” (Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10, Luke 3:22, John 1:32). This event marked the official start of His ministry. But why is this so important? Because it underscores a profound truth: Jesus came as a man.
To fully grasp the role of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ ministry, we must first understand His humility. Jesus didn’t just appear in human form; He genuinely lived as a man. What empowered Him to perform miracles was not His own divinity but the Holy Spirit working through Him.
Consider John 1:14 (ESV):
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Here, “the Word became flesh” means that Jesus became fully human.
Hebrews 2:14 (NIV) further illuminates this:
“Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.”
This verse shows us that Jesus didn’t just share in our humanity symbolically; He fully embraced it.
And 1 Timothy 2:5 (NIV) states plainly:
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.”
This verse explicitly refers to Jesus as “the man”, emphasizing His human nature.
Before His baptism, the Bible gives us glimpses of Jesus’ early life, such as the incident in the temple when He was twelve years old. However, no miracles are mentioned until after the Holy Spirit came upon Him. This is not a coincidence—it is a revelation.
The first miracle Jesus performed after His baptism was at the wedding in Cana, where He turned water into wine (John 2:1-11). When the wine ran out, His mother, Mary, brought the issue to His attention. Though initially hesitant, Jesus ultimately performed the miracle, transforming water into wine so fine that it amazed the guests. This miracle, like all the others, wasn’t something Jesus could do on His own as a man. He needed the power of the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus, in His humanity, performed miracles through the Spirit, we too must recognize that any healing or miracle today, occurs only through the Holy Spirit’s power working in and through us.
So, what does this mean for us? It’s a powerful reminder that while we are called to follow Jesus’ example, we do so with the same reliance on the Holy Spirit that He demonstrated. Jesus didn’t operate out of His divine nature when performing miracles; He operated out of His relationship with the Holy Spirit. And so must we.
