Answer
The greatest miracles in the Bible prove the greatness and power of God. “You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples” (Psalm 77:14). A miracle is an unusual manifestation of God’s power in which He intervenes in human affairs. Miracles display God’s power, inspire wonder, and act as signs that prove who God is or substantiate His message to the world. A miracle is a supernatural event that reveals or confirms a specific divine message.
The children of Israel saw many miracles on their wilderness journeys to the Promised Land. Those events, which included some of the greatest miracles in the Bible, confirmed to them that they were following the One True God: “He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes” (Deuteronomy 10:21).
Lists of the greatest miracles in the Bible would differ depending on whom you ask. Is the greatest miracle in the Bible the time the sun stood still for Joshua (Joshua 10:12–14)? Is it the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14)? Is it the movement of the sun’s shadow backward ten steps (Isaiah 38:7–8)? The resurrection of Christ (Matthew 28:1–8)? The feeding of 5,000 (Mark 6:35–44)? Or maybe the greatest miracle in the Bible is the creation of the world (Genesis 1).
A case could be made that the greatest miracle in the Bible is the crossing of the Red Sea. The scope and historical significance of that miracle are truly awesome, and that event is often pointed to by other biblical writers as proof of God’s power and goodness (e.g., Joshua 24:6; Nehemiah 9:11; Psalm 66:6; 136:13; Isaiah 43:16; 51:15; Hebrews 11:29). Just as strong a case can be made for the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, without which our faith is futile (1 Corinthians 15:17). And the miracle of the sun and moon standing still is truly mind-boggling.
Any miracle, by definition, is great, and it is probably impossible to objectively identify the greatest miracles in the Bible. But here are several miracles that should probably be included in a list of the greatest:
Miracles over nature
• The parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14)
• Jonah and the big fish (Jonah 1:17)
• The virgin birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:18–25)
• Daniel’s survival in the den of lions (Daniel 6:21–22)
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s preservation in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:25)
• Jesus’ walking on water (Matthew 14:25–27)
• Jesus’ calming of the storm (Matthew 8:23–27)
Miracles of healing
• Jesus’ healing of the nobleman’s son (John 4:46–47), a leper (Mark 1:40–45), a paralytic (Matthew 9:1–8), and a woman with an issue of blood (Luke 8:43–48)
Miracles over demonic forces
• Jesus’ casting out of many unclean spirits (Mark 1:23–28; Matthew 8:28–34)
Miracles of provision
• God’s provision of manna (Exodus 16:4)
• Jesus’ turning of water into wine (John 2:7–9)
• Jesus’ feeding of the multitudes (Matthew 14:19–20; 15:36–37)
Miracles of resurrection
• Elijah’s raising of the son of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17–24)
• Elisha’s raising the Shunamite woman’s son (2 Kings 4:18–37)
• Jesus’ raising of the widow of Nain’s son (Luke 7:11–18), Jairus’s daughter (Luke 8:52–56), and Lazarus (John 11)
• Peter’s raising of Tabitha (Acts 9:36–43)
• Paul’s raising of Eutychus (Acts 20:7–12)
• Jesus’ resurrection (Luke 24:1–7)
There’s another miracle that we must include in the list of the greatest miracles of the Bible. It’s a miracle that happens every day, as God takes a rebellious sinner, forgives his sin, grants him life, lavishes him with grace, adopts him as a child, and seals him for eternity—all because of the death and resurrection of Christ. Praise the Lord for the miracle of salvation!
