The Wonder of Jesus Christ

The greatest saints and mystics in Christian tradition marveled in wonder at Christ. They were not the first: Our Lord frequently stunned His Jewish audience. Jesus regularly wowed with His miracles, his teaching, and his authority. Jesus’ miracles included smaller-scale situations, like curing the fever of Peter’s mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14-15). On a grander scale, Jesus raised the dead on a few occasions, like the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17), the daughter of Jairus (Luke 8:49-56), and Lazarus (John 11:1-44).

Our Lord’s capacity for awe did not stop at miracles. Had Jesus been only a worker of wonders, the Jewish religious authorities would not have sought his death. After the Sermon on the Mount, “the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes” (Matthew 7:28-29, RSVCE). Besides speaking with a mysterious authority, Jesus claimed to be God on multiple occasions. He forgave sins. While those things are familiar territory to Christians today, they were outrageous to the religious leaders at the time. 

We can easily miss the impact of these stories given our familiarity with them. And it’s all too easy to believe in a non-challenging, bland “Jesus” who taught niceness and love. Yet an in-depth read of the gospels makes that bland Jesus impossible. By diving into the gospel stories with eyes full of wonder, we better see who He really is: our all-powerful Savior and Redeemer who burns with love for us.

Power Over Sin

God’s revelation to humanity follows a particular pattern, from the very beginning to the present day.

This plan of revelation is realized by deeds and words having an inner unity: the deeds wrought by God in the history of salvation manifest and confirm the teaching and realities signified by the words, while the words proclaim the deeds and clarify the mystery contained in them. By this revelation then, the deepest truth about God and the salvation of man shines out for our sake in Christ, who is both the mediator and the fullness of all revelation. – Vatican II, Dei Verbum #2

Sometimes Jesus had to make the connection for his listeners, as he did when a paralytic was lowered through the roof (Mark 2:1-12). Jesus taught inside a house, and the house overflowed with people. The group wanting to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus could only get him in through the roof. Upon seeing the paralyzed man, Jesus unexpectedly tells him that his sins are forgiven (Mark 2:5). This caused a commotion in the crowd and the Pharisees grumbled that only God could forgive sins. To prove His power, Jesus commanded the paralytic to rise. What could Jesus’ critics say? The house gasped in wonder.

In another instance, Jesus was dining at the house of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36-50). A woman only identified as a “sinner” came in and anointed Jesus’ feet with her tears and with ointment. Jesus stuns His fellow guests first by not dismissing the woman, and second by forgiving her sins. Why didn’t they take Jesus out to be stoned right there? Did they see the woman’s change of heart? Or was it the authority in Jesus’ voice? They could only wonder, “who is this, who even forgives sins?” (Luke 7:49)

Power Over Nature

Standing on the shoulders of the Fathers of the early Church, we can answer that question of the identity of Jesus. In the Nicene Creed, we profess that “through Him [i.e. Jesus] all things were made.” The Holy Trinity created the cosmos and everything in it. As the author of life, Jesus demonstrated power over disease numerous times in the gospel. And those are just the recorded ones (see John 21:25)! As impactful as those miracles must have been, few signs had such an effect on the apostles as the calming of the storm (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, Luke 8:22-25). If this event has become an afterthought–sure Jesus can do that, omnipotent second Person of the Trinity and all–we need to reread the text with new eyes.

The best rereading of the text I’ve seen is in Fr. John Riccardo’s book Heaven Starts Now (see pg. 43-49). For starters, the conversation among the apostles and Jesus was not spoken so much as shouted. “Save, Lord, we are perishing!” should be read amidst a din of howling wind, driving rain, and waves starting to submerge the boat. Similarly, Jesus shouts back His response in the midst of the storm: “Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?” (Matthew 8:25-26)

The same voice that ushered the heavens and the earth into existence exercised dominion over the created order again. The quieting of the storm only rivaled the stunned silence in the boat. I picture the apostles looking aghast at their drenched clothes and then at the bright sky. Perhaps they shared glances saying, did that really happen? I think Luke’s gospel has the best wording of the question asked among the apostles: “Who then is this?” (Luke 8:25, RSVCE)

Who Is He?

Whether Jesus forgave sins or worked fantastic wonders, all roads lead to the identity of Jesus. We cannot avoid this question; ignoring the question is an answer in itself. From its founding, the Catholic Church has proclaimed that Jesus is the omnipotent Son of God. He is the eternal, incarnate Word made flesh, and He seeks the hearts of every person. The apostles and their successors attested to the veracity of those miracles; His power was real. 

I recommend sitting with the miracle stories in the gospels and letting the passages come alive in imaginative prayer. No matter our state in life, our level of faith, or situation, Jesus extends His hand to us. That can be hard to fathom. If Jesus is truly the divine Son of God, what use could He have with me? I often echo Simon’s (later Peter’s) sentiment after seeing a miraculous catch of fish–“depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8).

What Wondrous Love Is This

Without a doubt, there are obstacles to encountering Our Lord, just like in Peter’s experience. But the passion of St. Paul takes aim at those obstacles. In wonder and awe, he muses on the all-encompassing divine love. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Romans 8:36) Throughout the whole chapter, St. Paul builds to a crescendo of adoration. He has his list: tribulation, famine, death, life, the past, the future, and more (Romans 8:35-39). However terrible, he insists that nothing separates us from the love of Christ. Insert your own list into this passage to try to hear what St. Paul is trying to say. Not COVID-19, elections, deaths in the family, canceled holidays, worries about the future, or the hauntings of our past can keep us from the love of Jesus. NOTHING.

Just like manifestations of Jesus’ power in the Scriptures, we hear that God loves us so many times. Don’t let the love of Christ fall into that category of obvious observations. Consider anew the love of Jesus for us. This requires a great deal of faith on our part, given the fallen world in which we live. There have been many dark moments in human history and they punctuate our lives as well. In saying that, St. Paul is not minimizing suffering. Quite the opposite: he tells us that the divine love is exponentially greater than what we imagine.

The Wonder of Jesus

Read through the gospels this Advent and recapture that wonder of Jesus. Take off the lenses of familiarity and engage Our Savior for who He really is. Jesus has power over everything that burdens us: nature, sicknesses, sin, and death. There is nowhere He cannot go and bring healing.