Brian of Pizzaspotz
Description: Over pizza is how we do everything. Here’s a list of top ten miracles in the Bible to discuss while eating.
Whether you’re an avid Bible reader, a Bible scholar or someone who has never seen one word written in the Bible, we’ve made a list for you. There are a lot of miracles in the Bible. A miracle is defined as something other worldly, something that could not have just happened by luck or happenstance. In the New Testament in the Book of John in the Bible, some of these miracles are mentioned and they are called signs, which is even deeper than what a miracle is. Without my clumsy explanation getting in the way, check out the miracles below and you’ll understand what they really are, if you weren’t familiar with them already.
Top Ten Miracles in the Bible
10. Water Flowing from the Rock
Numbers 20:7-11
Here’s a miracle Moses did while disobeying God at the same time. He was told to speak to a rock and water would flow out of it for the livestock and the people to drink. Oh no, Moses couldn’t obey a simple command. Instead of speaking to the rock and the water flowing from it, he had to strike the rock with his staff. Too bad for Moses, the water flowed, but he never got to enter the promised land otherwise know as the land flowing with milk and honey. If only he had obeyed the Lord.
9. The Burning Bush
Exodus 3:1-6
There are a lot of interesting ways God can get our attention. In this case, Moses was taking care of a flock of sheep and he saw a bush on fire. Funny thing was that this bush was never consumed by the fire. Of course that got the attention of Moses and when he arrived at the bush, he heard the voice of God and God had an important job for him to do. You can read about this story here.
(A strange coincidence occurred while researching and writing up this miracle. Moses had taken the sheep to graze near a mountain named Horeb. At just about the same time I was writing this, I had someone from Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin look at our website. Just one of those odd little coincidences people like me enjoy.)
8. Joshua Stops the Sun
Joshua 10:12-14
If you need more sun in those late summer days of harvesting, don’t ask the government to adjust daylight savings time, just ask Joshua and he could ask God to stop the rotation of the earth. This is what happened in Joshua 10. The sun and moon stopped when Joshua asked God for it to happen. The details of the event were recorded in a source outside of the Bible titled the Book of Jashar. This does not refer to one of the many apocryphal books of Jashar. This miracle is sometimes omitted in lists of top ten miracles in the Bible, talk about an unappreciated miracle, this is it.
7. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
Matthew 14:13-21
How in the world could five loaves of bread and two fish feed 5000 men? Well, first of all, it was 5000 men plus the women and children who accompanied them. Second, there’s no real way to explain this, thus, making it a miracle. Jesus performed this because, as always, he had compassion on the people. In verse 20 of this passage, the people were not just fed, they were fed until they couldn’t eat any more. As it says, “they were satisfied.” They even had leftovers that the disciples picked up. You can read more details here.
6. Balaam’s Talking Donkey
Numbers 22:21-35
This has got to be one of the greatest miracles of all time and was an absolute must to add to our “top ten miracles in the Bible to discuss over pizza” list. I mean really, look closer at this miracle by reading the entire story. The donkey was only trying to protect Balaam. God, through, the angel of the Lord, standing in the way of Balaam and his donkey, was only trying to protect Balaam from going the wrong way in his life. If only God would stand in our way sometimes to get us to go the right direction. But hey, then again, maybe he does. That’s definitely something worth talking about over pizza, isn’t it?
5. Jesus Walking on the Water
Matthew 14:22-33
One of the most miraculous things Jesus did was walk on water. People may not think there are ghost stories in the Bible, but Jesus’ disciples, just before dawn on a very choppy lake, thought they saw a ghost. Instead, it was just Jesus walking on the water toward their boat. Jesus told them not to be afraid. Peter, the disciple with one of the biggest mouths in history, asked Jesus if it was really him and if it was, he wanted Jesus to let him walk on water too. Peter was able to pull off this miraculous feat, but only for a short distance. He finally sank in the water and of course, Jesus saved him.
4. Finding a Coin in the Mouth of a Fish
Matthew 17:24-27
I think this miracle is amazing not just because they found a fish with a coin in it, but a fish with enough money inside its mouth to pay the taxes for Jesus and Peter. Imagine that happening today. That fish would have to be the size of a whale. Jesus paid taxes? Yes, he did. It’s great to know that Jesus had to deal with so much that we too have to encounter in our everyday lives. There’s probably not a leader of another world religion who can understand our daily lives as well as Jesus can. This is a must listen to story. Check it out here.
3. Moses Parting the Red Sea
Exodus 14
I always hate to assume everyone knows a particular story, but this is one that has been played on TV and in movies for many years. It’s a tradition for some to watch this particular event in the film The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston. Have you seen that film? The Egyptians were pursing the Israelites and when they reached the Red Sea, Moses held up his staff and called for the waters to part. And in a miraculous way, God provided safety for the Israelites so they not only crossed the sea as the waters parted, they did so on DRY ground! Yes, they got away from the Egyptians.
2. The Raising of Lazarus by Jesus
John 11:1-44
Jesus has compassion for his friends. In this passage, he’s also very upset. He’s upset that sin has come into this world and because of it, has brought death. A lot of people think Jesus is upset at his friends for not having faith that he could heal their brother. Many highly esteemed theologians think the former, not the latter, is the case. In this story Jesus cries, but more importantly, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.
This miracle to the Jews who witnessed it, had great implications on who or what Jesus was. Jesus purposely waited until after his friend was dead three days before going to heal him. He didn’t arrive to heal him until day four. But why? Well, the Jews had this belief that the spirit or soul of a man hung around a body for three days waiting to re-enter the body. After that third day, they knew there was no way to resurrect the dead body. But as miracles are called signs in the book of John, a sign which points to something greater, Jesus waited until the fourth day to heal Lazurus showing him to really be the son of God, having power to raise the dead even after the soul had left the body and could not get back inside. This is absolutely amazing and most preachers and teachers of religion never mention this when preaching or teaching on the book of John or when teaching or preaching about Jesus’ miracles. (Thanks to Dr. Bill Grasham for sharing this info with me.)
And number one in our Top Ten Miracles in the Bible to Discuss Over Pizza list is a combination of two different miracles but without either, Christianity would not exist….
1. The Virgin Birth of Jesus
Luke 1:26-2:21
When Mary, Jesus’ mother was only 14 or 15, she was engaged to be married to Joseph, a carpenter. Some people say Mary could have been 12 or 13. This story about an angel going to Mary to tell her how blessed she was to be give birth to a boy named Jesus is heart touching and important. If you’ve seen A Charlie Brown Christmas, you have heard this story. This is what Christmas is all about, it’s what we should celebrate, but the birth of Jesus most likely, say theologians, did not happen on December 25th, and not even in December. It was most likely during harvest time, they say. There is so much wonder involved with this story. Listen to it here or watch the Charlie Brown version below.
… and the Death and Resurrection of Jesus (his coming back to life)
Jesus died. But all people die, don’t they? Jesus had to die. It was foretold that he would endure the death he suffered. He had a chance to get out of it. He could have just told his father, “Come get me, send some angels to take me away before they nail me to the cross.” But Jesus didn’t do that.
Jesus died on a Friday. He was buried in a tomb. A large stone was rolled in front of the tomb. A guard unit of many men was posted there to prevent Jesus’ followers from coming to steal the body. On Sunday, the tomb was empty. Jesus had risen from the dead, just as he had predicted. He then appeared ten different times over the next forty days to groups of people as small as two and to groups as large as 500. More details here
Of the top ten miracles in the Bible, this last one is absolutely the most mind boggling and the most important to our every day lives. If you want more information on how this miracle affects your life, click here.
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