Jesus' miracles of healing were guided by a deep desire and zeal to glorify God, and in doing so, He Himself was glorified as the Son of God. While relief of the afflicted was a significant aspect, it was secondary to the primary purposes of His miracles. These purposes were twofold: first, to reveal the sovereignty, power, and glory of God and of His Son; second, to expose mankind's desperate need by highlighting the devastation caused by sin and demonstrating God's power and will to repair such desolation and wretchedness.

God often performed extraordinary miracles through His prophets, as seen with Elijah, where mighty displays of power like windstorms, earthquakes, and fire demonstrated His authority. Yet, in I Kings 19:11-14, God revealed that He was not in these dramatic manifestations, preferring instead a still, small voice to convey His intent. This indicates that God's purpose in miracles is not always to showcase power, but often to guide and teach through subtler means. In contrast to Elijah's readiness to call down fire, as in II Kings 1:9-12, Jesus Christ, when faced with arrest, chose peace over destruction, highlighting a different approach to divine power. Similarly, when His disciples suggested consuming a rejecting village with fire, Christ rebuked them in Luke 9:53-55, emphasizing a spirit of mercy over judgment. The purpose of miracles, therefore, is not merely to astonish or destroy, but to align with God's heart, often through a voice that fosters faith, as noted in Romans 10:17. Moreover, in Matthew 13:58 and Mark 6:5, Jesus did not perform many mighty works in Nazareth due to their unbelief, showing that the effectiveness of miracles can be limited by human response, underscoring their purpose as a call to faith rather than mere spectacle.

Martin Collins asserts that miracles and signs from God, while certainly generating awe and fear, seldom lead to righteousness, but more likely to continued rebellion. Jesus points out that only an adulterous generation seeks after miracles and signs. No greater period of miracles took place in history than at the time of the Exodus, including the plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, and the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. Yet, the stiff-necked Israelites rebelled against God on ten separate occasions. The longest period of growth and stability in Israel occurred under David's and Solomon's reigns, a period attended by no miracles. Elijah and Elisha performed godly miracles during a massive apostasy. John the Baptist, proclaimed by Jesus as the greatest of men, performed no miracles whatsoever. The miracles and signs Jesus performed were received with awe, but also with much ridicule and scoffing from the religious leaders. Axiomatically, the spiritually weak need miracles; the more spiritually mature one becomes, the fewer signs and wonders he needs to sustain faith. God blessed the Corinthian congregation with spiritual gifts (of discerning prophecy, speaking in tongues, healing, etc.), but the vanity which these gifts produced led to party-spirit and jealousy. In the future, the False Prophet and Beast will lead many astray by miracles and signs, deceiving most of the world. As God's called-out ones, walking humbly with God should displace any desperate need for signs and wonders.