Look Up, Your Miracle Is On It’s Way

Look Up, Your Miracle Is On It’s Way

By Pastor Joel – Open Heaven Christian Church – Fisher, Arkansas

In scripture we find that there were times when Jesus “looked up to heaven” before or during a powerful miracle happened. This gesture of Jesus looking up is repeated in scripture.

Feeding of the Five Thousand

(Multiplication of the loaves and fish)

This is the most repeated example, and it shows up in three Gospels with the same detail.

Matthew 14:19

“Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and said a blessing…”

Mark 6:41

“Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing…”

Luke 9:16

“And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke them…”

📌 John’s account of this miracle (John 6:11) mentions giving thanks, but does not say Jesus looked up—so it doesn’t belong on this list but still indicates that Jesus acknowledged His Father in heaven before the miracle happened.

Healing of a Deaf and Mute Man

Mark 7:34

“And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’”

This is a very intimate, almost visceral moment—Jesus looks upward, sighs, and then the miracle took place.

Raising of Lazarus from the Dead

John 11:41

“So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me.’”

This is the clearest example of Jesus openly directing attention to the Father immediately before a resurrection miracle. Jesus looks up and thanks the Father with great confidence for having heard him while preforming the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead.

Summary List (All Explicit Mentions)

Jesus is said to look up to heaven before or during a miracle in exactly these places:

1. Matthew 14:19 – Feeding the 5,000

2. Mark 6:41 – Feeding the 5,000

3. Luke 9:16 – Feeding the 5,000

4. Mark 7:34 – Healing the deaf and mute man

5. John 11:41 – Raising Lazarus

No other New Testament miracle accounts explicitly include this gesture.

Jesus was “Jewish” and looking up to heaven had a great significance to the Jewish people who studied the Jewish Torah and customs especially during the first century.

1. Culturally: “Looking up” was a visible act of dependence, not mysticism

In Jewish culture, the eyes follow allegiance.

To “lift the eyes” toward heaven wasn’t about searching the sky for God (Judaism is aggressively anti-that idea). It was a public posture of dependence—a way of saying:

“What is about to happen does not originate in me but from Father in heaven.”

You see this everywhere in Jewish Scripture:

• Psalm 121:1 – “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?”

• Psalm 123:1 – “To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens.”

• Lamentations 3:41 – “Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven.”

For a Jewish observer, this gesture immediately signals:

• prayer

• submission

• appeal to authority

So when Jesus looks up before acting, he is visibly locating the source of power – God the Father.

2. Liturgically: This mirrors Jewish blessing practice

In Jewish life, miracles aren’t “performed”—they are received from God.

Before food, before healing, before decisive acts, a Jew would offer a berakhah (blessing). These blessings were not requests but acknowledgments:

“Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe” (Hebrew: Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu, Melech HaOlam) is the standard opening formula for Jewish blessings and prayers (berakhot), acknowledging God’s sovereignty over creation. It is used daily to sanctify actions, such as eating, studying, or experiencing nature.

Common Contexts and Variations:

Before Meals (Bread): “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth”.

Before Sleep (Nightly Prayer): “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who lets the cords of sleep fall upon my eyes…”.

Morning Routine: “Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who renews daily the work of creation”.

Health and Body: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who fashioned man with wisdom…”.

In Christian/The Chosen Context: Used to express thanksgiving, often highlighting God’s role as creator and redeemer.

The phrase emphasizes gratitude, recognizing God as the source of all life and sustenance.

The act of looking upward while blessing fits this exact framework.

So in the feeding of the 5,000:

• Jesus doesn’t conjure

• he doesn’t command heaven

• he blesses God, then the abundance follows

To a Jewish ear, this says:

God is the active agent; I am the faithful mediator who receives from God the Father.

That’s deeply Jewish—and deeply um-mystical and un-magical.

3. Theologically: Heaven is authority, not location

In Second Temple Judaism, “heaven” is a reverent stand-in for God’s name (to avoid saying it). Jewish people revere the name of God so highly they spell it like this (G-d) in writings so they don’t say it.

So “looking up to heaven” is shorthand for:

• acknowledging God’s kingship

• appealing to divine will

• placing an act under God’s authority

This is why Jews would say:

• “Heaven forbid”

• “The kingdom of heaven”

• “Fear of God in heaven”

Jesus participates fully in this language world.

When he looks up, he is signaling:

What follows is aligned with the will of God the Father in Heaven.

4. Why this matters theologically for Jesus specifically

Here’s the subtle brilliance.

Jesus:

• often looks up to heaven

• never asks whether God will act

• never waits for permission

• never fails

In John 11 (Lazarus), he even says the quiet part out loud:

“Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around…”

This tells us the upward glance is not for Jesus’ benefit.
It’s for the witnesses.

He is:

• modeling sonship

• revealing relational authority

• showing unity with the Father without bypassing Him

To a Jewish audience, this says something radical but clear:

This man acts with heaven’s full consent.

5. Why Jesus doesn’t always do it

This is important.

Jesus does not look up before every miracle.

That tells us:

• the gesture is deliberate, not habitual

• it appears when Jesus wants to draw attention to the Father

• especially in public, formative, or teaching moments

Feeding crowds
Raising the dead
Healing the deaf mute man
Healing with emotional intensity

Those are moments where the source must be unmistakable.

6. How a first-century Jew would have summarized it

If you asked an average Galilean what it meant, they might say something like:

“He blessed God like a righteous man… but heavens were opened and answered him immediately.”

That’s the shock.

Not that he looked up—but that God in heaven always responded.

Conclusion

What can a new testament believer learn from this study? How can we learn to receive the miracles the Lord wants to do in all our lives? Here are a few key things that will get God in heaven to work miracles in our life!

• The name of God the Father and his Son Jesus is Holy and to be reverenced.
  (Matthew 6:9)

• Acknowledge that God is the Father and source for all life and miracles he freely gives.
  (James 1:17)

• Believers should always be grateful before asking God to work a miracle in their life.
  (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

• Always “look up” because that is where your redemption and the miracle you want God to do in your life comes from!
  (Luke 21:28)

I pray this study has helped you. Comment below and Share with your friends and family.