The Miracles Of Elijah And Elisha, Compared With Jesus

The Miracles Of Elijah And Elisha, Compared With Jesus

For years I have been intrigued by the statement that Elisha performed twice as many miracles as Elijah because a double portion of God’s Spirit was upon Him. 

2 Kings 2:9-11 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

I wondered if that was true, but some of the lists that I found were contradictory. Time to dig in deeper today.

I found 7 miracles performed by Elijah and 14 by Elisha. Some have counted other supernatural events that occurred during their ministries (such as an angel and ravens feeding Elijah, or being caught up in a chariot of fire) and several of their prophecies to others, but I have chosen only to count actual miracles caused or performed by these servants of God themselves.

Elijah’s 7 miracles:

1) Elijah prayed and the rain stopped for 3 1/2 years. 1 Kings 17:1

2) The barrel of meal and the cruse of oil would not fail until the famine was over. 1 Kings 17:10-16

3) The widow’s son raised back to life. 1 Kings 17:17-24

4) Fire coming down and consuming the sacrifice on Mount Carmel. 1 Kings 18:30-39

5) He caused it to rain again. 1 Kings 18:41-45

6) Causing fire to come down and consume 100 soldiers altogether (50 at a time, twice). 2 Kings 1:9-12

7) Parted the Jordan River by smiting it with his mantle. 2 Kings 2:8

Elisha’s 14 miracles:

1) Parting the Jordan River. 2 Kings 2:14

2) Healed the waters of Jericho. 2 Kings 2:19-22

3) Multiplied the widow’s oil. 2 Kings 4:1-7

4) Enabled a barren widow (the Shunammite) to bear a son. 2 Kings 4:14-17

5) Raised the widow’s son back to life. 2 Kings 4:32-37

6) Purified the poisoned stew. 2 Kings 4:38-41

7) Multiplied 20 loaves of bread to feed 100 men. 2 Kings 4:42-44

8) Healed Naaman of his leprosy. 2 Kings 5:10-14

9) Cursed Gehazi with leprosy. 2 Kings 5:25-27

10) Caused an axehead to float on the water. 2 Kings 6:4-7

11) Smiting Syrian army with blindness - 2 Kings 6:18

12) Healed them of their blindness. 2 Kings 6:20

13) Deception of the Syrians with the sound of chariots, causing them to flee. 2 Kings 7:5-6

14) Brought a dead man back to life when his corpse touched Elisha’s bones. 2 Kings 13:20-21

It is interesting to note the similarities between Elijah’s and Elisha’s miracles, then compare then to Jesus:

1) They each brought the only child of a widow back to life, and presented him back to his mother. Jesus raised the widow of Nain’s only child. See Luke 7:11-16. Jesus not only raised people from the dead physically, He quickens (ie. gives spiritual life to) all those who will trust in Him for salvation. See John 3:16; 5:21, 39; 11:25-26; Ephesians 2:1, 5. Has Jesus quickened your soul and given you spiritual life in Him? John 17:3 and 1 John 5:20.

2) Elijah raised one person that was dead; Elisha raised two men, and Jesus raised three people to life. See Mark 5:41-42 (Jairus’ only daughter brought back to life); Luke 7:14-15 (the widow of Nain’s only son); and John 11:44-45 (Lazarus). Jesus is also the Resurrection and the Life and will one day cause all that are dead to come out of their graves, whether for eternal life with Him or to face judgement and eternal damnation. See John 5:28-29; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Revelation 20:11-15. Have you been raised from death to life in the Saviour? John 5:24.

3) Elijah caused a widow’s barrel of meal and cruse of oil to keep producing; Elisha multiplied another widow’s oil and fed 100 men with 20 loaves of bread; and Jesus fed 5000 men (plus women and children) with 5 loaves and 2 fishes) at one time and 4000 men at another. See Matthew 14:15-21 and 15:33-38. Jesus is also the water of life and the bread of life, spiritually feeding and completely satisfying all those who place their faith in Him for salvation. See John 4:14 and 6:35; Matthew 5:6; Revelation 22:17. Have you received Jesus, the source of living water? Has the thirst and hunger in your soul been quenched?

4) Elisha healed the waters of Jericho by adding salt, a purifying agent; Jesus is literally the fountain of Living Water. He brings healing. The Hebrew phrase “living water” is also translated as “running water” - ie. moving (not stagnant), flowing, life-giving.

The terms “running water” and “living water(s)” are used seven times each in the Bible. Running water - referring to physical water: Leviticus 14:5, 6, 50, 51, 52; 15:13; Numbers 19:17. Living water(s) - primarily referring to spiritual water: Song of Solomon 4:15; Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13; Zechariah 14:8 (physical); John 4:10, 11; 7:38.

Washing in running water purifies and prevents diseases and infections. Those who follow Jesus are called the salt of the earth. See Matthew 5:13-16. Has Jesus Christ brought healing to your soul? Are you salt and light to those around you?

5) Elisha healed one leper from a distance; Jesus healed several lepers (some by touching them, some at a distance), including 10 at one time. See Mark 1:40-42 and Luke 5:12-14; 17:12-19. Jesus did not only heal the lepers (and many others) physically, He made those who received Him whole spiritually (ie. saved them from their sins, which leprosy is a picture of). Luke 17:19. Have you been cleansed of your spiritual leprosy, of the sin that separates you from God? See Isaiah 59:1-2.

6) Elijah parted the water of the Jordan River; Elisha did likewise, and also caused an axehead to float on the water; Jesus walked on the water and enabled Peter to do so too; then Jesus calmed the wind and the waves. See Matthew 14:22-33; Psalm 107:23-32. Has Jesus calmed the storms in your life, and given you peace in your soul, peace with God? See Mark 4:39; Romans 5:1; Philippians 4:6-7.

7) Elisha smote the Syrian army with blindness, then later healed those same men. Jesus healed multiple blind men throughout His ministry, including a man who had never seen at all (ie. blind from birth). See John 9:1-7. The Lord Jesus Christ also gives spiritual sight to all those who will trust in Him for salvation. See John 7:25, 39 (plus whole chapter); 2 Corinthians 4:6; Revelation 3:17-18. Have your eyes been opened to see your sin in light of God’s Word? Have you seen your need of the Saviour?

What a difference salvation makes!

September 28th, 2026
Jerry Bouey