An expert on the Greco-Roman world explores the miracle stories of the Gospels in their Hellenistic context, illuminating what they reveal about the person, character, and power of Jesus: his generosity, kindness, understanding, and compassion in response to unreasonable demands for help. The book contextualizes the petitioners’ behavior and speech against their cultural backdrop and refocuses attention from the miracle accounts themselves to the way Jesus responds to the petitioners.