WE ARE STIRRED by wonder when contemplating the many miracles that Jesus performed. They began at the wedding at Cana, when he changed water not only into wine, but into very fine wine. “This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.” (John 2:11)
Webster’s dictionary defines a miracle as “a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.” We are deeply perplexed by the paucity of the presence of the miraculous in the modern first world—the western world—while in third world countries reports of healings or, less commonly, people actually being raised from the dead—surface with some regularity. That is not to say that there are no reports of miracles in the West. But typically the most common reports are usually found in glaring headlines from tabloids at supermarkets, and are featured alongside reports about visitations by alien spacecraft.
The far-less-common reports that might occasionally be heard and given some credence to in churches are usually spoken of, if at all, in quiet voices in groups of two or three, and ordinarily with timidity. There are a number of reasons for the skepticism evidenced in the church, but consider in passing only these two: The first is the rise of Cessationism in the 1800’s, championed and popularized by American theologian Benjamin Warfield, which stipulated that the age of miracles ended with the death of the last Apostle. The second is the great divide between Evangelicals and Pentecostals beginning in the early 1900’s.
Having personally experienced miracles in several instances across a long lifetime (two of which occurred in the presence of witnesses), I cannot ascribe any validity to a Cessationist view of scripture. Those who experience miracles commonly go through a period of time struggling to come to grips with the tension felt between a predilection to the skepticism so common in first-world countries, and an incontrovertible personal experience.
Belief in miracles is validated in two ways. First is the historical, from reading accounts of the early church fathers, those living hard on the heels of the biblical Apostles in the second century. Two examples come from Justyn Martyr and Irenaeus. In the first, Justin Martyr, in his “Dialogue with Trypho” wrote, “For the prophetic gifts remain with us even to the present time. It is possible to see among us women and men who possess gifts of the Spirit of God.” In the second, Irenaeus, in “Against Heresies” said, “Others have foreknowledge of things to come: they see visions and utter prophetic expressions. Others heal the sick by laying their hands upon them, and they are made whole. Yea, moreover, as I have said, the dead even have been raised up, and remained among us for many years.”
History causes us to wonder; experience may lead us to belief. My second validation is found in personal experiential reality in context with two particular scriptures from the Bible. The miracle that drove me on my three-year journey of study and struggle was a healing miracle. This happened in front of twenty witnesses. A man in the church asked me to lay hands on him and pray for a lump the size of an orange on his cheek and jaw which made it painful for him to speak; when I did so, it disappeared within ten minutes. I was shocked, and later found this passage in Matt. 8:14-17: “When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him. When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.” Matthew underscores this testimony from an O.T. prophecy: “This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.’” (Matt. 8:14-17; Isa. 53:4) This one passage propelled me throughout the Bible, reading everything about miracles in a new light. And it led me ultimately to a settled faith in the following scripture: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (John 14:12)
All this occurred some twenty-five years ago, and since then I have done no great miraculous healings. But a great work was done in me, and because of it, I have developed a deep appreciation for and belief in the whole counsel of God. There really is only one great miracle, and that is the miracle of salvation. And there really is only one great agent of miracles, and that is Jesus. We must thank the Father for all the ways in which he reveals himself in Jesus and by his works. May we have the ears to hear him, the eyes to see him, the faith to believe in him, and the will to follow after him.
And if we really need a miracle, if nothing else will do and we have come to a point of desperation, then pray believing. Do so in the name of Jesus, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)
Q. What miracle do I desperately need?
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