miracles

All Were Amazed

“All were amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We never saw anything like this!’” Mark 2:12

All were amazed but were they all amazed in the same way and for the same reason? The answer is not in the passage but it is in the Gospel records. In the incident Mark describes all were amazed but there are two possible reasons for that amazement; the miracle or the words of Jesus. Either would have caused amazement to His Jewish audience.

The purpose of the miracle in Mark 2:1-12 is to demonstrate that Jesus has authority to forgive sin (v 10). Only God has that authority so Jesus is declaring Himself to be God. The miracle was to confirm Jesus’ authority to make such a statement but being physically healed was not evidence that the man was forgiven. The evidence that the man is forgiven is revealed in the man’s faith demonstrated when he obeyed Jesus by taking up his bed and walking.

People often seek the miracle of physical healing but are less interested in seeking forgiveness of sin. The people on this occasion were amazed and gave glory to God for either the miracle or that the man’s sins were forgiven. In either case each person realised that God had done a wonderful thing and in that recognition they gave God the glory. However, it meant different things to the two possible groups. One group glorified God for the miracle of healing and the other group glorified God that in Jesus Christ their sins could be forgiven.

The man knew his sins were forgiven. If he didn’t, he would not have obeyed Jesus and taken up his bed and walked. The many who witnessed the words and miracle of Jesus had a choice. They could either accept the testimony of Jesus or reject it. The miracle was of no value to them in itself. The man would still eventually physically die and so would they.

Jesus said, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (v 17). Some in the gathering did not see themselves as sinners and went away amazed with the miracle of healing but with sins still unforgiven. Any who recognised that they were sinners, as the formerly paralytic man had, had the opportunity to go away forgiven.

Jesus would later say, “Whoever desires to save his life will lose it” (8:35-37). Those who seek physical healing often forget that their bodies will still eventually die even if they are healed of the current malady, then what? Those who have their sins forgiven are forgiven for eternity and their bodies will be healed for eternity in the resurrection.

Luke records that Jesus sent out seventy disciples to give witness to the coming Kingdom. When they returned they were all chatting among themselves about the miracles they had performed (Luke 10:17) but Jesus quickly pointed them to the most important thing. He said to them, “rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (v 20). Their names are not written in heaven because they have experienced personal physical healing or even that they have healed others. Their names are in heaven because their sins are forgiven.

The trend these days for many is to seek physical healing and neglect the infinitely more important matter of forgiveness of sin.

I am glad that I have a doctor who is treating me through my current bronchitis but I am immeasurably happier that my sins are forgiven. That is what amazes me – Amazing Grace that saved a sinner such as I.

No Side Show

“He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” Matthew 13:58

There are many occasions recorded in the Gospels where Jesus performed miracles without there being any evidence of faith beforehand. He walked on water, calmed storms, provided food for crowds, placed a coin in the mouth of a fish, cast out demons, healed people and even raised the dead without the need for any evidence of faith in Him. Therefore we must not conclude that He is in some way made powerless by the unbelief of people.

Jesus could not do many mighty works at that time because He did not want to confirm the people in a wrong idea of who He is and His mission. It was not because He was powerless.

An excellent example of the purpose of miracles is seen in Matthew 9:1-8. It is so important that Mark and Luke also record this occasion. Four men brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus for healing but Jesus got to the most important point first by saying, “Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you.” The reason to be cheerful was that his sins were forgiven. To demonstrate that He had the authority to forgive sins, an authority that belongs only to God, Jesus also healed the man of his paralysis. The purpose of the miracle was to confirm that the man’s sins were forgiven and that Jesus had authority to forgive the man’s sin.

What was the attitude of the crowd when they heard Jesus forgive the man and heal His paralysis? Matthew records that they glorified God. In other words, they acknowledge that the miracle was from God but what about the forgiveness of sins? It would seem to me that they overlooked the greatest miracle. Had they really believed that the man’s sin was forgiven surely there would have been a rush of people asking for their sins to be forgiven also.

Jesus was not a miracle working side show wowing the crowds for fame and fortune. He knew that miracles, in some circumstances, could be a hindrance to faith in Him.

Jesus and the apostles never had a single failure in healing. Those who claim to be able to heal these days blame their failures on the faith of the one seeking healing. That was never an issue with Jesus and the apostles because healings never depended on the faith of the sick person. The problem today is that faith is misplaced in a so-called healer who has no power to heal. The deceiver and counterfeiter is happy to step in (Matthew 7:21-23).

The greatest and only eternal miracle is that of a soul being saved through faith in Jesus Christ. That is the greatest expression of God’s glory on earth. Every person that Jesus healed while He walked this earth died bodily long ago so bodily healing is not eternally important. However, every person who came to faith in Jesus Christ lives forever.

If Jesus did many mighty works regardless of the attitude of people, they might see no reason to question their relationship with Him.

Miracles may point a person to Jesus Christ but when people desire a miracle for selfish reasons without seeking the Giver the giving of it would only confirm them in a kind of superstitious concept of God. We are “of good cheer” and rejoice because our sins are forgiven and our “names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20).

Currying Favour

“And I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” Matthew 7:23

The context of this verse is the latter part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and it is a solemn warning for us to be very careful and very sure that we are doing the will of the Father (v 21). The people Jesus is excluding from His Kingdom will be astonished to discover that when they “prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders (miracles) in Your name” that they were totally in error. Very likely we have all at some time or other done things for which we have thought Jesus would be grateful but such will not be the case. The reason for the exclusion from the kingdom is not what they did but where their heart lay. They were doing it to gain favour with the King but they were not subject to His will.

In 2 Samuel 1 there is the record of an Amalekite who claimed to have killed King Saul. His claim was false (cf. 1 Samuel 31 & 1 Chronicles 10). The reason he lied was that he thought he could gain David’s favour by making the false claim. David didn’t know he was lying at the time and had him executed for killing the Lord’s anointed.

In chapter four of the same book there is the account of the death of Saul’s son, Ishbosheth. Ishbosheth had been at war with David for two years about who would rule Israel. Seeing that they could not win, two of Ishbosheth’s own men came into his room and killed him while he was in bed. They removed his head and took it to David expecting favour for the betrayal of their leader. Like the Amalekite, they were gravely mistaken and were executed.

In both incidents the men thought they were going to please King David. In the ways of men this would usually be an act that would gain favour with a king but they totally lacked God’s perspective. They were not in a personal and intimate relationship with the Lord as David was.

Jesus declares in His Sermon on the Mount that many people throughout the ages, including the church age, will perform many actions that they sincerely believe will gain favour with Him but will in reality be a cause for His wrath.

Jesus said that “He never knew them.” This does not mean that He is ignorant of who they are or what they have done. It means that they were acting out of their own heart and not in obedience to His will. Given the opportunity they might argue that they were acting in accordance with God’s word. After all, what is wrong with preaching the Bible, casting out demons and performing miracles? The problem is not found in what they were doing but why they were doing it. They were not subject to the will of or in obedience to Jesus Christ. They were acting by their own volition in their own authority with a view to gaining favour with Jesus Christ their way.

If we start thinking along the lines of what we can do for Jesus without consulting Him and waiting for an answer we may fall into the same trap. Jesus Christ is Head of His church and it is He alone who chooses how we fit into His church and ministry.

Lying Wonders

“The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9)

Paul wrote to the Christians at Thessalonica that in the last days before Jesus Christ returns that great deceiver, Satan, will be as busy as ever trying to deceive people. Part of his repertoire will be “signs and wonders” or miracles. There is sufficient warning in the Bible to make us aware that not all miracles have their origin in God. In Deuteronomy 13 Israel is warned against assuming that all miracles are of heavenly origin; they may have another source. By what measure were they were told to test the author of the miracle? The measure given is the Word of God, the Bible.

On a number of occasions this writer has either heard of or observed events that were miraculous. Many of these carry the mark of God and are not contrary to the Word of God. However, there have been some in which the context reveals that they were not of heavenly origin.

Can Satan originate miracles? The Bible attests that he can. He was able to copy the first three miracles that Moses performed in Egypt (Exodus 7:12 – rods became serpents; v 22 – water to blood; 8:7 – increased the number of frogs). We should not assume that these were the only miracles he originated. Satan performed miraculous feats in the temptations of Christ (Matthew 4) and he will do so in the tribulation period in order to deceive people (Revelation 13:13).

There is every reason in Scripture for us to test miracles against God’s Word just as Israel was commanded to do and not just accept all miracles as being of heavenly origin.

Satan’s purpose in performing miracles is always to deceive gullible unlearned people, including saints, who are not well grounded in the Word of God. We ought not to be surprised when those in religions (even those nominally Christian) with a high degree of superstition in their make up are easily seduced but it is sad when true believers are seduced by a miracle that does not have its origin in God.

How can we discern the origin of a miracle? We may by careful study and comparison with God’s word. The alternative is to be deceived.