Miracles or Myths?
Miracles or Myths?
A. DOCTRINE OF MIRACLES
Miracles really do happen! “With God all things are possible” is a concise statement of the biblical doctrine of miracles (Mark 10:27). Miracles are powerful evidence that we have a God who is supreme over all the earth, and a God who acts on behalf of His people. Believers should expect miracles to be included in the Bible.
B. DENIAL OF MIRACLES
Many people, even some Christians, are embarrassed or ashamed to believe in miracles. They explain them in a way that seems more believable to them. They downplay the miracles of Creation Week as “God did it through evolution.” To justify the miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea, they say, “The people just walked through a shallow, marshy area.” The miracle of Jonah’s rescue is interpreted as “just an Old Testament parable,” or some have actually said, “A boat named ‘Big Fish’ plucked Jonah from the sea”!
Some people attempt to explain the miracles of Jesus by proposing that, after His death, His followers exaggerated the ordinary deeds of a good moral leader. They try to explain away the miracle of Jesus walking on water by saying, “the disciples thought He was walking on the water, but He really was walking on a sandbar.” Some critics of the Bible have proposed that the feeding of the 5,000 was accomplished by the disciples hiding loaves of bread in caves and then secretly passing them out to the Lord so it “appeared” that a miracle had taken place!
The fact is, if the miracles in the Bible aren’t true, Christianity is in big trouble! If the biblical miracles are really only myths, we’re left with an unreliable Bible that’s filled with legends, exaggerations, and outright lies. And remember, the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is essential to the Christian faith!
C. DEFINITION OF MIRACLES
Miracles are not just “happenings that we can’t explain.” A miracle is an extraordinary event in the physical world that takes place when the supernatural realm breaks into the natural realm, and temporarily changes the ordinary course of events. God is in control over His creation at all times. A divine miracle is simply a deviation from God’s normal and natural way of working.
A good illustration of miracles is a model train layout. Usually the train is allowed to run along on the tracks according to the plan and pattern created by the designer of the layout. But sometimes, for his own reasons, the designer reaches in to change around some scenery, or pick up an engine or boxcar and move it to a different location. In the same way, God, the Great Designer, normally allows His creation to run in its usual, ordinary way, according to the natural laws and patterns He set up from the beginning. But sometimes, for His own special purposes, God reaches into His creation to work in an unusual way - in a miraculous way!
D. DIAGRAM OF MIRACLES
The diagram shows the Christian world view. The inner circle represents the natural realm, governed by the natural laws in which we live. A secular humanist believes that the natural realm is all that exists. Christians, however, know that there’s also a supernatural realm. An unseen world, with both a good and an evil side (see Ephesians 6:12.)
Notice that God is outside the circles because He is the Creator (just as the designer of the model train is outside the layout). A miracle occurs when God, the Designer, reaches into the natural realm and temporarily interrupts the natural laws or changes the normal course of events.
Notice a small arrow that penetrates from the evil supernatural realm. We shouldn’t assume that all miracles are from God. Satan is the great deceiver! “Black magic” and occult healings are evil miracles. But God is still in ultimate control. Satan can only do what God allows (see Job 1-2).
E. DISCUSSION OF MIRACLES
1. The Mechanics of God
How does God perform a miracle? Sometimes He does it by overcoming natural laws. Sometimes He speeds up or slows down natural laws. Sometimes He synchronizes a natural event with His time schedule. For example, the Jordan Valley is part of a major rift in the earth’s tectonic plates, so the area is subject to earthquakes. When Israel crossed the Jordan River, God may well have synchronized an earthquake and landslide to cut off the flow of the river so the people could cross (see Joshua 3:16). The walls of Jericho may also have fallen because of an earthquake that was perfectly timed by God!
2. The Mark of God
What are God’s miracles like? Well, they’re certainly not like fairy tales. Pumpkins are not turned into coaches, and frogs do not become princes! All of God’s miracles bear the mark of God. Each miracle has design and purpose. The Ten Plagues of Exodus 7-12 were specifically purposed to discredit the gods of Egypt, and to confirm God’s Word through Moses. The miracles in the wilderness were God’s provision for His people. All the miracles of the Lord Jesus were signs that confirmed the truths He was teaching, so many spiritual lessons can be drawn from the miracles of Jesus. The miracles of the Lord not only confirm His deity, but they were designed to teach spiritual truths as well.
F. DESCRIPTION OF MIRACLES
1. Miracles—When?
Major miracles didn’t take place every day in Bible times, and they don’t occur every day today. Examples of major miracles would be:
The parting of the waters of the Red Sea to allow several million people to cross on dry land (Exodus 14).
The walls of the great city of Jericho suddenly collapsing (Joshua 6).
Ravens delivering meals (1 Kings 17).
185,000 enemy troops suddenly dying during the night (Isaiah 37:36).
Major miracles seem to have occurred in “clusters.” Creation Week was a great cluster of significant miracles. The Genesis Flood was a year-long major miracle of natural events precisely timed by God to accomplish His purpose of judgment. Clusters of major miracles occurred at the time of the Exodus, and at the times of Elijah, Elisha, and Daniel. There was a tremendous cluster of miracles during the life of Jesus Christ, continuing on into the early Church period. And there will be many major miracles in the End Times. However, according to the Bible record, there were also long spans of time with only occasional major miracles.
The fact that clusters of major miracles occurred in biblical times doesn’t mean that all miracles have ceased today. God has always been at work in a supernatural way. He continues that today, even though present-day miracles may not seem as spectacular and dramatic as the biblical miracles.
2. Miracles —Who?
It’s important to realize that not everyone in the Bible performed miracles, and not everyone in the Bible experienced major miracles. Not everyone was a Moses, an Elijah or an Elisha! When Nehemiah and the Jewish people had to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, they faced a huge task. They could have used some miracles! But as far as we know, no miracles occurred. They had to clear away the rubble and build up those walls by ordinary hard labor.
John the Baptist didn’t perform any miracles, but Jesus said, “I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John” (Luke 7:28)! Not every biblical character experienced a healing, a famine relieved, or a raising from the dead. Although Daniel was miraculously delivered from the lion’s den, and his three friends were delivered from the fiery furnace, many other persecuted believers were not rescued from martyrdom (see Luke 4:25-27; Mark 6:17-29; 2 Timothy 4:20). Some biblical characters experienced physical miracles, while some experienced the strength of God to endure difficult circumstances without miraculous physical delivery (Hebrews 11:32-38).
3. Miracles—Why?
a. Confirmation
In Bible times, miracles were not done just to exhibit God’s power. The primary purpose for miracles was to confirm God’s Word as it was spoken by the people who did the miracles. The word of the Lord to Pharaoh through Moses was confirmed by the miraculous plagues. The fire from heaven confirmed the word of the Lord through Elijah (1 Kings 18).
Many miracles were associated with the message of Jesus, who is the ultimate Word of God (John 1). The miracles of Jesus confirmed to John the Baptist (and many others) that Jesus was the Messiah because He fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament (Luke 7:16-22). The apostle John says that he recorded many of the miracles of Jesus “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31). Hebrews 2:3-4 says that our salvation “at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders and various miracles…” Miracles showed that the Lord was supreme. His supernatural display of power was a confirmation of His supernatural spoken words.
2 Corinthians 12:12 says, “the signs of an apostle [a messenger of God] were accomplished among you… in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.” The miracles that occurred during the early days of Christianity confirmed that the message of the apostles was truly God’s Word.
b. Illustration and Teaching
Another important purpose for biblical miracles is to illustrate and teach spiritual lessons. Miracles were not just random “magic acts” to impress everyone. They were pre-planned and designed by God to teach spiritual lessons.
Examples:
One of the prophet Elisha’s miracles teaches us that harmful and poisonous things may be mixed in with what looks like good spiritual food (2 Kings 4:38-41). Just scroll through the “religious” books available on Amazon, and see the many poisonous books that may be mistaken for spiritual food.
There are wonderful spiritual lessons about salvation in the miracle of the healing of Naaman (2 Kings 5).
In the miracles of Christ, the blind man who was healed in stages dramatizes the process of God working with us to lead us to spiritual maturity: learning to follow, learning humility, learning to look up, and learning to let the Lord keep His hands on our lives (Mark 8).
The miracle of multiplying the loaves and fish teaches us to bring what we have to the Lord, even if we think it’s not much, and He will bless it and multiply it for the glory of God and the blessing of many people (Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, John 6) .
The Lord used the “negative” miracle of the cursing of the fig tree to teach that people who are busy with only external, outward religious fervor and activity (“glossy religious leaves”) are in serious trouble! (See Matthew 21:18-22.) The majority of people in the nation of Israel at that time, represented by the fig tree, were guilty of merely going through the motions of worship . Their religious activity was external only, not the result of their love for God. (See Hosea 9:10 and Luke 13:6-9.) Only those people who produce genuine spiritual fruit are acceptable to God.
G. DECLINE OF MIRACLES
Do miracles still happen today? If the primary purpose of miracles was to confirm the spoken Word of the Lord, should we expect major miracles today, now that the written Word of the Lord (the Bible) is complete?
In Christianity’s early days, miracles seemed to be frequent:
Just the shadow of Peter brought healing (Acts 5:15).
Philip was physically transported by the Spirit to another location (Acts 8:39).
Dorcas and Eutychus were raised from the dead (Acts 9:36-42 and 20:912).
Handkerchiefs that had been touched by Paul brought healing (Acts 19:11-12).
But by the time Paul wrote to Timothy and Titus (about 65 AD), or by the time of John’s epistles (about 85 AD), it appears that the number of major miracles was starting to decline.
Down through Church history, major miracles like those that occurred in the early days of the Church have not recurred. Why? One reason is that we now have the written Bible, so we don’t need miracles to confirm the spoken Word of God. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16, the rich man asked Abraham if someone could return from the dead (a miracle) to warn his brothers about the place of punishment. Abraham replied that the man’s brothers had “the Law and the Prophets.” They had the Old Testament, the written Word of God, so there was no need for a miraculous event. The rich man’s brothers could (and should) receive all the information and warning they needed by reading the messages in God’s written Word.
Even so, God is certainly doing miracles today. Miracles of healing, protection, and guidance occur every day through the power of God. And in fact, a miracle occurs every time a person becomes a Christian! Major miracles performed by God through the agency of people are generally not common today, but we know that in countries where the Bible has not yet been translated into the common language, or where the Bible is suppressed or outlawed, God may confirm the Christian message in more dramatic ways. Missionaries in foreign lands have usually some amazing stories to tell!
Christians do need to be cautious about miracles done by people who claim to be operating in the name of Jesus. Remember our diagram: the supernatural realm has a evil side too. Jesus warned that some people who do miraculous things using His name really do not belong to Him at all! “Many will say to Me in that day [the final judgment], ‘LORD, LORD, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me…’” (Matthew 7:22-23). Notice that the Lord didn’t say that these people didn’t do real miracles. They did do miracles, but it’s quite clear that the power behind the miracles was not from God.
Conclusion
Miracles are extraordinary events that are a temporary deviation from God’s normal and ordinary way of working in the natural world. Miracles are recorded in the Bible for many reasons, but here are a few:
So we will be thankful that the supreme and all-powerful God is our Father.
So we will be encouraged to depend on Him, because “with God, all things are possible.”
So we can read how God confirmed the teaching of doctrine.
So we can learn the spiritual lessons that the miracles were designed to teach.
In our next chapter we’ll look at the greatest miracle, the resurrection of Jesus Christ!