Miracles

Miracles [nave]

MIRACLES.
Index of Sub-topics
Catalog of, and Supernatural Events, Of Jesus, in Chronological Order, Of the Disciples of Jesus; Convincing Effect of; Design of; Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Spirit; Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics.
Catalog of, and Supernatural Events
Creation, Gen. 1.
Flood, Gen. 7; 8.
Confusion of tongues, Gen. 11:1-9.
Fire on Abraham's sacrifice, Gen. 15:17.
Conception of Isaac, Gen. 17:17; 18:12; 21:2.
Destruction of Sodom, Gen. 19.
Lot's wife turned to salt, Gen. 19:26.
Closing of the wombs of Abimelech's household, Gen. 20:17, 18.
Opening of Hagar's eyes, Gen. 21:19.
Conception of Jacob and Esau, Gen. 25:21.
Opening of Rachel's womb, Gen. 30:22.
Flaming bush, Ex. 3:2.
Transformation of Moses's rod into a serpent, Ex. 4:3, 4, 30; 7:10, 12.
Moses's leprosy, Ex. 4:6, 7, 30.
Plagues in Egypt, See: Plagues.
Pillar of cloud and fire, Ex. 13:21, 22; 14:19, 20.
Passage of the Red Sea, Ex. 14:22.
Destruction of Pharaoh and his army, Ex. 14:23-30.
Sweetening the waters of Marah, Ex. 15:25.
Maa, Ex. 16:4-31.
Quails, Ex. 16:13.
Defeat of Amalek, Ex. 17:9-13.
Transfiguration of the face of Moses, Ex. 34:29-35.
Water from the rock, Ex. 17:5, 7.
Thundering and lightning on Sinai, Ex. 19:16-20; 24:10, 15-17; Deut. 4:33.
Miriam's leprosy, Num. 12:10-15.
Judgment by fire, Num. 11:1-3.
Destruction of Korah, Num. 16:31-35; Deut. 11:6, 7.
Plague, Num. 16:46-50.
Aaron's rod buds, Num. 17:1-9.
Waters from the rock in Kadesh, Num. 20:8-11.
Scourge of serpents, Num. 21:6-9.
Destruction of Nadab and Abihu, Lev. 10:1, 2.
Balaam's donkey speaks, Num. 22:23-30.
Preservation of Moses, Deut. 34:7.
Jordan divided, Josh. 3:14-17; 4:16-18.
Fall of Jericho, Josh. 6:20.
Midianites destroyed, Judg. 7:16-22.
Hail on the confederated kings, Josh. 10:11.
Sun and moon stand still, Josh. 10:12-14.
Dew on Gideon's fleece, Judg. 6:37-40.
Samson's strength, Judg. 14:6; 16:3, 29, 30.
Samson supplied with water, Judg. 15:19.
Fall of Dagon, 1 Sam. 5:1-4.
Cows return the ark, 1 Sam. 6:7-14.
Hemorrhoids, 1 Sam. 5:9-12; 6:1-18.
Destruction of the people of Beth-shemesh, 1 Sam. 6:19, 20.
Thunder, 1 Sam. 12:16-18.
Destruction of Uzzah, 2 Sam. 6:1-8.
Plague in Israel, 1 Chr. 21:14-26.
Fire on the sacrifices of Aaron, Lev. 9:24; of Gideon, Judg. 6:21; of Manoah, Judg. 13:19, 20; of Solomon, 2 Chr. 7:1; of Elijah, 1 Kin. 18:38.
Jeroboam's hand withered, 1 Kin. 13:3-6.
Appearance of blood, 2 Kin. 3:20-22.
Panic of the Syrians, 2 Kin. 7:6, 7.
Elijah is fed by ravens, 1 Kin. 17:6; by an angel, 1 Kin. 19:1-8; increases the widow's meal and oil, 1 Kin. 17:9-16; Luke 4:26; raises the widow's son, 1 Kin. 17:17-24.
Rain in answer to Elijah's prayer, 1 Kin. 18:41-45.
Elijah brings fire on Ahaziah's army, 2 Kin. 1:10-12; divides Jordan, 2 Kin. 2:8.
Elijah's translation, 2 Kin. 2:11.
Elisha divides Jordan, 2 Kin. 2:14; sweetens the waters of Jericho, 2 Kin. 2:19-22; increases a widow's oil, 2 Kin. 4:1-7; raises the Shunammite's child, 2 Kin. 4:18-37; renders harmless the poisoned pottage, 2 Kin. 4:38-41; feeds one hundred men, 2 Kin. 4:42-44; cures Naaman, 2 Kin. 5:1-19; struck Gehazi with leprosy, 2 Kin. 5:26, 27; causes the ax to float, 2 Kin. 6:6; reveals the counsel of the king of Syria, 2 Kin. 6:12; causes the eyes of his servant to be opened, 2 Kin. 6:17; strikes with blindness the army of the king of Syria, 2 Kin. 6:18; the dead restored to life, 2 Kin. 13:21.
Destruction of Seacherib's army, 2 Kin. 19:35; Isa. 37:36; return of the shadow on the sun dial, 2 Kin. 20:9-11; Hezekiah's cure, Isa. 38:21; deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, Dan. 3:23-27; of Daniel, Dan. 6:22; the sea calmed on Jonah being cast into it, Jonah 1:15; Jonah in the fish's belly, Jonah 1:17; 2:10; his gourd, Jonah 4:6, 7.
Conception by Elisabeth, Luke 1:18, 24, 25; The incarnation of Jesus, Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-80.
The appearance of the star of Bethlehem, Matt. 2:1-9.
The deliverance of Jesus, Matt. 2:13-23.
Of Jesus, in Chronological Order:
Water made wine, John 2:1-11.
Heals the nobleman's son, John 4:46-54.
Draught of fishes, Luke 5:1-11.
Heals the demoniac, Mark 1:23-26; Luke 4:33-36.
Heals Peter's mother-in-law, Matt. 8:14-17; Mark 1:29-31; Luke 4:38, 39.
Cleanses the leper, Matt. 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16.
Heals the paralytic, Matt. 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26.
Healing of the invalid, John 5:1-16.
Restoring the withered hand, Matt. 12:9-13; Mark 3:1-5; Luke 6:6-11.
Restores the centurion's servant, Matt. 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10.
Raises the widow's son to life, Luke 7:11-16.
Heals a demoniac, Matt. 12:22-37; Mark 3:11; Luke 11:14, 15.
Stills the storm, Matt. 8:23-27; 14:32; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25.
Casts devils out of two Gadarenes, Matt. 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39.
Raises from the dead the daughter of Jairus, Matt. 9:18, 19, 23-26; Mark 5:22-24, 35-43; Luke 8:41, 42, 49-56.
Cures the woman with the issue of blood, Matt. 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34; Luke 8:43-48.
Restores two blind men to sight, Matt. 9:27-31.
Heals a demoniac, Matt. 9:32, 33.
Feeds five thousand people, Matt. 14:15-21; Mark 6:35-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:5-14.
Walks on the sea, Matt. 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:16-21.
Heals the daughter of the Syrophenician woman, Matt. 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30.
Feeds four thousand people, Matt. 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-9.
Restores one deaf and mute, Mark 7:31-37.
Restores a blind man, Mark 8:22-26.
Restores seizuring child, Matt. 17:14-21; Mark 9:14-29; Luke 9:37-43.
Tribute money obtained from a fish's mouth, Matt. 17:24-27.
Restores ten lepers, Luke 17:11-19.
Opens the eyes of a one born blind, John 9.
Raises Lazarus from the dead, John 11:1-46.
Heals the woman with the spirit of infirmity, Luke 13:10-17.
Cures a one with dropsy, Luke 14:1-6.
Restores two blind men near Jericho, Matt. 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43.
Curses a fig tree, Matt. 21:17-22; Mark 11:12-14, 20-24.
Heals the ear of Malchus, Luke 22:49-51.
Second draught of fishes, John 21:6.
Of the Disciples of Jesus:
By the seventy, Luke 10:17-20; by other disciples, Mark 9:39; John 14:12; by the apostles, Acts 3:6, 12, 13, 16; 4:10, 30; 9:34, 35; 16:18.
Peter cures the sick, Acts 5:15, 16; Aeneas, Acts 9:34; raises Dorcas, Acts 9:40; causes the death of Ananias and Sapphira, Acts 5:5, 10.
Peter and John cure a lame man, Acts 3:2-11.
Peter and other apostles delivered from prison, Acts 5:19-23; 12:6-11; 16:26.
Philip carried away by the Spirit, Acts 8:39.
Paul strikes Elymas with blindness, Acts 13:11; heals a cripple, Acts 14:10; casts out evil spirits, and cures sick, Acts 16:18; 19:11, 12; 28:8, 9; raises Eutychus to life, Acts 20:9-12; shakes a viper off his hand, Acts 28:5.
Paul cured of blindness, Acts 9:3-6, 17, 18.
Convincing Effect of
Ex. 4:28-31; Ex. 10:7, 16, 17; Ex. 12:31-33; Ex. 14:25, 31; Judg. 6:17-22, 36-40; Judg. 7:1; Dan. 3:28, 29; Dan. 4:2, 3; Luke 5:4-11; John 2:11, 22, 23; John 4:48-53; John 7:31; John 11:43-45; John 12:10, 11; John 20:30, 31; Acts 8:6; Acts 9:32-42; Acts 13:8-12; Acts 19:13-18; Rom. 15:18, 19 See below, Design of.
Design of
Ex. 3:19, 20; Ex. 4:2-9; Ex. 7:5, 17; Ex. 8:8-10, 22; Ex. 9:14-16, 29; Ex. 10:1, 2, 16, 17; Ex. 11:1, 7-9; Ex. 12:29-33; Ex. 14:4, 18, 24, 25, 31; Ex. 16:4-6; Ex. 19:4, 5, 9; Num. 14:11; Num. 16:28-35; Num. 17:1-13; Deut. 4:33-35; Deut. 11:1-3 [Deut. 29:1-9.] Deut. 11:4-8; Deut. 29:5, 6; Josh. 2:9-11; Josh. 3:10, 11; Josh. 4:23, 24; Josh. 5:1; Judg. 2:7; 1 Sam. 6:6-9 vs. 10-18.; 1 Sam. 12:17, 18; 1 Kin. 18:24, 37-39; 2 Kin. 5:14, 15; 2 Chr. 7:1-3; Psa. 78:10-32; Psa. 106:9-12; Jer. 32:20; Dan. 2:47; Dan. 3:28, 29; Dan. 6:20-27; Jonah 1:14-16; Zech. 2:9; Matt. 4:3 Luke 4:3, 6. Matt. 11:3-5; Mark 2:9-12 Luke 5:26. Luke 18:42, 43; John 2:11; John 4:48; John 5:36; John 9:3; John 11:4, 40-42; Acts 2:22; Acts 3:1-10; Acts 4:21, 22; 1 Cor. 1:22
Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Foretold, Isa. 35:4-6; Joel 2:28, 29.
Of different kinds, 1 Cor. 12:4-6.
Enumerated, 1 Cor. 12:8-10, 28.
Christ was endued with, Matt. 12:28.
Poured out on Pentecost, Acts 2:1-4.
Communicated on preaching the gospel, Acts 10:44-46; by laying on of the apostles' hands, Acts 8:17, 18; 19:6; for the confirmation of the gospel, Mark 16:20; Acts 14:3; Rom. 15:19; Heb. 2:4; for the edification of the church, 1 Cor. 12:7; 14:12, 13.
To be sought after, 1 Cor. 12:31; 14:1.
Temporary nature of, 1 Cor. 13:8.
Not to be neglected, 1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6; or despised, 1 Thess. 5:20; or purchased, Acts 8:20.
Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics
Called Marvelous Things, Psa. 78:12; Marvelous Works, Isa. 29:14; Psa. 105:5; Signs and Wonders, Jer. 32:21; John 4:48; 2 Cor. 12:12.
Performed through the power of God, John 3:2; Acts 14:3; 15:12; 19:11; of the Holy Spirit, Matt. 12:28; Rom. 15:19; 1 Cor. 12:9, 10, 28, 30; in the name of Christ, Mark 16:17; Acts 3:16; 4:30.
Faith required in those who perform, Matt. 17:20; 21:21; John 14:12; Acts 3:16; 6:8.
Faith required in those for whom they were performed, Matt. 9:28; Mark 9:22-24; Acts 14:9.
Power to work, given the disciples, Mark 3:14, 15; 16:17, 18, 20.
Demanded by unbelievers, Matt. 12:38, 39; 16:1; Luke 11:16, 29; 23:8.
Alleged miracles performed by magicians, Ex. 7:10-12, 22; 8:7; by other impostors, Matt. 7:22.
Performed through the powers of evil, 2 Thess. 2:9; Rev. 16:14.
Wrought in support of false religions, Deut. 13:1, 2; by false christs, Matt. 24:24; by false prophets, Matt. 24:24; Rev. 19:20; by the Witch of En-dor, 1 Sam. 28:7-14; Simon Magus, Acts 8:9-11.
Not to be regarded, Deut. 13:3.
Deceive the ungodly, 2 Thess. 2:10-12; Rev. 13:14; 19:20.
A mark of apostasy, 2 Thess. 2:3, 9; Rev. 13:13.

MIRACLES [smith]

A miracle may be defined to be a plain and manifest exercise by a man, or by God at the call of a man, of those powers which belong only to the Creator and Lord of nature; and this for the declared object of attesting that a divine mission is given to that man. It is not, therefore, the wonder , the exception to common experience, that constitutes the miracle , as is assumed both in the popular use of the word and by most objectors against miracles. No phenomenon in nature, however unusual, no event in the course of God?s providence, however unexpected, is a miracle unless it can be traced to the agency of man (including prayer under the term agency), and unless it be put forth as a proof of divine mission. Prodigies and special providences are not miracles. (A miracle is not a violation of the laws of nature. It is God?s acting upon nature in a degree far beyond our powers, but the same king of act as our wills are continually exerting upon nature. We do not in lifting a stone interfere with any law of nature, but exert a higher force among the laws. Prof. Tyndall says that "science does assert that without a disturbance of natural law quite as serious as the stoppage of an eclipse, or the rolling of the St. Lawrence up the falls of Niagara, no act of humiliation, individual or nation, could call one shower from heaven." And yet men by firing cannon during battle can cause a shower: does that cause such a commotion among the laws of nature? The exertion of a will upon the laws does not make a disturbance of natural law; and a miracle is simply the exertion of God?s will upon nature. --ED.) Again, the term "nature" suggests to many persons the idea of a great system of things endowed with powers and forces of its own --a sort of machine, set a-going originally by a first cause, but continuing its motions of itself. Hence we are apt to imagine that a change in the motion or operation of any part of it by God would produce the same disturbance of the other parts as such a change would be likely to produce in them if made by us or by any other natural agent. But if the motions and operations of material things be produced really by the divine will, then his choosing to change, for a special purpose, the ordinary motion of one part does not necessarily or probably imply his choosing to change the ordinary motions of other parts in a way not at all requisite for the accomplishment of that special purpose. It is as easy for him to continue the ordinary course of the rest, with the change of one part, as of all the phenomena without any change at all. Thus, though the stoppage of the motion of the earth in the ordinary course of nature would be attended with terrible convulsions, the stoppage of the earth miraculously , for a special purpose to be served by that only , would not of itself be followed by any such consequences. (Indeed, by the action of gravitation it could be stopped, as a stone thrown up is stopped, in less than two minutes, and yet so gently as not to stir the smallest feather or mote on its surface. --ED.) From the same conception of nature as a machine, we are apt to think of interferences with the ordinary course of nature as implying some imperfection in it. But it is manifest that this is a false analogy; for the reason why machines are made is to save us trouble; and, therefore, they are more perfect in proportion as they answer this purpose. But no one can seriously imagine that the universe is a machine for the purpose of saving trouble to the Almighty. Again, when miracles are described as "interferences with the law of nature," this description makes them appear improbable to many minds, from their not sufficiently considering that the laws of nature interfere with one another, and that we cannot get rid of "interferences" upon any hypothesis consistent with experience. The circumstances of the Christian miracles are utterly unlike those of any pretended instances of magical wonders. This difference consists in -- (1) The greatness, number, completeness and publicity of the miracles. (2) In the character of the miracles. They were all beneficial, helpful, instructive, and worthy of God as their author. (3) The natural beneficial tendency of the doctrine they attested. (4) The connection of them with a whole scheme of revelation extending from the origin of the human race to the time of Christ.

MIRACLES [bridgeway]

God is shown in the Bible to be a God of miracles. But miracles do not feature consistently throughout the biblical record. Rather they are grouped largely around three main periods.

The first of these periods was the time of the Israelites’ bondage in Egypt, which challenged God’s purposes to establish his people as an independent nation. By mighty acts God saved his people and brought them into the land he had promised them (Deut 4:34-35; Josh 4:23-24). The second period was that of Elijah and Elisha, when Israel’s religion was threatened with destruction. By some unusual miracles God preserved the minority who remained faithful to him, and acted in judgment against those who tried to wipe out the worship of Yahweh from Israel (1 Kings 19:15-18). The third period was that of the coming of the kingdom of God through Jesus Christ and the establishment of his church through those to whom he had given his special power (Acts 2:22; 3:6; 4:10; 1 Cor 12:10,28-29; 2 Cor 12:12).

Of all the miracles, the greatest are those that concern the birth and resurrection of Jesus. God’s act in becoming a human being is itself a miracle so great that it overshadows the means by which it happened, namely, the miraculous conception in the womb of a virgin (Matt 1:18-23; John 1:14; see VIRGIN). The resurrection is a miracle so basic to the Christian faith that without it there can be no Christian faith (1 Cor 15:12-14; see RESURRECTION).

Miracles and nature

If we believe in a personal God who created and controls the world (Gen 1:1; Col 1:16-17), we should have no trouble in believing the biblical record of the miracles he performed. The physical creation is not something self-sufficient or mechanical, as if it were like a huge clock that, once wound up, runs on automatically till finally God stops it. The God of creation is a living God who is active in his creation (John 5:17).

God deals with people as responsible beings whom he has placed in a world where everything is in a state of constant change. Being sensitive to the needs of his creatures, he may work in his creation in an extraordinary, even miraculous, way for their benefit (Exod 17:6; Josh 10:11-14; 2 Kings 4:42-44; Mark 6:47-51).

On the other hand, God does not work miracles every time someone wants him to. If he did there would be chaos. God’s control of the universe is designed to produce order (Job 38:4-41; 39:1-30; Ps 147:8-9,16-18; Matt 5:45).

Since God is the controller of nature, he may have performed many of his miraculous works not by doing something ‘contrary to nature’, but by using the normal workings of nature in a special way. The miracle was in the timing, extent or intensity of the event.

Such divine activity may help to explain events such as the plagues of Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, the crossing of the Jordan River, the collapse of Jericho’s walls and some of the healings performed by Jesus. But even if these can be explained as having natural causes, they were still miracles to those who saw them. They happened as predicted, even though the chances of their so happening appeared to be almost nil (Exod 7:17; 8:2; Josh 3:8-13).

This still leaves unexplained the large number of miracles for which there seem to be no natural causes. Such supernatural interventions by God are not attacks on the so-called laws of nature. What we call the laws of nature are not forces that make things happen, but statements of what people have discovered concerning how nature works. It is God who makes things happens; the ‘laws of nature’ merely summarize the processes by which such things happen. When God acts supernaturally, his actions may be contrary to the way people has usually seen nature work, but his actions do not break any laws of nature. They merely provide new circumstances through which nature works.

God is always the creator of life, the healer of diseases, the calmer of storms and the provider of food, whether he does so through the normal processes of nature or through some miraculous intervention. Through the ages God has sent the rain to water the grapes to produce the wine, but he may choose to hasten the process by turning water into wine immediately (John 2:1-11). God has also at times withheld the rain and so caused trees gradually to dry up, but again he may choose to intervene and hasten the process (Matt 21:18-19).

The purpose of miracles

Miracles were usually ‘signs’, that is, works of God that revealed his power and purposes (Exod 7:3; Deut 4:34; Isa 7:11; Matt 16:1; John 2:11; 6:14; 20:30; Acts 2:43; see SIGNS). However, messengers of God never used miracles just to impress people or to persuade people to believe them (Matt 12:38-39; Luke 23:8). It was the false prophet who used apparent miracles to gain a following (Deut 13:1-3; Matt 24:24; 2 Thess 2:9-11; Rev 13:13-14). God’s miracles were usually linked with faith (2 Kings 3:1-7; Dan 3:16-18; 6:22; Heb 11:29-30).

This was clearly seen in the miracles of Jesus Christ. Jesus used miracles not to try to force people to believe in him, but to help those who already believed. He performed miracles in response to faith, not to try to create faith (Matt 9:27-29; Mark 2:3-5; 5:34,36; 6:5-6). Frequently, Jesus told those whom he had healed not to spread the news of his miraculous work. He did not want to be bothered by people who wanted to see a wonder-worker but who felt no spiritual need themselves (Matt 9:30; Mark 5:43; 8:26).

Nevertheless, it is clear that many of those who saw Jesus’ miracles were filled with awe and glorified God (Matt 9:8; Luke 5:26; 7:16; 9:43). To those who believed in Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah, the miracles confirmed the truth of their beliefs and revealed to them something of God’s glory (John 2:11; 11:40; Acts 14:3; Heb 2:3-4; see MESSIAH). There was a connection between the miracles of Jesus and the era of the Messiah. This may explain why miracles were common in the early church but almost died out once the original order of apostles died out (Matt 10:5-8; Luke 9:1; 10:9; Acts 4:16,29-30; 5:12; Rom 15:19; 1 Cor 12:9-10; 2 Cor 12:12).

In the record of some of Jesus’ miracles, faith is not mentioned. On those occasions Jesus acted, it seems, purely out of compassion (Matt 8:14-15; 14:13-14; 15:32; Luke 4:40; 7:11-17; John 6:1-13); though, as always, he refused to satisfy people who wanted him to perform miracles for their own selfish purposes (John 6:14-15).

Jesus’ miracles demonstrated clearly that he was the Messiah, the Son of God (John 20:30-31), and that the power of the Spirit of God worked through him in a special way (Matt 12:28; Luke 4:18). Being both divine and human, he had on the one hand authority and power to work miracles, but on the other he always acted in dependence upon his Father (John 5:19; 14:10-11). His miracles were always in keeping with his mission as the Saviour of the world. They were never of the senseless or unbelievable kind such as we find in fairy stories. Jesus did not perform miracles as if they were acts of magic, and he never performed them for his own benefit (cf. Matt 4:2-10).

Jesus’ miracles and the kingdom of God

In Jesus the kingdom of God had come into the world. The rule of God was seen in the miracles by which Jesus the Messiah delivered from the power of Satan people who were diseased and oppressed by evil spirits (Matt 4:23-24; 11:2-6; 12:28; see KINGDOM OF GOD). This victory over Satan was a guarantee of the final conquest of Satan when the kingdom of God will reach its triumphant climax at the end of the world’s history (Rev 20:10).

To Christians, Jesus’ miracles foreshadow the age to come. His raising of the dead prefigures the final conquest of death (Matt 11:5; John 11:24-27,44; 1 Cor 15:24-26; Rev 21:4). His healing miracles give hope for a day when there will be no more suffering (Matt 9:27-29; Mark 1:40-42; Rev 21:4). His calming of the storm foreshadows the final perfection of the natural creation (Matt 8:24-27; Rom 8:19-21). His provisions of food and wine give a foretaste of the great banquet of God in the day of the kingdom’s triumph (John 2:1-11; Matt 14:15-21; 15:32-38; 26:29; Rev 19:9).