To a Christian believer the miracles of the Bible do not present any difficulty. This is not because the critical faculties of the believer are in suspense and his attitude is one of unquestioning credulity. Indeed an unthinking acceptance of all supernatural events recorded in the Scriptures will not be of much help when the Christian is asked to give a reason for the faith he holds. The faith that can meet a challenge is more likely to be one that is hard won—one that has overcome the assaults both of intellectual doubt and practical adversity.
No, the acceptance of the miraculous in the Bible arises not from unquestioning faith, but from the acceptance of a miraculous event for which there is strong and increasing evidence. It is the belief that the supernatural had already entered into human affairs, when in time past God spoke to the fathers by the prophets and later spoke to all men in His Son. Having accepted the fact that God has indeed entered into this world through the agency of men moved by his Holy Spirit and above all in Jesus Christ, then there is no difficulty in accepting the fact of miracles as occurring in the course of that revelation and in the furtherance of the divine purpose.
The First Step
This first step is fundamental, for once taken it is logical to acknowledge that, given the fact of God’s intervention in the natural order, other phenomena—normally outside human experience—might well occur. Without this initial acceptance, David Hume’s classical objection to miracles is unanswerable. He argued that a miracle is the most improbable of events, and that it is always more probable that the witnesses were lying or mistaken than that a miracle occurred. We do in fact apply this reasoning to many claims to miraculous happenings that are reported to us. But with the miracles of the Bible the acknowledgement that God has revealed Himself to mankind provides the initial explanation and clears the way for recognizing the validity of the miracles.
The Essential Unity
The Bible is a book of Divine revelation, but it is not a book of magic, or of wonders for which there is no rhyme or reason. Moreover, superhuman power was used with purpose and economy. The purpose of the miraculous was to advance the divine purpose and to establish the authority of his appointed servants. The miracles associated with the deliverance from Egypt were designed to uphold the power of the Almighty and the authority of his servants, but they were not employed to enforce faith and belief. Indeed, in spite of the pillar of fire, the water from the rock, the manna and the quails, few had a faith worthy of the name.
To the Hebrew people throughout the ages, the supernatural manifestations in their midst, generally through the medium of a prophet or leader, were the logical consequence of their belief that their whole history was miraculous, and that God was guiding the affairs of the nation in accordance with his will. This conviction was borne out by the nature of the signs and wonders, for these were not casual, unintelligible and enigmatic, like the behaviour of a poltergeist at a seance. They were employed to achieve a purpose.
Old Testament Miracle Rare
Given the wide range of recorded history in the Old Testament, there is an economy in the use of miracle. Certainly at the great turning points of history—the departure from Egypt, the giving of the Law, the entrance into Canaan—all these events were accompanied by signs which made it clear beyond all reasonable doubt that God was leading his people. There were exhibitions of unforgettable power in judgment and in mercy which became enshrined in the psalms and religious life of the people, and always this power was under the control of a just and righteous God. This controlled use of the miraculous as an agency of divine will and purpose is important and explains why the works of wonder recorded for us in a later dispensation do not seem trivial or incomprehensible. They were related to the history of a people which we have learned to recognise as miraculous.
Jesus and Miracles
The evidence that Jesus performed works of miraculous power is incontrovertible. At Pentecost. Peter declared to those who could well confirm his words “Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves know” (Acts 2. 22). It is also true that Jesus did not use his miracles to establish his messiahship and refused to give the sign the Pharisees required, though Nicodemus, a notable exception, reached the logical conclusion “Thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these signs that thou doest except God be with him” (John 3. 2).
It seems remarkable that even after the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand the Jews did not accept this as evidence of his messiahship. “And the Pharisees came forth, and began tempting him” (Mark 8. 1 1 ) . What did they want? They wanted demonstrable proof that Jesus was the Mess’ah, a proof so clear to their senses that there could be absolutely no doubt on this issue. They recalled the mighty demonstrations of power in the time of Moses, they remembered Elijah at Carmel. Ought not the true Messiah to bring even more conclusive witness of supreme power so that no one could doubt that God was with him? To them it must have seemed an eminently reasonable request, and perhaps for a while, during those forty days in the wilderness, it seemed reasonable to our Lord, too. For he was tempted to stage that spectacular scene in which he could be seen to enjoy divine preference. That was when in his mind’s eye he saw himself standing on the parapet of the temple and below vast crowds waiting – waiting for proof. “Throw yourself down and he will put his angels in charge of you.”
It would not do; it was a temptation to be rejected, as reject it he did. Why? It is an interesting question because what the Pharisees wanted – a supreme vindication of power and authority- unbelievers have asked for ever since. Perhaps we, too, have often desired to see such a manifestation of power that all would be compelled to believe. That day will come when no man will be left in any doubt as to who is God and who is the Great King- but that is in the kingdom age. Our Lord ushered in another age-the age of faith, and though he wrought works of power, men were not then, and they are not today, compelled to surrender their wills to him.
Faith not Compulsion
Supposing the unbelieving Jews had been given the sign they wanted, overpowering evidence that Jesus was Messiah. Of course they would have believed, but would it have been the kind of belief that Jesus wanted? Belief certainly in his power and authority, but would their hearts have turned to him in love and emulation? Would they not rather have seen in him the champion who would bring their hopes and ambitions to reality? In a word, the emphasis would have been upon power rather than on righteousness. As Farrer has well expressed it, “It is not the influence of external forces, but it is the germanal principle of life within, which makes the good seed to grow. The hard heart cannot be converted nor the stubborn unbelief removed by portents and prodigies, but by inward humility and the grace of God stealing downward like the dew of heaven, in silence and unseen”.
The power was available-even for deliverance from the final agony(Matthew 26.53), but it was controlled, an instrument in accomplishing a higher purpose – the winning of men and women by the gospel of the kingdom.
There were occasions when our Lord envisioned the wider use of the supernatural in the age to come, as when the seventy spoke of the wonders achieved through the power given them through his name. Jesus said, beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven” (Luke 10. 18). Here was a prophetic vision of the ultimate destruction of evil through the power of the Spirit.
The Great Miracle
But though it is true that our Lord did not use the miraculous to enforce his claims and deliberately discouraged the circulation of news of miraculous cures, yet there were occasions when it was appropriate that great truths should be accompanied by great deeds. What greater truth than the declaration of our Lord that he was the “Resurrection and the Life; he that believeth on me, though he die yet shall he live”. What more startling or memorable miracle than the raising of Lazarus, who thence forward became an eloquent witness of his power? Wonderful as was this evidence of divine power working through him, this was to be followed not long after by that miracle which is the crowning miracle of all, the raising of Christ himself. This was the starting point of apostolic Christianity, and in the earliest days to preach Christianity meant primarily to preach the fact of the Resurrection of Christ. Indeed the first qualification of apostleship was that they were able to witness to the resurrection of their master. It was the fact that provided the first break-through into a pagan world. As the Apostle told the Athenians, it was the assurance given to all men.
Thus the gospel was primarily the good news of the resurrection and its consequences. The Church was—and is—the living witness to this unprecedented intervention in human affairs of the great God Himself. This witness is not only to a fact of history but to the conviction that no less certain will be the consummation of the divine purpose. Thus the miracle of the Resurrection of Christ is evidence both that Jesus Christ was the chosen one, and that the world will yet be ruled by him.
Miracles Today
Do miracles happen today? Since God is still active in human affairs, and especially so in the lives of His children, it would be foolish to say that they do not. But the spectacular miracles of both Old and New Testament times are not seen today, and reports of signs and wonder-working are naturally suspect. But there are signs and wonders which have for the believer a great significance; they are those to be seen in the history of Israel, particularly in its revival as a nation. This has been called a miracle of history. Here is a modern miracle which points backward to a people divinely guided and forward to a returned Messiah and a redeemed people.
This is the miracle for which God’s people still look with confidence, when a returned Messiah will rule not only a redeemed Israel, but a world at peace.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One