Why Miracles?

Have you been present when a miracle occurred? By miracle I don’t mean witnessing the birth of a baby or marking the progress of a beautiful, flowering plant growing from a small, unremarkable seed. These are, in their own ways, “miraculous,” and I’ve had the privilege of experiencing both. No, I mean a miracle of biblical proportions: blind eyes given sight, deaf ears unstopped, withered limbs fully restored, phenomena that have no scientific explanation. I’ve been in large meetings where such things were claimed to have taken place, but the proceedings had such a feeling of charlatanry that it proved unconvincing. They were certainly nothing like what we read about in Scripture, the results of which were immediate and verifiable for all to see.

Biblically, miracles serve two ends: they radically alter the circumstances of those involved, as well as demonstrating that there exists a reality that stands above everyday existence. In the end, the latter realization proves to be more imperative than being able to see, hear, or walk. Even Lazarus being raised from the dead (see John 11) pales in comparison to his having been raised from spiritual death to eternal life through faith in Christ. His coming out from the tomb still clothed in the garments of the grave testifies to this truth.

When God intervenes in the normal processes of nature to do something supernatural, we must receive it as an act of kindness. He is redirecting our gaze from one reality to another, telling us to look up, above the horizon of our lives, and confess that HE IS. While not ruling out the possibility of the sorts of miracles outlined above, God’s miracle of regeneration is to be acknowledged as no less redirective. A person coming to believe in Christ is a divine intervention of the kindest kind and reassures us that he is at work securing for himself a people that above all else confess him as Lord though they be deaf, dumb, blind, or lame.

The Big Issue

When the followers of Jesus began to speak “as the Spirit gave them utterance” in languages not their own, those who heard them were perplexed. Jesus' disciples were mostly made up of Galileans, a people not known for their erudition. Yet, here they were telling “the mighty works of God” in the tongues of others. A strange occurrence.

The New Testament is full of strange occurrences. People are raised from the dead. Incurable diseases suddenly vanish. Demons manifest. Angels appear. Voices come out from clouds. Who is at the center of all these strange goings on? Jesus, who himself walks on water, causes violent storms to obey his voice, and feeds multitudes with the first century equivalent of a “happy meal.”

All of these phenomena attest to the reality of who Jesus was – God in the flesh. And what was taking place on Pentecost only confirmed this truth. Jesus had promised that he would send the Holy Spirit when he returned to the right hand of his Father. With the Spirit’s arrival, the logical conclusion was that he was where he said he would be. This has ultimate significance.

The founding pastor of Neighborhood Church, Roger Fulton, was fond of saying, “Jesus is the big issue.” What was he implying? Jesus cannot be ignored. The record of his existence is present in the Bible and it calls for a decision. Is he a charlatan, a failed revolutionary, a mystic, or perhaps just an ordinary man upon whom people have projected their own longings? Roger’s assertion is reflected in the response of some of those who witnessed the fruit of the Spirit’s blessing. They wondered, “What does this mean?” The right question! And one that reveals people with humble and teachable hearts. Peter’s answer cut such to the quick: “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

As Roger intimates, this same question needs to be asked by all. Brushing away the biblical testimony with a dismissive equivalent to “they are filled with new wine” is inexcusable – and spiritually fatal. The teachable ones on Pentecost had their eyes opened to the truth of Jesus and their own folly. They pleaded, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter’s answer sufficed for them and will suffice for contemporary penitents: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

He is the big issue. What's your decision?

To Seek and to Save

Events that had been planned from eternity were about to unfold. Jesus, knowing that the “days drew near for him to be taken up,” had “set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). That determination had brought him into proximity of the place that symbolized God’s presence among his people. Soon, despite the accolades that will accompany his entrance into Jerusalem, he will be rejected by the “righteous,” who should have been able to see him for who he was. They will remand him to be humiliated, tortured, and finally executed. Spiritual blindness was a persistent problem for Israel; now the malady would prove decisive. In a stroke of divine irony, however, a blind man will recognize him and an unrighteous man will welcome him.

Jesus proclamation that the “Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10), reveals that the heart of his mission was to wrest from men and women any sense that they have no need of him. Men like Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, and Zacchaeus, a despised tax collector in the employ of Rome, were persuaded of this need, and when they heard that their savior was passing by, they laid hold of him.

Jesus’ encounters with these two men serve as a fitting exclamation point to his ministry prior to Holy Week. He had proclaimed his purposes early on in his hometown of Nazareth (see Luke 4:18-21) and he had been faithful in demonstrating that, as proclaimed, he had come “to seek and to save the lost.” That explanation of his work within the context of these two final encounters, places his entire enterprise within an eternal frame. The confession of Bartimaeus and the contriteness of Zacchaeus reveal faith in Jesus that saves them not only from earthly bondage but from eternal judgment as well.

Just after these encounters and prior to his ascent to Jerusalem, motivated by the misapprehension of many as to what was about to take place, Jesus relates a parable that warns of the consequences of not grasping who he is. The message: understand now and live accordingly, for when I return it will be too late. We are in that time period right now. It extends from the moment of his ascension until his reappearing. Pray that, like Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus, you will have ears to hear when the good news about Jesus is made known to you. The faith that will be engendered will result in eyes that will see him as the savior of the world.

Adoration of the Magi

The news created a stir. Visitors from the east, magi, men who spent their days discerning the times, had arrived in Jerusalem claiming they had seen a sign. A star appeared in the sky that indicated the promised king of the Jews had been born. Apparently, this was good news to them as it provoked them to travel a long way provided with gifts to express their adoration. Perhaps through their studies they learned that the one they now sought would bring peace and blessing that would be for all peoples, including gentiles like them. That such a one may have actually been born was a matter for great rejoicing.

Not everyone was of the same mind, however. For Herod the “king,” the news posed a threat. The notion that one had arrived that the Jews would laud as the Messiah, the true king, would only spell trouble for his already troubled rule. Then the scribes and priests, who at first displayed alarm, appear to have constructed an explanation for the strange phenomenon that allowed them to go about their business with indifference, despite their knowledge of the Scriptures that foretold of the coming one. Only the “wise” men were provoked to awe and joy at the advent of the Christ.

Such disparate responses to the person of Jesus persist. There are those who, like Herod, respond with virulent hostility. Others, despite the wealth of information available to them, appear unmoved by Christ even though his presence and teaching altered the landscape of human history. Thankfully, there are those who understand the significance of the one born to the virgin and respond with joyful worship. May we all be numbered among them.