11: Jesus’ Miracles
Jesus changed the water to wine. What’s the point? Why does Jesus perform these miracles?
Miracles are either:
- Signs communicating or authenticating who Christ is
- Acts of mercy designed to overcome the immediate effects of sin
While it is possible to say, “both are true,” we still need to know which is the primary purpose of miracles, because this primary purpose should drive our primary understanding of each miracle narrative.
If we hold the primary purpose of Jesus’ miracles is to communicate who he is, we will see the life of Christ as a mission of education, and salvation through changing what people believe. If we hold the primary purpose of Jesus’ miracles is dispensing mercy, we will see the life of Christ as a mission of mercy, and salvation through changing what people feel.
There is another aspect to these miracles—the question of whether Jesus’ miracles inaugurate a current Kingdom of God in some way. This question, with its dividing power between the various eschatological systems, will be left for another dispatch.
Miracles as Dispensations of Mercy
Jesus’ miracles of healing—and even the miracle of changing water to wine at the wedding at Cana—all seem to be instances of mercy. For instance, in Luke 8:
And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased.
In this case, Jesus appears to be unaware of the woman’s need. She does not approach him, nor does she ask, she just touches the hem of his cloak. This is also one of the few instances where Luke does not record Jesus stating why this miracle occurred.
The argument for miracles as dispensations of mercy, however, is an argument from silence. In Luke 8, Jesus says:
And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
Jesus never says: “Because of your need you are healed.” Nor does Jesus heal every person he finds in need. In Acts 3, we encounter a man born lame:
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple.
Jesus went to the Temple many, many times during his ministry—especially during his last week. We can infer, then, that Jesus passed by this man many times. And yet, Jesus did not heal the man born lame. Why not?
We have no idea, because the Scriptures do not tell us. What we can know is there were many who were lame, demon possessed, blind, having issues of blood, lepers, and many other ailments when Jesus rose from the dead. If there was no element other than mercy involved in the miracles of Jesus, why were these people left without healing? If the miracles were primarily about showing mercy, then why was anyone left hungry?
These things will all happen in the Kingdom. The Kingdom is not now (nor even after the Resurrection), so Jesus’ miracles cannot be “just” merciful acts. Jesus’ miracles must be something more.
Miracles as Authentication
The second option—that Jesus’ miracles are primarily designed to authenticate who Jesus is—is not an argument from silence. Jesus himself says miracles are signs for unbelievers in John 2:
So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”
The word used for sign here means a sign in the literal sense, an object that points to, or validates, something else. According to the Louw-Nida Lexicon:
A strictly literal translation of σημεῖον as ‘sign’ might mean nothing more than a road sign or a sign on a building, and therefore in some languages σημεῖον in a context such as Jn 2:23 may be rendered as ‘a miracle with great meaning.’[1]
Miracles as signs serve two purposes.
First, miracles cause people to stop and look. For instance, in Exodus 3:
And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
Second, miracles authenticate the messenger, as we find in Exodus 4:
Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
Notice the subtle difference between miracles authenticating the messenger and the message. Why do we make this distinction? According to Strong:
Miracles generally certify to the truth of doctrine, not directly, but indirectly; otherwise a new miracle must needs accompany each new doctrine taught. Miracles primarily and directly certify to the divine commission and authority of a religious teacher, and therefore warrant acceptance of his doctrines and obedience to his commands as the doctrines and commands of God, whether these be communicated at intervals or all together, orally or in written documents.[2]
In Acts 2, Peter says:
Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know…
How do these miracles authenticate Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God?
Messianic Miracles: Resistance to Forgery
Jesus was certainly testified to by His fulfillment of prophecy. Some estimates claim the chance of Jesus randomly fulfilling the various prophecies about His coming and life to be astronomical (see, for instance, Is Christianity the One True Religion[3] and Mills[4]). The Miracles of Jesus, seen within the context of contemporary rabbinical teaching, provide clear evidence of His credentials in a way that cannot be replicated or forged. Specifically, one class of the miracles of Jesus may be called Messianic Miracles, because they clearly fulfill the teaching of the contemporary rabbis on the acts the Messiah would perform, taken from specific passages and patterns in the Tanakh.
The first of these three miracles is the healing of a Jewish leper. According to Fruchtenbaum:
Although the priesthood had all these detailed instructions as to how they were to respond in the case of a healed leper, they never had the opportunity to put these instructions into effect, because from the time the Mosaic Law was given, no Jew was ever healed of leprosy. As a result, it was taught by the rabbis that only the Messiah would be able to heal a Jewish leper.[5]
Jesus performs this specific miracle in Luke 5:12-16.
While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy.1 And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus2 stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
The key words to note here are at the end of the passage, “for a proof to them.” It is clear, from this text, that Jesus expected them to understand something from this healing that would prove He was the Messiah. The second of these miracles is the casting out of a mute demon. Again, according to Fruchtenbaum:
However, there was one kind of demon against which Judaism’s methodology was powerless, and that was the kind of demon who caused the controlled person to be dumb or mute. And, because he could not speak, there was no way of establishing communication with this kind of a demon; no way of finding out this demon’s name. So, within the framework of Judaism, it was impossible to cast out a dumb demon.[6]
In Matthew 12:22-23, Jesus performs just such a miracle.
Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”
The question of the crowd following this miracle specifically points to the meaning of the miracle itself. They asked the rabbis, who were still present (see the following verse) if Jesus could be the Messiah. This specific miracle marks a turning point in the ministry of Jesus, for the rabbi’s answer that Jesus cast out demons by the power of “the prince of demons,” was the judgment of the rabbinical investigation into Jesus, a complete rejection of Jesus as the Messiah.
The third, and final, Messianic miracle is that of healing a man born blind. The stage is set for this miracle in John 9:1-3.
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
The question from His disciples is based on rabbinical teaching that a person born with a physical defect, such as blindness, was either being visited for some specific sin of their parents (see Exodus 34:6-7) or had sinned against their mother in her womb. Jesus answers by stating the man was born in this condition to show the glory of God. The man, on being healed, is presented to the Pharisees, who begin to question him about how he came to be healed. A particular exchange between the formerly blind man and the Pharisees is worth considering. After verifying with the man’s parents that he was actually born blind, they call the man again in John 9:24-34.
So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
Never since the world has begun has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind! The implications of the man’s words, within the context, could not be more clear, nor could the answer of the Pharisees, that they should not listen to a man born in “utter sin.”
If the contemporary rabbinical teaching is seen as a sort of “code,” like the PIN used with a identification system, which would prove the person of the Messiah, then Jesus clearly fulfilled the requirements of this code. Since the fulfillment of rabbinical teaching could not be refuted, the miracles offer resistance to forgery or repudiation. Much like fulfilled prophecy, they serve as Jesus’ credentials.
Conclusion
While the prophecies satisfied by Jesus and the words of Jesus both independently attest that Jesus is God incarnate, the miracles of Jesus provide a third line of evidence attesting to His deity, as well. The miracles of Jesus irrefutably show He is the God who created come to Earth in flesh, taking on humanity to stand as our Kinsman-Redeemer.
[1] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. (2nd Edition (Electronic), New York: United Bible societies, 1996).
[2] Augustus Hopkins Strong, Systematic Theology, p 129 (Bellingham, Wa.: Logos Research Systems,, 2004).
[3] Is Christianity the One True Religion?, http://www.carm.org/christianity/christian-doctrine/christianity-one-true-religion (accessed March 14, 2010).
[4] M.S. Mills, The Life of Christ: A Study Guide to the Gospel Record (Dallas, TX: 3E Ministries, 1999).
[5] Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Messianic Miracles (n.p.: Ariel Ministries, 2005).
[6] Ibid