The Miracle Element in the Gospels

The miracle element in the Gospels is a huge subject with many sides demanding a volume rather than the few paragraphs I will be presenting here. Suffice that I underscore a couple of observations however, that may be helpful on two specific questions. In what relation does the miraculous element in the Gospels stand to the primitive tradition of our Lord’s ministry; and in what relation does the miracles have to the ministry itself as the outcome of Christ’s character and Messianic mission?

In regards to the former question, there seems to be good and valid reasons to believe that miraculous or “marvelous acts of healing” did have a place in the original apostolic tradition. The men who were with Jesus had stirring stories to tell of cures performed on the bodies and minds of the sick, on persons suffering from fever, leprosy, palsy, demoniacal possession, blindness. Nine narratives of cures of such diseases are found in the triple tradition which forms the common basis of the Synoptic Gospels. The primitive gospel, whether it was the Gospel of Matthew, Mark or Luke (who highlights at least twenty miracles of Jesus of which four are unique), appears to have been a miracle gospel.

For the most part, this is generally admitted in theological circles, the only question seriously debated being whether the cures were in the strict sense miraculous, the naturalists’ suggestions being that the miracles were performed by moral therapeutics or hypnotism. Perhaps, because liberal Christian scholarship discount or diminish the existence of spiritual beings and believe there is no viable reason to attribute healing to the direct intervention of God in the world, Jesus’ healings have a purely natural explanation. They maintain that Jesus only cured psychosomatic anomalies.

I think most of us understand that the mind can have tremendous influence on the health of the body, particularly under extreme conditions. But, it is hard, at least for me, to conceive of leprosy or any other aggravated illness resembling that of the demoniac of Gadara, complying with anything less than divine power.

There are also liberal scholars who maintain that the gospel miracles were the product of faith in Jesus as the Christ. But there is also good reason to believe that these miracles were not the products of faith but rather an authentic element of the original gospel offered to faith; thus, the chicken and the egg dilemma. Is belief in miracles the incentive to faith in Jesus Christ, or is it the faith in Jesus Christ that results in belief in miracles?

We know that miracles were in part the basis of the belief that Jesus was the risen Christ among the first generation of disciples. But are miracles a necessary postulate of belief in Jesus today? This brings us to the second point I proposed to consider.

It must be acknowledged that miracles can no longer be utilized or offered as evidences of Christianity today with the same confidence with which they employed its use in past ages. The Gospels, in fact, were not written to prove the truth of Christianity. Humanity does not (if they ever did), believe in Christ because of miracles, but rather, believes in miracles because they have first come to believe in Christ. For such believers Christ is His own witness, who accredits everything connected with Him; Scripture, prophecy, miracles. Those of us who are in this blessed frame of mind and spirit need no other convincing.

But there are some who have not gone the length of accepting miracles for Christ’s sake, not because they are speculative unbelievers in the possibility of miracles, but because they fail to see any agreement between miracles and Christ’s personal character or His Messianic mission.

Now, it is difficult to establish any such agreement when miracles are viewed in the abstract merely as products of supernatural power. Then they sink into mere external signs attached to Christ’s proper work for evidential purposes. But, Scripture is not really interested in proving anything, it merely state the facts. Thus, it would seem that the miracles of Christ are to be regarded, not primarily as acts of supernatural power, but as acts of unparalleled love. (The reference here, of course, is to the miracles of healing; the nature miracles must be temporarily pushed aside to be dealt with at another point in time). Then there is no difficulty in perceiving how congruous the gospel miracles are both to the innermost spirit of Jesus and to His Messianic work.

The constant desire of Jesus was to do good to the uttermost extent of His power, and that was also His supreme duty as the Christ having for His mission the establishment of the kingdom of grace. He healed men’s bodies, as well as their souls, because He was able. From where the power came, whether it was natural or supernatural is a question of some scientific and theological interest and not of urgent faith importance.

The point to be chiefly noted is that, the acts of healing itself bear witness to the fact that Jesus was a man who always did “good” to the full measure of His ability and opportunity. It is the divinity of His love, not the supernatural-ness of His power, which commends Him to our heart as a Man of sorrows, and as the Christ. The healing miracles played their part in the revelation of that love. But they were not the whole of the revelation, or even the principal part of it. The miraculous elements have a deeper purpose than recording miracles to impress the credulous. Preaching the gospel to the poor and keeping company with people of evil repute, were even more significant manifestations of the spirit of the Son of man.

Yet, all three should be taken together as belonging to the same category, and as integral parts of the Messianic ministry. That Jesus evangelized the poor, associated with the sinful, healed the sick was all signs that He was the One who should come, the genuine Christ of a sins and sorrow-laden world.

The gospel miracles, exceptionally valuable as a self-revelation of Jesus, have also permanent didactic significance by indicating that the kingdom of God is most comprehensive in scope and covers all bases that relates to the well-being of man.

I think it is also interesting that Christ cannot be charged with treating what we call spiritual interests as matters of subordinate importance. He was no mere social reformer, who thought all was well when the people had plenty of food and clothing , and when disease and illness were rare visitors of their homes. Jesus knew and taught that life was more than meat, or physical health or wealth. He constantly felt and demonstrated a tender concern for the peace and health of human souls.

On the other hand, it is also clear that He was equally remote from the narrowness of an extremist-spiritualism. The healing miracles conclusively and consistently proved this fact. The miracles Jesus performed preach as gospel sermons against all indifference to temporal interests as being of no significance in comparison with eternal interests. The miracles proclaimed social salvation, however subordinate it may be in value as compared with soul salvation, as nevertheless a part of the grand redemptive plan. The miracles afford strong and satisfying evidence of the entire healthiness of Christ’s sympathies and the freedom of His religious character from all perverse elements.

What a contrast between this Healer of disease and Preacher of pardon to the worst of the worst, to others who claim deity. How manifest that the Christian as he ought to be, the true follower of Jesus, is the man and woman who fights bravely and incessantly against every form of evil; whose passion is to leave the world better than it was found, and who makes no scrupulous distinction between saints and sinners; between God’s poor and other poor, in the exercise of benevolence, but is ever thankful for opportunities of conferring His loving kindness on any human, in any way, and to any extent possible.This is the miracle of Christian humanity.

Amen.

References

Wilkins and Moreland, Jesus Under Fire

William Lane Craig, In Defense of Miracles