ChristianitySince we understood Dr.

Morris’ conservative theological position, we were not upset, but

amazed at his dry sense of humor. But the sad truth is that many theologians throughout the history of
the church have not taken any of the miracles of our Lord seriously. The Jews of our Lord’s day did not
challenge the actual events, but rather the power by which these miracles were performed (cf. ff.) The
heathen Greeks did not challenge the miraculous event either, but only its interpretation.93 Others,
such as Spinoza, held the pantheistic view that miracles were contrary to the nature of God.94 Miracles
were considered impossible by Spinoza because of his presuppositions. Skeptics, like Hume, held that
miracles are simply incredible, because they contradict man’s normal experience.95 Since Hume
doubted that nothing could be known with absolute certainty, those phenomenon which took place
outside of the normal course of nature could never be accepted as true. Schleiermacher and others
explained the miraculous in terms of the unknown and misunderstood. Our Lord’s miracles were
‘relative miracles,’ as a savage might consider television, which he does not understand.96 The
Rationalistic School would have men believe that Christ never claimed to perform any miracles. Only
those who sought the spectacular found something miraculous in the records.97 Christ did not change
the water to wine at Cana, but merely provided a new supply of wine. He did not walk on the water, but
on the nearby shore. Others, Like Woolston have found the Gospel miracles to have no factual or
historical validity, but are merely ‘tales’ which contain a much deeper spiritual truth.98

Such are the views of the skeptics and critics of God’s Word. But for the sincere student of Scripture,
there is no satisfaction in these theories. The miracles are an integral part of our Lord’s ministry. They
not only authenticate His message; they are a vital part of it.99

We have been studying highlights in the Life and Ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have already dealt
with the period of preparation, and are now considering the presentation of Jesus as the Messiah, the
Savior of the world. The miracles of our Lord are an essential part of that presentation, for, in part, they
authenticate His claim as Messiah.

The Terms Employed

The miraculous works of our Lord Jesus were communicated by the use of three primary terms, each of
which accentuated one particular facet of the supernatural activity of Christ. These three terms are
found together in several passages. “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man
attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your
midst, just as you yourselves know” (, cf. also ; ).

The term ‘miracle’ (dunamis), emphasizes the mighty work that has been done, and, in particular, the
power by which it was accomplished. The event is described in terms of the power of God in action.

If ‘miracle’ emphasizes the cause of the miraculous event, ‘wonder’ (teras) , underscores its effect on
those who are witnesses. On many occasions, the crowds (even the disciples) were amazed and
astonished by the works of our Lord (e.g. , etc.). Origen pointed out long ago that this term ‘wonder’ is
never employed alone in the New Testament, but always in conjunction with some other term which
suggests something far greater than a mere spectacle.100
The most pregnant term used with reference to the miracles of our Lord is ‘sign’ (semeion), which
focuses upon the deeper meaning of the miracle.101 A sign is a miracle which conveys a truth about our
Lord Jesus. A miracle is usually a sign, but a sign need not always be a miracle (cf. ).

The miracles of our Lord are at one and the same time a visible manifestation of divine power (miracle)
an awe-inspiring spectacle (wonder), and an instructive revelation about God (sign).102

Classification of the Miracles

Perhaps the most common classification of the miracles of our Lord is into three categories: (1) those
which pertain to nature; (2) those which pertain to man; and, (3) those which pertain to the spirit
world.103

I find it helpful to distinguish between what can be called ‘Class A’ and ‘Class B’ miracles. ‘Class A’
miracles overrule or transcend the laws of nature. Such would be the case of our Lord’s walking on the
water (). Here the law of gravity was overruled. ‘Class B’ miracles do not overtly violate natural laws. For
example, the stilling of the storm did not appear to violate any natural law. Storms on this lake, we are
told, stopped as quickly as they commenced. The fact that it stopped at the time of our Lord’s rebuke is
evidence of His sovereignty over nature. ‘Class B’ miracles would be viewed by unbelievers as mere
coincidence. ‘Class A’ miracles, such as the raising of Lazarus were an outright affront to natural laws
and processes (thus the statement, ‘he stinks’ in , stressing the normal course of nature). Both
categories, ‘Class A’ and ‘Class B,’ are miracles, but ‘Class A’ miracles are more undeniably so to the
skeptic.

Characteristics of the Miracles of Our Lord

Miraculous deeds were not unknown to the age in which our Lord revealed Himself to men. But the
miracles which He accomplished were far different than those claimed by other religions. For a few
moments, we shall attempt to characterize the miracles of our Lord:104

(1) They were truly historical. In the Gospel accounts, the writers have not presented the miracles of our
Lord as anything other than actual events. They are not true myths, mythical stories with ‘spiritual
lessons,’ but real events conveying spiritual truths. The Miracles of other religions are far more mythical
in nature. Though perhaps not precisely stated, we can sense a kind of ‘once upon a time’ mood. Not so
in the Gospels.

(2) They were reasonable. The miracles of the Apocryphal Gospels are fantastic and questionable.105
They are completely out of character, with Jesus arbitrarily and capriciously using His supernatural
powers. In contrast, the Gospels show a highly ethical use of His power, in a way totally consistent with
His person.

(3) They were useful. Almost every miracle of our Lord was designed to meet a physical need. Our Lord
refused to employ His powers to satisfy His own appetites, or to ensure His protection. He turned down
every invitation to do the miraculous to satisfy idle curiosity (cf. ).
(4) They were accomplished openly. The miracles were performed in the most public situations, not oft
in a dark corner. While so many alleged ‘miracles’ of today defy documentation, those of our Lord were
mainly public.

(5) They were accomplished simply. Others who claimed to be ‘miracle workers’ always operated with a
great deal of ritual and ceremony. A ‘miracle’ was an extravaganza, a carrying-on with pomp and
circumstance. Our Lord most often merely spoke a word, and at times performed His miraculous deeds
at a distance (cf. ).

(6) They were accomplished instantly. With very few exceptions, the miracles of Jesus were completed
instantly and completely.

(7) They were accomplished in a variety of circumstances. While some could do their deeds only under
the most controlled environment, Jesus did His works under a great variety of circumstances. His powers
were demonstrated over nature, over sickness and disease, and over the forces of Satan. The sicknesses
He healed were of amazing variety.106

(8) They were accomplished on the basis of faith. The miracles of the Gospels were accomplished on the
basis of faith, either that of our Lord (cf. ), or of the one cured (cf. ), or of others who are concerned (cf. ,
). Where there was little faith, little was accomplished (cf. ).

(9) They were gratuitous. While in the cults, a fee of payments was expected, the miracles of our Lord
were free of charge. No fee was expected or accepted. Our Lord’s ministry, from start to finish, was one
of grace.

(10) They were free from retaliation. With the possible exception of the cursing of the fig tree () none of
the miracles of Jesus were of a punitive or negative variety. This is in contrast, not only to the desires of
his own disciples (), but also the practices of other ‘healers’ of His day, and even of what often occurred
in the Old Testament.107

(11) They were eschatological. The miracles of Jesus were evidence of the dawn of a new age. With the
presentation of Jesus as Messiah, a new age had begun. He had come to restore man from his fallen
state, and creation from the chaos resulting from sin. He had come to restore and to save. Man had
been placed an the earth to rule over it. When the last Adam (Jesus Christ) came nature immediately
recognized its master. When our Lord confronted sickness and disease He mastered it. He came to save,
and thus the word often used for healing was ‘to save.’108

The Purpose of the Miracles

Several purposes emerge from the Scriptures for the exercise of miracles by our Lord.

(1) They attracted men. Though not the primary thrust of our Lord’s miraculous ministry, one outcome
was that His miracles attracted men and women who were anxious to hear His message. To many, His
deeds were at least those of a prophet (cf. ). Here was a man with a message from God.
Our Lord made many attempts to avoid the spectacular and to arouse misdirected Messianic hopes (,
etc.). But we must also recall that it was the miraculous healing ministry of Jesus which drew the
multitudes to the place where the Sermon on the Mount was delivered ().

(2) They accredited Jesus. It was expected that when Messiah came He would be accredited by miracles.
When our Lord presented Himself at the synagogue in Nazareth, He quoted a passage from Isaiah
chapter 61:

“And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the place
where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel
to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set
free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord” () .

The people expected Messiah to present Himself by signs (). Our Lord’s power over demons
demonstrates the coming of the Kingdom: “But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the
Kingdom of God has come upon you” (). By reason of His work alone, men should receive Him as
Messiah ().

(3) They reveal God. As we have previously noted, the miracles of Jesus were not merely deeds to
authenticate the message of Messiah, but a vital part of that message. The miracles not only revealed
the power of God, but His person. In the miracles of Jesus we see the sympathy and compassion of God.
Jesus was deeply moved by human suffering and need (cf. ). These needs prompted Him to action.
Again, the miracles reveal Jesus to be the Redeemer and Restorer of a fallen universe. He came to save.

The Stilling of the Storm

()

Jesus had spent the entire day teaching the multitudes (verse 35), entering into a new phase of teaching
by the use of parables. No doubt, He was completely exhausted, as any preacher could testify. Our Lord
had been sitting in the little boat, and apparently without even getting out of the boat, they pushed
away from shore and set out for the other side of the lake, leaving the multitudes behind. Following
along were other little ships (verse 36).

Within moments, our Lord was in a deep sleep in the stern of the ship, resting an a cushion. (This is the
only reference in the Gospels to our Lord sleeping.) Some have piously referred to this sleep as the
slumber of faith. If I could be less spiritual, I would simply call it the slumber of fatigue. Once again the
humanity of our Lord Jesus is evidenced.

The Sea of Galilee was surrounded by hills, through which the winds violently funneled, creating violent
storms which ceased as quickly as began. Such a storm arose as they were in the middle of the lake. The
waves were lashing at the ship, filling it faster than the men could bail it out. Even these seasoned
sailors were terrified. Higher and higher the water rose within the ship as well as without. How
incongruous it must have seemed to the disciples for Jesus to be resting peacefully while they were
floundering helplessly.
When they could stand it no longer, they abruptly and rudely wakened the Master with words of
rebuke, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (). Although the synoptic writers describe the
event independently, Mark (as reported by Peter) chose to report their rudeness by the fact that He was
not called Master, or Lord, but only Teacher.

Many Bible students seem to think that the underlying problem was the lack of the disciples faith in
God’s protection since Messiah was in their midst. The ship, they tell us, could not have sunk.109 It is my
personal opinion that the disciples believed that Jesus was fully able to save them. That is why they
called on Him for help. The real problem of the disciples is precisely that of Christians today; they did not
rebuke Jesus for His inability, but rather for His indifference. “Teacher, do You not care that we are
perishing?” What irked these men was not that Jesus was helpless in the face of the storm but heedless
of it. They were sinking and He was sleeping! Don’t You care?

When Jesus was awakened, He rebuked the winds and the waves. The forces of nature recognized their
Lord even if the disciples did not. There was an immediate calm. But not only did the wind and the
waves need a word of rebuke, so did the faithless disciples. “Why are you so timid? How is it that you
have no faith?” (). You see, the ‘lack of faith’ for which Jesus rebuked His disciples was not a lack of faith
in His ability to save, but a lack of faith in His attentiveness to our needs. Their ‘God’ was able to save,
but insensitive to their need.

The words of our Lord, and even more, the obedience of the wind and the waves overcame the disciples
with wonder and awe. “Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” ().

The question of the disciples is probably rhetorical, and the answer is left for us to supply. That answer is
not difficult to arrive at. The Jews believed that only God had power over the winds and the seas. “O
Lord God of Hosts, who is like Thee, O mighty Lord? Thy faithfulness also surrounds Thee. Thou dost rule
the swelling of the sea; When its waves rise, Thou dost still them” ().

The disciples believed that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel, but because their concept of Messiah was
largely shaped by that of their contemporaries, they had much to learn. Their understanding of this One
would continue to increase, even until the time of His ascension. But now they are forced to the
conclusion that He was far more than they anticipated. He had authority even over the forces of nature.

Application

The unbelief of the disciples is just as evident in we who are Christians today as it was in that little ship,
tossed by the sea. It is not so much that we doubt God’s ability to save as it is God’s awareness of our
needs. We falsely suppose that because our Lord is with us the storms of life will pass us by. And when
the trials of life sweep full force over us and it seems that we are losing ground, here our faith is tested.
We impugn the character of God by challenging His failure to act in our defense. We wonder at why God
seems to be ‘asleep at the wheel’ while we are only too aware of our impending peril. We do not doubt
God’s power to act in our behalf; we wonder at His refusal to act. Can God really care for us and let us
sail headlong into disaster? It is God’s timing that we question. Our Lord’s sleep was that of human
fatigue, but God was not asleep, as Elijah accused Baal (). God delays His deliverance of men to the point
of despair so that His salvation will be acknowledged as totally divine. It was only when the disciples
were snatched from the jaws of death that they sensed their inability and His omnipotence. We must
trust God’s ability as well as His timing if we are to be people of faith.

The miracles of our Lord force us to come to a decision concerning Jesus Christ. He was no mere man.
His claims were either that of God or of a lunatic or a liar. The Person the Gospel writers present to us is
no mere man, and His mighty works (miracles) must be taken as seriously as He.

“But there are no such miracles today,” you respond. No, as such there are not. But it was not the
miracles alone which brought men to faith. It was belief in what our Lord said, in the final analysis. You
must respond by faith or rejection to the works of our Lord as documented by the Gospel writers. But
more than this you must place your faith in the Person of Jesus Christ Who came to bear the penalty for
your sins and to provide the righteousness which God requires for salvation. Ultimately, it is the
condition of your heart that determines your response to Jesus Christ and not the spectacular works
which He performed.

“But he said, ‘No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he
said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone
rises from the dead’” ().

93 “Having recounted various miracles wrought, as he affirms, by Appolonius, he proceeds thus: ‘Yet do
we not account him who has done such things for a god, only for a man beloved of the gods: while the
Christians, on the contrary, on the ground of a few insignificant wonder works, proclaim their Jesus for a
God.’” R. C. Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1949), p. 39.

94 Cf. R. C. Trench, Miracles, pp. 40-42.

95 Ibid., pp. 42-44.

96 Ibid., pp. 44-46.

97 Ibid., pp. 46-48.

98 “...Woolston undertook, by the engines of allegorical interpretation, to dislodge them from these
also, and with this view published his notorious Letters on the Miracles. It is his manner in these to take
certain miracles which Christ did, or which were wrought in relation to Him, two or three in a letter; he
then seeks to show that, understood in their literal sense, they are stuffed so full with extravagances,
contradictions, absurdities, that no reasonable man can suppose Christ actually to have wrought them;
while as little could the Evangelists, as honest men, men who had the credit of their Lord at heart, have
intended to record them as actually wrought, or desired us to receive them as other than allegories,
spiritual truths clothed in the garb of historic events. The enormous difference between himself and
those early Church writers, to whom he appeals, and whose views he professes to be only re-asserting,
is this: they said, This history, being real, has also a deeper ideal sense; he upon the contrary, Since it is
impossible that this history can be real, therefore it must have a spiritual significance. They build upon
the establishment of the historic sense, he upon its ruins.” Ibid., p. 49.
99 “There is an indissoluble connexion of proclamation, miracle, and faith. The Gospel miracle cannot be
isolated from this service. None of the miracles takes place in a vacuum. None of them takes place, or is
recounted, or claims significance, in and for itself. Their significance is only as actualizations of His Word,
as calls to repentance and faith.” Everett F. Harrison, A Short Life of Christ (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1968), p. 109.

“Wescott wrote, ‘They (miracles) are essentially a part of the revelation, and not merely a part of it.’
Warfield expressed himself similarly. ‘Miracles are not merely credentials of revelation, but vehicles of
revelation as well.’” Ibid., p. 116.

100 “Origen … long ago called attention to the fact that the name repara is never in the N.T. applied to
these words of wonder, except in association with some other name. ... The observation was well worth
the making; for the fact which we are thus bidden to note is indeed eminently characteristic of the
miracles of the N.T.; namely, that a title, by which more than any other these might seem to hold on to
the prodigies and portents of the heathen world, and to have something akin to them, should thus
never be permitted to appear, except in the company of some other necessarily suggesting higher
thoughts about them.” Richard Chenevix Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament (Marshallton,
Delaware: The National Foundation for Christian Education, n.d.), p. 320.

101 “In this word (‘sign’) the ethical purpose of the miracle comes out the most prominently, as in
“wonder” the least. They are signs and pledges of something more than and beyond themselves (Isai. vii.
11; xxxviii. 7); valuable, not so much for what they are, as for what they indicate of the grace and power
of the doer, or of the connection in which he stands with a higher world. Oftentimes they are thus seals
of power set to the person who accomplishes them (“the Lord confirming the word with signs
following,” Mark xvi. 20; Acts xiv. 3; Heb. ii. 4); legitimating acts, by which he claims to be accepted as a
messenger from God. “What sign shewest thou?” (John ii. 18) was the question which the Jews asked,
when they wanted the Lord to justify the things which He was doing, by showing that He had especial
authority to do them. St. Paul speaks of himself as having “the signs of an apostle” (2 Cor. xii. 12), in
other words, the tokens which designate him as such. Thus, too, in the Old Testament, when God sends
Moses to deliver Israel He furnishes him with two signs. He warns him that Pharaoh will require him to
legitimate his mission, to produce his credentials that he is indeed God’s ambassador; and equips him
with the powers which shall justify him as such, which, in other words, shall be his signs (Exod. vii. 9,10).
He “gave a sign to the prophet, whom He sent to protest against the will-worship of Jeroboam (1 Kin.
xiii. 3).” Miracles, pp. 4-5.

102 Cf. Calvin on 2 Cor. xii. 12: “They are called signs because they are no idle spectacles, but are
designed to teach. Prodigies (wonders), because by their unwontedness they should rouse and strike.
Powers or virtues (miracles), because they are greater indications of divine power than the things which
are seen in the ordinary course of nature.” Trench, Miracles, p. 6.

103 Cf. Harrison, A Short Life of Christ, pp. 112-113 for various classifications, including the one cited
above.

104 Most of these characteristics follow the suggestions of Harrison, A Short Life of Christ, pp. 113-115.
105 It may be well to cite a few examples in proof, however unpleasantly some of them may jar on the
Christian ear. Thus some children refuse to play with Him, hiding themselves from Him; He pursues and
turns them into kids. Another child by accident runs against Him, and throws Him down; whereupon He,
being exasperated, exclaims, ‘As thou hast made Me to fall, so shalt thou fall and not rise’; at the same
hour the child fell down and expired. Such is the image which the authors of these books give us of the
holy child Jesus. Even the miracles which are not of this revolting character are childish tricks, like the
tricks of a conjurer, never solemn acts of power and love. He and some other children make birds and
animals of clay; while each is boasting the superiority of his work, Jesus says, “I will cause those which I
have made to go,”—which they do, the animals leaping and the birds flying, and at his bidding returning,
and eating and drinking from his hand. While yet an infant at his mother’s breast, He bids a palm tree to
stop that she may pluck the dates; it obeys, and only returns to its position at his command. The
miracles which He does, so those that are done in his honour, are idle or monstrous; the ox and the ass
worshipping Him, a new-born infant in the crib, may serve for an example. Trench, Miracles, pp. 28-29.

106 “Jesus cured a wide variety of complaints. Making due allowance for the imprecise medical
terminology of the Gospels, we may distinguish various forms of paralysis, congenital defects like
blindness, deafness and dumbness, diseases like leprosy, dropsy and fever, hemorrhage, curvature of
the spine, and a severed ear. If even half of these are correctly diagnosed, the Gospel account of Jesus
healing ‘all kinds of diseases’ seems no exaggeration.” R. T. France, I Came to Set the Earth on Fire
(Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1976), p. 67.

107 “Those of the Old wear oftentimes a far severer aspect than those of the New. They are miracles,
indeed, of God’s grace, but yet also miracles of the Law, of that Law which worketh wrath, which will
teach, at all costs, the lesson of the awful holiness of God. Miracles of the Law, they preserve a character
that accords with the Law; being oftentimes fearful outbreaks of God’s anger against the
unrighteousness of men; such for instance are the signs and wonders in Egypt, many of those in the
desert (Num. xvi. 31; Lev. x. 2), and some which the later prophets wrought (2 Kin. i. 10-12; ii. 23-25);
leprosies are inflicted (Num. xii. 10; 2 Chr. xxvi. 19), not removed; a sound hand is withered and dried up
(1 Kin. xiii. 4), not a withered hand restored. Not but that these works also are for the most part what
our Lord’s are altogether and with no single exception, namely, works of evident grace and mercy. I
affirm this of all our Lord’s miracles; for that single one, which seems an exception, the cursing of the
barren fig-tree, has no right really to be considered such. He needed to declare, not in word only but in
act, what would be the consequences of an obstinate unfruitfulness and resistance to his grace, and
thus to make manifest the severer side of his ministry. He chose for the showing out of this, not one
among all the sinners who were about Him, but displayed his power upon a tree, which, itself incapable
of feeling, might yet effectually serve as a sign and warning to men. He will allow no single exception to
the rule of grace and love. When He blesses, it is men; but when He smites, it is an unfeeling tree.”
Trench, Miracles, pp. 25-26.

108 “The word commonly employed of our Lord’s gracious acts is heal, but now and again the word is
save (to make sound or whole), pointing to a connection between the restoration of afflicted bodies and
the saving of the soul. The Lord came to redeem the whole man. Not infrequently the healing of the
body was closely linked to a pronouncement of forgiveness of sins, as in the case of the paralytic who
was brought by his four friends (Mk. 2:1-12). The Savior bore men’s sickneases and infirmities in the
days of public ministry, and their sins he bore at its close.” Harrison, A Short Life of Christ, p. 117.

109 Geldenhuys, for example, states, “Just as it was impossible for that ship, with the Redeemer of the
world on board, to founder, no matter how many storms broke over it, so it is equally impossible for the
church of Christ, the body of which He Himself is the Head and Preserver, ever to be destroyed,
notwithstanding all the forces of hell that continually assail it.” Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary on the
Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1951), pp. 252-253.

Related Topics: Christology,