MIRACLE

Greetings, peace and blessings in Jesus Christ

Meaning of miracle.
The word miracle in English comes from the Latin word miraculum, which means something amazing, astonishing, extraordinary, and not explainable by natural means. Miracles are distinguished from natural events which are constant and predictable, because miracles are out of the natural order, out of ordinary happenings.

Greek word for miracle.
The Greek word most used by the New Testament as miracle is semeion, which is found 77 times, 13 of them in Matthew, 7 in Mark, 10 in Luke and 17 in John. Another Greek word used in the New Testament is teras, which means wonder, as when Jesus said that the false christs show signs and wonders to deceive (Mark 13:22; Matthew 24:24). Related to the word miracle is the Greek verb thaumazo, which is found 43 times in the New Testament and means to be amazed, atonished, as when we read that all marveled about Jesus, because He cast out the demons at Gadara (Mark 5:20).

Synonyms of the word miracle.
The New Testament uses other words as synonyms or equivalent to the word miracle; it calls it also sign or signal, in the sense that a miracle is a signal of something divine. It uses also wonder, as we said before, meaning the power behind the miracle; marvel, which represents the amazing side of the event, as happened with the healing of the paralytic: And they were all amazed, saying: We have seen strange things today (Luke 5:20). From all the words to express the meaning and supernatural content of a miraculous fact, the best one is miracle

Jesus demanded faith to make miracles.
The requisite demanded by Jesus to make miracles was faith. Do not be afraid; only believe, ?Jesus said to Jairus (Mark 5:36); and to the father of the son who had a mute spirit, Jesus said to him: If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23). Jesus also said to the apostles when they were unable to heal, that it was precisely because of their unbelief: If you have faith as a mustard seed... nothing will be impossible for you (Matthew 17:20).

Theological purpose of the miracle.
Every true miracle has a theological aim, that is, has a supernatural motive and purpose. Moses' miracles before Pharaoh, for instance, were the credentials for Moses that he was speaking on behalf of God (Exodus 7 to 11); Jesus' miracles were the sign that He was the Messiah and that the kingdom of God had come, as Jesus said to the messengers of John the Baptist: Go and tell John the things which you hear and see (Matthew 11:4; Luke 7:22). God does not make miracles by caprice; when the Pharisees asked Jesus a sign from heaven, He didn't want to please them because they asked from curiosity, not by faith (Mark 8:11-12; Matthew 16:1).

Supernatural motive of the miracle.
When God suspends the natural order He does so, for a supernatural motive, He does so for Himself; this is more important than the miraculous fact itself, that is, what is important in a miracle is what God wants to tell with the miracle. When John, for instance, refers to the miracles of Jesus, he says: These signs are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31); and when Jesus wanted to heal the paralytic, He joined the spiritual healing with the physical, saying: Son, your sins are forgiven you (Mark 2:5), to show that the physical miracle was ordained to the spiritual healing.

Classification of the miracles of Jesus.
Jesus' miracles could be classified as follows: a) miracles of healing; b) exorcisms; c) miracles in nature; and d) miracles over the dead. The miracles of Jesus are enumerated below according to the preceding classification, following Mark's order, and showing the parallel places of the other evangelists. The gospel of Mark is usually preferred for quotations from the gospels, because it was the first to be written and the least subjected to future interpolations.


In our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Waqar Daniel