Session 2 Are Miracles Relevant?
Are Miracles Relevant?
THE POINT
Miracles are acts of God that point to Jesus and glorify Him.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
One reason Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is popular is because it helps people account for the existence of life without the need for the existence of God. Since Charles Darwin first proposed his theory, evolutionary scientists have worked feverishly to show how natural processes can account for the existence of life and for the many life forms on earth. The primary types of evidence they use to make their case are:
- the remains of ancient organisms,
- fossil layers,
- similarities among organisms that are alive today,
- similarities in DNA,
- similarities of embryos.
The problem is that none of these demonstrate scientifically even the possibility that naturalistic evolution is true. A naturalistic interpretation of their evidence is dependent upon their naturalistic worldview beliefs, not on science. In other words, their idea of evolution is purely a religious belief with no scientific basis at all.
The Bible expresses an entirely different world-view belief where God not only exists, but He is able to interact with His creation in ways that are outside of natural laws. The apostle John has given us some powerful insight into God’s use of miracles in the world.
Question 1:
What’s one of your favorite stories to tell about an unbelievable moment?
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
John 10:22-26
22 Then the Festival of Dedication took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23 Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 “I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them. “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify about me. 26 But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep.”
Jesus was certainly a powerful speaker, and many people believed in Him because of His authoritative and deep teachings. But it was not just His profound words that got people’s attention. He often performed amazing miracles in their presence. In fact, just prior to the events in this passage, Jesus had given sight to a man born blind (John 9:1-7). But human beings seem to have an amazing capacity to ignore what is right in front of their faces if it doesn’t correspond to what they already believe.
The account in John 10:22-39 took place during the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) in Jerusalem in late November or early December. As Jesus was walking in the temple portico, the Jews spotted Him and crowded around Him. As they did, they began peppering Him with questions. In particular, they were obsessed with knowing if He was the promised Messiah, and they were focused on asking Him about that.
Jesus fired back that He had already answered that question, but they just couldn’t bring themselves to believe what He was teaching. The reason they were having a difficult time believing Him was because He wasn’t giving them an answer that corresponded to their concept of the Messiah. Although many of those people had actually seen Jesus perform miracles, or at least had heard about them, they were still not sure.
Jesus knew that the beliefs and motives of those in the crowd were wrong, so He rebuked their questioning by telling them, “I did tell you and you don’t believe.” Then He followed up with a rather shocking statement. The reason they didn’t believe was “because you are not of my sheep.”
Jesus knew they didn’t understand the nature of His messiahship. He also knew that if He, at that moment, directly claimed to be the Messiah, they would try to force Him into a military/political role according to their own messianic expectation, rather than allow Him to carry out the messianic role He had actually come to fulfill.
So, what exactly did Jesus mean when He said, “But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep”? They were not Jesus’s sheep because their beliefs did not match up with God’s reality. They were looking for a Messiah, and because of Jesus’s profound teachings and His amazing miracles, He seemed to fit the bill. But their definition of Messiah was different from the definition Jesus was preaching. Jesus’s messiahship was based on an entirely different worldview foundation. Rather than focusing on this world as the people were expecting, Jesus was proclaiming a spiritual kingdom. Unfortunately, the people rejected what Jesus was offering.
Jesus is rejected today for the same reason those in Jesus’s day rejected Him: They don’t believe the message or the miracles He performed. Even though God is still in the business of performing miracles by changing people’s lives, healing people in various ways, and even guiding the events in the world to accomplish His purposes, those who don’t believe simply don’t see it. And when they don’t see it for themselves, they reject the message of the gospel when it’s shared with them.
Question 2:
What can we learn about Jesus by looking at His miracles?
John 14:8-11
8 “Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who lives in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.
It’s understandable when non-believers do not recognize the work of God in the world. After all, their most foundational beliefs don’t even recognize the existence of the God of the Bible. They believe Christian beliefs are fantasy. In John 14, though, it was Jesus’s disciples who were struggling with the meaning of Jesus’s messiahship. It’s not that they didn’t believe, but they didn’t yet fully understand all His messiahship entailed.
In particular, the disciples struggled with understanding Jesus’s relationship with the Father. Jesus had just told them He was the only way to the Father (John 14:6). Of course, this wasn’t the first time Jesus connected Himself to God the Father (5:19; 6:38; 10:15), but Philip wanted to settle the matter: “Show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.”
Jesus had to be disappointed that they still didn’t get it, but He proceeded to be about as direct as possible: “The one who has seen me has seen the Father.” With that, Jesus continued making His point by asking rhetorical questions about what they themselves had heard and seen during their time with Him.
Jesus concluded by admonishing them to: “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” But sensing that they were still struggling, Jesus appealed to one more piece of evidence that He was, indeed, the Messiah. He told them, “Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.” The miracles He had performed proved Jesus’s connection to the Father.
It can be easy for us on this side of the cross to look down on the disciples for their lack of understanding. But before we get too self-righteous, we must acknowledge that believers today also struggle with understanding. Many Christians don’t really know the Scriptures and merely accept the words of some preacher or TV evangelist. Some blindly accept the unbiblical morality presented to them by the news media and the entertainment industry. As a result, many who look to Jesus as their Savior fail to believe and live in ways consistent with the whole of Scripture. This is why so many self-professed Christians believe in the theory of evolution and others who claim to follow Jesus live immoral lifestyles.
It’s critical to make biblical worldview beliefs our bottom line. But it’s also essential to recognize that biblical beliefs aren’t merely a matter of intellectual knowledge. To personally hold a biblical worldview, we have to actually live within our personal relationship with God as we walk with Him daily. Jesus asked Philip, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip?” The key to a biblical worldview is experiencing an objectively real personal relationship with Jesus. What was true for Jesus’s disciples is true for us as well.
Question 3:
What obstacles prevent many from accepting the truth of who Jesus is?
John 14:12-14
12 “Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
Typically, people tend to have a far too narrow understanding of miracles. The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines miracles as “events which unmistakably involve an immediate and powerful action of God designed to reveal His character or purposes.”1 The most common images of miracles people tend to have are things like physical healing, the defying of the laws of nature, casting out evil spirits, and so forth. But the most profound miracle of all is the transformation that takes place in people’s lives when they receive Christ.
Engage
Miracle Worker
Choose one of the following areas in which you’ve seen God work in your life. Then answer the question.
____Forgave my sin ___Helped me get well ___Met a financial need
___Resolved a conflict ___Provided an opportunity ___Called me to service
How did this event affect your faith?
When Jesus told His disciples that “the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these,” He wasn’t telling them that they would necessarily be feeding thousands of people with a small amount of food or raising people from the dead. Jesus never did miracles simply for the sake of showing off His magnificent power. In every case, Jesus had a greater purpose in performing a miracle. The purpose was to point people to God. In fact, the apostle John, in his gospel, typically referred to Jesus’s miracles as “signs”—acts that pointed to something else. And the “something else” in this case is a personal relationship with God. Jesus’s main point in sharing this teaching with His disciples was to express to them that He knew He was about to leave them, but that His ministry would continue through them.
Question 4:
How is it that we can do even greater works than Jesus did?
In verse 13, Jesus shared with His disciples the motive for the amazing works they would do as they ministered the gospel in the world after He was gone. He told them, “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” Jesus wasn’t telling His disciples that they could just ask for anything and Jesus would give it to them as if He were a spiritual vending machine. Rather, they were to ask specifically for things that would bring glory to the Father.
One of the key concepts Jesus shared here was that when they were asking for something, they would be asking “in my name.” In that time, a person’s name was considered to be equivalent to the person. So, when the disciples asked for something “in my [Christ’s] name,” they would be asking based on His authority. This brings us to the bottom line of Jesus’s teaching. In verse 14, He continued, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” Based on the qualifications expressed in the previous verse, Jesus was telling His disciples He would give them anything they asked when they asked based on His name (by His authority). The unspoken assumption is, then, that they would not be asking for things that didn’t bring glory to the Father.
There are, certainly, times when God will use one of His followers in a miraculous way. The sad truth, though, is that many people will still not respond to God, even if they see a miracle. Jesus acknowledged that reality in a parable He told about the rich man and Lazarus. From hell, the rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers to convince them to change their ways so they wouldn’t end up in hell as he did. Abraham told him, “If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31). The important thing to know is that it’s not the performing of a miracle that’s central, but the accomplishing of God’s purpose.
Question 5:
How is praying in Jesus’s name sometimes misinterpreted?
LIVE IT OUT
Miracles are acts of God that point people to Jesus and glorify Him. Choose one of the following activities:
Confront doubt. If you struggle with believing miracles are possible, consider what your doubts might say about your belief in God. Be willing to trust that the all-powerful God is capable of doing the miraculous and things we cannot explain.
Embrace the miracle in your life. The greatest miracle God performs is the spiritual transformation He carries out through Christ in the lives of those who put their faith in Him. Trust Christ and let Him work the miracle of making you a new person.
Share the miracle. Let people see the miraculous work God has done in your life and be prepared to share that miracle with them. “But in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet. 3:15).
1. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2015),
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