Reflections on Biblical Themes by an Octogenarian. Reuben J. Swanson

Mark 1.32–34, Matthew 8.16–17, Luke 4.40–41 and

      (30) Mark 3.7–12, Matthew 12.15–21, Luke 6.17–19.

      There are three additional references to such general healings in Mark and Matthew:

      (31) Mark 1.39, Matthew 4.23,

      (32) Mark 6.5, Matthew 13.58, and

      (33) Mark 6.53–56, Matthew 14.34–36.

      Matthew and Luke refer to

      (34) numerous healings and also to the raising of the dead in the report Jesus sends with the messengers of the Baptist (Matthew 11.5; Luke 7.22).

      Matthew has additional general references at

      (35) 9.35,

      (36) 14.14, and

      (37) 15.29–31.

      Luke includes such references at

      (38) 5.15,

      (39) 7.21,

      (40) 8.2,

      (41) 9.11, and

      (42) 13.32.

      The disciples also accomplished

      (43) healings and exorcisms as reported in Mark 6.7, 16;Matthew 10.1, 8, and Luke 9,1, 6; and again by Luke

      (44) for the mission of the seventy (Luke 10.17).

      The Absence of Signs and Wonders in the Jerusalem Ministry

      It should be noted that all of these references, with the exception of the cursing of the fig tree (Mark 11.12–14, 20–26; Matthew 21.18–22) and the healing of the ear of the servant of the high priest (Luke 22.49–51), occur in the ministry of Jesus prior to his arrival in Jerusalem. The question is certainly in order: Why the absence of signs and wonders for this period of Jesus’ ministry? Since the signs and wonders form such a large portion of his ministry in Galilee and for his journey to Jerusalem and since the gospels report the phenomenal impression these signs and wonders made upon the people, it is strange that Jesus did not use this medium to create a more receptive attitude to himself and for his message in Jerusalem. Perhaps the sign of the raising of Lazarus in John’s Gospel provides the answer for the question, a sign that will be discussed elsewhere in this essay.

      The Problem of the Use of the Vernacular “Miracle”

      The first problem encountered in our discussion of the signs and wonders is the popular attitude towards and the understanding of this material in our gospels. In our current vocabulary these narratives are most often called “miracle” stories with all the innuendoes and implications that this word carries for popular religion. But the word “miracle” as such is never used in the gospels for the deeds of Jesus. They are referred to as signs, wonders, and mighty works. They are evidences, as in the Old Testament, of the presence and of the activity of God in the world that he has created. The word “miracle” is not appropriate as a reference to or for an understanding of these events and experiences, since it carries overtones and meanings that are improper when applied to the deeds of Jesus. For example, Webster’s Unabridged International Dictionary defines the word as follows: “An event or effect in the physical world beyond or out of the ordinary course of things, deviating from the known laws of nature, or transcending our knowledge of these laws; an extraordinary, anomalous, or abnormal event brought about by superhuman agency as a manifestation of its power, or for the purpose of revealing or manifesting spiritual force.” Some dictionary definitions add to this explanation that a miracle is a suspension of or an interruption of the natural laws.

      Unfortunately, the meaning of deviation from or transcendence of the laws of nature has been the dominant theme in popular religious explanations of the signs and wonder stories in our gospels. Thus God is viewed as acting arbitrarily, impulsively, capriciously, and whimsically. He has the authority and the power to do whatever he wills whenever the spirit moves him. He can act in behalf of his clients or withhold his power arbitrarily and capriciously. But this is to reduce God to the level of human impulse and character. God is no longer the Creator God, Lord of heaven and earth, holy, righteous, just, and loving in all that he does. Only one leper, or ten in Luke’s singular account, were cleansed of their leprosy; yet there must have been many, many lepers in Jesus’ time left to the ravages of this disease. Why did not God cleanse all the lepers and destroy this scourge of mankind if he had the power to accomplish this since he is the loving God? Jesus must have encountered death among his friends and associates on numerous occasions, but there are only two accounts in our three gospels of the raising of the dead, the twelve year old daughter of Jairus and the young man at Nain, again a story reported only in Luke’s gospel.

      To refer to these events as miracles with the implication that God interrupted or defied the laws of nature in these instances is to raise the question of the goodness of God. What meaning or power can these stories have for us today as the gospel of God if they only recall that once upon a time God acted arbitrarily in behalf of a few individuals and ignored the great majority of those persons whom he had created? Of what value are these stories to us, if they become the basis for our own image of God, a God who acts in this same selective and exclusive fashion today? It is a parody to interpret the signs and wonder stories of the gospels as miracles, that is, as acts of God in which he deviates from the laws of nature and arbitrarily ignores them in an impulsive and whimsical fashion.

      The Biblical Image of God

      God is the Creator God who has brought into being the universe and all that is within it. He has fashioned and made it according to his will, and the laws of nature that govern and regulate its functions are expressions of that will. God is true. He is true to himself. He is faithful and trustworthy in all that he does. That means he never acts capriciously, impulsively, or arbitrarily. There is meaning and purpose for all his deeds and all his acts work together toward the realization of his eternal and immutable purpose. We can affirm with the Apostle Paul that “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8.21). No part of that creation is arbitrarily excluded from the redemptive purpose and intention of God.

      The Intention and Purpose of the Signs and Wonder Stories