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The Purpose of Miracles




God does not perform miracles solely or primarily for our pleasure. They are not generated solely or primarily for our immediate benefit. They don’t flow from the hands of the men of God solely or primarily to bring us relief or healing. They certainly were not commonplace in the biblical narrative, but are instead localized to short bursts of time where God is overtly turning history on the hinges of his plans. They weren’t even performed as a means of proving the reality of his “I am-ness.” In fact, Paul tells us that miracles aren’t needed for that because God’s “being” is clearly evidenced from the very creation that surrounds us (Romans 1:19-20). 


Instead, miracles are done because they validate the message of God and the messenger who delivers that message.  One of the primary purposes of miracles, then, is to authenticate God’s operation in any given moment.  The gospel historian, Luke, gives us one wonderful example of this in Acts 9:32-35. In that passage, Peter is traveling around the area and visiting with the followers of Christ when he comes upon some Christians in the village of Lydda.  In that village lived a paralyzed man named Aeneas.  Luke is careful to tell us that Aeneas had been paralyzed for eight years.  This means that everyone in the town would have been perfectly aware of his affliction.  Peter told Aeneas that Jesus Christ had healed him, then commanded him to get up and make his bed. He obeyed that command and everyone in the village of Lydda saw that Aeneas no longer suffered from paralysis.  Those that didn’t already know Christ, then turned to the Lord! Luke’s inclusion of the miracle and its details validated the credibility of God working through Peter, because anyone in doubt could easily verify the story by simply asking the residents of Lydda what happened there. Though it pleased God to heal Aeneas, and though it certainly brought Aeneas relief, the reason God worked the miracle through Peter was to confirm the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and to authenticate Peter as his servant and mouthpiece. Interestingly, the eight year paralysis of Aeneas served the purpose of providing an opportunity to display the power of God and to lend credence to his gospel messenger.  If Aeneas had only been paralyzed for a day, Peter's miracle could be called in to question as staged.


Peter’s miracle was similar in purpose to that of Jesus himself when he healed the blind man in John 9.  That man’s blindness wasn’t because of any kind of sin, but instead, was for the purpose of giving an opportunity to Jesus for a display of God’s power, and to validate himself as the judge of the world who will bring sight to the blind while revealing the blindness those who refuse to see.  


None of this means that God won’t perform a miracle in our lives if we ask.  And it doesn’t mean that “a” purpose of miracles can’t be to bring us individually something good. In fact, the bible has many scriptures attesting to God’s expectation that we petition him in prayer.  It simply means that miracles serve a greater purpose than any one person’s individual good. So pray for miracles, and celebrate God’s glory wherever you see them!  

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