The Biblical Concept of Miracles

MIRACLES IN THE BIBLE

Throughout the bible, miracles are presented as a way in which God shows his love, concern and protection for
humanity. God is not just a transcendent creator who is aloof/unconcerned with his creation, but is involved
with humanity like a loving parent. He will sometimes interfere with the natural order of things to express his
concern.

The biblical view of God is of an interventionist God. The occurrence of miracles in both the Old and New
Testaments are seen as evidence for the rule of God in the world.

OLD TESTAMENT

Miracles in the Old Testament are generally acts of God that support and help the faithful. They
demonstrate God's glory and bring punishment to the wicked or those who oppose God/His people.

● E.g. in Exodus, when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt away from slavery. When Moses asked the
Egyptian pharaoh to free the Israelites he refused, and with each refusal a plague was sent down by
God, affecting only the Egyptians. This also includes the famous parting of the Red Sea.

NEW TESTAMENT

Miracles in the New Testament centre on the person of Jesus Christ. There are over 30 recorded miracles in
the four gospels, and scholars tend to divide these miracles into categories:

● Healings, e.g. healing the blind man, healing the paralysed man
● Nature miracles, e.g. walking on water, stilling the storm
● Exorcisms, e.g. Jesus casting out evil spirits from Mary Magdalene (Mark:16)

These miracles are recorded by the writers of the gospels as demonstrations of the Kingdom of God (the rule of
an eternal sovereign God over all living things). They bear witness to the fact that Jesus is the promised
Messiah and that a new era is being unveiled, or a new covenant. They also show that God will have the final
victory.

However, does the difference between the OT and the NT disprove God's existence?

UNDERSTANDING THESE MIRACLES

Over the last 200 years, advancements in science have left many educated Christians to abandon belief that the
events described in the Bible actually happened. Instead, they argued for the importance of the messages
conveyed.

● Form critics, e.g. Gunkel, argued that the key to understanding miracle accounts was understanding
the period in which the stories were passed on orally, rather than being written down (the issue of
hermeneutics - different interpretations)
● Rudolph Bultmann attempted to demythologize the New Testament accounts. By removing the
supernatural elements, he argued that it is possible to get closer to the real message of Jesus.