Miracles

“If only I could see a miracle, I would believe.” How often have you heard that from people who are “on the fence?” This is not to minimize anyone’s true seeking spirit, but often what they say is just not factual. We see many examples in Scripture.

Jesus in Matthew 16:4 commented on those who asked Him for a sign.
An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.
Luke 11:29
As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah.
(And they did not believe that sign, like Ninevah did.)

Jesus again Mark 8:11, 12
The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. 12 Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, “Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

John 6:26 
Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.

And the quintessential, in the negative sense, can be found in the Old Testament. The Jewish nation, in general, and King Solomon, in particular, did not believe because of wonderful signs. We all know the sad story of the Jews just days out of Egypt, having passed through the Red Sea, and through most of their history, that they refused to believe.

Perhaps the saddest story is found in 2 Chronicles 7:1-3. King Solomon has just finished the dedication of the Temple and...well read it for yourself:
Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house.
He saw fire fall from heaven. At other times this had happened, the text notes that the people “gave a shout, and fell on their faces!” No surprise there.

Yet Solomon drifted away from the Lord. Turn to 2 Chronicles 8:11-13.
Then Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the city of David to the house which he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy where the ark of the Lord has entered.” 12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord which he had built before the porch; 13 and did so according to the daily rule, offering them up according to the commandment of Moses, for the sabbaths, the new moons and the three annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths.

Why would Solomon keep his wife separate from “the places are holy where the ark of the Lord has entered?” I think we find the answer in 1 Kings 11:4 
For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.

Syncretism is a big and bad word that fits this. It is the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought. In other words, Solomon merged his belief in Yahweh with the beliefs of his wives, perhaps thinking that this would be an improvement. It was not.

But, in the end, he came back. Perhaps the memory of what God had done kept him in touch and eventually pulled him back into the harbor. I like the example of John, discussed below, better. I want to be like John. There is an old spiritual song, referring to Revelation that goes, “Walk in Jerusalem, Just like John.” Walk, just like John. (Link below.)

So why did Jesus do miracles? Look at Mark 2:10
But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.” 12 And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Jesus did not do, nor does He do miracles now to just impress people. The purpose is to prove that He can “heal” souls. He can forgive sins and give us real life, eternal life. And those changes are permanent. They do not fade with time.

For a truly seeking soul, miracles can and will have a profound effect. In spite of seeing the Lord perform miracles for three years, all of the disciples, except John, doubted and ran away. But, once the risen Lord Jesus appeared to them, they became immovable stalwarts of belief. Peter changed from a cowering coward, denying that he knew Jesus to the megaphone broadcasting the message to the temple mount and leading 3,000 others to believe. In the end, he died for his belief in and devotion to Jesus.

The rest of the band were no less transformed. James died for his stance. In fact all of them did, except John, who was persecuted for over 60 years. He, as his fellow disciples, did not yield.

Paul was another notable exception to our miracle seekers. He also met the risen Christ and was moved even farther than Peter was. Peter was mediocre, or lukewarm follower such as the ones in the Laodicean church which Jesus chided, but Paul was a ranting, raving dynamo of persecution and even murder. No believer was safe, that is until he, Paul, met Jesus. He also died for his testimony after he took the  message to a major portion of the world.

That is why the Lord still does miracles. They are not for the “gee whiz” value of amusing people, but to ratify the faith of those who are faltering or sincerely seeking.

Should we pray for miracles? Absolutely. We never know the state of a person’s heart. He or she may be at the cusp of belief and the miracle will be the impetus to drive them the final step.

Isn’t God great? He meets our needs all the time. All the time, He meets our needs.

You get a choice.
Walk in Jerusalem Just Like John
(Tennessee Earnie Ford)
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Walk-In+Jerusalem+by+the+Jordanaires+YouTube&&view=detail&mid=6846AD9DD43BECDBA4256846AD9DD43BECDBA425&rvsmid=833F37CC5CC0594FD899833F37CC5CC0594FD899&FORM=VDQVAP

Golden Gate Quartet Scratchy–old recording)
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+golden+gate+quartet+walk+in+jerusalem+just+like+john&docid=608025483834950117&mid=D2454454E0D07F82253CD2454454E0D07F82253C&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

Or I have a recording of the LeTourneau College Quartet. Great! :>)