We can ask
many questions about the miracles of Jesus. How did Jesus do them? Did they
really happen? Are miracles possible? And on and on. I want to ask a different
question. Why did Jesus do miracles? Why did Jesus heal the paralyzed man? Why
did Jesus heal the officer’s son?
First, let's think briefly about these other questions. How did Jesus do them? We don’t
know, but I like an idea from C.S. Lewis: “Miracles are a retelling in small
letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in
letters too large for some of us to see.”
Think of
the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus took two fish and five loaves and
multiplied them to feed a huge crowd. That is what God is always doing. Farmers
plant seed in the ground and it multiplies. According to Google, one grain of
wheat multiplies; it becomes something like 100 to 250 grains of wheat during a
growing season. When Jesus fed the crowd, he did quickly and immediately what
God is always doing: multiplying food until there is enough for everyone. This
thought – that miracles are written in small enough letters for us to see what
God is saying – gives us an idea of why Jesus might do miracles, but let’s
bracket that thought for a moment.
Did Jesus
really do miracles? Our rationalistic secular minds rebel against the thought of
miracles. One of the basic reasons that some leave their faith is the trouble
they have believing in miracles. We don’t have time to go into this question
today. I can recommend C.S. Lewis’ book, Miracles, in which he examines
the rationality of believing in miracles. It is enough for us to say this
morning that there are good reasons to believe in miracles, even if our culture
struggles with them. We should be skeptical when people call something a
miracle. We should analyze the evidence for any given event carefully, but
ruling miracles out automatically is close-minded and irrational. For now, I
simply note that I believe God does sometimes write in letters small enough to
see – what we call a miracle.
If Jesus
does miracles of healing today, as he did during his earthly life, why doesn’t
he heal the person I was praying for? That’s a question that we struggle with,
and it brings us closer to the question, “Why miracles at all?” It’s a tough
question. My mother died at 71 years old. Why did God not intervene to heal her
following her heart surgery, a valve transplant? Mother was the glue that held
our family together. She died at 71. Dad loved her deeply and tried to do what
she had done. He couldn’t. He lived another 27 years. Why didn’t Jesus heal
her?
We can
torment ourselves with questions like this, and it is best not to dwell on
them. Isaiah said long ago, “Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The Lord is
the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He doesn’t grow
tired or weary. His understanding is beyond human reach” (Isaiah 40: 28). Who
can understand God? No one! That is a basic point that the book of Job makes. Still,
we want to understand, so we come back to our question, why does God do
miracles at all? Let’s talk through the passages from John and see what they suggest.
John 4
We start
with a royal official in Capernaum (possibly an official in Herod’s court – a
cut above Jesus socially) in John 4. His son is dying, and he knows that Jesus
is healing people who are ill. He hears that Jesus is coming to Cana, about 26
km., so he finds him and asks him to heal his dying son. Jesus responds in a
curious way: “Unless you see miraculous signs and wonders, you won’t believe.” It’s
as if he is speaking to the crowd that pressed around him wherever he went.
What could he mean? Perhaps he meant, “I am teaching you how to live. I am
bringing God’s reign to earth, but all you are interested in is a miraculous
show. Listen to what I’m saying!”
The
official is focussed on helping his son and repeats his request. Almost
pleading, adding “Please!” This time Jesus reassures him. He doesn’t offer to
come and see the son or do anything more. He simply says, “I’ve healed him. Go
home.” In a remarkable display of trust, the official goes home, where he
discovers that at the very moment Jesus spoke, his son started to recover.
John adds
a note of explanation: “The official and his entire household believed in
Jesus. This was the second miraculous sign Jesus did while
going from Judea to Galilee.” What does this explanation say to our question,
“Why miracles?” It suggests 1) that Jesus performed the miracle to help the
family come to faith in him, and 2) that it was a sign of his identity. Note
that the idea of faith (believe in Jesus) includes trusting and following. The
synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) regularly use the language of
following. Jesus calls people, “Follow me.” John uses the word “believe”, by
which he means trust and follow. When John says that the family believed in
Jesus, he has in mind this holistic belief: “trust and obey, for there’s no
other way.”
John 5
The scene
shifts to Jerusalem, to “Bethsaida Pool”, where a crowd of sick people sat by
the pool. They believed that an angel from God would periodically stir up the
waters. Whoever could get into the water in time would be healed. One poor man
had been trying to get into the water in time for 38 years, without success. It
must have been an exhaustive and frustrating experience. Jesus spoke to him. “Do
you want to be healed?” “Well, I can’t get into the water in time.” Jesus
doesn’t sympathize or make suggestions. He says simply, “Pick up your mat and let’s
go!” The sick man did. Healed, without any magic from the pool. Better, after
38 years of agony. I must admit I wonder why God let him lie there for 38 years
before healing him.
The man
was healed on the Sabbath, which led to interaction with the religious leaders.
We discover that the healed man did not know who his benefactor was. When he
found out, Jesus implies that his misfortune included some kind of rebellion on
his part. “Don’t sin anymore, lest something worse happens to you.” The man
responds by telling the religious leaders that Jesus had healed him. He
becomes, if you will, a witness to the inbreaking kingdom of God.
The
passage closes with conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders. The
leaders recognize that the way Jesus talks and acts suggests an identification
with God. They are right. Although this miracle is not called a sign, it serves
to point people to faith in Jesus as the Son of God.
Back to
the Question
So, we
return to our question, “Why did Jesus perform these miracles?” Let me suggest
three reasons from these accounts.
1) Jesus
delights in giving us what we need. He wanted the official’s son to be
healed. He wanted the man at the pool to be healed. Jesus wants you and me to
be healthy and whole. This truth can be carried too far. Some people turn it
into what we call the prosperity gospel. They are wrong. This truth remains:
Jesus wants us to be healthy and whole. The deeper truth is that when we are in
trouble – financially, physically, spiritually, mentally – God will give us
what we need. God may use a miracle, or the abilities placed in medical
professionals, or a friend who cares. But be sure of this, it is God who gives
you what you need, however it comes.
A couple
of weeks ago, a former colleague from Providence visited us in Steinbach. As we
talked together, we learned that he had a close encounter with prostate cancer.
His PSA numbers were off the chart, and the doctor told him, “You have two
years to live – unless you are willing to try one last treatment. No
guarantees, but it’s worth trying.” He took the chance and today he is
cancer-free. His response? To thank God for giving the doctors the wisdom and
the tools to provide a response to the cancer that had invaded his body.
The basis
for our confidence in God’s goodness is the creation truth that God made us for
an intimate relationship with God. I was struck anew with this foundational
truth seen in Genesis 3. After they eat of the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve
hide from God. In verse 9, we read, “The Lord God called to the man and
said to him, ‘Where are you?’”
French and
German translations bring out something that we may miss in English. In French:
“Mais l’Eternel Dieu appela l’homme et lui demanda: Où es-tu?” God uses the
familiar “tu” for you. In German: “Und Gott der HERR rief Adam und sprach zu
ihm: Wo bist du?” God uses the familiar “du” for you. This dramatic contrast
between lEternel Dieu and the familiar intimate tu reminds us that God made us
for a close intimate relationship with God. God loves us. God cares for us. God
will give us what we need – whether as the one experiencing a crisis, or as a
family member walking alongside. I know that this is a lot easier to say than
it is to live.
2) A
second thought. The fact that Jesus gives us what we need is a surface truth.
There is something more basic, more important at work here. The text says that
Jesus healed the official’s son to help the family come to faith in him. The
effect of healing the sick man by the pool was the same: to create faith. When
Jesus works in our lives, he wants a response, the response of faith: To trust
him; to believe in him; to orient our lives around him. That is what my friend
did as he reflected on the healing he has received. He gave thanks and kept following
Jesus.
John
Wimber was the founder of the Vineyard Churches in California. From 1982 to
1986 he co-taught a course at Fuller Seminary (with missiologist Peter Wagner)
on signs and wonders, with a focus on what we would call miraculous healing.
Such teachings are a basic part of the Vineyard Church’s identity. Yet Wimber
himself died of heart trouble at the age of 63 in 1997. He also had had sinus cancer
in 1993. Here is how he described his own experience:
One
night … I awoke with a jolt. “What is it, Lord?” Something in my spirit wasn’t
right. … I had the distinct impression from the Lord that something frightening
was headed my way. Slipping out of bed, I retreated to my prayer corner in the
living room and prayed my favorite crisis prayer: “O God, O God, O God.” I
opened the Bible … to Psalm 33. I read verse 18: “But the eyes of the Lord are
on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.” … I read
the rest of the psalm: “We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our
shield.” I relaxed and let out a sigh, relieved to be reminded that he was in
charge. God had gotten his message across, though I didn’t know what the
message was all about. Seven days later my doctor told me I had cancer.
When
I began radiation …, I discovered what it was like to walk through the valley
of the shadow of death. … I began to realize that the physical and emotional
trauma coming my way could only be met by taking the hand of the Lord and
walking with him. … Being led through the valley of the shadow is frightening.
Its uncertainties keep you alert to every changing scenario. I began to cling
to every nuance of the doctors’ words, shrugs, and grimaces; I experienced the
full range of emotions that go with a life-threatening illness. I wept as I saw
my utter need to depend on God. The fear of the unknown often gripped me. I had
to embrace the truth that I could not control or plan my life.
Some
Christians believe we should never struggle with doubt, fear, anxiety,
disillusionment, depression, sorrow, or agony. … If those ideas are true, then
I’m not a good Christian. Not only have I suffered physically with health
problems, but I also spent a great deal of time struggling with depression
during my battle with cancer.
But
I also found that the view from the valley gave me a focus on Christ that I
wouldn’t have gained any other way. Stars shine brighter in the desert. There
are no obstructions, no distractions, no competing lights. The view from the
valley isn’t so bad because Jesus shines so clearly. I knew he was there even
when I didn’t always feel close to him.
“Stars
shine brighter in the desert.” That is what Jesus wants to give us: a complete
and total dependence on him. This complete dependence comes from recognizing
who Jesus really is, the Son of God comes to save the world. That’s why the
gospel of John calls these miracles “signs”. They show us the identity of
Jesus, which in turn reorients our lives with God in Christ at the centre.
3) Which
brings us to the most important point. Why miracles? To bring God glory.
To helps us refocus on God and God alone. To teach the world that real life is
found only in Jesus Christ. To help us see Jesus.
Hear again
the quote from C.S. Lewis I gave at the beginning, “Miracles are a retelling in
small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in
letters too large for some of us to see.” Miracles – in the Bible and in our
lives – help us to see the God who loves us and cares for us and wants us to
have the life that only God can give. And miracles include not only the act of
healing someone in a way that we cannot explain; they include also God’s
presence giving us what we need to live in this world. Everywhere from the
devastation of Gaza to the chaos of Minneapolis to the diagnosis in the
doctor’s office to the loneliness of being left behind when a loved one dies to
walking with unhoused people on the streets of Steinbach. “You are all we have.
You give us what we need. Our lives are in your hands, O God, our lives are in
your hands.”
1 February 2026
Steinbach Mennonite Church
