And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. -- Matthew 13:58
I don’t have much time today, so I’ll talk about this
briefly and maybe come back to it. I
think it is an important concept and worthy of thought.
The purpose of a miracle is not simply to give someone the
help that they need. Obviously giving
sight to the blind is of benefit to the blind man, but miraculous works are a
part of the revelation. As such, they
call on those who witness them to both glorify God and receive what is being
revealed about God through the miracle.
Ridderbos (whom I mentioned last week) says a miracle
necessitates a decision.
It’s just like the witness of Scripture or of nature. We decide whether or not to accept what we
see – not just as a fact, but as a witness of God’s Glory and Person. We can even, like the people of Nazareth,
make that decision up front. We can
close our minds to the possibility of receiving a revelation, and close
ourselves off to the possibility of witnessing the miraculous.
Yes, miracles are more likely to take place among the
primitive and the ignorant. The
sophisticated take that as an indication that the more primitive are easily
deceived when perhaps it is, instead, an indication that they haven’t closed
their minds to God. By refusing to even allow for the possibility of the miraculous, I exalt my own opinions, beliefs, and preferences over the truth I could see if I would.
I think this also tells us something about the unforgivable
sin which the Lord said was blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Jesus was casting out demons, and the
religious leadership argued that He was doing so by the power of
Beelzebub. Those who opposed Jesus
refused to accept the witness of the miraculous right before their eyes. Worse, they said that the Lord’s power was
itself of demonic origins. So, it makes
sense that this sin would be unforgivable.
If I close my eyes to what the Holy Spirit is showing me or if I say
that what is happening is not His work or revelation, how could I possibly be
forgiven? I’m rejecting the Cross and refusing to
take the only path to forgiveness that exists.
6 comments:
We can close our minds to the possibility of receiving a revelation, and close ourselves off to the possibility of witnessing the miraculous.
Yes. For many years, my mind was just so closed; I honestly believed that miracles just didn't happen anymore.
Yes, it seems the point of the miracle is not so much "what was done" but if the witness is transformed. I actually find it difficult to define miracle. I mean, what do I mean when I say miracle. And this is because it could be almost anything which can transform a person in the way we mean. In my case it was merely a thought shared.
People are definitely closed off not only when they deny that miracles exist, but when they also deny the results, which is often just as miraculous if not more so.
But to then attribute good to the power of evil, that's way beyond being closed off. Plus, those who opposed Jesus could never explain how or why evil would do God's work.
Good point, Rick.
I think it's miraculous when a person is transformed into a child of God no matter what form the miracle takes.
Some would rather have faith that science will someday explain miracles rather than accept the truth of the results, even when they witness it firsthand.
Believing is seeing is believing is seeing is believing is seeing is believing is seeing in an upward spiral.
Amen.
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