It is common today for people to disbelieve the miracles of Jesus as reported in the gospels (such as the healings and resurrections of Jesus, the calming of the storm on the sea of Galilee, walking on water, and the feedings of the 5,000 and 4,000). People often prefer naturalistic explanations, or else they believe miracles simply did not occur. Most of those who reject these miracles also disallow that Jesus was actually God, and not just a man.

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines miracles as “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.” Scientism, on the other hand, teaches that all phenomena can be explained in naturalistic terms. But why cannot there be a supernatural world which is invisible to the naked eye that coexists with the physical world?

We cannot explain some observations that science asserts are true—the nature of atoms and molecules, the arrangement of DNA, the largesse of the solar system and our universe, to name a few. If then a supernatural world exists, why can it not affect phenomena in the natural world?

Jesus’s miracles were always constructive, confronting the destructive forces which caused pain, illness, fear, despair, and poverty. None of the gospel writers write of Jesus using miracles to punish, wound, or kill people. His refusal to do so is a reflection of His meekness. In addition, Jesus identified miracles as “signs,” proof of His supernatural character. The gospel authors confirm that Jesus claimed to be God, further asserted in the book of Acts after His resurrection and ascension.

If one dismisses Jesus’s miracles, they reject the ability of God to act by inexplicable or extraordinary means. He or she asserts that Jesus was not God in the flesh. Those who hold this view rebuff His teaching, including that He came to die to pay the penalty for all of mankind’s sins.

What is your view of miracles? Luke describes them unambiguously. Please feel free to comment in the box below.