What are we to understand from the miracle stories?
Jesus announced the coming of the Kingdom of God. In His parables He provided word pictures of what the Kingdom was like. In the Sermon on the Mount He showed us about life in the Kingdom. As Herman Hendrickx writes, "Jesus ... disclosed his unique role in the coming of the kingdom. He not only announced 'a kingdom to come', but also inaugurated it as 'a kingdom already here'."
Therefore, as we look at miracles, we should see them as "announcements in act" of the coming and nearness of the Kingdom. We are therefore not concerned primarily (although we are still concerned) with the material fact of a miracle. Instead our focus is on the salvific and spiritual meaning of the miracle.
Miracles announce the action of the Spirit in the Kingdom. Scripture teaches that in the kingdom, life is stronger than death, that people are not blind but see, that the lame walk, and hunger and thirst shall be no more.
Hendrickx sums it up by stating that miracle stories "lead us to the question: 'Who is this man?' Our answer to this question is not provoked by the miracle stories as such. It is brought about by the Easter message, 'He is risen, God has made him Christ and Lord'. If we believe the Easter message, then we will answer the question 'Who is this man?' by saying 'He is the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead' (Ro 1.4). If we accept the Easter message, then we believe that the announcement of the coming of the kingdom by Jesus has been confirmed by God himself. We believe that the Spirit of God is at work in the life of people. And the prophetic reading of the miracle stories help us discern the action of the Spirit in our own lives. The miracle stories of the New Testament are not yet really true for us when what they tell us really happened in Jesus' time, but only when what they proclaim happens today."
This leads me to two questions:
1) How do you read the Bible? Does it tell you merely what happened or does it proclaim to you what happens today. I've blogged often about this. If you are stuck in the former, I challenge you to consider the latter.
2) What about our lives? Does the way we live demand the question 'Who is this man?'. As disciples of Christ, I think we should live in a way that begs that question. It will bring either persecution to us or glory to Christ. If your life doesn't provoke a response, again, I challenge you to relook at what life in Christ really means and what His intention is for you today.
2 comments:
Post a Comment