Further Study

Digging In

The New Testament was written in “koine”, the everyday language of the Greek people. Let’s examine the New Testament Greek words associated with miracles.

1. Sign – semeion
The New Testament word “sign” means a visible evidence of the supernatural working of God. It has its roots in the Old Testament. In ancient Israel, a genuine messenger of God was distinguished from a false one by the miracles that accompanied his ministry.

Because of this heritage, a first century Jewish audience looked to signs as a means of testing the claims of a supposed prophet. Jesus’ miracles would serve as an indication of his being sent by God (John 2:11).

2. Wonder – teras
Another New Testament word that is associated with miracles is teras translated “wonder.” This refers to the affect of the astonishment on the beholders of a miraculous event. When God parted the Red Sea to lead his people to safety, the affect on them was one of wonder, fear and astonishment (Exodus 14:31).

Likewise, in the ministry of Jesus Christ on earth, His miracles cannot be explained away like the slight of hand of a magician. Instead, He publicly restored damaged or missing tissue in human bodies and even called the dead back to life again. The impact on those who watched was one of astonished wonder.

3. Power – dynamis
A third term that refers to a divine miracle is the Greek word for power – dunamis. From it we get our word “dynamite”. “Power” refers to the divine power source of a miracle. Clearly the God of the Bible is portrayed as having set up the laws of nature and providentially watches over them (Psalm 19:1; Acts 14:15; Hebrews 11:3). However, the power of a miracle is not the same as the wonders of natural process. Miracles are an exception, not the rule in human experience.

The power of a miracle when introduced into our world actually alters the laws of physics. This is why the idea of a miracle is so troubling to the secular scientist. They wish to have the laws of nature so reducible that nothing could ever interfere with them. Yet that kind of interference is exactly what the Bible teaches a miracle is. The source is from beyond our world, and illustrates our Creator has the freedom of movement in both heaven and on earth (John 9:32).

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Going Further

Read: Matthew 4:23.

The sense of wonder that accompanies seeing a beautiful sunset or the joy evoked by seeing a newborn child is not a biblical miracle. Instead, a biblical miracle is an event that alters the laws of nature.

William Craig said, “Traditionally miracles have been defined as violations of the laws of nature. But I think that’s an inaccurate and misleading representation. It makes God sound like some sort of a criminal, breaking a civil law. He’s violating Mother Nature. And I think it’s therefore better to define miracles as naturally impossible events. That is to say, a miracle is an event which takes place at a time and place where the natural causes that are operative at that time and place would be insufficient to produce that event.”

In what ways does Craig’s definition match Matthew’s account of Jesus’ ministry of miracles?

C.S. Lewis in his marvelous book, Miracles, writes that the God has created two distinct orders of reality. One is heaven where angels dwell in the presence of God. The other is the physical world we experience. These two spheres of reality are like two mighty rivers that flow along side each other with only occasional intersections.

However, when the King of both realms leaves heaven and enters our world in the Person of Jesus Christ, there is an outpouring of the miraculous to show He is ruler of both spheres of reality. From Him flows supernatural power that reveals He was sent from the Father who endorses His Lordship over heaven and earth.

With this view of two spheres of reality and our examination of key biblical terms, we can now arrive at a definition of a miracle. “A miracle may be defined as God’s introduction of supernatural power that alters the laws of physics in order to endorse God’s messenger and advance His purposes bringing wonder to those who see it.”

Would you agree with this definition of a biblical miracle? Explain.

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Final Thoughts

A miracle may be defined as God’s introduction of supernatural power that alters the laws of physics in order to endorse God’s messenger and advance His purposes bringing wonder to those who see it.

How does this definition of a biblical miracle contrast to those responses of people interviewed on the streets of Tiberias?

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