Focus: Meaning Of Miracles

Text: Mk.6:52

"For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened."

Christ had just miraculously saved His disciples from a destructive storm that could have ended their lives had He not intervened in the nick of time. But the disciples of Christ couldn't really get it. The miracle of their deliverance from that raging storm truly beat their minds and staggered their imaginations. They were totally bereft of insight or understanding. They were simply stunned by the miracle. 

Mark reports that they did not consider the previous miracle of the loaves. The word 'considered' is suniēmi in the Greek, which implies that they were unable to piece together the facts and grasp the significance of the miracle. They were either stupid or callous to understand that their Lord was capable of the incredible. With five loaves and two fish Christ fed five thousand men besides women and children. That is a superb miracle. And here again, He came to their rescue at the moment when they found themselves at their wit's end and longed for survival. That, too, is a miracle.

If they had thought of the miracle of the loaves at the time of their miraculous deliverance, they would have come to the conclusion that the working of miracles is natural and normal to God. Whenever God works miracles, He is simply being God. As a matter of fact, the Greek word for miracle is 'dunamis,' which is the word for power. So miracle is indeed God's power in action. 

Whenever God works a miracle, it means that His power is in display. Miracle is evidence of God's power at work in the world and in our lives.

The Latin words for miracle are 'miro,' which means 'to wonder,' and 'mirus,' which means 'wonderful.' And it is interesting to know that our words, 'miracle' and 'mirror' stem from these Latin words. Miracle is a divine mirror. Through a miracle God shows you Himself. It is a revelation of God's glory, a manifestation of His presence, and a demonstration of His power. 

John records, "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and MANIFESTED FORTH HIS GLORY…" (Jh.2:11). Jesus' miracle of turning water into wine was a manifestation of His glory. Miracle is a divine mirror by which we see the glory of God. Jesus Christ said to Martha, "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" (Jh.11:40). Martha saw the glory of God when Jesus Christ restored her brother Lazarus back to life. The power of Christ ousted death from the body of Lazarus. 

Every miracle has a divine message in it. God speaks and shows us something through the medium of the miraculous.

The meaning of miracle is that when God does the miraculous He is awesomely being Himself. Miracle is God's normal. God is in His usual element when He works miracles. By embracing God we expose ourselves to the miraculous. Paul tells us that God "is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Eph.3:20). Amen!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter