Christ's Testimony is Confirmed by His Miracles — Part I: The Miracles of Christ

Chapter XXV.—Christ’s Testimony is Confirmed by His Miracles

Art. 1.—The Miracles of Christ.

I.—Rationalistic and Modernistic views.

Many Rationalists maintain that miracles are à priori impossible, and therefore deny either the historical reality of the Gospel miracles, or their supernatural character. So wrote Paulus (+ 1851) and Strauss (+ 1874). Others like Renan are of opinion that cures were effected by mental suggestion, and that such cures were exaggerated and idealised later on. Harnack’s view is practically the same as that of Renan (Cf. Renan, Vie de Jésus, ch. xvi.; A. Réville, Jésus de Nazareth, t. ii.; Stapfer, Jésus-Christ pendant son ministère; O. Holtzmann, Leben Jesu; Jülicher, Einleitung in das N. Test; A. Harnack, Das Wesen des Christentums).

II.—Classification of the miracles of Christ.

St. Thomas classifies the miracles as follows:

(a) Miracles in connexion with spiritual substances.

1. Man in synagogue of Capharnaum, possessed by unclean spirit (Mark i. 23-28; Luke iv. 33-37).
2. Gerasenes (Matt. viii. 28-34; Mark v. 1-20; Luke viii. 26-39).
3. Lunatic (Matt. xvii. 14-20; Mark ix. 13-28; Luke ix. 37-44).
4. Deaf-mute (Matt. ix. 32-34; Luke xi. 14-15).
5. Blind-mute (Matt. xii. 22-24).
6. Daughter of Chananæan woman (Matt. xv. 21-28; Mark vii. 24-30).
7. Woman with spirit of infirmity (Luke xiii. 11-16).
8. Mary Magdalene (Mark xvi. 9; Luke viii. 2).
9. Many possessed with devils (Matt. viii. 16; Luke iv. 41).
10. Angels with Christ in the desert (Matt. iv. 11).
11. Angel of Gethsemani (Luke xxii. 43).

(b) Miracles in connexion with celestial bodies.

1. Nativity star (Matt. ii. 2).
2. Darkness for three hours at death of Christ (Luke xxiii. 44-45).

(c) Miracles wrought on men and women.

1. Resurrection of daughter of Jairus (Matt. ix. 18-26).
2. Resurrection of widow’s son (Luke vii. 11-17).
3. Resurrection of Lazarus (John xi.).
4. Cleansing of eleven lepers (Matt. viii. 1-4; Mark i. 40-45; Luke v. 12-14; xvii. 12-19).
5. Cure of three paralytics (Matt. ix. 1-7; Mark ii. 1-12; Luke v. 18-26; Matt. viii. 5-13; Luke vii. 2-10; John v. 1-9).
6. Restoration of sight to seven blind (Matt. ix. 27-31; xx. 29-34; Mark viii. 22-26; x. 46-52; Luke xviii. 35-43).
7. Cure of woman with issue of blood (Matt. ix. 20-22; Mark v. 25-34; Luke viii. 43-48).
8. Cure of Peter’s mother-in-law (Matt. viii. 14-15; Mark i. 29-31; Luke iv. 38-39).
9. Cure of Ruler’s son (John iv. 46-53).
10. Restoration of withered hand (Matt. xii. 9-13).
11. Cure of dropsical man (Luke xiv. 1-6).
12. Multitude healed of diseases (Luke vi. 17-18).

(d) Miracles wrought on irrational creatures.

1. Change of water into wine (John ii. 1-11).
2. Miraculous draught of fish (Luke v. 1-11; John xxi. 1-13).
3. Finding of the stater (Matt. xvii. 23-26).
4. Two multiplications of loaves (Matt. xiv. 15-21; Mark vi. 39-44; Luke ix. 12-17; John vi. 5-15; Matt. xv. 32-38; Mark viii. 1-9).
5. Calming of the storm (Matt. viii. 18-27; Mark iv. 35-40).
6. Walking on the waters (Matt. xiv. 23-33; Mark vi. 47-52; John vi. 16-21).
7. Withering of the fig-tree (Matt. xxi. 18-21; Mark xi. 12-14; 20-22).

(e) Christ gave to His Apostles the power of working miracles (Luke x. 9; Matt. x. 8; Mark xvi. 17; John xiv. 12). “Devils are subject to us in thy name” (Luke x. 17). Miracles are recorded in Acts ii. 43; iii. 6; v. 12; ix. 34-40; xix. 11-12; xx. 9-12.

III.—The miracles of Christ are historically certain.

1. The witnesses who relate the miracles of Christ relate other facts which are not called in question, and they were willing to suffer death, and actually did so suffer in testimony of the truthfulness of their narrative.

2. The miracles recorded were facts which appealed to the senses, and therefore could be judged by those who witnessed them.

3. The principal miracles of Christ were public. They were seen by such men as Nicodemus, Jairus, the Centurion, Zaccheus, Lazarus, Scribes and Pharisees, Priests and members of the Sanhedrin.

4. Regarding some miracles a juridical enquiry was held by the enemies of Christ (Cf. John v. 10-16; ix. 1-34; xii. 9-10; Acts iv. 16).

5. The simplicity of the Gospel narrative bears witness to its sincerity.

6. The miraculous facts are intimately connected with other facts of the life of Christ which cannot be denied. They are connected with His life, preaching, passion and death, so that if the miracles be denied, the Gospel narrative is destroyed not partially, but wholly. “Many believed in His name, seeing the signs which he did” (John ii. 23). Certain discourses of Christ were delivered on the occasion of some miracle (Cf. John v., vi.). Because of these miracles, and especially because of the resurrection of Lazarus, the chief priests and Pharisees conspired against Him, saying: “What shall we do, for this man doth many miracles?” (John xi. 47-53).

7. The epistles of St. Paul, whose authenticity is admitted by almost all Rationalists (the epistle to the Galatians and the two to the Corinthians were written according to Harnack and Jülicher about A.D. 53 or 54) formally assert the performance of miracles by the Apostles—miracles wrought in the name of Christ. A fortiori must Christ Himself have performed miracles.

8. The Apostles and the Fathers could not have so confidently appealed to the miracles of Christ if there were any doubt of their reality.

9. Jewish contemporaries and adversaries of Christ did not deny His miracles, but attributed them to magic arts.

IV.—The miracles of Christ are supernatural.

Rationalists allow that raising from the dead is beyond the powers of nature, and accordingly they deny the historical truth of such miracles. Other miracles they assert to be purely natural effects, regarded as wonderful owing to ignorance of physical, or chemical, or biological, or psychological laws. To these assumptions the following replies may be made.

1. The Pharisees, their hostility notwithstanding, could not deny the resurrection of Lazarus.

2. Scribes and Pharisees attributed Christ’s miraculous power to some superhuman agency, e.g., Beelzebub (Cf. Mark iii. 22 sq.).

3. Instantaneous restoration of sight to one born blind, cure of leprosy, sudden change of water into wine, multiplication of loaves, resurrection of Lazarus—these achievements are clearly beyond the power of created agents.

4. The Divine origin of these miracles is confirmed by reflection upon the circumstances and results. Christ worked miracles solely for the glory of God, and the salvation of souls.

5. Confirmation also comes from the absurd hypotheses adopted to explain them away. It is well known that the power of mental suggestion by hypnotism or otherwise is effective only in cases of functional disorder, and that suggestion works gradually, whereas Christ wrought His miracles of healing, etc., instantaneously. Again suggestion does not work on those who are absent. Christ healed the Centurion’s servant, and the daughter of the woman of Chanaan, though neither was present.

V.—The miracles of Christ were wrought in confirmation of His Divine mission.

(A) This fact has been declared several times by Christ. When the disciples of John asked Him: “Art thou he that art to come, or look we for another?” He answered: “Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, to the poor the gospel is preached” (Matt. xi. 3-5). Such miracles were foretold by Isaias as Messianic (Is. xxxv. 5; lxi. 1). Again “the works that I do in the name of my Father, they give testimony of me” (John x. 25).

(B) Christ raised Lazarus from the dead that “they (the people) may believe that Thou hast sent me” (John xi. 42). In several places it is recorded that many believed because of the miracles (Cf. John ii. 11; iii. 2; ix. 35-38).

(C) Christ shewed this proof of His Divine mission to be most certain and manifest when He spoke of His enemies: “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin: but now they have no excuse for their sin” (John xv. 22).