A Miracle is an event that is beyond human powers and cannot be explained by natural causes. Miracles transcend natural causes to such a degree that they can be attributed only to the direct intervention of God.
One day when Jesus and his disciples were traveling toward a town called Nain, they encountered a funeral procession. In Luke 7:11-17, we are told that Jesus was moved with pity when he saw the grieving mother. He told her not to cry. Then he touched the platform on which the dead boy was lying, and the boy sat up and began to speak.
Word of the boy’s healing spread throughout the surrounding country, along with the news of other miracles performed by Jesus. These amazing happenings couldn’t be completely explained or understood, since they involved change that were beyond what human powers and natural causes could produce.
John the Baptist’s disciples heard about the miracle in Nain. They told their teacher about the amazing thing that had happened. John sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus whether he was the one they had been expecting or whether they should continue to look for the Messiah. John’s disciples found Jesus performing more miracles. However, Jesus didn’t tell them whether or not he was the one they had been expecting. Instead, Jesus instructed them to report to John what they had seen and heard. Those who had been blind could see, those whose legs had been crippled could walk, those who had been deaf could hear, and those with leprosy had been cured. The miracles of Jesus were signs of the reign of God that Jesus talked about (Read Luke 7:18-23)
To John the Baptist, this would have been a very clear message. He would have been familiar with the prophecies contained in the Book of Isaiah, which identified these actions with the messiah. John would have recognized these miracles signs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, “the one who is to come”.
Miracles abound in the Old Testament, and for most part they fall into a category that we could call “nature miracles”. Two examples of such miracles are the parting of the Red Sea and falling of the manna that came from heaven to feed the Hebrew people during their forty years in the desert (Read Exodus 14:20-21, 16: 13-15.)
New Testament miracles are more often related to healing, and they are seen as a sign of the presence of the reign of God. Miracles are sometimes called signs or wonders, but in the New Testament the term most commonly associated with miracles is one that can be translated as deeds of power. In Scripture this term is used to talk about the conception of Jesus, when we are told that the power of God overshadowed Mary. This power was seen in Jesus and communicated by him to his apostles. For example, Luke 9:1 tells us that before Jesus sent the apostles out on their first mission, he called them together and gave them power to overcome all demons and cure all diseases.
Your Dear Brother in Christ
Mike Williams