Lesson 14 Observing Creation from a Biblical View: Miracles and God in Real Events
A. Overall Lesson Objective
•To appreciate the very real part of the Bible record concerning miracles.
B. Learning Competencies
•The numerous recordings of miracles in the Bible show a distinct class of events where Eternal God intervenes in a noticeable way in His creation.
•While numerous miracles occur in the Scripture, they are relatively uncommon. When they occur, as in the Bible, they can be observed and recorded.
•It is not a surprise, in view of the biblical world view, that God is fully able to insert Himself into specific circumstances in the form of what we call a ‘miracle’ that involves changes to people or the earth He created.
C. Lesson
Overview
Biblical creation was miraculous and declared completed by God in Genesis. The creation process is not observable, but we have an excellent record from the Creator. We see the results. The same Creator is also the Author of miraculous works within His creation. The Old Testament provides a record of these occasional events. Each one had witnesses and someone who recorded it. When they happened, they represented more of a supplement to His creation than a suspension of it. These events did not happen every day, but they did happen. Some of the events were dramatic, such as the miracles that occurred around the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, the plagues in Egypt, and the fire by night/cloud by day that accompanied them in the desert. God also manifested Himself in a personal way in several scenes to prophets, kings and even common people.
There is a dramatic change, however, when God came in our likeness as Jesus Christ. Now the promise of His coming and purpose, to save people from their separation of God that began in Genesis, was fulfilled. The change was nothing short of incredible with respect to miracles, because they happened time after time, usually in the presence of thousands of people. Many were directly affected. Many specific events were recorded. This chapter is about a few of those events. We will pick three to further examine.
The miracles of the gospels, as stated by God, are part of the authentication of who He was (and is), which included an authentication of His being the Creator. The miracles were meant to witness to us that the Messiah had come (Matthew 9:1-8, Luke 7:21-23, John 10:37-38). They did. While we cannot see the events, the record of them is thorough and most of them were witnessed by many people. In short, they affirm that Christ is the very Person He claimed to be: The Way, The Truth, and The Life. His manner of speaking was plain; His logic was beyond question; His acts confirmed His identity. So, He is the One through Whom the universe was made (John 1:3, Hebrews 1:2).
When you examine creation in Genesis, the commanded Flood event, and the intervention at the Tower of Babel, it is worth thinking about this: it is the same Person performing miracles in the records of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In a similar fashion, if you gaze at the moon and the stars, you see the handiwork of the same One. He made and placed the stars; He raised Lazarus from the dead. His acts, including His own raising from the dead, say one thing: He speaks the truth and is the Truth. This means He has the authority to redeem us or save us from our condition—the same condition that began with Adam and Eve’s decision to disobey God. If the miracles are lies, so is creation. If the miracles are true (they are), it is the Creator who performed them and was perfectly capable of creating the universe exactly as He has said. He also loves us enough to give us opportunity to believe Him.
So, what were these miracles like? What did they do? In this short lesson we will look at three. To review more, one needs only to read one of the four gospels. Do miracles still happen? If you think not, read Acts. The acts of God through believers continue, although records of events seem less common as compared to miracles recorded in the Gospels.
Selected Miracles
Read each portion of Scripture. For each miracle, answer the questions that follow before you read the notes that are provided: who is present, where does the miracle happen, when does it happen, and what happens? When answering ‘what happens’ in the scene where the miracle occurred, note any actions that were recorded in the order they occurred. When these questions are answered, describe the miracle or miracles that occurred in a short paragraph.
Matthew 8:14-17 A person was healed of a fever; then a crowd of the sick healed.
1.Note the personal and private touch of Jesus Christ. This is not the action of a strange far-off person but a friend. The touch of Jesus is a private and deliberate action. He need not have employed touch but could have healed by speaking. He is under the command of the Father, however, and follows precise instructions (John 12:49-50)
2.There was a crowd at the door who were seeking Jesus by the evening of the same day. Many bring others who were demon possessed. Jesus healed them with a word. He also healed any who were sick. The witnesses to all the events were likely to number in the hundreds and probably thousands. If anything had happened to suggest that Jesus had not done what is stated, the reaction would have been entirely different. In each case of healing, the body was changed, wrong things removed, processes set right, parts of bodies creatively made whole as required. God commanded correctness in each body of each person for every member of the crowd that came with a demon or health issue. The same type of event was often repeated as recorded in the Gospels.
3.The comment at the end of the event is from Isaiah, which says that the Messiah would bear or take the load of our diseases and infirmities. The healings were complete—each one. The Creator of our biological substance would obviously know how to correct its malfunction or even create brand new parts.
🦕 CT? Consider the scene in first person as if you were there. Describe your steps through the house to the mother-in-law, through the house to crowd, then receiving the first 5 of those who are sick. What did you do and what happened. Name what might have been ailing the first five, and what happened when you touched them.
Luke 8:22-25. The storm was calmed.
1.Many of the disciples were fishermen by trade on the same body of water. They were familiar with boats, storms, and what could happen. Jesus slept at peace through a storm that had seasoned fishermen terrified of losing their life. Then, they woke Jesus.
2.The winds of a local storm would be like a violent thunderstorm. The leading edge of a squall would probably have built rapidly. Waves were probably higher than the boat’s freeboard, so the vessel was being swamped. Waves would have covered most of the lake and probably 4 feet (a little more than 1 m) on the windward side of the lake.
3.Jesus caused the storm to cease with a word. (Note: the built-up energy of an average thunderstorm is about that of a 20-kiloton nuclear bomb. Thunderstorms usually persist for hours; the vertical columns of air are typically 15,000 feet or 5000 m above ground level.) The storm ceased on command.
🦕 CT? The water energy stored in the Sea of Galilee, assuming waves of 2 to 4 feet or 1 meter (which is very conservative) would have taken several hours to dissipate under normal conditions. Jesus commanded calm in an instant. The disciples responded in fear and amazement. No such thing had ever been done. Estimate the energy removed from the water, and assume an elapsed time based on the scene description.
John 11:1-44 Lazarus was raised from the dead.
1.Note the careful timing of Jesus’ actions. He already knew what would happen. Crowds were surrounding Jesus all the time during this part of His earthly ministry, so none of this was private. He explained twice to the disciples what would happen in a few days. They were too concerned with the likely threat to their lives, if they returned to the Jerusalem area, to have understood what He was saying.
2.The ‘four-day’ reference in verse 17 is important. Crowds had gathered and the mourning part that follows a person’s death was well underway. It was a very public moment when Jesus returned with His disciples. The conversation and every step that Jesus took were in glaring view of both the crowd with Him and the crowd of mourners. The declaration that He was the resurrection and the life was blatantly clear. The condition of life or death was, if what He said was true, subject to His command. Otherwise, He lied.
3.Jesus commanded Lazarus to come forth from a distance with a loud voice. No one came near the body. The stone that covered the burial site was removed, but no one would have dared venture in to the location of the body. All the people would have heard Jesus’ command. What followed would have caused pandemonium and shock, starting with utter disbelief. When Jesus created life in the beginning, it was a supernatural process that required no time. Only the Creator of life could have the power to resurrect the dead, which is exactly what He did.
4.The event so changed things that it led to plans by religious leaders to kill Lazarus (John 12:10) as well as Jesus.
🦕 CT? Describe, as if you were in ‘God’s shoes,’ the boundary between life and death based on the information in this scene.
Encouragement to Observe
Miracles were recorded in Acts. And, they have been recorded throughout history. Generally, most people do not see them, but the record of the Scripture is abundantly clear.
Miracles are things that would never happen by natural processes. Thus, true miracles can be performed only by God. He has command over everything in the universe. Any of the miracles that are recorded are worth studying. Miracles generally have a known result, but the larger context of an event is this: God is God; He is the Creator of the universe; He is the One who created all that we know in six days; He judged men for their evil and flooded the world; He touched Peter’s mother-in-law; He calmed the storm; He commanded Lazarus to rise from the dead. He governs creation and what happens within it.
On this basis, we encourage you to observe just how frail we are. Notice the narrowness of the atmosphere that keeps us alive. Notice the details and complexity of any part of His creation. How can this be? The question is meant to be asked. God says He has the answer. He returned to a fallen world to give us a specific message: we can be related to Him again if we choose to believe in Jesus Christ. He proves it by changing people, making them well, commanding the elements to save the disciples. If you read any of the Gospels, many similar miracles are recorded to make the same point: Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Savior, the Creator, is able to save us from our sins.
Do you see how this biblical creation view is very different from the view that the universe is the result of an undirected process and continues without direction? The universe and the laws or ordinances by which it runs are all His doing. As said before, He means for us to discover its detail. He does not discourage investigation or operational science; He invites it. In fact, it is no coincidence that modern science arose in those areas of the world touched by the Reformation’s emphasis on the Bible. [Research note: the biblical roots of modern science]
D. Assignment
Read through the Learning Competencies for Lessons 3 through 11 of Unit 3.
E. Learning Activity
After forming teams, construct a series of instructions (no more than a page) as if you were teaching little children how to observe. You want them to see and report what they observed during one half of one school day in your school. Discuss the results and compare the approaches among the teams.
F. Concluding Assessment
God, the Creator, records the miraculous events in the Bible. They still happen. God, the One who performs them on occasion, has not changed.