Questions About Biblical Miracles (Part 3): When Jesus said believers will do the works He did, and even greater works (John 14:12), would this not indicate miracle-working today?

Any interpretation of a scripture which involves an absurdity or an impossibility must be false. Among the many other miraculous works Jesus performed, He turned water into wine (John 4:46), fed multitudes with little food (Matt. 14:15-21), calmed storms (Matt. 8:26), walked on water (John 6:19), restored maimed and severed body parts (Mark 3:1-5; Luke 22:50-51), and raised the dead (John 12:1). No one on earth today (despite a number of exaggerated claims) can genuinely reproduce these amazing miraculous feats, much less even greater ones! To understand what Jesus meant by His statement in John 14:12, should we not first consider the context?

The Lord was with His apostles when He instituted the Lord’s supper (Luke 22:14 ff.) and therefore was speaking directly to the apostles in chapters 13, 14, 15, and 16 of John’s Gospel. The statement in John 14:12 was directed to the apostle Philip, who apparently, like the others, was struggling at the time with his beliefs (vv. 8-12). The apostles did go on to do similar miraculous works to what Jesus had done (Acts 2:43; 5:12; etc.), but there is no record of them performing greater miracles than He did. What, then, were the “greater works” of which the Lord spoke? 

The second occurrence of the term “works” in John 14:12 was not in the original text but was supplied by the English translators. Jesus actually said to the apostles, “greater [things] than these he will do.” To what would this have reference? For one thing, the ministry of Jesus was limited primarily to Judea and Galilee, but the ministry of the apostles was to extend throughout the world (Acts 1:8). Jesus did not publicly proclaim His death, burial and resurrection, but the apostles did (Acts 2:14-24). During His earthly ministry the Lord brought no one into His spiritual kingdom, but the apostles did (Matt. 16:18-19; Mark 9:1). Christ baptized no one into His death, burial and resurrection or in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but the apostles did (Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:3-5). In a general sense we can also do these “greater [things],” but there is no one living on earth today who can do the same (much less greater) miracles than those performed by our Lord.

-- Kevin L. Moore

*Originally appearing in The Exhorter (April-June 1998).

Addendum: “Jesus performed miracles but didn’t advertise them. We advertise them but don’t perform them” (Vance Havner).

Related Posts: Duration of Miraculous Gifts (1 Cor 13:8-13), Questions Part 1: Mark 16:17-18, Questions Part 2: Heb. 13:8, Questions Part 4: Matt. 4:7

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Questions About Biblical Miracles (Part 2): Since the Lord obviously performed miracles in the past, and He “is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8), should we expect miracles today?

The statement in Hebrews 13:8 emphasizes the Lord’s consistent nature, but has nothing to do with the particular ways He has chosen to carry out His overall purpose. Even if God happens to change His mind (e.g. Gen. 6:6-8; 18:20-32; Num. 16:20-24), this does not affect the consistency of His nature. The divine will has been communicated to man in different ways throughout history (Heb. 1:1-2), but the Lord remains the same. At one time God required animal sacrifices, Sabbath observance, a priesthood of Levi’s descendants, circumcision, abstinence from certain foods, etc., but He subsequently changed all these things (Heb. 7:12; 8:6-13). God created the universe in six days (Gen. 2:1-2), but He is not currently continuing that activity. God made the first human beings supernaturally (Gen. 2:7, 22), but no one today is being formed directly from dust or a rib. The point is, God worked miracles in the first century AD in order to communicate and confirm His will during a time when the Bible was not yet complete in its written form. But once God’s written word had been finished, these miracles had served their purpose and were no longer needed (cf. John 20:30-31). 

-- Kevin L. Moore

*Originally appearing in The Exhorter (April-June 1998). The current article published 19 August 2020.

Related Posts: Duration of Miraculous Gifts: 1 Cor. 13:8-10, Bible Miracles: Fact or Fiction?, Questions Part 1: Mark 16:17-18, Questions Part 3: Jn 14:12, Questions Part 4: Matt. 4:7

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Image credit: Adapted from https://www.godisreal.today/miracles-of-jesus/

Questions About Biblical Miracles (Part 1): Does Mark 16:17-18 indicate that miraculous gifts are for all baptized believers?

The first consideration is the historical context of this statement. Even if these miraculous abilities were promised to everyone who believes, they were imparted through the apostles’ hands (Acts 8:18) and were limited to the first-century church (1 Cor. 13:8-13). Moreover, no Christian possessed all the spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:4-11, 28-30) except maybe the specially-chosen apostles (cf. Matt. 10:1; 2 Cor. 12:12). But when the entire context of this passage is considered, it doesn’t necessarily say what many have assumed. 

Notice in Mark 16:10-20 the frequent use of plural pronouns (“those,” “they,” “them,” “their”) in reference to the apostles. They did not believe and Jesus rebuked their unbelief. In giving the Great Commission (vv. 15-16) Jesus changed to the singular pronoun “he” to refer to the recipient of the gospel, but then changed back to the plural in referring to the unbelieving apostles. Christ promised the apostles that if they believed, miraculous signs would follow them (cf. Matt. 17:20). The last two verses of Mark 16 show that this promise was fulfilled in them: “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through accompanying signs. Amen” (emp. added; cf. Acts 1:1-8; 2:4-8, 43; 3:1-8; 5:12; 16:16-18; 28:3-9; et al.).

-- Kevin L. Moore

*Originally appearing in The Exhorter (April-June 1998).

Related Posts: Duration of Miraculous Gifts: 1 For 13:8-10, Ending of Mark (Part 1), Questions Part 2: Heb. 13:8, Questions Part 3: Jn 14:12, Questions Part 4: Matt. 4:7

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