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What is the purpose of a miracle in the Bible?
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Sep 23, 2024 · The central purpose of Jesus’ miracles was to reveal and advance the kingdom of God (see Matthew 12:28), but these miracles also served several other peripheral purposes. The first recorded miracle of Jesus was turning water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana (John 2:1–12).
- What is the definition of a miracle? | GotQuestions.org
God employs miracles in the Bible to reveal Himself, His...
- What is the definition of a miracle? | GotQuestions.org
Aug 5, 2024 · The purpose of the miracle in the Bible is not to prove the existence of God, but it is to prove the legitimacy and the validity of an agent of revelation—of someone whom God has commissioned to speak His word.
Feb 2, 2009 · One clear purpose of miracles was to authenticate the character of Jesus and his relationship with his heavenly Father. In this regard, miracles demonstrate the following: God is with Jesus (John 3:2); Jesus is from God (John 3:2; 9:342-33); God has sent Jesus (John 5:36); Jesus has authority on earth to forgive sins (Mark 2:10-11; Matt. 9:6-7 ...
Jan 4, 2022 · God employs miracles in the Bible to reveal Himself, His character, and His purposes to humans through phenomena that are not otherwise explainable (Exodus 3:1–6). Miracles provide evidence of God’s presence and power in the world and demonstrate His authority on behalf of His servants.
- Overview
- Nature and significance
- Types and functions of miracles
- Revelation and signification
- Authentication
miracle, extraordinary and astonishing happening that is attributed to the presence and action of an ultimate or divine power.
A miracle is generally defined, according to the etymology of the word—it comes from the Greek thaumasion and the Latin miraculum—as that which causes wonder and astonishment, being extraordinary in itself and amazing or inexplicable by normal standards. Because that which is normal and usual is also considered as natural, miracles have occasionally been defined as supernatural events, but this definition presupposes a very specific conception of nature and natural laws and cannot, therefore, be generally applied. The significance of a miraculous event is frequently held to reside not in the event as such but in the reality to which it points (e.g., the presence or activity of a divine power); thus, a miracle is also called a sign—from the Greek sēmeion (biblical Hebrew ot)—signifying and indicating something beyond itself. Extraordinary and astonishing occurrences become specifically religious phenomena when they express, reveal, or signify a religious reality, however defined.
Belief in miraculous happenings is a feature of practically all religions, and the incidence of miracles (i.e., of belief in and reports regarding miracles) is universal, though their functions, nature, purpose, and explanations vary with the social and cultural—including theological and philosophical—context in which they appear. However inexplicable, all miracles have an explanation in the sense that they are accounted for in terms of the religious and cultural system that supports them and that, in turn, they are meant to support. Without such an accompanying—explicit or implicit—theory (e.g., the presence, activity, and intervention of such realities as gods, spirits, or magical powers), there would be no miracles in the aforementioned sense but only unexplained phenomena.
There is no general rule determining the types of occurrences that can be classified as miracles; they vary according to the cultural matrix of beliefs and assumptions. The mythological accounts of the origins of the gods and their activities in the primeval past, as well as accounts of the activities of other primeval beings, such as first ancesto...
The purpose of a miracle may be in the direct and immediate result of the event—e.g., deliverance from imminent danger (thus, the passage of the children of Israel through the Red Sea in the Hebrew Bible [Old Testament] book of Exodus), cure of illness, or provision of plenty to the needy. Nevertheless, the ultimate purpose frequently is the demons...
In practice, it is difficult to distinguish the revelatory or signifying miracles from miracles of authentication—i.e., miraculous happenings that serve (1) as credentials for claimants to religious authority in the form of leadership (e.g., in Exodus 4, in which Moses convinces the Israelites of the authenticity of his mission by miraculous performances) or prophecy (e.g., in Deuteronomy 18, where it is written that a prophet is disqualified if the sign that he has predicted does not come to pass), (2) as the demonstration of the superior power of a particular god (e.g., in Exodus 7, which recounts Aaron’s staff swallowing up the staffs of the Egyptian magicians, thus demonstrating the superiority of the God of the Israelites), (3) as proof of the sanctity of a holy person, a holy site, or a holy object, or (4) more generally as evidence of the truth of a particular religion.
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Jun 1, 2004 · The Purpose of the Miracles. Several purposes emerge from the Scriptures for the exercise of miracles by our Lord. (1) They attracted men. Though not the primary thrust of our Lord’s miraculous ministry, one outcome was that His miracles attracted men and women who were anxious to hear His message.
Nov 17, 2023 · What Is a Miracle? The Dictionary of Bible Themes defines miracles as events, signs, wonders or experiences that demonstrate God’s greatness and power. The word used for miracle in Hebrew is mowpheth , which also means wonder, sign, portent, or token of a future event.