THE MEANING OF MIRACLES

After reading of the wonderful miracles that Jesus performed in Galilee, one begins to wonder what a miracle really is. One begins to wonder by what power a miracle is performed. The miracles of Jesus are in the main so unusual, so extraordinary, so apparently in violation of all known laws of nature, that one begins almost to wonder how Jesus could upset the laws of nature.

The explanation of the scribes.

Apparently, Jesus's marvelous miracle-working power puzzled the people of His own generation. They knew little of the laws of nature, of course. They had been taught to believe in the possibility of miracles. But they were loath to grant any degree of divine power to Jesus. Hence, on one occasion, "the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils." Of course, such a suggestion was absurd. Jesus Himself said to His disciples, "How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end." To this argument, there is, of course, no answer. It proves conclusively, that Jesus did not perform miracles through the power of Beelzebub. What a miracle is, by what power it is performed and why miracles are permitted, are questions that we shall consider in this lesson. The universal presence of law.

Let us consider first, then, what a miracle really is. As a matter of fact, a miracle is never an act accomplished in violation of law. You must understand that the universe is ruled by law. Everything that happens, happens through the operation of law. If we live wisely—eat right and think right—then it follows by the law of nature that we shall have strong, wholesome bodies like the Christ's, and clear, active minds like His. But if we violate the rules of right living, then come certain laws of retribution, and we are made to pay the penalty of our wrongdoing And so it is throughout the universe The heavenly bodies are directed and governed by law; God's creatures everywhere are subject to law; the earth on which we dwell, with the strange and marvelous and mighty phenomena which we here daily observe, is a product of law. Would it not be inconsistent, then, to think that Jesus—who is Himself the God of law—should work in violation of law? His own words in refutation of the statement of the scribes that He was in league with Beelzebub, is a sufficient answer to such a supposition. "If a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand." We must conclude, therefore, that a miracle, no matter how unnatural it may seem, is accomplished through the operation of some law of the universe. Yet, how can this be true, when some miracles that are well authenticated seem to be so utterly in violation of the laws of nature known to us?

The miracle of the telephone.

There was a time—and that not so very long ago—when it was thought impossible that a man should ever be able to speak clearly and distinctly to a friend a hundred miles away, and hear in return, as clearly and as distinctly, the voice of his friend. Certain men, however, who were prying into the secrets of nature discovered some things about sound. They learned that sound travels through some medium, like the air, by means of waves—waves of alternate condensation and rarefaction of the air, for example. Then these men studied the human ear, and they learned that as these sound waves struck the ear, the drum of the ear was made to vibrate back and forth as a condensed part of the air or a rarefied part of the air struck it. The men became interested; further study revealed the fact that almost any disk, like the drum of the ear, could be made to vibrate to sound waves. It was found that these sound waves could be transmitted through string, or wire. It was discovered that a small current of electricity flowing through a wire aided in the conducting of the sound wave. Little by little science progressed, until by and by there appeared a telephone. It was crude, and it reproduced the human voice with a terrible roar. But the men of science worked at it; they perfected first one part of it, then another, as they learned better to understand the laws governing the reproduction of sound. Finally came the perfect telephone. Today it is possible to telephone—not a hundred miles merely—but from New York to San Francisco, clear across a continent, a distance of several thousand miles. Such an achievement, if it had been shown suddenly, would have been considered a miracle. It would have been in violation of all the known laws of nature. But now we know that this miracle has been accomplished through the harnessing of natural laws not known to our forefathers. The achievement is the result of neither violation of law, nor co-operation with Beelzebub.

Other miracles of science.

The story of the achievements of science is full of wonders like that of the telephone. Any one of them, if it had been revealed suddenly, would have seemed as unusual, as extraordinary, certainly in violation of natural law, as the turning of water into wine, or as any of the miracles of healing performed by Jesus. Think of the achievement of the telegraph which covers with a network of wires every land area in the world; think of the huge cable slung undersea tying together the nations; think of the Marconigraph making it possible to send messages the world over without the medium of wires; think of the X-ray and the wonderful photography made possible by it; think of the innumerable achievements of modern medicine, relieving pain, effecting cures of ills that were once thought incurable, correcting deformities, restoring sight and hearing, almost giving new life to the dead. These and countless other wonders of modern life should teach us what a miracle is. Man performs every day wonders that may almost be called miracles only—since he possesses very limited power—it takes him a long time to get his results. Jesus, acting with divine power, called into play the laws of life, and accomplished in a moment what it would take the man of science an indefinite period to do. In other words, just as the wonderful achievements of science have been made possible through the discovering and the harnessing of the laws of the universe, so a miracle such as Jesus performed is made possible through the rapid assembly and harnessing of the natural laws that govern the case in hand.

The power of the Priesthood.

But by what power did Jesus marshal the laws of nature, and direct them to His own desires? By the power of the priesthood of God. No man can hope to perform miracles who does not possess the authority of that priesthood. Jesus Himself was the Son of God, and held the authority of His own priesthood. And any man upon whom Jesus has conferred that priesthood may go forth likewise, and heal the sick and do other mighty works in His name. Men holding the priesthood of the Son of God need only to go out in the strength of their manhood, in the cleanness and purity of their lives, and in the fearlessness of their convictions. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and in the power of their priesthood, they, too, may command the higher, yet unknown laws of the universe, and effect cures and restorations as marvelous as those recorded in the ministry of Jesus and the first apostles. "I came unto my own," said Jesus to the Prophet of the dispensation of the Fulness of Times, "and my own received me not; but unto as many as received me, gave I power to do many miracles, and to become the sons of God, and even unto them that believed on my name gave I power to obtain eternal life."

The purpose of miracles.

For what purpose are miracles wrought? In all generations there have been people who have sought signs, by which they might be converted. But miracles are not given for the purpose of converting the unbelieving. The scribes and the Pharisees came to Jesus, saying, "Master, we would have a sign from Thee. But He answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign." What then is the purpose of miracles? Miracles come as the result of faith; they do not come to create faith. In His own country, Jesus even could perform no mighty work because the people had not faith in Him. Miracles are a kind of reward of faith, and serve to strengthen faith already born. "It shall come to pass," said Jesus in modern times, "that he that hath faith in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed; he who hath faith to see shall see; he who hath faith to hear shall hear; the lame who hath faith to leap shall leap." All these good things come by faith to increase our faith.

The privilege of the sick.

So, in the providence of God, it is given to the authority of the priesthood, through faith, to do mighty works—to command forces of nature not yet understood by man, and thereby to perform miracles, for the increasing of faith and the perfecting of the saints. Said James the apostle, "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."

THE REFERENCES

Mark 3:22-26. Matt. 12:38, 39.

Doc. and Cov. 45:8. Doc. and Cov. 42:48-52.

James 5:14, 15.

THE QUESTIONS

1. What questions are aroused by the reading of the miracles performed by Jesus?

2. How did the scribes explain Jesus's miracle-working power?

3. What was the answer of Jesus?

4. How can it be shown that the universe is ruled by law?

5. Explain the miracle of the telephone?

6. What other miraculous achievements have been made by science?

7. How does a miracle differ from one of these achievements of science?

8. Show that it is no more difficult to believe in one of the miracles than in one of the achievements of science.

9. By what power are miracles performed?

10. What is the purpose of miracles?

11. What privilege does everyone of us enjoy when he is sick?

CHRIST BEFORE PILATE, Hofmann

CHRIST BEFORE PILATE, Hofmann