Was Jesus just showing off?
2007-02-02 07:11:31 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The term "miracle", sometimes rendered as "sign" or "wonder", indicates an inexplicable event that manifests the power of God. It has to be personal. It has to be witnessed, otherwise there's no "sign".
If Jesus had decided to eliminate tuberculosis one day, he wouldn't need to make any kind of display. It would just be gone. All the TB victims would be cured and no new cases would develop. But it wouldn't be a clear manifestation of God's power, it would just be a heck of a thing.
You could say Jesus was showing off, if "showing off" meant any successful public act. He spoke, he spit, he laid hands and gave directions to focus people's attention, not because the actions did anything of themselves. And he only cured one case at a time, because it was about the people, not the disease.
You may recall a story in which Jesus encountered a paralyzed man and responded by saying his sins were forgiven, bringing on a round of criticism from the local religious elders. He eventually cured the man but not before he asked which act was easier to perform, the healing or the forgiving. Christians usually forget that.
Jesus didn't come to be a physician or a magician. (In fact, he made it a point to tell his apostles not to talk about the miracles. Read Mark's gospel.) He came to encounter individuals. You can preach to a crowd. You can even feed a crowd (as long as everyone gets a piece). But healing can only be performed one-on-one, because everyone is in a different place spiritually.
No, Jesus was not a problem fixer. God is not a problem fixer. Fixing problems is our job, whether we believe or not. Parents sometimes let their children fight because intervention means taking "sides" and no one learning anything for the next time.
So, yeah, the miracles were attention-getting devices. The point is that they were not the point, the personal encounter was.
2007-02-02 08:02:04 · answer #1 · answered by skepsis 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How can you say that the miracles never fixed anything? What would have been the big deal if He never fixed anything? People were healed, given sight, able to walk, raised from the dead! That's certainly fixing things! There are 250 miracles mentioned in the Bible and they all fixed something.
2007-02-02 15:23:18 · answer #2 · answered by cnm 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
What miracles are you talking about? In the ones in the New Testament Jesus fixed broken lives. Gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf. Do you not consider that fixing something? Jesus dosn't need to show off. He does miracles for us....we need them and He uses them to show us His love.
2007-02-02 15:17:47 · answer #3 · answered by Jan P 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
How is feeding people and giving sight to the blind not fixing something? The purpose of the miracles was to be proof of His Godhead, so in a way yes He was showing off.
2007-02-02 15:16:59 · answer #4 · answered by HAND 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Jesus's miracles were proof of who He was. And Jesus did fix something, He fixed mans inability to eat from the tree of life again. Now we can, Jesus is the tree of life. Through Him we have salvation.
2007-02-02 15:19:10 · answer #5 · answered by Boppysgirl 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I don't think there's any such thing as a useless miracle, at least not one done by God. My life was saved through a miracle, I would call that a small fix.
2007-02-02 15:40:59 · answer #6 · answered by straightup 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
explain how they didnt fix anything. Did the lame walk, the blind see, the dead raised to life? didnt he calm a storm the would have killed 13 men? wasnt the feeding of the 5,000 and 4,000 a great way to feed a bunch of starving people? the withered fig tree, didnt that teach his disciples about being real with people? walking on water, didnt that teach Peter and the other 12 how to be men of total faith?
2007-02-02 15:18:08 · answer #7 · answered by Hafeman 5000 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
What about the possibility that Jesus was not God, but was simply a human being who possessed paranormal abilities of significant, but far from infinite, power?
Then the "miracles" could be real, but have a naturalistic explanation.
EDIT: This, by the way, was one reason why the founders of modern science (Newton et al.) were so keen to exclude action at a distance from their theories -- they wanted Jesus' miracles to be proof of his divinity. But lo and behold, current physics (quantum entanglement, quantum vacuum torsion waves, etc.) has reintroduced action at a distance, and thus provided the basis for a scientific account of observed paranormal effects.
2007-02-02 15:15:43 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋
I think you need to read your Bible and all related works before you ask a question you have no basis for.
You have really got it in for Jesus don't you!? Why are you so mad at Him? All He ever did was love you, and still does!!
2007-02-02 15:18:44 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you ever get fixed, then THAT will be a miracle we can all applaud.
2007-02-02 15:22:51 · answer #10 · answered by Preacher 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋