OK, sorry, the thread title is a little misleading, because I know Paul did perform miracles. I was thinking about this verse:

1 Corinthians 1:22-23 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

Paul seems to be saying he ignored the jewish desire for signs and just preached Christ crucified.

But in that case why did Jesus perform so many signs?

Any thoughts?

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Mark Li
International University Church
New South Wales, Australia

Firstly Paul ignored both the Jewish demand for miracles and the Greek's demand for wisdom, although saying that miracles were not within the power of Paul.

My understanding is that Jesus performed miracles precisely because they were signs to the Jews, and in ignoring such signs the Jews opened the way for the Gentiles to be joined to Israel and for their own ejection. As the Gospel of John records:


"Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

"Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"

Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

"He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them."

Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him."

John 12:37-41 (ESV)

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Mike
London City Presbyterian Church
London
England

"Surely, we wish to be orthodox, but we must first learn what real orthodoxy is. Surely, we wish to be progressive, but we must first have a basis to progress from."

John 20:30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Luke 7:20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

We must never take the miracles out of their context in the history of redemption. Christ did not do miracles because he wanted to heal every sick person, in fact, sickness is used to teach and transform the believer. Christ did his miracles to establish his office of the Christ (the anointed one), the Son of God, the divine redeemer, the promised one, he was the King, the Priest, the Prophet. He established his authority over all things. Each miracle he did established his divine authority over some part of creation and providence.

The miracles of the apostles were to establish the authority of their teaching until the canon of scripture closed - nothing more.

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Bob Vigneault (Bawb Vēēn-yo)
I just know there's got to be a pony in here somewhere!

The Heartbeat of Heaven (blog) MySpace (Music), MySpace (Personal)
Member of Christ Presbyterian Church, Janesville, WI OPC www.christ-opc.org

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