The Purpose of Miracles

“This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.” – John 2:11

Christian physicist and MIT professor Ian Hutchinson wrote “Can a scientist believe in miracles?”

He affirms his answer “I’m a scientist, and I believe in miracles. So, the answer is yes.”

He notes that most of us don’t understand the Bible’s view of miracles. He says, “We tend to view God as mostly hands-off, standing on the sidelines, letting nature look after itself, but then on rare occasions reaching in to tweak things by the odd miracle here and there.”

But Hutchinson argues that according to the Bible, “[God] continuously holds the universe in the palm of his hand … It exists because of his continuous creative power and will: If he were to stop exerting that upholding power, stop paying attention to every part of the universe, it would instantly cease to exist.”

Thus, he defines a miracle this way: A miracle is “an extraordinary act of God” by which God “upholds a part of the universe in a manner different from the normal.”

He adds, “Yes, we know more today than people did long ago, but what we know today makes the universe seem, if anything, even more open.”

The same God who performed miracles in the Bible continues to do so to bring glory to Jesus Christ.

“A miracle is an event beyond the power of any known physical law to produce; it is a spiritual occurrence produced by the power of God, a marvel, a wonder.” – Billy Graham

“And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.” – Exodus 14:31