How "Miraculous" Were Biblical Miracles?

All throughout the the Bible, both Old and New Testament, we see many miracles. Some of these miracles were performed by prophets, God allowing them to have the power to perform the miracles. Others were performed by the apostles, particularly after Christ's ascension. And of course, many miracles were performed by Jesus himself. In Exodus, we see the account of Aaron turning his staff into a snake, but followed by Pharoh's magicians doing the same (Exodus 7:8-13). This brings up the question of "were these miracles actually 'miraculous'"? And if so, how miraculous? What separates a miracle from say, an illusion or an amazing feat? We are going to look at a few miracles and the impossibility of them.

Several times in the Bible, people were raised from the dead. Jesus, Lazarus, and the centurion's daughter to name a few. We marvel in awesomeness of bringing someone back from the dead, but what impossibilities makes this a true miracle? Let's simply take a look at blood glucose. 

Every cell in the body requires energy to function and that energy comes from what is called adenosine triphosphate or ATP. This ATP requires 2 main factors: glucose and oxygen. Normal blood glucose levels in the body is 70-120. When it gets too high or low, the body, and particularly the cells, have to compensate. When a person dies, immediately the process of glucose breakdown begins. Someone who is alive uses aerobic metabolism (using oxygen) to creat the ATP needed for cells to function. When someone dies, anaerobic metabolism (without oxygen) takes place and the glucose is converted into lactose or lactic acid. Essentially, when we die, the two important factors for cell energy are gone and cells begin to die off. That is a partial factor in decay. 

When someone is brought back from the dead, it would be impossible for the cells to function because of the absense of glucose. That would mean the heart couldn't beat, the diaphragm couldn't allow breathing. For this miracle to take place, not only would the person need to be revived, but glucose levels restored along with essential amino acids and proteins that are already broken down. Not only would these need to be restored but blood coagulates when not circulating. When someone is revived like this, the blood would have to be restored to its original viscosity without a single embolism. This would require a supernatural divine intervention. And glucose and blood are a single factor in many factors that would need a divine miracle. 

Let's look at the brain. The brain as well needs oxygen to function. When someone has a stroke, blood supply is cut off, inhibiting the oxygen and nutrients from reaching the cells. That is why people have immediate deficits when having a stroke. When someone dies, the blood supply stops and the brain cells are no longer receiving oxygen and essential nutrients. Immediately, brain cell death begins to take place. Within 10-15 minutes, the brain will no longer (normally) function. If the person is revived, they will not have a normal life and would probably be a vegetable their whole life. For someone to be revived and have normal brain function immediately would take none other than an act of God. The amazing thing is, sometimes God intervenes like this today. People will be down for a length of time and after CPR, are revived and have normal brain function. Under ordinary pathophysiology, these people would have mental deficits but some come back with their original mental capacity. 

Let's take a look at another miracle: the lame man walking. In John 5:1-9 we see the account of Jesus healing a lame man. According to this passage, the man had been unable to walk for 38 years. When a muscle group is not used for a length of time it undergoes a process called atrophy. The muscles begin to shrink up and the muscle cells degenerate or die off. Today we see this happen. When someone has say, a broken limb, that limb isn't used for the time the cast is in place. When the cast is removed, the person doesn't have full movement and requires physical therapy to restore full movement. This miracle can seem very real to us because we see atrophy like this is short term. Now imagine a man who has been unable to walk for 38 years. His legs have completely atrophied. When Jesus restored him and allowed him to walk, we see that the man stood up and began walking. Thinking through this, we know that the man would have had to undergo major physical therapy to be able to walk again. Jesus would have not only had to restore his ability to walk but also restore his muscles and create new muscle cells that had died off. A true miracle. 

Let's take a look at one more miracle. In John 2:1-11 we witness the account of Jesus turning water into wine. When we read this, we think of it as a good miracle (Jesus' first miracle) as well as an elementary Sunday school story. But what would actually be involved when turning water to wine? We know that water is a combination of 2 hydrogen and 1 oxygen molecules (H2O). Now if we turn our attention to wine, we see that wine includes acids, sugars, proteins, many minerals, glutathione, esters, along with many other organic compounds. If it was a sparkling wine, it would also contain carbonation (or CO2 compound). For Jesus to turn water into wine, he did not just change the look and taste. He changed the complete chemical makeup. He would have had to creat molecules, minerals, and nutrients that did not currently exist in the water. And if he was turning WATER into wine (where none of these ingredients were present), he would have to create all of these from nothing. Again, this was a true miracle that could only take place by the hand of God. 

As we look at all of the miracles and realize the impossibility of each one, we realize the awesomeness and omnipotence of God. We realize just how marvelous the hand of God is. We should be awed at the power of God, but should not be surprised or shocked. God is the One who created the entire universe from nothing, as we see in Genesis. He simply spoke and everything that exists came into being. Why should we view the God, who created our world from nothing and created us from the world, as limitless in our world. Oftentimes, people are baffled at the works of God but if He can create everything from nothing, he can create organic compounds to make wine; he can create the proteins, cells, and nutrients that are no longer present in the body. He can cause a virgin to become pregnant and give birth, he can consume whole cities in fire with just His will for it to happen. For a God who created the universe, these miracles are trivial. We really do serve an amazing God. And in that, we should all the more have the desire to worship Him and live for Him as He asks of us. 

The most amazing thing about all of these miracles? The God who created the universe with simple words, who created everything from nothing, and who sustains the universe and maintains its order, also loves us enough to come to this earth and die for us so that we can dwell with Him one day. The almighty God who has the power to destroy the entire universe and eradicate sin, rather chose to come die for us. That is amazing love. Don't think that you are not important, not special, or unloved. God loves each of us and has a specific plan for each of us. He died for everyone, even people like you and me. And to think that He has individual plan for each one of us: the God who created the universe and makes the impossible, possible!

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

There's a very common question that is oftentimes difficult to answer and that is: "why do bad things happen?" Quite often Christians are asked this with a loss for an answer and even amoung Christian circles, the question continues to arise: "why do bad things happen to good people?" Naturally, this is a question people long to have answered. 

We can look at this question in two different perspectives that the Bible lays out. The first is judgement. All throughout the Bible, when a nation or person turns against God, judgement follows. God tells us "vengeance is mine, I will repay saith the Lord". (Romans 10:19) But this also has its own perspectives and that is in the dealing with Christians vs. non-Christians. God will have vengeance on people who reject him. He also will not protect people who are his own. People who reject God do not receive His hand of protection. So an unsaved person has bad things happening because of his own sin and rejection of God. Likewise, a child of God (as Christians are referred to in John 1:12) have Gods protection. So why do bad things happen to Christians? Keeping it in the current perspective, if we are Gods children, we are chastised for the wrong things we do just as a good parent does with his child. 

Now let's change the perspective back to why "bad" things happen to "good" people. Well if we are going to look at good and bad, we must define our terms. What is a "good" person? Is it someone who does good deeds, lives a good life, gives to charity? Romans 3:23 says that we all have a sinful nature, we are born "bad". Societal norms would like to say that there's "good people" and "bad people" or that it is a grey area. Some believe that good is relative to your own personal truth. But we know that ever since the fall of Adam, we are born sinners. 

The good news is in 2 Chorinthians 5:17. When we accept Christ, we are made "a new creature". So looking at who is bad and who is good. We are all bad, but those who accept Christ are made perfect in His image. We are made sinless in Christ. 

Now that we know the difference between a good and bad person, what is a "bad thing"? Most people would define it as a death, cancer diagnoses, an accident, etc. We chose what is good and what is bad in today's society. But God defines bad as sin and sin is anything that is an antithesis of the love for God. Bad is the sin that God cannot allow into His presence, according to Galatians 5:19-20. 

That is the straight up definition of bad. So what is good? Everything that God does is good. Romans 8:28 says "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose". God is incapable of imperfection. It is by our own doing that there is imperfection in this world. 

When we look at the facts given throughout the Bible we know that 1) good people are sinful people who are made perfect in Christ's blood. 2) bad things are imperfections and sin that is a result of our old nature. And 3) God is incapable of anything "bad". So why do "bad" things happen to "good" people? The first reason could be a chastisement from God for sin that we are currently in. A second reason is that it may not be a bad thing to begin with. God puts us in the life we live and puts things in our lives that we may perceive as bad. But God has an ultimate plan for our lives and whatever you are currently going through may just be a part of God's perfect plan. We may not see it, but ultimately God has a better plan for us. Remember that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.