I.
FOUR GREEK
WORDS FOR MIRACLES.
In
the New Testament these four Greek words are principally used to designate
miracles: (1.) Semeion, a “sign”, i.e.,
an evidence of a divine commission; an attestation of a divine message (Matt.
12:38, 39; 16:1, 4; Mark 8:11; Luke 11:16; 23:8; John 2:11, 18, 23; Acts 6:8,
etc.); a token of the presence and working of God; the seal of a higher power.
(2.)
Terata, “wonders;” wonder-causing
events; portents; producing astonishment in the beholder (Acts 2:19).
(3.)
Dunameis, “might works;” works of
superhuman power (Acts 2:22; Rom. 15:19; 2 Thess. 2:9); of a new and higher
power.(4.) Erga, “works;” the works
of Him who is “wonderful in working” (John 5:20, 36).
II.
TRIGGERS THAT PRODUCE MIRACLES.
1.
Pressing.
Luke 8:40-49
40 And
it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him. 41 And,
behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and
he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his
house: 42 For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of
age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him. 43 And
a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living
upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, 44 Came behind
him, and touched the border of his
garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. 45 And
Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him
said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 46 And Jesus
said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. 47 And
when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down
before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had
touched him, and how she was healed immediately. 48 And he said
unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in
peace.
2.
Faith.
Acts 14:8-11
8 And
there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from
his mother’s womb, who never had walked: 9 The same heard Paul
speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be
healed, 10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet.
And he leaped and walked.
Mark 9:17-27
17 And
one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my
son, which hath a dumb spirit; 18 And wheresoever he taketh
him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth
away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they
could not. 19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless
generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring
him unto me. 20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw
him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed
foaming. 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since
this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it
hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou
canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 Jesus
said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And
straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I
believe; help thou mine unbelief. 25 When Jesus saw that the
people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge
thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. 26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and
came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. 27 But
Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. 28 And
when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could
not we cast him out?
3.
Persistent
Faith Prayer.
Luke 18:1-8
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to
pray, and not to faint; 2 Saying, There was in a city a judge,
which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3 And there was a
widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within
himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5 Yet because
this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she
weary me. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge
saith. 7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day
and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you
that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh,
shall he find faith on the earth?
4.
A Catalyst.
Luke 10:17-20
17 And
the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject
unto us through thy name. 18 And he said unto them, I beheld
Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19 Behold, I give unto you
power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy:
and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Notwithstanding in
this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice,
because your names are written in heaven.
Acts 19:11-12
11 And
God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: 12 So that
from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the
diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
John 14:12
12 Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he
do also; and greater works than these
shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Mark 16:14-18
15 And
he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs
shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they
shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents;
and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay
hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
5.
Asking.
Matthew 8:1-3
When he was come down from the
mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2 And, behold, there
came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me
clean. 3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And
immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
6.
Extravagant
Giving.
1 Kings 3:3-5
3 And
Solomon loved the Lord, walking in
the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high
places. 4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for
that was the great high place: a
thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. 5 In
Gibeon the Lord appeared to
Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
7.
Faith,
Actions and Prayers of Friends.
Mark 2:1-12
And again he entered into Capernaum,
after some days; and it was noised
that he was in the house. 2 And straightway many were gathered
together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word
unto them. 3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the
palsy, which was borne of four. 4 And when they could not come
nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when
they had broken it up, they let down
the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 5 When Jesus saw
their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven
thee. 6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there,
and reasoning in their hearts, 7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can
forgive sins but God only? 8 And immediately when Jesus
perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto
them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? 9 Whether is
it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy
sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 10 But
that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he
saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11 I say unto thee, Arise, and
take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. 12 And
immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch
that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this
fashion.
Matthew 21:17-19
17 And he
left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.18 Now
in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. 19 And
when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon,
but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for
ever…
And presently the fig tree withered
away. 20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!
21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If
ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this
mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 22 And
all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Acts 13:5-12
6 And
when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer,
a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was
Bar-jesus: 7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius
Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear
the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name
by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the
faith. 9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, 10 And
said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou
enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of
the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind,
not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a
darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. 12 Then
the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the
doctrine of the Lord.
9.
Crying out.
Matthew 15:21-28
21 Then
Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And,
behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him,
saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou
Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But
he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying,
Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and
said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then
came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he
answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she
said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their
masters’ table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O
woman, great is thy faith: be it unto
thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Matthew 9:27-31
27 And
when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. 28 And
when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith
unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith
be it unto you. 30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus
straitly charged them, saying, See that
no man know it. 31 But
they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.
10.
Command
by God that leads to a miracle.
Luke 5:4-7
4 Now
when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and
let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said
unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing:
nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when
they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net
brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come
and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to
sink.
11.
Compassion.
Luke 7:11-17
11 And
it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many
of his disciples went with him, and much people. 12 Now when he
came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out,
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city
was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion
on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14 And he came and touched
the bier: and they that bare him
stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15 And
he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his
mother. 16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified
God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath
visited his people.
