This beginning of miracles did
Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples
believed on him. (John 2:11)
There are more than thirty-five documented miracles of Jesus in the New
Testament, but He has performed far more than a mere thirty-five. You and I are
miracles in at least two separate ways: 1) we came by miracle of birth having
our life imparted to us by God in the darkness of our mother’s womb. That, my
friends, is an amazing miracle. 2) The second great miracle is that of our
salvation. It is a truly miraculous love that deigns to die in our stead to
save us from our sins as Christ did on that rough-hewn cross at Calvary. There
was nothing ‘good’ or ‘lovely’ about you and me, yet Christ died for us. This
is the grandest miracle of all for me. All others are mere secondary to this
last miracle.
Our scripture reference text from St. John 2:11 correctly states that the
miracle of the water and wine was the “beginning of miracles” of
Jesus. I fully believe that statement; however, the pre-incarnate Christ is “the
beginning of miracles” Himself. The Son does nothing apart from the
Father, and the Son and Father does nothing apart from the Holy Ghost for all
Three are One in Mind and Purpose. Miracles are defined by Easton’s Illustrated
Dictionary in the following words:
“An event in the external
world brought about by the immediate agency or the simple volition of God,
operating without the use of means capable of being discerned by the senses,
and designed to authenticate the divine commission of a religious teacher and
the truth of his message (John 2:18;
Mat 12:38).
It is an occurrence at once above nature and above man. It shows the
intervention of a power that is not limited by the laws either of matter or of
mind, a power interrupting the fixed laws which govern their movements, a
supernatural power.” —Easton's Illustrated Dictionary
I must agree with this
definition with the one reservation that the laws of nature, themselves, are
miraculous. When we consider the precise order of the Universe, the stars in
their paths, the precision orbits of the planets about their stars, or suns, is
truly miraculous. The constant formation of a baby’s body and soul from
conception, the DNA programming instantly present from the first moment of that
conception, is miraculous. But, for the sake of a simple and uncomplicated
discussion of miracles, I will restrain form enlarging upon the multitude of
miracles found in nature and dwell upon those that relate to the suspension, by
God, of the natural laws of the Universe.
The very first recorded miracle of the pre-Incarnate Christ
occurred in the very first verse of Genesis: “In the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth.” (Gen 1:1) The Hebrew word for God,
here, is Elohim. Elohim is a
plural singular proper noun which relates to the working of God the Father in
concert with God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. All three were present and
active at the moment of Creation of this world and all that is in the heavenly
cosmos. “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon
the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
(Gen 1:2) You see mention of the Presence of the Holy Spirit during this moment
of Creation.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, in
pre-Incarnate form, was present as well: “And God said, Let there be
light: and there was light.” (Gen 1:3) That Light has been illuminating
our hearts ever since. “I am the light of the
world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the
light of life.” (John 8:12)
God brought His blueprints of Creation to the Table at the beginning. The Holy
Spirit supplied the Oil of Action, and Jesus Christ, the Architect of the World
proceeded to build according to His Father’s plan. “1 In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The
same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and
without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and
the life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-4) A searching discernment is
not required to know that this refers to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Word
from all Eternity Past and Future.
Another profound miracle of
Christ is no more profound than other miracles of similar character except that
it occurred outside the Laws of Nature as set in place by God at the beginning
the – that is, the miracle of the Incarnation of Christ as a babe at Bethlehem.
There has only been one man previously who lived without having been born of
woman: who was that? It was Adam who was created by the direct Hand of God.
There has been only One Man born of woman who had no earthly Father – the Lord
Jesus Christ. It was to a precious and holy young virgin that the Angel Gabriel
appeared with the miraculous news of the Coming Jesus: “31 And,
behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call
his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the
Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom
there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this
be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow
thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be
called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:31-35) In a sense, the first miracle of Jesus was in His very birth
of a Virgin. All else is detail.
Our next devotion will concern
itself with the first Ministerial miracle of Christ at Cana of Galilee. You
just might read ahead for a preview of that miracle. The account is found in
the Gospel of St. John 2:1-11.
