The miracle stories of Jesus do not exist in strict isolation. There are many threads linking them to other data and problems, for in a miraculous healing the question of the relation between disease and sin immediately arises. Is there a relation between healing and prayer, and how must it be regar...
The miracle stories of Jesus do not exist in strict isolation. There are many threads linking them to other data and problems, for in a miraculous healing the question of the relation between disease and sin immediately arises. Is there a relation between healing and prayer, and how must it be regarded if there is? And there are more questions, which we shall consider by means of the following points. What is the relation between disease and sin? In many places in the Old Testament we encounter the idea that not only individual sins, but also those performed collectively, are punished by God with disease and disaster. In Judaism the system of retribution is maintained unabridged and is elaborated. But Jesus didn’t take over this dogma of retribution in all its force. Jesus eliminated the terror from this doctrine. He did not lay down a broad theory about the relation between sin, disease and death, any more than He did for sin as such. What is the relation between miracles and faith? It must be stressed that there is not the slightest connection between the healings in the Gospels and the so-called faith cures. It indicates what is characteristic of the miracles of the New Testament, viz. the personal relation between Jesus and the sick. The stress falls on the personal, intense confidence that the sick had in Jesus. This confidence was aroused both by the preaching “with authority” had been noted. Faith related therefore to the whole of Jesus’ activities in word and deed, and not only to His miraculous power. What connection is there between the prayers of mankind, in particular those of the sick, and miracles? If we examine the pleas of the sick or of their helpers, we note that these prayers are extremely simple. Where these prayers of the faithful were sincere, Jesus brought relief, whereas He radically rejected the requests of the Pharisees for startling miracles and signs. What is the relation between miracles and salvation? For then miracles are given the greatest possible latitude as revelation of God’s Power, Will and Love. The concept “salvation” as the “peace” brought about by God’s grace contains every aspect that manifests itself in miracles: creation and providence, forgiveness and atonement, re-creation and promise.
The miracle stories of Jesus do not exist in strict isolation. There are many threads linking them to other data and problems, for in a miraculous healing the question of the relation between disease and sin immediately arises. Is there a relation between healing and prayer, and how must it be regarded if there is? And there are more questions, which we shall consider by means of the following points. What is the relation between disease and sin? In many places in the Old Testament we encounter the idea that not only individual sins, but also those performed collectively, are punished by God with disease and disaster. In Judaism the system of retribution is maintained unabridged and is elaborated. But Jesus didn’t take over this dogma of retribution in all its force. Jesus eliminated the terror from this doctrine. He did not lay down a broad theory about the relation between sin, disease and death, any more than He did for sin as such. What is the relation between miracles and faith? It must be stressed that there is not the slightest connection between the healings in the Gospels and the so-called faith cures. It indicates what is characteristic of the miracles of the New Testament, viz. the personal relation between Jesus and the sick. The stress falls on the personal, intense confidence that the sick had in Jesus. This confidence was aroused both by the preaching “with authority” had been noted. Faith related therefore to the whole of Jesus’ activities in word and deed, and not only to His miraculous power. What connection is there between the prayers of mankind, in particular those of the sick, and miracles? If we examine the pleas of the sick or of their helpers, we note that these prayers are extremely simple. Where these prayers of the faithful were sincere, Jesus brought relief, whereas He radically rejected the requests of the Pharisees for startling miracles and signs. What is the relation between miracles and salvation? For then miracles are given the greatest possible latitude as revelation of God’s Power, Will and Love. The concept “salvation” as the “peace” brought about by God’s grace contains every aspect that manifests itself in miracles: creation and providence, forgiveness and atonement, re-creation and promise.
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