[Featured art by Jen Horton, “Who Touched Me?“]
Some miracles are easier to ‘see’ than others. A woman I love dearly was once losing her sight due to Macular Degeneration – that is until our pastor, prompted by the Spirit, prayed from the pulpit for her eyes to be healed. And they were!
I once sat in the back seat of a car during a road trip…with no seatbelt, leaning forward between the two front seats so that I could chat more easily with my mother and our friend. When out of the blue another car turned directly in front of us from the other lane. And we collided. As if in a slow motion scene of a movie, I watched my mom and friend slam forward into their airbags and the car veer off the road until it shuddered to a stop. The whole time I did not move. As though someone’s arms held me firmly in place, my body remained where it was until I chose to climb out the back door so I could pry my mother’s door open and get her out of the car.
Miracles as these are hard to see, impossible to prove. Yet for the ones who encounter such supernatural works of God, nothing could be more real than what we experienced. We know without a doubt that God had His hand on us – sometimes in more ways than one.
Some miracles happen because of the compassion of our Father in heaven. But most of the time, such supernatural acts are also given for a greater good. They become signs of God’s kingdom at work, of Jesus’ identity and purposes. Miracles are the healing, the protection, the deliverance. And often, they also point those who witness such power to the One who made it happen.
The Heart Behind Signs and Wonders
Our stroll through the Gospel of Luke has helped us see that Jesus’ ministry has been outlined for us from an ancient prophecy in Isaiah 61:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
Luke 4:18-19 NIV
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
In claiming this prophecy fulfilled in Himself (v.21), Jesus casts a “vision for radical change in the spiritual climate,” and from that moment it’s “wall-to-wall ministry.”1 Again and again, Jesus heals, delivers, and shares the Good News.
Smack-dab in the midst of such miracles, two of John the Baptist’s disciples come to Jesus with a question from John: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Luke 7:20-21). Jesus’ response is to cite the very actions Isaiah had promised the Messiah would accomplish:
“So he replied to the messengers, ‘Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.’”
Luke 7:22
Jesus knows John will understand the connection between the miracles and the Messianic prophecy; he’d have the answer to his question. And Luke wants us to be able to do the same – see Jesus for who He is. In this way, Jesus’ miracles are layered. They are a work of His heart for hurting, lost, plagued people. They are also signs that He is the Messiah. The wonders Jesus works reveal His identity.2
When Jesus shares His power with the Twelve, the miracles increase in volume because Jesus gives authority to others for holy healings. These miraculous works prepare people for Jesus as the Christ, demonstrating that miracles are more than what they appear to be; their real power lies in their ability to point people to the Messiah and His kingdom.
In this way a miracle “rises to the level of a sign” because it “opens up an endless well of revelation.”3 A sign that points us to Jesus – His power, His personhood, His authority – goes on to reveal this reality long after the sign itself fades. Like a burning bush.
“A sign beckons us to take off our shoes and recognize we are standing on holy ground.”
JD Walt3
Like Moses, when we find ourselves in the presence of a sign, we bow low. We marvel at God and His wonders. We ask Holy Spirit to help us grasp the meaning of such a sign while realizing in our hearts that we’re not meant to analyze this moment like a science project – but to discover God’s heart in the midst of it.3
“Divine revelation designs to draw our knees to the earth, our faces to the ground, and our hearts into the heavens where we cry out, ‘Holy! Holy! Holy!’”
JD Walt3
In the mystery of such signs lies the wonder of their power and purposes. Their meanings and mystery are inexhaustible.3 So, rather than trying to master understanding, we are called to step into the unexplainable, into Jesus’ power-filled presence – and behold His majesty!3
The Evidence for Signs and Wonders
Many people in Jesus’ day found it impossible to acknowledge Him as the Messiah because they wanted great signs and wonders as proof. If you’re like me, you’re thinking, well, how about all the healings, all the deliverances from evil, and the times Jesus raised people from the dead. Aren’t they signs? Aren’t they enough evidence?
And the answer for many first century Jews, especially the leaders of their faith, was no. Before we roll eyes or get defensive, we must understand what they were expecting from the Christ. Imagery from Old Testament prophecies of a scepter-wielding warrior defeating all of Israel’s enemies enforced the idea of Israel’s Messiah as coming into Jerusalem like a king ready for battle (for examples, read Micah 2 and Isaiah 11). And in their first century context, faithful Jews fully expected the Christ to crush their Roman oppressors.
Such a hyper-focused way of reading Scripture kept them from seeing the entire arc of its narrative. It kept them from recognizing that the works Jesus was doing were the signs, the evidence of His Messianic identity. A few passages fed the Jews’ expectations rather than the fuller picture of Messiah that more often described Him as lowly and humble, as compassionate, as riding into town on a donkey, as a suffering servant.
This misunderstanding of Messiah leads Jesus to respond to the Pharisees’ direct question – when will the kingdom of God come – in this way:
“The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
Luke 17:20-21 NIV
His answer addresses their assumptions. There won’t be any big cosmic signs or worldwide wonders (ie: the ‘observable’) at Messiah’s first coming. But there will be upon His return (v.24). And while this first advent of Messiah comes with suffering (v.25), it does begin the process of ushering in the kingdom of God (v.21).
All of which, most Jews totally miss.
Their wrong assumptions led to great pride. They believed themselves to be right and Jesus wrong. Such behavior becomes an example of what the Proverbs warn: pride goes before the fall (16:18).
And we can learn much from their mistakes.
The Here and Now of Signs and Wonders
If we pause to observe our culture, especially our current Christian culture, we might see more similarities to the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day than we’d expect. For example, we often count “an hour in church and a blessing before meals as the center of the Christian experience”1 – just as Pharisees counted all the laws they ‘followed’ as total righteousness.
We also doubt what others call miracles or signs because we can’t explain them. Or we deny them because we can’t ‘see’ their effects…. Or dismiss them because such supernatural occurrences don’t fit in the box we’ve built for God – just as Jesus did not fit the Messiah-mold first century Jews had erected.
Jesus models for us the way of holiness in Scripture. It is to live out what Isaiah described. It is to believe Jesus lives in us with the same Holy Spirit power He gave the Twelve and the Seventy-Two and the early church. God has never changed. Nor will He ever be different from what He always has been. Holy. Powerful. Good. Mighty. The Giver of Life. The Author and Perfecter of our Faith. The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. None of that has changed.
God is Spirit. He tabernacles in us. We are His vessels, His moving temples in the world for so many purposes. And it’s not just for our good. It is for our good, but even more so it’s so that we will take Holy Spirit into the world, sharing His love, His grace, His truth, and His power.
“Jesus defined for His followers what it means to be sent out and represent the very best the kingdom has to offer this world: that followers have power and authority to drive out demons, cure diseases, proclaim the kingdom of God, and heal things that destroy people’s lives.”
Carolyn Moore1
Yet how many of us who love Jesus are out in the world doing these signs and wonders?
Too few. One reason is that we’ve grown attachments in this world.1 Anything we cling to – a belief, a comfort, a fear, a habit, a sin, a person, a political party, a particular theology, a specific practice, any idol – over Jesus becomes a barrier to the moves of His Spirit.
Jesus warns us of loving our lives on earth too much. It’s why He tells those who follow Him to “deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23 NIV). The New Living Translation puts it this way, “You must give up your own way.” In The Message, Jesus says, “Let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am.” For us “to get to this promise of new life, something has to die” (Carolyn’s summary of verses 24-25).1 And usually that means letting our need for control die. It means laying down our impulse for self-preservation and protection.1
This is living surrendered. It’s laying down our stubborn tendencies as well as our fear-based responses. It’s handing all of it over to Jesus and trusting Him. And as we do, the attachments begin falling away. The blockades to the Spirit dissipate and His power flows.
I remember the first time I heard all of this – in the middle of the pandemic. Talk about a time of clinging to the ‘old’. A time of fear and self-preservation. I felt to my core the truths of this message for myself. And I began to claim Jesus as life.1 I started naming my attachments. I began the process of detaching from my idols, of dying to self and trusting that Jesus lives in me with power and purpose!
I could feel fear give way to a love of life that was free and hopeful and empowering. I began speaking to my friends who served alongside me at church with more eagerness and boldness about what I was learning and experiencing so that the minute we were allowed to meet in person, we picked up the practice of praying together again. And the Spirit began showing us collectively images of what it is like for the Spirit to be blocked – like boulders in a river, like a dam holding back a flood – and what it looks like for the release of such Living Water to flow freely, to bring new life.
Friends, embracing holy signs and wonders doesn’t mean suspending our belief nor our God-given ability to think and reason. Rather it means we’re to grab hold of faith so that we can believe God for all that He is – even the parts we can’t understand or make us uncomfortable. It also means we have a great need to receive all He has for us – so that as His Holy Spirit vessels, we become demonstrations of His grace-filled power, His love-sourced wonders. Not for our glory but for His glory, for the good of others, for the growth of His kingdom.
To keep doubting holy signs and wonders, the miraculous, is to remain powerless and complacent because we value our comfort and the false idea we have of control. I know this because I have walked the middle road for too long.
- I embrace the power of prayer yet have resisted when others have prayed healing in Jesus’ name over me.
- I embrace the reality of deliverance and restoration in Jesus’ name yet hesitate to enter into such ministry myself.
- I embrace the moves of revival during Holy Spirit outpourings yet hold back on stepping into it fully myself.
Perhaps I’m fearful of failure or scared to ‘lose control’. Perhaps I (still) carry too much ‘fear of man’ rather than ‘fear of God’ or worry about losing relationships because I’ve surrendered to Holy Spirit power rather than what the world says is ‘okay’. Perhaps I cling to what is safe and tangible and comfortable because the ‘supernatural’ pushes me way out of my comfort zone.
However. I long for what I see other people in ministry doing – praying with confidence in Jesus for healing and wholeness, for deliverance and restoration of faith.
The glimpses – and they’ve been beautiful and faith-building – that I have had of leaning into Holy Spirit power as I’ve interceded for my sons or when I’ve fully surrendered to Jesus in a moment at the altar or when I’ve responded to Holy Spirit’s promptings to speak a word of encouragement to total strangers let me know that these holy signs and wonders are real. They’re of God. They’re peace-giving, love-sourced, faith-awakening, repentance-igniting, and holy-motivated moments of the pure presence of God.
And I want to pursue God in such a way that I live all-in for Him all the time, releasing my grip on all that I hold too tightly and allowing Holy Spirit to release me into all that God desires for me. Therein lies the beauty and boldness of holy signs and wonders. They point us to God. They invite Jesus into the present, into the person. They bring heaven and earth together in a moment of pure holiness. And they press us onward toward more life in the holy, more sharing of our God who is holy – into a world that is desperate for such holiness.
This week we will use the lyrics of “This Is a Move” as our prayer:4
Father God,
Mountains are still being moved
Strongholds are still being loosed
God, we believe it, yes, we can see that
Wonders are still what You do
We are here for You
Come and do what You do
We are here for You
Come and do what You do
Set our hearts on You
Come and do what You do
‘Cause we need a move
We need a move
And bodies are still being raised
And giants are still being slayed
God, we believe it, and yes, we can see that
Wonders are still what You do
We are here for You
Come and do what You do
We are here for You
Come and do what You do
Set our hearts on You
Come and do what You do
‘Cause we need a move
We need a move
In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.
- 1 – Carolyn Moore’s study, Supernatural.
- 2 – Article, “Miracles, Mission, Messiah”, by Mark Abbott
- 3 – JD Walt, Wake Up Call, 8/25/2020, “ On Interpreting Signs from God”
- 4 – Here is the Spotify link to Brandon Lake’s “This Is a Move” song that I used as our prayer today. It’s a song I’ve worshiped with for a while now but today I made my prayer. I pray we can all make it our prayer! It’s already on our series’ Spotify playlist, Set Apart As Holy.
- Each Wednesday I upload a “Teacup” teaching video that carries on the topic here. You can find all the videos on my Facebook Author Page, Instagram, and YouTube.
- Many of you have found me on Substack. Thank you so much! And, if you’d like to listen to (rather than read) these weekly posts, you can do so on Substack. It’s easy to see and use the audio bar across the top of each post. While you’re on Substack, check out the ministry I’m blessed to be part of, the Devoted Collective.
- My monthly newsletter, The Abiding Life, goes to email inboxes the first week of each month to those who have subscribed on my website. I also post them on Substack. My most recent edition can be found there, and you can subscribe for future newsletters on Substack, here.
Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike.
- It’s Lent, so it makes sense that we’d pick up the spiritual rhythms of fasting and praying. I don’t know about you, but Lent has held a lot of heavy, hard losses for so many people around me. So I have found myself praying more than I have in a long time — true intercession as well as praise for the God who walks with us through every dark valley. I know I’ve mentioned Lectio 365 in this space as a resource, but here’s what I want to invite you into specifically — the “Night” prayers. My own physical challenges of this season have forced me to change my bedtime routine, and a friend mentioned how she has picked up the practice of praying in her bed with these “Night” prayers. So I’ve entered into this rhythm as well — and it’s nothing short of beautiful.
Pete Greig is the main ‘voice’ of these prayers (he’s also the founder of Prayer 24/7 and Lectio 365), and he explains periodically that the Eastern Orthodox Church describes Lent as the season of “Bright Sadness.” And every night, Pete invites us to acknowledge both the brightness and the sadness we’ve experienced throughout the day. It’s a moving, faith-building thing to enter into both the bright and the sad, holding them both together before the Lord. A holy acknowledgement and release! I urge you to give this practice a try. If you don’t have the app, you can get the link on the website for Lectio 365.
- We’re all called to share the truth about who Jesus is. One way you can do that is by sharing this site and telling others your own stories of faith experiences. May we use our whole selves to tell others about our holy God!!
Featured Featured art by Jen Horton, “Who Touched Me?“
“All the Bits and Pieces” Photo by Aleksandra Sapozhnikova on Unsplash.