God’s Story Is Our Story: From Genesis To Jesusনমুনা

Reflecting on the last week: Some people present the Bible as a book full of miracles. But that’s not really the case. There are only a few times in history where God intervenes in dramatic (unusual, non-repeatable, miraculous) ways. In every case these miracles point to a greater reality; this is why they are often called “signs.” For example, the miracles during the Exodus (plagues and the splitting of the sea) were “signs” that the God of Israel was the only God. So what about Jesus’ healing miracles? To what do they point? We often say they proved his divine nature. That is true. But Matthew draws a slightly different connection. He connects the wonders and signs of Jesus to “the gospel of the kingdom.” This shows us four things. First, Jesus’ miracles point us to the reality that the miracle-worker is someone special. Jesus is a king who reclaims all of Adam’s promised dominion over nature… and more. Second, Jesus’ miracles are a sign of what kind of kingdom his reign brings about. It is a kingdom where the wreckage of sin (including sickness, pain and tears) is reversed. It is a kingdom where God’s peace and love reign through self-sacrifice, not power grabbing. Third, Jesus’ miracles are a sign that God is again acting in history to redeem his people. Just as God rolled up his sleeves and set to work in the Exodus, so now. He will rescue people from enslavement to the dark powers (sin, idolatry, injustice) behind every Egypt in the world. In this Exodus he will rescue not only Israel, but people from every nation, and ultimately all of creation. Indeed, the creation miracles (the calming of the storm) point to precisely this: Jesus is inaugurating new creation. When we read these miracles, we must allow them reach into our deepest pains and hardest losses—not because we expect God to miraculously undo them in a moment, but because they are signposts to the kind of world Jesus is recreating.