but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:21–22)
Healings, signs, and miracles in the name of Jesus
We often see posters or receive flyers that invite people to healing meetings, miracle fests, festivals of blessing, etc. It is promised that the sick will be healed. There are lots of great “healers,” preachers, pastors, and prophets who claim to have God’s anointing and so are able to heal all illnesses or raise dead people. In this article, we would like to have a look at what the Bible teaches us regarding signs and miracles performed in the name of Jesus.
Be Watchful!
Before being impressed by the above mentioned great promises, testimonies of people who were healed, or even personally witnessed miracles, we have to be aware of all the warnings in the Bible in this regard. The warnings call us to be careful, to examine, and not to be too quick with conclusions such as “This healer is definitely a great, anointed man of God, so we can trust and follow him.”
“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods’, which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them’, you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. (Deuteronomy 13:1–5)
Even if the miraculous sign or wonder takes place, we have to examine the teachings of that person. Nowadays, no preacher would say, “Let us follow other gods…,” but if they teach things contrary to the words of Jesus and the apostles, we have to see them as deceivers who are trying “to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow.”
For non-Catholics, a very clear example could be the healings which happen through “Mother Mary” at various shrines (e.g., Velankanni, Fatima, Lourdes, etc.) where “Mary” is venerated (in fact worshipped) in a way that is obviously unbiblical. But in the same way, we have to examine the words and teachings of protestant/Pentecostal preachers and healers as well. The above verses from Deuteronomy show that the words and teachings are decisive and much more important in front of God than miraculous signs.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thorn bushes? […] “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:15–16.21–23)
In verse 22, Jesus speaks about the Last Judgement. The people who say to him “Lord, Lord…” are preachers and prophets who preached, prophesied, and performed many miracles in Jesus’ name. Yet, they will not be allowed to enter heaven as Jesus has never known them. Why? Because they did not do the will of God. Again a clear warning not to be quickly impressed by miraculous signs but to examine the fruit by which false prophets can be distinguished from true ones. Obviously, fruit cannot mean miracles as in the later verses it is clear that they are condemned in spite of the miraculous signs they performed. The fruit refers to their lives and teachings. It is often well known about famous healers and preachers that they live in great luxury (1 John 3:17), love money (1 Timothy 6:6–10), love the honor of people (John 5:44, Mark 12:38–40), love the world (1 John 2:15–17), and are too busy, so personal relationship is hardly possible with them (1 Thessalonians 2:4–12). However, sometimes it is not so easy to know their lives; therefore, we have to examine their teachings on the basis of the Bible.
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (Acts 17:11)
Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, acknowledges the noble character of the Bereans because they examined the teachings of Paul whether they were true. We have to do the same before we trust and follow someone. And we have to be very careful and thorough in this. It is not enough that someone teaches that Jesus is the saviour of the world and he is God (for example), but we have to look at the whole will of God:
Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. (Acts 20:26–27)
If Paul had not proclaimed to the Ephesians the whole will of God, he would have been guilty of their blood, that is, he would not have shown them the way of eternal life. Still some more Bible passages about being cautious:
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. (Matthew 24:24–25)
Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. […] It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. (Revelation 13:11.12–14)
The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. (2 Thessalonians 2:9–10)
This last passage shows the responsibility and guilt of not only the deceivers but also those who believed them. No one can blame the false prophets for being deceived by them. Their punishment will be certainly more severe, but, basically, God has given everyone the ability to distinguish between good and evil. We have the Bible, which guides us if we are open and love the truth. Hence, knowing the Bible and clinging to it are the best protection against being deceived.
Jesus healed all—evidently, undoubtedly, completely
As we have seen above, not all miracles are from God, and a clear way to find this out is to examine the teachings (and also the life) of the one who performs them. Apart from this, miracles performed in the name of Jesus should also look like the miracles performed by Jesus himself. In the following, we will look at some characteristics of Jesus’ miracles and compare them with the miracles which we can see or hear of nowadays.
Jesus healed all
That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. (Matthew 8:16)
Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all (Matthew 12:15)
When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the market-places and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. (Mark 6:53–56)
As is visible from the above passages, Jesus healed all the sick, not only some. Whoever went to him in the hope to be healed was really healed by him, whatever illness he had. At nowadays’ healing meetings, it is very sad to see that lots of sick people go to the “healer” full of hope and expectation, but they have to go back home in the same condition as they came. The reason the “healers” usually give is the lack of faith of the sick person. However, Jesus healed also such people who showed with their later actions that they did not have a strong faith:
On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11–19)
All the ten were healed; yet, Jesus acknowledges the faith of only that one who came back to him to give praise to God. This situation shows that Jesus did not expect special faith of those whom he healed. It was enough if they believed and had hope that Jesus can heal them.
Jesus never treated people in such a way that first he gave hope to someone and then failed to heal them. He never failed in his healings because of the lack of faith of the sick person. We never see reports that he would have tried to heal someone but he could not because they did not have enough faith. It cannot be that the multitudes nowadays who have to go home after great healing meetings without being healed all did not have enough faith. The problem must be somewhere else.
Another frequently heard reason given by “healers” is that it is not always God’s will to heal someone. However, if the “healer” is a man of God, why can he not understand in advance before he gives hope to the “patient” and before he starts his healing attempt that this is not God’s will now. If their reasoning is valid at all, then it rather testifies that they are not connected with God because they are not able to know God’s will in advance, only by trial and error. Jesus and later the apostles (after receiving the Holy Spirit) never made such unsuccessful attempts.
Still a further attempt of the “healers” to justify their failures is to refer to the situation in Nazareth, where Jesus did not do many miracles:
And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, and coming to his home town he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offence at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his home town and in his own household.” And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. (Matthew 13:53–58)
As we see, in Nazareth, the unbelief was very obvious: “They took offense at him.” The lack of faith refers to their negative and skeptical attitude towards Jesus and that because of this Jesus did not have a chance to help them. Jesus, seeing their attitude, did not want to do miracles among them. This is a very different situation from the failed healing attempts of today’s “healers.”
Jesus’ healings were evident, beyond any doubt, and complete
The diseases which Jesus healed, and about which we have detailed reports in the gospels, were mostly very serious ones: stroke, blindness (even from birth), muteness, leprosy, internal bleeding (for 12 years), paralysis (for 38 years), etc. The gospels also report about three cases, in which he raised people from the dead. All the cases were so evident that even Jesus’ enemies could not deny them, though they tried very hard to prove that Jesus was a deceiver. For example, when Jesus raised Lazarus, who had been dead for 4 days, the miracle was so evident that the Jewish leaders seriously had to consider what to do:
Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him […]. So from that day on they plotted to take his life. (John 11:43–48; 53)
And later:
When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. (John 12:9–12)
When Jesus healed a man who had been born blind, the Pharisees tried to disprove the miracle, but it was not successful:
So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. (John 9:17–20)
As mentioned above, the illnesses which Jesus healed were very serious ones and the healings were very obvious to everyone. Nowadays’ “healers,” however, mostly heal headaches, back pain, neck pain, chest pain, stomach pain, etc.—illnesses which are not very evident, and so also the healing cannot be clearly proved (we do not want to deal now with the many previously arranged or later proved fake healings). The only witness is the patient. Also, mostly we do not know how long the pain is absent after the “healing.” As the above passages and many other cases in the gospels show, Jesus’ healings were very different.
Jesus’ approach to miracles
Jesus knew that the worst “disease” that makes people’s lives miserable is sin. His aim was to call people to repentance from their sins and to show them the way which leads to heaven. He wanted to heal the wounds of their hearts so that their relationships with God can be restored.
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20–21)
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14–15)
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. (1 Timothy 1:15)
Jesus called the people to follow him, which is only possible if they are ready to deny themselves and put to death their old corrupt selves and allow the Holy Spirit, whom the believers were to receive, to transform their lives (Ephesians 4:22–24). This was the healing that Jesus offered, and he knew that even if people’s bodily diseases are cured or their hunger is satisfied, their lives can be really restored only if they are ready to go his way. The miracles that he performed had the aim (1) to confirm that he is the savior of the world whom God sent and (2) to point to God’s ultimate purpose and give a certain foretaste of heaven, where there will be no suffering anymore (Revelation 21:4). He never wanted followers who are impressed by his miracles but do not understand his actual message. He knew that such faith is superficial and is very short-lived:
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. (John 2:23–25)
In a later situation, this became very evident:
So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labour for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (John 6:24–35)
Jesus saw that people were interested in him because of the physical food they received from him. However, when Jesus directed their attention to the spiritual food, to the bread of life, many of his enthusiastic followers left him:
As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live for ever.” […] Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offence at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. […] After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. (John 6:57–58.59–63.66)
Jesus was not afraid of losing many of his disciples by confronting them with what it means to follow him, although it was certainly painful for him.
Miracles in the Bible
If we have a look at the entire Holy Scripture, it is visible that miraculous signs and wonders did not happen throughout the history of God’s nation. God acted in this way in special times but not always: particularly, in the time of Moses, in the time of Elijah and Elisha, and in the time of Jesus and the apostles. These were very important times in the history of salvation. The time of Moses was the beginning of Israel as a nation and the Old Covenant. The time of Elijah and Elisha was a very critical time when the spiritual survival of Israel was at stake due to the godless rule of the Omri dynasty and Jezebel’s efforts to totally extinguish the worship of Yahweh. Jesus and the apostles marked the beginning of the New Israel and the New Covenant. In these special times, God wanted to help his people to believe in Him also through miraculous signs.
In the time of Moses, the ten plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea were very special experiences for the Israelites.
Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses. (Exodus 14:30–31)
However, God did not work in this miraculous way among them constantly. He expected them to remember and pass on these great events to their children from generation to generation.
“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children — (Deuteronomy 4:9)
The great things were not repeated again and again. God expected faith based on the testimonies. In a similar way, the miracles that Jesus and the apostles performed are written down in the New Testament for all later generations so that we can also read them and believe even if we cannot see them with our own eyes. As John expresses it at the end of his gospel:
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30–31)
Just before this remark of John, there was an incident in which Jesus rebuked Thomas because he was not ready to believe that Jesus had risen without seeing him with his own eyes:
Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:24–29)
Jesus did not expect Thomas to believe blindly. He had enough evidence to believe that Jesus had risen as he had heard the testimony of the other apostles. The admonishment of Jesus is valid also for us. We too have a lot of evidence written down in the Bible about God’s miraculous acting. We should not demand more but believe based on the Scripture.
Important signs other than miracles
As mentioned above, miracles are often referred to as clear evidence that a preacher, pastor, organization, or church is from God. However, as we have seen, miracles can be imitated and misused to claim divine authority and deceive others. Therefore, we have to be very cautious when hearing of or seeing such things.
Nevertheless, Jesus spoke also about some other signs by which a sincere seeker or believer can identify whether people who claim to belong to God are really God’s people.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34–35)
The sign of brotherly love cannot be imitated. Loving one another as Jesus did requires full devotion to God and deep interest in the spiritual lives of my brothers and sisters. Christians live in brotherly fellowship just as the first Christians did, giving their lives daily for one another. There are lots of so-called churches where great miracles are claimed to happen, yet brotherly love is missing. If, for example, those who are rich supported those who are poor to receive proper medical care or to live in healthier conditions, then perhaps many of the illnesses could be avoided or healed in an ordinary way. Also, if Christian brothers and sisters surround their sick brother or sister with love, care, comfort, and spiritual encouragement, they can receive much strength to bear their suffering with patience and thankfulness. This love and care for one another is a clear sign to the world that Jesus is really present among the believers. You can read more about Christian church and brotherly love in our topic What does Christian church look like?
Another important sign, other than supernatural miracles, is the unity of the believers:
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, (John 17:20–22)
Jesus prayed that the believers should be one, just as he is one with the Father. This unity can exist only if every believer is ready to submit to Jesus and does not cling to his/her own thoughts and wishes. A superficial agreement in a few so-called essential things (e.g., Trinity, salvation by faith alone, the Bible is God’s word…) cannot be called unity in the sense of Jesus’ prayer. Such unity can be found also in the world. The uniqueness of the unity among true Christians is that they are truly one heart and mind (Acts 4:32). To reach and maintain this, Christians endeavor to know each other deeply and spend time with each other, that is, love one another as Jesus did. Since this deep unity cannot be imitated, it is another unmistakable sign of God’s acting.
Conclusion
Let us not be deceived by miraculous signs performed in the name of Jesus. Let us seek the true signs of God’s work: obedience to God’s word, humility, holy life, brotherly love, unity.
Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practises righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practise righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:7–10)
Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. […] It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. (Revelation 13:11, 12–14)
The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. (2 Thessalonians 2:9–10)
That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. (Matthew 8:16)
“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods’, which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them’, you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. (Deuteronomy 13:1–5)
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. (Matthew 24:24–25)
but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:21–22)