The modern preachers (especially those ones on the TV) have
popularized a particular version of ‘faith.’ According to them we
need faith in order to God to do miracles. Some of them even tend to
preach that the miracles are proportionate to the size of ones’
faith. This is often implied in expressions like ‘level of faith’
etc that we often hear on the TV.
In this popular conception ‘faith’ is portrayed as something that
triggers God’s power. Unless we exercise our faith we cannot
receive God’s power through miracles. Doesn’t this imply that the
omnipotent God is helpless to do a miracle for us! Certain stories in
the Bible are used to support these positions. Often quoted is the
faith of the woman suffering with a flow of blood who received her
healing by touching Jesus’ garments secretly (Mark 5:24-34). The
faith of the centurion is also often cited (Matthew 8:5-13). He
received a miracle because he ‘exercised’ his faith.
Often times preachers quote Jesus’ statement to the woman with a
flow of blood, ‘your faith has healed you’ to say that it is our
faith that works miracles! If faith that is situated in the receptor
is the condition for the power of God to act for the benefit of
someone then the miracles looks like an illusion. If faith is
something that makes a person just believe that the miracle has
happened then faith is similar to to the effect that placebo has on a
patient.
These stories need to be re-examined. But before that we also need to
look at other instances where Jesus did a miracle for those who did
not have any faith or were unable to exercise their faith to trigger
a miracle! What about Jesus stilling the storm in Lake Galilee? From
the statement of Jesus, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no
faith?” (Mark 4:40) it is reasonable to conclude that they did not
expect a miracle from Jesus. Their surprise confirms the fact this
fact (4:41). They never knew that Jesus had control over the storm,
the sea and the waves until he stilled the sea! The disciples had
cried out to Jesus who was sleeping at the helm of the boat:
‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ This was not a
request but a complaint. Actually, they were asking Jesus to help
them bail out water as the waves were dashing against the boat. They
never believed that Jesus had the power to still the storm. Still
there was a miracle, in spite of their lack of faith.
When Jesus raised Lazarus who ever believed that was possible? Martha
agreed saying that he will certainly raise up in the resurrection at
the end times but not now (John 11:24). The disciples did not believe
that it will be possible (John 11:12-16). They also pointed out that
it has been four days now since he is buried. Martha even pointed out
that, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been
dead four days’ (John 11:39). This miracle happened in the context
of utter lack of faith in Jesus.
Then there are a host of people who were not in a mental state to
seek Jesus’ help or had nobody to seek God’s help for them. The
demon-possessed resisted healing (Mark 5:7). The dead people whom
Jesus raised couldn’t exercise their faith.
Jesus also helped people who had no knowledge of him or his healing
powers. The man at the Bethseda pool didn’t know that Jesus can
heal him. He believed that he can be healed by the pool and his
complaint was that he had nobody to help him enter the pool at the
right moment. His response to Jesus question ‘do you want to be
healed’ was one of despondency (John 5:7). His faith was fixated on
the healing power of the pool. However, he had come to accept the
fact that there are logistic difficulties for his healing. He was
losing his faith in the miraculous power of the pool and had no faith
in the healing power of Jesus who was standing nearby. He probably
didn’t know who Jesus was and what he is capable of. Still he was
healed. Who exercised faith and whose faith healed him?
These observations lead us to certain inevitable conclusions. Our
faith is not the basis for the miracles. God works miracles whether
we have faith or not. God’s power is not triggered nor dependent on
our faith. Simply put, God cannot be manipulated by our faith! God
works as he wills, unconditionally.
A second observation is God does miracles with a purpose. The main
purpose is that it will create and nurture faith in those who
received and witness the miracles. In other words the purpose is that
we may put our trust in him. Thus viewed faith is the product of
miracles not vice versa. One of the essential components of the
miracles stories in the Gospels is the faith that it generated in
those who witnessed them.As it generated faith in God it also made the witnesses and those who received the miracle to glorify God. This is very well summarized in Matthew 15:29 as: 'And great multitudes came unto him, having with them some lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them; insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see. And they glorified the God of Israel.'
If then what is the role of faith in Christian experiences of God’s
power? Faith is that connects a person with God. First of all, it is
something that draws a person to God. The woman with a issue of blood
came closer to Jesus enough to touch him because he had ‘reports of
him.’ She believed that Jesus could heal her if she just touched
the edge of his garments. Faith drew her to Jesus. The centurions
faith was much stronger. He knew that a word from Jesus was enough to
heal his servants. There are a number of people who don’t draw to
him and they miss a miracle. They don’t draw to him but their
doubts and questions deprive him an opportunity to do miracles for
them. This is what happened when Jesus visited his own home town. The
Bible says, he ‘couldn’t do’ any miracles in that place because
of their unbelief. Since people knew him as a carpenter and as the
son of an ordinary woman like Mary they did not bring their sick and
demon-possessed to him. Thus they denied him an opportunity to help
them. That is why ‘he could not do’ any mighty works there. Faith
that draws us to God is essential.
The second aspect of faith is that it is a response to God’s power
displayed through miracles. In another sense it draws us closer to
God. Moses had no knowledge of faith in Yahweh when he saw the
burning bush. But he drew close to the bush (in fact to the presence
of God) to see what is going on—why the bush burns but is not
consumed (Exod 3:1-7). God does what he want to do irrespective of or
unbelief. But he expects us to respond to him in faith. The people
who were healed by Jesus went around sharing the goodnews about
Jesus. The people who witnessed miracles put their trust in Him. They
became of people of faith because they experienced the power of God
in their life. It is not faith triggering God’s power but God’s
power triggering our faith. And faith thus triggered grows on its own
even when there are no miracles.