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July 9 Miracles
Much Depends on Our Heart
“Though [Jesus] had done so many miracles before them, yet they
believed not on him: that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled,
which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom
hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe,
because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened
their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with
their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them” (John 12:37–40).
Man-made theories pass from one to another, and the doctrines of
men, like evil leaven, work actively till the whole lump is leavened.
When the Lord sends a message, He gives sufficient evidence to convince
the honest in heart of its truth; but those who would resist the
truth call for greater evidence. Should the Lord give them a greater
evidence, it would only make their opposition more determined. 17
That which led the Jews to reject the Saviour’s work was the
highest evidence of His divine character. The greatest significance of
His miracles is seen in the fact that they were for the blessing of
humanity. 18
We were not eyewitnesses of the miracles of Jesus, which attest
His divinity; but we have the statements of His disciples who were
eyewitnesses of them, and we see by faith through their eyes, and
hear through their ears; and our faith with theirs grasps the evidence
given.
The apostles accepted Jesus upon the testimony of prophets and
righteous men, stretching over a period of many centuries. The
Christian world have a full and complete chain of evidence running
through both the Old and the New Testament; in the one pointing to
a Saviour to come, and in the other fulfilling the conditions of that
prophecy. All this is sufficient to establish the faith of those who are
willing to believe. The design of God was to leave the race a fair
opportunity to develop faith in the power of God and of His Son and
in the work of the Holy Spirit. 19
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