[334] Mark 5. 41; 7. 34.
Secondly, the kind of miracles ascribed to Christ seem (as far as we can judge) to be worthy of Him. They were not for His own benefit, but for that of other people, and they are a great contrast to the imaginary miracles ascribed to Him in the Apocryphal Gospels, most of which are extremely childish. When for instance Christ was a boy, we read of His making clay birds fly; of His turning children into kids for refusing to play with Him; and of His cursing another boy who had run against Him, and who in consequence fell down dead.[335] How different such miracles are from those in our Gospels scarcely needs pointing out. Nor is the case of the barren fig-tree, so often objected to, an exception. For the tree itself could have felt no injury, and as far as we know, its destruction injured no one else.
[335] Gospel of the Infancy, chapters xv., xvii., xix.
Thirdly, the miracles are closely connected with the moral teaching of Christ, and it is difficult either to separate the two, or to believe the whole account to be fictitious. His wonderful works, and His wonderful words involve each other, and form together an harmonious whole, which is too life-like to be imaginary. Indeed, a life of Christ without His miracles would be as unintelligible as a life of Napoleon without his campaigns. And it is interesting to note in this connection that our earliest Gospel, St. Mark's, contains (in proportion to its length) the most miracles. As we should expect, it was Christ's miracles, rather than His moral teaching, which first attracted attention.
Fourthly, the miracles were as a rule miracles of healing: that is to say, of restoring something to its natural state, such as making blind eyes see; and not doing something unnatural, such as giving a man a third eye. Miracles of either kind would of course show superhuman power; but the former are obviously the more suited to the God of Nature. And this naturalness of the miracles, as we may call it, seems to many a strong argument in their favour.
Fifthly, there were an immense number of miracles, the ones recorded being mere examples of those that were actually worked. Thus in St. Mark's Gospel we are told that on one occasion, Christ healed many who were sick with divers diseases; on another that He had healed so many, that those with plagues pressed upon Him to touch Him; and on another that everywhere He went, into the villages, cities, or country, the sick were laid out, so that they might touch His garment, and as many as touched Him were made whole.[336]
[336] Mark 1. 34; 3. 10; 6. 56
Sixthly, there was a great variety in the miracles. They were of various kinds, worked in various places, before various witnesses, and with various details and characteristics. They occurred in public as well as in private; in the towns as well as in the country; at sea as well as on land; in groups as well as singly; at a distance as well as near; after due notice as well as suddenly; when watched by enemies as well as among friends; unsolicited as well as when asked for; in times of joy, and in times of sorrow. They were worked on the blind as well as the deaf; the lame as well as the dumb; the leprous as well as the palsied; the dead as well as the living. They concerned men as well as women; the rich as well as the poor; the educated as well as the ignorant; the young as well as the old; multitudes as well as individuals; Gentiles as well as Jews; nature as well as man—in fact, according to our accounts, it is difficult to imagine any miracles that could have been more absolutely convincing.
Seventhly, the miracles of Christ were (with trifling exceptions) worked suddenly. They were not like gradual cures, or slow recoveries, but they were done in a moment. The blind man immediately received his sight; the palsied immediately took up his couch: the leper was straightway cleansed; the infirm was straightway made whole; the dead immediately rose up, etc.[337] This was evidently a striking feature in the miracles, and the Evangelists seem to have been much impressed by it.
[337] Luke 18. 43; 5. 25; Mark 1. 42; Matt. 8. 3; John 5. 9; Luke 8. 55.