THEONLY MIRACLE PROMISED

VATICINIUM EXEVENTU

The hot-gospeler and the Bible-thumperdoes not tire of quoting statements, alleged to have been made byJesus, that he was going to Jerusalem to die, and on the third day hewould come back to life. The Gospels, any Christian scholar willconfirm, were first penned decades and centuries after Jesus. In hislifetime, not a word was written, nor did he instruct anyone to write aword! Taylor in his commentary on the Gospel of St. Mark, page 437,discounts the so-called prophecies regarding the “crucifixion” asvaticinium ex eventu meaning “prophecy after the event”. That theGospel writers fabricated words and sayings, and put them into themouth of Jesus, as if he had foretold the happenings.

The Christian missionary, theevangelist, the crusader, is reluctant to give a hearing to anyChristian scholar despite the latter’s sincerity or greatness ofcalibre — whether Taylor, or Schweizer, or Brandon or Anderson he maybe. As soon as they say a word which goes against their pet prejudice,they will discount them all as “external source” and”minority 20th-century speculation”. Therefore, I am constrainedhere to catch the proverbial “Bull by the Horn” and take him to thedrinking trough.

DEMAND FOR AMIRACLE

The Jews had murmured in thewilderness against Moses (pbuh). They had given him endless trouble,and now his successor, the Messiah is given no lesser parrying. Intheir bouts of harassing questionings, they come to him, now, soundingmost respectable and polite:

“Master, (Hebrew —Rabbi, meaning Teacher) we would have a sign of thee”

(HOLY BIBLE) Matthew 12:38

All his teaching and preaching, and healing were not enough to convincethe Jews that he was a man sent by God; that he was their Messiah. Nowthey are asking for a “SIGN” — a Miracle — such as flying like a bird,or walking on water; in short, anything they considered IMPOSSIBLE.

Before you proceed any further in thediscussion with the Christian, please make sure that he understands theword “sign” in the above verse to mean a “miracle”. This simple Englishword from the King James Version of the Bible, which every otherVersion seems to have copied is creating difficulty in the grasping ofits true significance. In the “New International Version”,supported by Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian and Reformedchurches, the word is expanded as “miraculous sign”, thank God!Not just any sign, or road signs — “Stop, Yield or Go!”

It is also necessary for us to try anddefine what is meant by a miracle. One of the simplest and truest ofdefinitions is that given by Dr. Lyttelton in, “The Place ofMiracles in Religion”, that is:-

“AN ACT BEYOND HUMAN POWER.”

This is exactly what the Jews wantedfrom Jesus. An act which they, the Scribes and the Pharisees, could notduplicate. On the face of it the request seems quite fair, but it is asick mentality which craves for “tricks” which every sceptic andmaterialist can rationalise.

NO “SIGN” BUTONE!

So Jesus reacts:

“. . . An evil and adulterousgeneration seeketh after a sign (miracle), and thereshall no sign (miracle) be given to it, but the sign (miracle)of the prophet, Jonah.”

(HOLY BIBLE) Matthew 12:39

What was the “sign” or the miraclethat Jonah performed that Jesus now proposes to emulate? To discoverthis miracle, we have to go to the

JESUS LIKE JONAH

Jesus too, after the ordeal he issupposed to have gone through, ought to die. If he died it would be nomiracle. But if he lived, as he had himself foretold, and proved”according to the scriptures”, it would be a “sign” — a MIRACLE!And these are his words:

. . . “For as Jonah was . . .”(English), “Want soos Jonah . . .” (Afrikaans), “Ngokubanjengo Jonah . . .” (Zulu).

“For as Jonah was three daysand three nights in the belly of the whale, so shall the son of manbe . . .”—

(Matthew 12:40). How wasJonah in the whale’s belly for three days and three nights — Dead orAlive? The Muslims, the Christians and the Jews again give aunanimous verdict of A-L-1-V-E! How was Jesus in the tomb, forthe same period of time — Dead or Alive? Over a thousand millionChristians, of every church or Denomination give a unanimous verdict ofD-E-A-D! Is that like Jonah or un-like Jonah in yourlanguage? And everyone whose mind is not confused, says that, that isvery UN-LIKE Jonah. Jesus said that he would be

CHAPTER 16