The meaning of some words is cheapened by the way we use them. The word “miracle” no longer has significance among Christians because we make statements such as, It was a miracle to find Oreos on sale or Finding a parking spot at the mall was a miracle today.
In his book, The Case for Miracles, Lee Strobeldefines miracles this way: “miracles are outside the normal course of events. They’re a supernatural exception to the way the world usually works.”[1] Richard Purtill, who was professor emeritus of philosophy at Western Washington University taught that a “miracle is an event (1) brought about by the power of God that is (2) a temporary (3) exception (4) to the ordinary course of nature (5) for the purpose of showing that God has acted in history.”[2]
In John 6 we read about one of many miracles that Jesus performed. Because of the miracles Jesus had already done “a large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick” (John 6:2).[3] This “crowd” included 5,000 men (John 6:10b). The two most recent miracles this crowd saw were the healing the son of a Royal Official (John 4) and healing a paralyzed man (John 5). Because a large group of people had been following Jesus for an extended period of time, the disciples and Jesus needed to find a way to feed these people.
But there is a problem we learn about from Philip,“Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little” (John 6:7b). Two hundred denarii is the equivalent of $51,680 dollars to someone living in Washington state in 2022. (The NIV translates it as “more than half a year’s wages.”)[4] $51,680 would not be enough money to purchase enough bread for everyone to have some. Here, the problem according to Philip is simple: there’s not enough finances.
We also learn about the problem from Andrew, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” (John 6:9). The five barley loaves of this young child were common in the Mediterranean diet. They were leavened a little, formed into small disks about 4-5 inches in diameter, and then baked. Imagine five small disks of bread with two small seasoned fish that was a meal for a small boy.
Next Jesus speaks about the problem saying,“Have the people sit down” (John 6:10a). Thus far we’ve seen three “not enoughs.” There’s not enough money to buy food to feed the people. There’s not enough food to feed the people. And there’s not enough faith. They are stuck. But Jesus essentially says, I am enough and in doing so He tells them to “sit down” which let them know a meal is about to come. (If you are going to have a snack you can stand; if you are going to eat a full meal you sit.) Having the people sit down also showed that the people are not participating in the preparation or provision of the meal.
“Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted” (John 6:11). This was a miracle following the true meaning of that word. It was supernatural and was an exception to the ordinary course of nature. The miracle was a defining moment for those who saw the Son of God supernaturally providing for needs that no one else could perform. And in the process shows that Jesus cares for us and meets our needs when we are in tough situations.
[1] Lee Strobel, The Case for Miracles (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 252.
[2] Richard L. Purtill, “Defining Miracles,” in In Defense of Miracles: A Comprehensive Case for God’s Action in History, ed. R. Douglas Geivett and Gary R. Habermas (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997), 71. Quoted in Lee Strobel, The Case for Miracles (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 27.
[3] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.
[4] So a denarii was roughly one day’s wage for the average worker. It represented 8 months of work since they worked six days per week. Now in our culture we work five days per week, so it’s roughly 10 months of work. And the average salary in Washington state is $62,020 per year. Which is $5,168 per month, which is $51,680 in our currency right now.