105. Christ's Miracles Concerning Men and Creatures

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Article 3: Miracles Concerning Men #

The Central Question: Why did Christ perform miracles about men, particularly bodily miracles, when the soul is worth more than the body?

Thomas’s Core Argument: Miracles are ordered toward the salvation of the rational part of man, which consists of two things:

• Enlightenment of wisdom
• Justification of the impious (iustificatio impii)

These two must occur in proper order: the soul must be disposed by justification before it can receive wisdom, since “in an evil willing soul wisdom does not enter.”

The Problem of Willing Cooperation:

• Christ does not force grace upon the unwilling
• Justification requires the willing cooperation of the person, not by force but by free judgment leading to the good
• This reflects the notion of justice (which involves rightness of will) and respects human nature

The Miracle of Gradual Healing #

The Case of the Blind Man (Mark 8): Christ took the blind man outside the village, spat on his eyes, imposed hands. The man saw imperfectly: “I see men like trees walking.” Christ then imposed hands again, and the man saw clearly.

Three Theological Explanations (attributed to Church Fathers):

1. Bede: Shows the magnitude of human spiritual blindness, which “hardly and as it were through various steps returns to light”
2. Implicit Grace Doctrine: Demonstrates how Christ’s grace aids “singular steps of perfection”
3. Pedagogical Function: Indicates that spiritual progress requires gradual illumination, multiple interventions

Contrast with Instant Healing: When Christ healed the widow’s mother-in-law, she immediately rose and served them, showing Christ typically confers “perfect health at once.” The gradual healing is exceptional, serving a symbolic purpose.

Body and Soul Healing: The Question of Connection #

Principle: The perfection of God’s works requires they reach their end. The end of bodily curing is the curing of the soul.

The Paralytic (John 5):

• Christ first forgave sins: “Your sins are dismissed”
• Then healed the body
• Jerome’s Explanation: Many bodily debilities arise from sin (peccata plera veniunt corporum debilitates). By removing the cause (sin), the effect (bodily weakness) is removed.

The Argument from Lesser to Greater:

• It is greater to remit sins than to heal the body
• If Christ can do the greater, he can demonstrate it through doing the lesser
• The invisible effect (forgiveness) is made manifest through the visible effect (healing)

The Question of Secrecy #

Apparent Contradiction:

• Matthew 9: “See that no one knows”
• Luke 8: “Go and announce the glory of God”

Resolution - The Key Distinction: Christ prohibits announcing things “which we wish to be praised for” but commands announcement when “referring to the glory of God.”

• Personal glory: should be kept secret
• God’s glory: should be proclaimed
• This reflects the fundamental distinction between seeking one’s own honor versus glorifying God

Article 4: Miracles Concerning Irrational Creatures #

The Central Principle: To demonstrate that Christ’s divine power extends over every genus of creatures and that all creation is subject to him, miracles in every category are necessary.

Fish and Water Creatures:

• Miraculous catch of fish (Luke 5, John 21)
• Coin found in fish’s mouth (Matthew 17)
• Suitable because fish, living in water and differing more from human nature than terrestrial animals, were created on a different day than men

The Case of the Pigs (Mark 5):

• The destruction of the pigs was NOT a direct miracle of Christ but an operation of demons acting under divine permission
• Serves to show the harm demons cause

The Fig Tree (Matthew 21):

• Dried up at Christ’s word
• Not a punishment: It was not the season for figs; the tree had no guilt
• Hillary’s Interpretation: Where Christ wished to show salvation, he exercised power in human bodies; where he wished to show severity (future punishment), he indicated this through the tree
• Theologically significant: The tree being “most moist” made the miracle more apparent

Miracles in Water and Air #

Calming the Storm (Matthew 8):

• Christ commanded winds and sea; great tranquility resulted
• Appropriate to Christ who came to “call all things back to the state of peace and tranquility”
• Not appropriate for Christ to disturb air or divide waters as Moses did—this would contradict his mission

Cosmic Signs at the Passion:

• Veil of temple torn: showing mysteries of the law revealed
• Monuments opened: showing Christ gave life to the dead
• Earth moved, rocks broken: showing stony hearts of men softened
• All signify that the whole world would be “changed to the better” through his passion

The Multiplication of Loaves #

Not Creation but Transformation:

• Made by addition of extraneous matter converted into bread, NOT by creation ex nihilo
• Augustine’s analogy: In nature, a few grains multiply into many plants; Christ multiplied from a few loaves similarly
• Shows Christ’s power over natural processes without creating from nothing

Key Arguments #

The Hierarchy of Perfection (Aristotelian Framework) #

Thomas employs Aristotle’s three senses of “perfect” (from Metaphysics V):

1. Complete: Having all its parts (incomplete if missing arm or leg)
2. Full Power of Its Kind: Having the whole power proper to its kind (Homer as perfect poet; Mozart as perfect musician)
3. Reaching Its End: Reaching its culmination or telos

Application: Something is not perfect if it does not reach its end. Divine works are universally perfect; creatures are perfect in their kind.

The Incarnational Mystery #

Principle: Christ came to save the world “not only by his divine power, but also through the mystery of his incarnation.”

Implications for Method:

• Though as God he could cure by word alone, Christ often used means pertaining to his human nature (touching, spitting, laying on hands)
• This shows “his own flesh was efficacious to give remedies”
• The flesh acts as a “tool of his divinity”

Symbolic Dimensions of Healing #

Spitting and Word:

• In Mark 8, spitting represents the word (spit proceeds from the mouth)
• Hands represent operation/action
• Together they show the divine word joined to operation working marvels

Clay from Spit (John 9):

• The blind man was healed with clay made from Christ’s own spittle
• Symbolizes that Christ, who is the Word made flesh (de facto made flesh), is he who formed man originally from clay
• Shows Christ as the second Adam, restorer of what the first Adam received

Important Definitions #

Justification (Iustificatio) #

Making the impious just; requires willing cooperation of the person; not forced upon the unwilling; reflects the rightness of will and respects human free judgment.

Incarnation (Incarnatio) #

The mystery of the Word made flesh; the basis for Christ using means pertaining to his human nature in performing miracles, not only divine power alone.

Perfect (Perfectus) #

• First sense: Complete, having all parts
• Second sense: Possessing the whole power proper to its kind
• Third sense: Reaching its end or telos
• God is universally perfect; creatures are perfect in their genus

Miracle (Miraculum) #

A work done by divine power ordered toward confirmation of faith and manifestation of divine power over the whole of creation.

Examples & Illustrations #

The Blind Man’s Two-Stage Healing (Mark 8) #

What happened:

• First touch: “I see men like trees walking” (imperfect vision)
• Second touch: Complete clarity

Theological significance:

• Illustrates how spiritual blindness requires multiple steps to overcome
• Demonstrates grace working progressively in human souls
• Shows that Christ’s power can work through process, not only instantaneously
• Suggests the “journey” of the soul from darkness to light

Jerome on the Temple Cleansing (Matthew 21) #

Jerome’s Assessment: “Among all the signs which the Lord did, this seems to me more marvelous.”

Why: One contemptible man cast out a great multitude with merely a whip. A “fiery and star-like” majesty radiated from his eyes; “the majesty of his divinity shone in his human face.” Shows divine power dominating thousands without physical force.

The Disciples Falling Backward (John 18) #

Context: In the garden, when Christ said “I am,” they fell back and fell to the earth.

Significance: One voice struck a ferocious crowd “terrible in arms” and “ferocious with hatred.” Demonstrates divine power “hidden in the flesh without even a weapon.”

Christ’s Invisibility (John 8) #

Augustine’s Interpretation: When Christ “hid himself and went out from the temple,” he did not hide in a corner fearfully but “by heavenly power constituting himself invisible” to those who sought to trap him. He went out “through the middle of them.”

Implication: Shows Christ’s power over perception and visibility; when Christ wishes, he can veil himself to eyes.

Chrysostom’s Observation on Recognition #

Every instance of non-recognition (garden, road to Emmaus, shore):

• Christ is only recognized when he wishes to be recognized
• He has power to veil himself to their eyes
• Shows the extent of his dominion over perception

The Widow’s Mother-in-Law (Matthew 8) #

Immediate healing: Healed and immediately rose to serve them, showing perfect health conferred at once. Contrasts with the gradual healing of the blind man, illustrating that Christ’s miracles are always perfectly suited to their purpose.

Notable Quotes #

“The miracles of Christ are ordered to this, that the power of his divinity might be known in him for the salvation of men.”

“In an evil willing soul wisdom does not enter, nor does it dwell in a body subject to sins.” (Wisdom 1)

“The more the soul is worth than the body, so greater is it to dismiss sin than to heal the body.”

“To ask in what way justly was dried up [the fig tree], if its time was not, is the ultimate madness. For to ask this is to seek in such things guilt and punishment. But look upon the miracle and admire the doer of the miracle.” (Chrysostom)

“Christ came to save the world, not only by his divine power, but also through the mystery of his incarnation.”

“Although as God, he was able to push away all sicknesses by his word, nevertheless, he touched them, showing that his own flesh was efficacious to give remedies.” (Cyril)

“The multiplication of breads was not made by way of creation, but by the addition of extraneous matter converted into bread.”

Questions Addressed #

Q1: Were Christ’s miracles about men suitable? #

A: Yes. They were ordered toward the salvation of the rational part of man through enlightenment of wisdom and justification of the impious. These are more important than bodily healing and constitute the true end of the miracles.

Q2: Why did Christ sometimes heal gradually rather than instantly? #

A: To show the magnitude of human spiritual blindness and to demonstrate how grace aids the singular steps of perfection in the soul’s journey toward light. This also serves pedagogical purposes.

Q3: Why did Christ command some healed persons to tell no one? #

A: To distinguish between seeking personal glory and glorifying God. When the reference is to God’s glory, miracles should be announced; when to personal praise, they should be kept secret.

Q4: Were miracles about irrational creatures suitable? #

A: Yes. To demonstrate that Christ’s divine power extends over every genus of creatures, showing universal dominion over all creation.

Q5: Why didn’t Christ perform miracles like Moses (dividing seas, calling down fire)? #

A: Because it was appropriate to Christ to call all things back to peace and tranquility, not to disturb the elements. His mission was restoration and healing, not destruction.