John the Baptist did no miracles: the Truth is the miracle - by Elizabeth Prata

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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We try very hard to find virtue in Ms. Prata's writing. We really do. And today's article has some good stuff, which is commendable. But Ms. Prata cannot leave well enough alone, adding in various false elements that end up completely negating any possible virtues.

Ms. Prata, like most every cessationist, tries to avoid the power aspect of the contemporary Christian faith, preferring to isolate the Bible as the only factor involved in the Christian's life. That's why she's discussing John the Baptist's lack of recorded miracles. She wants this example to bolster the idea that the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit isn't relevant for today's Christian.

Happily, Ms. Prata does quote some Scriptures for a change. And they actually come to bear on her point. This happens so rarely that we need to give her kudos for actually quoting the Bible.

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Do you realize that? John the Baptist performed not one miracle. (Undocumented claim. Let's quote it:

Jn. 10:41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true.”

This is the crowd's statement, but we don't know if their assessment is true. The Bible is silent on the matter otherwise, and we mustn't make an Argument From Silence.)

As a matter of fact, until Jesus came and changed the water into wine at Cana, no miracle had been performed in Israel for 800 years! (She does not know this. We simply don't have any records for this, but that doesn't mean nothing happened.)

Not since the time of Elijah and Elisha. No prophet had spoken to Israel as the messenger of God for 400 years, not since Malachi! (Again, she does not know this. There may have been many prophets, but we don't have any records.)

No angel had appeared to the people (as far as we know) for 500 years! (Ah, finally. "As far as we know." This is how she should have phrased all these statements.)

So why was the greatest man who was born of woman until his time, (Mathew 11:11) (*Sigh.* Let's quote the verse: 

Mt. 11:11 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Notice that the verse does not say he was the greatest, rather that there was no one greater. This is different. "No one greater" means that there may have been men as great. Just not greater.

Picking nits, we know, but since Ms. Prata fancies herself a Bible teacher, she needs to be meat and no bones.)

and who was one of the greatest (and most successful) Old Testament prophets never been given the power to perform one miracle? (Again, she doesn't know this. But more to the point, there is no requirement that prophets perform miracles.)

John the Baptist was a forerunner to the Messiah, one who was prophesied to come and who did come. (Isaiah 40:3-5; John 1:23). He had one message and one message only: repent and be saved. (Matthew 3:2; Mark 1:4). (No, this is false. He had more than a message of repentance. Here is how the angel described him: 

Lk. 1:17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous — to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

He also preached of the coming Messiah: 

Mt. 3:11 I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 

He also prophesized that Israel was about to be cut down, which meant their lineage as children of Abraham would not save them: 

Mt. 3:9-10 And do not think you can say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

And he rebuked Herod for immorality: 

Lk. 3:19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done... 

So clearly, John the Baptist did a lot more than just preach repentance. Ms. Prata will actually go on to mention this, yet maintain he had just the one message.)

One would not think that a man with a singular message of sin, sinners, repentance and baptism would be popular. Men who preach that are not popular today. But John the Baptist had throngs of followers who listened to him. He had throngs who followed his preaching with a life choice to become baptized in water, in preparation for the Messiah’s coming when they would be baptized by fire. Even King Herod liked to listen to John, even though John was no shirker of his responsibility to point out to the King his sinful actions! (John 6:18).

“Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” (Matthew 3:5-6).

Of course, some undoubtedly followed John because they loved hearing him charge the religious leaders of the day with hypocrisy. Some undoubtedly followed John because he was the most interesting thing going on. Some undoubtedly were excited to think of their Messiah coming in all glory to rip the Romans from the death-grip they had on the land. But those were likely in the minority.

The fact is, John was filled with the Holy Spirit at birth, and a man speaking truth about the Messiah from a pure, Holy Spirit-filled heart is the most powerful miracle there is.

You can read about how demon-drenched the place was. (Luke 6:17-19). (*Sigh* Let's quote the verses: 

Lk. 6:17-19 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all. 

Again, we suppose we are picking nits, but "demon-drenched?" The verses do not say any such thing!)

No prophet had spoken. No angel had come. No miracle had occurred. The religious services were saturated with hypocrisy, filthy lucre, and idolatry thanks to the failure of the leaders of the day and the years before and the generations preceding. The people were tired of sin- their own and others’. (There is no Bible verse that says the people were tired of their sin.)

The whole land was crawling with demons.

So they listened. (They listened because of all these things? How in the world does Ms. Prata know this? Really? What?)

In my opinion, John’s ministry was miraculous in the way that it shows us what preaching the word does to weary hearts. (Where does the Bible tell us they had weary hearts? 

And by the way, was John preaching the Bible ["the word"] or was he preaching the prophecies he received ["the word"]? Because later Ms. Prata will assert the word is the Bible, yet there was no NT when John the Baptist preached.

In addition, Ms. Prata concedes that the miraculous happens during preaching, but denies that God speaks to people today. We wish she would get her story straight.)

Weary hearts want the word. They want to hear about the Messiah. (Ms. Prata is a Calvinist who believes in Total Depravity. As such, there is no way that these unsaved "weary hearts" want the to hear about Jesus.)

They want hope of His coming to enter their hearts and fill them with knowledge of His glory. (No, they don't.)

Their hearts were hungry for message of hope, and even for a message of hard truths; a message of their sins and the hope of the coming of the Perfect who would deliver them. (All this is nothing more than speculation. In fact, there is no biblical indication that the people of Israel were in this state.)

You can imagine how hungry hearts are today. (If one is a Calvinist, there are no hungry hearts among the unsaved.)

And as it was true then, it is true now: the preaching of repentance and the coming of the Messiah prepares us for Him

Though our generations will not be blessed with national revival, but instead be cursed with global apostasy, (Revelation 2:5; 2 Thessalonians 2:3; 2 Timothy 4:3-4), (Please, Ms. Prata, just stop. Stop making false claims! We are forced again to quote the verses: 

Re. 2:5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 

2Th. 2:3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

2Ti. 4:3-4 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 

None of these verses tell us there will be no revival. In fact, there will indeed be a great harvest in the Last Days:

Re. 7:9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.

Lk. 13:29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.

Jn. 4:35 Do you not say, `Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.

Mt. 8:11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

Ac. 2:21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

And we should ask, if there can be no revival in the last days, how does she explain Jonathan Edwards?)

we know that individual hearts are still hungry. Individual hearts still thirst for the Living Water and we still need to proclaim it. (No, unsaved hearts do not thirst for Living Water.)

My wish for us all is that we resolve to cling to the Holy Word by diligent study, knowledge of, and living it out. I pray for us that we resolve to speak it, proclaim it, contend for it. His word, the holy Bible, is now the miracle that sustains us and is His sign that He is living and active. (Hebrews 4:21). (sic, 4:12) (Let's quote the verse:

He. 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

This verse is about Jesus, not the Bible. The Bible didn't exist. The word "it" does not appear in the Greek. So there is no "it," there is a person with this ability, Jesus. They very next verse in Hebrews confirm this: 

He. 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

"God's sight" is God Himself, not the Bible. He pierces between soul and spirit to see what's contained there, not the Bible. 

Hebrews then continues, discussing Jesus' status as high priest [vss. 14 and 15, and chapter 5:1-10.]  The word is the high priest. There is no possible way in the context that "the word" is merely a thing.)

Can we resolve to focus on the coming Messiah? Can we dedicate our lives to serving Him? Can we devote ourselves to proclaiming the only message worth sharing? The power of the holy Word has been demonstrated throughout the record of the bible. (While we do not intend to diminish the value of the Bible, we must note that many people read the Bible without experiencing its power. We cannot find a verse that says the Bible is powerful. Rather, the gospel is powerful: 

Ro. 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 

The Holy Spirit is powerful: 

Ro. 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

The cross is powerful: 

1Co. 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel — not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 

Christ Himself is powerful: 

1Co. 1:24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 

The manifestation of the Spirit is powerful: 

1Co. 2:4-5 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s  power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. 

Jesus' presence is powerful: 

1Co. 5:4 When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present... 

The same power in us raised Jesus from the dead: 

Ep. 1:18-20 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms... 

His power is where we get our strength: 

Ep. 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 

His resurrection is powerful: 

Ph. 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings... 

And lastly, His powerful word (Jesus) sustains the universe: 

He. 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.)

It has demonstrated itself through its staying power throughout the centuries. It has shown itself powerful by its ability to penetrate hard hearts and claim souls.

Do you know it? Do you read it? Do you hide it in your heart for the moment the Spirit might prompt you to share a message of sin and repentance?

In most artistic renderings of John, he is shown with a hand or a finger pointing up toward heaven. My task for myself and my hope for all Christians everywhere is that we follow the example of John in pointing our lives toward Jesus. Do not seek after signs and manifestations, but rely on the sure word.

(...)

Isaiah said that one like John would come–

“A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3)

John did come.

“He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” (John 1:23).

“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:6)

“The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight,” (Proverbs 11:5a)

Keep on the straight and narrow, and always point to Christ. “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:16-17)