What two miracles happened to the apostle Paul?

Answer 1

While Paul did not mention specific miracles, nor did he maximize upon their importance, he did refer to them in writing to the Galatians (3:5) "He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" Before the Jerusalem Council, however, in Acts 15:12, we see a report: "Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them." In Acts19:11,12, Paul was used of God to heal the sick and to cast out demons: "And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them."

Answer 2

A:

Paul himself, in his own epistles never claimed to have experienced any miracles. Even his explanation of his conversion to Christianity is devoid of any miraculous visions. This is significant, because if Paul mentioned any miracles as happening to him, he could have been asked to verify his accounts.

Acts of the Apostles was written around the end of the first century, or perhaps a little later, some fifty years after Paul lived. It is here that we read of miracles. Soon after we are introduced to Paul, he sees a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus and is then led, blind and helpless, to Damascus where his blindness is miraculously cured and is taught the gospel. The story of Paul's conversion has parallels to the ancient Greek play the Bacchae (even having Jesus use exactly the same words as the god Apollo does in the play), and is believed to have been inspired by that play. In another close parallel to the Bacchae, Paul is released from prison by an earthquake. One close parallel to the Bacchae is improbable; two such parallels can only be evidence of copying.

A hidden theme in Acts of the Apostles is a comparison between Peter and Paul, such that Peter always comes across as the more worthy apostle, so we will find quite a number of very similar miracles performed by both Peter and Paul, but in each case Peter's miracle was even more awe-inspiring and worthy than the miracle performed by Paul. When Paul was released from prison, no angel came to him, and the earthquake need not have been of divine origin. Peter was released from prison twice by angels, who in one case accompanied Peter from the prison. There was no doubt about the extent of divine assistance Peter received in his escapes.

According to Acts, Paul's first miraculous cure was improbably similar to Peter's first cure. In both cases, a man who had been lame since birth was immediately cured by being commanded to stand and walk. Peter's first miracle cure was performed in the name of Jesus, at the Temple, where the faithful saw the healed beggar praising God, and was the opportunity for some outstanding proselytising. Paul's first cure was clumsy and without apparent purpose, given that Paul did not tell the man about Jesus and he was even mistaken for a pagan god.

In an even more difficult challenge, Peter resurrected Tabitha, a good woman and a disciple, who was certainly dead and her body had already been washed.This miracle became known throughout Joppa and, as a result, many were converted (Acts 9:36-42).Paul also resuscitated a young man who foolishly fell asleep in an upper storey window and fell to the ground. There is some uncertainty as to whether the young man was really dead when Paul intervened to revive him, and the miracle did not present an opportunity to convert unbelievers (Acts 20:6-12). .

Paul and Peter were also capable of malevolent miracles. In an apparent miracle, Paul blinded Elymas (Bar-jesus) the sorcerer, for trying to frustrate his attempts to convert Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:11). But Peter was to be feared more than Paul. A certain man named Ananias sold a possession and gave only some of the proceeds to Peter, who believed that the church was entitled to all the money. Peter realised the deceit immediately and Ananias fell dead. Later, Peter told Ananias' wife she would also die, because she repeated the deceit. Of course, if these events really did occur, then both apostles were guilty of serious crimes. Peter was guilty of calculated murder and his followers were accessories, but the narrative shows the awesome power of Peter's miracles. In both cases, the apostle was frustrated by the actions of his victim, and in both cases, the needs of the church superseded ethics and moral values.

At this point it should be explained that most New Testament scholars no longer consider Acts of the Apostles to be a genuine history of the early Church. These miracles were written for theological reasons, not as records of real events.

Answer 3

Paul was writing to people who knew him and among whom he worked, so he was somewhat restricted in what claims he could make. He did not mention any actual miracles performed by himself or any contemporaries. However, Acts of the Apostles, believed to have been written some fifty years later, does mention many great miracles performed in his time.