Does God Still Do Miracles? | Bible Study 101
Blue day, and it's Rachael's favorite. Blue marks the supernatural, the
things only God could have done, and the test is simple: could a person have
pulled this off on their own? When you mark John 6:1-15 that way, the blue
doesn't spread evenly. It clusters. The longest stretch of dialogue in the
whole passage, where Philip and Andrew are running the numbers, stays
completely white. Green told you this passage is about Jesus. Blue tells you
why. The episode closes with a story from Malawi that Rachael watched happen with her own budget in her own team.
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Chapters
0:00 Picking up where we left off
0:29 What blue marks, and why it's the favorite
0:57 One page, or a fresh page each day
1:54 Why familiarity wears the edges off these stories
3:23 What actually counts as supernatural
4:50 When two colors land on the same word
6:18 Reading John 6:1-15
8:40 Marking the passage verse by verse
9:39 Why John calls them signs and not miracles
10:37 The verse most of us read straight past
12:33 How John describes the miracle itself
13:34 As much as they wanted
14:40 Step back and look at where the blue clusters
15:31 Green told you who. Blue tells you why.
16:57 What is this sign pointing at?
17:30 Took, gave thanks, broke, gave
18:13 Prayer
18:44 The day 1,800 children showed up in Malawi
21:19 God does not change
22:12 Homework
What does blue mark in the color method?
Blue marks the supernatural. The things only God can do.
The test is one question: could a person have done this on their own? If
the answer is yes, leave it alone. If the answer is no, mark it blue.
That covers the obvious things like miracles, healing, calming, raising.
But it's broader than that. Mark it when God speaks. Mark it when someone knows something they could not have known unless the Holy Spirit told them. Mark it when sin is forgiven, because nobody else can do that. Mark it when angels show up, or when a dream or a vision carries a message.
Why does John call them signs instead of miracles?
Because a sign points to something past itself.
John doesn't usually call these events miracles or works of power the way
the other Gospel writers do. He calls them signs, and that's deliberate. He's
telling you from the start that what's happening here means something beyond the event itself.
So the feeding was never mainly about lunch. Hold that question through
the rest of the week: what is this sign pointing at?
Which verse do most people miss?
Verse 6. He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind
what he was going to do.
That's blue, and it's easy to skip because nothing dramatic happens in
it. But Jesus knows the outcome before anything occurs. He's standing there
asking Philip a question He already has the answer to. That's knowledge no
person has, and John slips it in without any fanfare.
It's the kind of thing you only catch when you've slowed down enough to
ask whether a human could have done it.
How does John describe the miracle?
Almost casually, which is the striking part.
Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who
were seated as much as they wanted.
There's no visible moment where the bread multiplies. No clouds cracking
open, no angels, no drama. He took it, He gave thanks for it, He handed it out,
and there was enough. John doesn't even call it a miracle. He just tells you
the result.
And notice the result. As much as they wanted. Not one slice each. Not
barely enough to get by. That tells you something about how God provides.
Where does the blue land on the page?
Not evenly. Blue clusters.
There's a bit in verse 2, a clause in verse 6, and then it's heavily
concentrated in verse 11. Now look at what surrounds it. Verses 7 through 9 are the longest stretch of dialogue in the whole passage, and they're almost
entirely white. That's Philip running the numbers and Andrew finding the boy, two men doing their honest best and coming up short.
That's the whole point. Everything in this story that mattered, Jesus
did. The disciples participated. They seated people, they handed out food,
they gathered the leftovers, and that's real work that God invited them into.
But the thing that made any of it possible, none of them did.
Green told you this passage is about Jesus. Blue tells you why.
Does God still do miracles today?
Rachael says yes, and she tells a story to explain why she's confident
about it.
While she was doing international development work in orphan care, her
Malawi team planned a village program right after pandemic restrictions lifted. Staff canvassed the area and estimated around 700 children. They planned for 800 and loaded supplies for a thousand. Snacks, juice, prizes, everything. Eighteen hundred children came.
And there was enough for every one of them. Her staff member Francisco,
the man who physically packed the truck, told her afterward that she didn't
understand. She did understand. She'd approved the budget. She knew what had been purchased and what had gone on that truck.
Her point isn't the story itself. It's this: even people who don't
believe in present day healing or miracles will agree that God does not change. So when we read about Him working in signs and wonders throughout Scripture, and then quietly assume none of that applies now, something isn't lining up.
Something to sit with before tomorrow
Look again at what Jesus does in verse 11. He takes bread. He gives
thanks. He breaks it. He gives it out.
That sequence should sound familiar. Don't rush it. Just notice it.
FAQ
What do I need today? Your marked page from yesterday and something blue.
What if a word needs two colors? Mark it twice. That happens constantly, especially tomorrow with red,
since most of what God does is also an action. Two colors on one word helps you understand. Sometimes Rachael colors half a word in each.
Should I use one page all week or a fresh page each day? Either. She Hears gives you a fresh printed page per day. Rachael personally keeps everything on one page, notes in the margins and all, because she wants to see the colors working together by the end of the week.
Should I use the same translation every day? Rachael reads NIV for this series. In She Hears she uses a different version each day, which can open up something new. You can print any version free at Bible Gateway if you want to try it.
What's the homework? Pray and ask God to show you something new. Sit with the idea that God math is different from people math, and think about a time in your own life when the numbers didn't work and He showed up anyway.
What's tomorrow? Red. Bring something red to write with.
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