Thanking Before a Miracle
There are many instances in gospel where we can see that Jesus did, in fact, thank the Father before doing the miracles. The apostle John wrote, “So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me” (John 11:41). In the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus thanked His Father that He had heard His prayer before the raising of Lazarus (John 11:41-44). It is also recorded that Jesus gave thanks before the miracle of feeding the five thousand with the five loaves and two fish (John 6:10-12).
While there are some miracles where Jesus is recorded to give thanks to the Father, there are many other miracles where the gospel authors do not record Jesus giving thanks (John 9:1-7, John 5:2-9, Matthew 9:23-25, Matthew 9:20-22, Matthew 15:30, Luke 17:12-19). While it might not have been recorded that Jesus gave thanks to the Father for a miracle, it may be that He did thank the Father at the time and it was simply not recorded by the gospel author.
When Jesus fed the four thousand with seven loaves and a few small fishes, it doesn’t record that Jesus gave thanks for the food that was miraculously multiplied (Matthew 15: 34-38), however it was customary that Jesus gave thanks before a meal (Luke 22:19).
The Bible Doesn’t Mention Every Detail
The Bible doesn’t record every detail. Simply because it is not recorded that Jesus said “thank you” for a miracle it is still very possible that He did give thanks. Jesus was one who spent much time in prayer privately (Mark 1:35) and it is very likely that Jesus thanked His Father during those times.
The Bible authors did not add every detail to every event because they wanted to keep the focus on specific points of that event. They wrote as they were led by the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:21). The Spirit inspired them to relate the important details in order for us to learn the lessons in the stories (Deuteronomy 29:29).
There are many things that the Savior did that are not mentioned in the Bible and we wont’ know until we go to heaven. John recorded, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen” (John 21:25).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
