According to White, the main pattern found in ancient miracle stories is 1. Description of the situation 2. Action by the miracle worker. 3 The response of onlookers: “Amazement” or other testimonials (pg 175).In Mark 7:31-37, the story of Jesus healing a man both deaf and mute is told. In the story of the deaf and mute man, the ancient pattern is found and all three sections of the pattern are fulfilled. In Mark 8:22-26, the story of Jesus healing a blind man in Bethsaida is told. Similar to Mark 7:31-37, the ancient pattern is exemplified, however, this time, the third section of the pattern is not fulfilled. In both of these stories, Mark is affirming for the people/followers that Jesus has divine power and that he is the Son of God.
In the gospels of Matthew and Luke, these two miracle stories are absent. White attributes this to the stories not being significant enough to promote confidence in Jesus’ abilities due to Jesus having to attempt to heal the deaf and mute man twice rather than getting it right the first time. In Luke, the miracle stories are omitted completely, however, in Matthew they are to appear in a version that consists of Jesus healing two blind men at once. Through this altered version from the Gospel of Matthew, we are able to see the reshaping or manipulation of the stories from the Gospel of Mark as time progresses. This is important because it embodies the significance of Miracle stories in both the past and present narratives.
In the ancient world, the concept of death is heavily associated with fear. White states,
“One concern sometimes in ancient medical discussions is how to be certain the person is really dead. The fear of being buried or, worse yet, cremated alive must have been widespread.”(pg 172). Being that there is no return from death, it is easy to understand how and why fear is associated with death in ancient times. In Luke 7:11-17, a story of Jesus resurrecting a widow’s dead son is told. Through this miracle story, Luke portrays Jesus as one who can sympathize with humans and as a healer of all things feared. This Lukian miracle story, encompassing all three sections of the ancient pattern, illustrates to the reader not only Jesus’ divine abilities, but also further proves that Jesus is the Son of God.