Chapter 3 of the book of Acts describes an afternoon when Peter and John were walking to the temple to pray. A man with paralysed legs was at the temple gate begging, and he asked Peter and John for money. Instead of giving him money, Peter told him to get up and walk, in the name of Jesus Christ. The man was immediately cured, and he got up and started walking and jumping. Everyone was amazed, but Peter asked them why they were surprised.
In a society where disabled people were just nameless beggars, perhaps it was surprising that God cared enough to heal someone. In a society where people believed in God more in an intellectual and ceremonial way than as a living reality, perhaps it was surprising that God would do anything at all. But if God had really acted throughout the history of the people of Israel in the way people said he had, it should have come as no surprise that he was still active.
Today, many people claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, but live much of their lives as if God does not exist. We find it hard to believe that the miracles described in the Bible actually happened. Some try to explain them away, and separate the “mythical” elements from the “real” elements. However, if God was really powerful enough to create the world and everything in it, why should we be surprised when he does something as simple as curing a paralysed man?