Category Archives: healing

The Interceding of the Great Physician

30 Monday Mar 2015

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Yesterday our pastor told about a man in our church family who went in to have an upper body x-ray, and for whatever reason, the x-ray camera was positioned lower than it should have been. Because of the error, an abdominal mass was found. There had been no symptoms of cancer in his body and except for the misalignment of the x-ray machine, the malignancy would have gone undetected.

The daughter of a close friend wasn’t even a year out from her first breast cancer surgery when she felt a lump under her arm while showering.  She had been closely monitored by several specialists yet she was the one who discovered a cancerous node. One physician told her he was amazed she could feel it.

The husband of another friend repeatedly had high PSA’s indicating the likelihood of prostate cancer.  There were several biopsies and none disclosed malignancy. Even so, he couldn’t let go of concern and decided to go to a cancer center for a more extensive biopsy. An aggressive form of cancer was found and had, in fact, escaped the walls of the prostate.

Two years ago I had surgery to remove a cancer from my face.  For more than a year I had been anxious about two tiny black spots below my eye. I had the area checked three times by two different dermatologists and told the spots were nothing to worry about.  Then a cosmetologist saw them and strongly urged me to get another opinion. I went to yet a third dermatologist who biopsied and diagnosed a melanoma, the worst of all skin cancers.

As I thought about these four different scenarios, it didn’t cause me to lose faith in physicians. Rather, I saw it as the sure evidence of God’s hand in the lives of His children. He took over where man was limited: He acted through an ill-positioned x-ray, guided a young woman’s hand, prompted a cosmetologist to speak out assertively, and kept concern gnawing until the right tests were completed.

The healing miracles of Jesus’ day were dramatic. The lame were made to walk, the blind to see, a woman bent over for 18 years made to stand erect, the dead were raised. There was no subtlety about any of those healings. Yet I would say to you the situations I’ve described are no less miracles.  Where highly skilled physicians missed disease, The Great Physician, Jesus, stepped in and called disease out.

Does this interceding happen every time? No, not as far as we can see. However, I do believe it happens far more times than we realize and certainly more times than we ever give God credit. It is never wrong to pray for the sudden miracle occurrences of Jesus’ day, but we should not fail to see His healings of today that only need a closer look.

Each person in this story had a good outcome and good prognosis. Jesus is never late.  To God be all glory!

Closing Thoughts on Jesus’ Healing Ministry

01 Sunday Sep 2013

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How many people did Jesus heal in His days on earth? We have the stories of just a few (I count 26 separate individuals whose stories have been written), but there are scriptures that tell us the accounts reported in the gospels were a very small number of the entirety.

In Matthew alone, there are eight references to Jesus healing multitudes of people with various diseases and afflictions. (See 4:23, 8:16, 9:35, 12:15, 13:14, 15:30, 19:2, and 21:14.)

Hear Matthew 4:23: “News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and He healed them.”  And Matthew 15:30 says “Great crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at His feet; and He healed them.”

Healing_the_Blind008 How could we possibly imagine the total sum of people healed by our Lord? He healed all who asked of Him, every single one.  The last thing the disciple John said in his gospel was this: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written” (John 21:25). We are told about 26 specific healings. It gives us some idea of who and what our Lord healed, but I suggest it is only that—an idea.

We can’t close out without a mention of the one healing that would have been in higher number than all the rest. It was the most important healing then, and it is now. Spiritual healing. We can be sure that as bodies and minds were healed, so were souls. That which gives us quality of life is valuable, but it is spiritual healing that goes with us into all eternity.

It was faith that released the power of the Lord. Over and over we hear Him say it is faith that brings about healing. Sometimes it was the faith of the one afflicted, other times it was the faith of the one bringing the one in need to Jesus.

John Wesley said “When we have learned the process of faith for receiving healing, we have learned how to receive everything else God promises us in His Word.”

Casting out Demons

25 Sunday Aug 2013

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Scriptures on casting out demons/evil spirits:
Matthew 8:16, 8:28, 9:32, 15:22
Mark 3:11, 5:2, 7:25, 9:17
Luke 4:32, 4:41, 8:27, 9:39

Of all the healing miracles, the one reported on most was of those possessed of evil spirits or demons. Matthew, Mark, and Luke give four reports each of the Lord casting out demons; some of the stories are repeated, but not all.

Some of the people Jesus healed had afflictions that were credited to demons:  the woman bent over for 18 years, a child who was mute and deaf, a boy with seizures or epilepsy. Some lived among the tombs because they were out of control. We read of how they screamed and threw themselves into the fire so we know they lived in torment.

There are those who question that demons were real then; they suggest these healings were of people with mental illnesses and simply told as they were for people to better understand their healing. Dr. Charles C. Ryrie, retired professor of systematic theology and dean of doctoral studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, and best known for the Ryrie Study Bible, has something to say about that in his book, Basic Theology: “A number of times during His earthly ministry our Lord cast out demons from various people. These instances, of course, affirmed His belief in their real existence. If we cannot accept the Lord’s testimony, then we would have to conclude that either (a) He was lying, or (b) He was accommodating His teaching to the ignorance of His audience (which in effect makes Him guilty of propagating falsehood), or (c) the early church redactors of the text added the parts about His teaching on demons. All the writers of the New Testament (except the writer of Hebrews) mention demons for a total of over 100 references” (p 157).

Dr. Ryrie says that scripture points to the conclusion that demons are fallen angels. They have superior intelligence, experience, and powers.  They are spirit beings, although localized because they are limited and not infinite as God is. Generally, they are invisible to human beings, though on occasion, their presence has been apparent through various means (Acts 19:14; Revelation 9: 1-12, 16-13). They are not present everywhere, yet they are not as restricted as humans for the normal barriers of space. Dr. Ryrie warns that denying the existence and power of demons is ignorant and foolhardy (taken from pp 159-163).

Dr. J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) in his Through the Bible radio series, still popular today, said once that “it is difficult to explain what is taking place in our contemporary society without believing in the existence of demons.”  Consider that Dr. McGee’s comment was perhaps made at least 30 years ago and then think of the continuing progression of our society’s decline in morality.

Dr. Scott Peck (1936-2005) was a psychiatrist best known for his book, The Road Less Traveled, but he also wrote a phenomenal book titled People of the Lie, the Hope for Healing Human Evil.  It is an unsettling, but importantly informing book on the evil in people. He draws on case examples from his psychiatric practice and reflection on those cases led him to have to consider whether there is such a thing as the devil. He thought not, but decided that in order to be thorough in his research, he needed to see “one good old-fashioned case of possession.” Dr. Peck says his disbelief was in common with 99% of psychiatrists and the majority of clergy. He sought out and eventually found cases of behavior that he deemed not to be mental illness. He saw something entirely different, people with evil in them, and through the witnessing of exorcisms, came to believe in Satan.

Dr. Peck said before he witnessed his first exorcism, he read Hostage to the Devil by Malachi Martin. He says, “I was intrigued, but hardly convinced of the devil’s reality. It was another matter after I had personally met Satan face-to-face” (p 184).

With information from revered theologian, Dr. Charles Ryrie, and widely respected psychiatrist and author, Dr. Scott Peck, we can better understand why these miracles were the most spectacular and reported of all the Lord’s healings.

Raised from the Dead

18 Sunday Aug 2013

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Daughter of Jairus (Matthew 9:18, 23-25; Mark 5:22-24, 35-43; Luke 8:40-56)

“Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with Him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying” (Luke 8:4-42 NIV).  The story is reported by three writers, but only Luke tells us the ruler’s child was his only daughter and was about 12. Because he was a physician, he would have investigated every story for details others might not have considered important. Maybe they weren’t, but they were interesting.

When Jesus gets to the ruler’s house, He finds the grieving has begun. Funeral music is playing via piped instruments and the crowd of people in and around the house is noisy. The custom of that day was to grieve the dead by loud, woeful cries, continuing until they could emit no more than a sob. This would have been the noise of the crowd.

Jesus tells the crowd that the child is not dead, only sleeping. They laugh at Him and He sends them away, allowing only the little girl’s parents and three disciples, Peter, James, and John, to go with Him to where the child’s body lay. How did He come to just these five? Perhaps He was surrounding Himself with only those of strongest expectation. Certainly the parents were desperate for their child’s restoration and Jesus had compassion for them. The disciples chosen were the three Jesus was closest to, and He needed them to see His power, for soon they would be sent forth to heal in His name.

Scripture says Jesus took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up” (Luke 8:54)! Dr. J. Vernon McGee, preacher, teacher, and author, said those words could be translated “Little lamb, wake up.” (See Thru the Bible, notes on Luke 8:54, page 284.) That sounds like the way Jesus would speak to a child, doesn’t it? Full of love and compassion for a little one. Verse 55 says “Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up.”

The royal official’s son in Capernaum (John 4:46-53), the son of a widow in Nain (Luke 7:11-17), Lazarus (John 11:1-6, 11-44)

There were three other reports given us of Jesus raising the dead to life. Of all, Lazarus is probably the most familiar and the most spectacular because he had been in the grave for four days (John 11:17). This would mean a decaying body with a horrific stench.  It must have been a frightening thing for the family, even knowing of Jesus’ past miracles, to think of what would be revealed when the grave was opened. But Jesus was God! Four days in the grave to Him was no more than a child’s scraped knee. So after thanking God the Father for hearing Him, Jesus commands Lazarus to come out. And Lazarus, dead and buried for four days, walks out of the grave and goes home. (See vv 41-44).

Would these four restorations from death be the only ones that happened? I doubt it. I suspect these are only representative of many.  We know Jesus healed many more than were reported for Luke 4:40 says “At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them.”  And Mark 1:34 says “and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons . . .” In final support that we know only a little of His miracles, John said this in his gospel (21:25): “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

We will not know all the miracles our Lord did until we reach heaven. And as the gospel song goes, “Won’t it be wonderful there?”

All scriptures are from New International Version (NIV).

Deaf and Mute Man

10 Saturday Aug 2013

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Mark 7:32-37

“Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis. They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him” (Mark 7:31-32 NAS).

Jesus_the_Healer005When this story takes place, Jesus has already healed many and word has quickly spread. People who had seen or heard of His miracles must have talked about them constantly. Surely there was not a day that went by that they were not discussed and marveled over. Can you imagine what it would mean to be in need of healing and hear that there was one who was able to heal every need, no matter how long-standing or serious? That there was nothing impossible with this man named Jesus? He could touch a person or simply speak a word, and people were made whole.

I like the way the New Living Translation (NLT) words Mark 7:33: “Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue.” I like the NLT version because it makes it very clear that Jesus wanted to be alone with the man, to get him away from all distractions so he could focus on the One who would heal him. Think about the noise of the crowd and their shuffling for space to get a clear view of what was sure to be another miracle.  Since the man could not hear, he would have to be very centered on Jesus to understand what was happening. And Jesus had more for him than bodily healing and He didn’t want the deaf and dumb man to miss it. He had the greatest gift of all–healing for his soul.

This healing involved more outward actions than usual.  He may have put his fingers in the man’s ears to let him know what was about to happen—that He was going to open them. He may have touched the man’s tongue with His sacred saliva to indicate power would leave His body and flow into the man’s body. Whatever His reasons, we can agree with The Pulpit Commentary: “We may be assured that, in the case before us, these signs used by our Lord were intended to awaken the afflicted man’s faith, and to stir up in him the lively expectation of a blessing.”

There was one other case of healing where the healing was of one both deaf and dumb (or mute). It was of a demon-possessed boy, told in Mark 9:14-29. In verse 25, it says this: “When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, He rebuked the evil spirit. ‘Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,’ He said. ‘I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again’” (NLT)!  This was one of the many healings of demon possession and that topic will have separate coverage.

Were both situations caused by evil spirits? I don’t think so. Scripture says Jesus spoke to a spirit in the child–a demonic possession. There was nothing in the first  healing that indicates it was anything but a physical abnormality. He simply touched the man’s ears and tongue and he was healed.

Writing about the man deaf and dumb reminds me of a personal experience. Quite a few years ago, I served as the church director for the Exceptional Department, a ministry for mentally challenged adults. Most of the men and women lived in group homes with house parents and the house-mother from a home called one day saying one of the women there, Margie, wanted to talk with me about Jesus. The Holy Spirit was moving through the Exceptional Department, as one and then another wanted to profess faith in Jesus and be baptized. Now Margie was asking for that same thing. I knew Margie’s father was still alive so I asked the house-mother what he thought about this. She said she had talked with him and he very much wanted Margie to have this chance to talk to me about her understanding of Jesus. Margie wasn’t deaf, but she did suffer from a speech impairment so severe I could hardly understand a word she said. This caused me great concern on how we would communicate. Certainly, I prayed about our coming time together, but when I got to the house, I asked Margie if Sandy could meet with us and help me if there was anything I couldn’t understand. Sandy had just a mild disability and she was a favorite friend of Margie’s. Margie quickly nodded her head that it would be fine for her to join us.  However, on that day, Jesus opened my ears just like He did the man of Mark 7:32. For I understood perfectly every word Margie said, and there in her room, she gave her heart to the Lord. That was a day I stood on holy ground.

Woman with High Fever

04 Sunday Aug 2013

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Here we have the report of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law being very ill with a fever. If her fever had been a simple one, I don’t think Luke, a physician, would have bothered to record it as one of Jesus’ healings. Luke defined the fever as a high one (v38). That this woman’s fever was also reported by Matthew and Mark, supports that her fever was serious and not responding to other attempts of intervention. The New Living Translation of Luke 4:38 says “After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. ‘Please heal her,’ everyone begged.” Note again that this was a Sabbath healing, which the Pharisees taught was forbidden because it was work. But Jesus came to fulfill the law and the law was to do good when and where good was needed.

When my daughter was four or five, she had hallucinations from a high fever. I remember Kristi giggling, saying she saw pigs on my nose. High fevers can be common in small children and they should not go untreated, but high fever in an adult is far more serious. High fever in an adult is over 104 F or a fever of 102 F for more than two days. Left untreated for an extended time, brain damage can occur. So here we have a woman in dire need of healing and Jesus provided that. “Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them” (v39 NLT).

I love that extra punch the Lord gives His healings. This woman could have been deemed healed by an immediate cooling of body temperature. Perhaps she was thrashing about in misery or unable to think and speak clearly, and that went away. But verse 38 says Simon’s mother-in-law “got up at once and prepared a meal for them.”  She was infused with immediate strength and clarity of mind. That is the excitement of the Lord’s healing!

There is also a lesson for us in how the healed woman responded. She served. When we receive a great blessing from the Lord, our first thought should be of service, too.

Clark’s Commentary on the Bible (see note on Matthew 8:14-17) says “as soon as Peter began to follow Christ, his family began to benefit by it” (see note on Matthew 8:14-17). Clark says “One person full of faith and prayer may be the means of drawing down innumerable blessings on his family and acquaintance.”

Jes_heals_Peter's_Mth-in-law_C-427Courtesy of Ultimate Bible Picture Collection

Man with Withered Hand

28 Sunday Jul 2013

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I once heard a missionary tell of watching an arm grow back due to a new believer’s faith. It happened in a country where faith was new and pure. When they came to believe in God, they believed every word of the Bible along with it. Faith like this provides a means for miracles that few of us know anything about.

I try to imagine what it would be like to see such a miracle; the one sure thing I know is I believe it happened just as the missionary said. I believe not just based on her reputation, but that Hebrews 13:8 tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. We have the promise of nothing changing with Him. He is as able and willing today as in Bible times. How I would love to have the uncomplicated faith of those natives that believe without a single doubt!

F. F. Bosworth in his book, Christ the Healer, quoted John Wesley (page 178) as saying “The prayer of faith and process of healing in the Church was lost through unbelief. Prayers now are more often for the stricken individual to bear the illness with patience and fortitude.”

Every time we doubt, we move a step away from receiving the very thing we ask of Him.

Man with withered hand (Matthew 12:9-14)
“A man was there who had a withered hand. And they (Pharisees) asked Jesus, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” so that they could accuse him” (v10).

This man was in the temple to hear Jesus teach. His hand was deformed and Jesus took notice. The man probably had no use of it at all. When the Pharisees saw that Jesus noticed him, knowing He could heal the man, they immediately questioned Jesus about the law, hoping to find a reason to accuse Him of doing wrong. Jesus responded: “Would not any one of you, if he had one sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Then he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out and it was restored, as healthy as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, as to how they could assassinate him.” (vv11-14). It is difficult to understand how anyone could be angry about a miraculous healing, but the Pharisees knew they were being challenged.

Jesus performed seven healings on the Sabbath: This man with the withered hand, the lame man by the Pool of Bethesda, Peter’s mother-in-law with a fever, a man born blind, the woman bent over, a man with dropsy, and a man who was demon possessed. Each time, the Pharisees angrily accused Him of wrong doing because it didn’t conform with the law as they understood and taught it. Repeatedly, Jesus tried to show them that good was to be done on the Sabbath or any other day when someone was in need. They tested Him on the letter of the law, but He tested them on the heart of the law. And they failed the test.

The Pharisees were letting pride get in their way. They were pompous and unyielding. To go against their teaching was to attack their self-importance. Here was the Living Word of God right in their midst and they were so filled with arrogance and superiority, they couldn’t see Him.

Does it not give us pause to ask what blinders we may have on when we fail to act in the mercy of the Lord?

Scripture references used are from the New English Translation.

Healing of Chronic Afflictions

21 Sunday Jul 2013

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Some of those healed by Jesus had afflictions of long duration: a woman with a 12 year hemorrhage, another bent over for 18 years, and a man who had been an invalid for 38 years.

Healed from 12-year hemorrhage
(Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34, and Luke 8:43-48)
Mark 5:26 says “She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.”  Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible says her suffering would have been from the various medicines tried on her, causing her nausea and perhaps, pain. Some of the medicinal plants rabbis recorded were gum of Alexandria, alum, saffron, Persian onions, and cumin; they were put into wine and drank.

A continuing loss of blood surely caused the woman to be tired and weak, and with certainty, she would have been ostracized by the Jewish community—seen as one unclean. Because she had spent all she had trying to get well, she now lived in poverty; she had no more money for seeking help.

Then she hears about a man named Jesus who heals. She determines to get close enough to touch Him, believing that alone will heal her.  She believes in His healing power because she first believes that this is the one who Isaiah said would come and heal—it is Christ!

woman healedSomehow she manages to push through the throngs of people surrounding Jesus. She gets close enough to reach just the edge of His clothing, but with that single touch she is healed (see Matthew 9:22, Mark 5:29, or Luke 8:44). To know immediately that she was healed, she must have felt a surge of strength, the release of nausea and pain, something different from what she had felt in all these years. Jesus knows that power has gone out of Him and asks who touched Him; the woman falls at His feet and confesses. And Jesus says to her as He did to the others, it is because of her faith that she is healed (see Mark 5:34).  We need to bury that deep inside of us: God’s healing always requires faith.

Healed from being bent over 18 years (Luke 13:10-17)
Anything Luke writes about the healings of Jesus is of particular interest because he was a physician. He would have asked for details, questioned extensively, and been satisfied in his mind of what was being reported. Luke reports his findings to Theophilus, his friend, and a man of high rank in the Roman world, perhaps a governor over provinces. In his gospel letter, Luke says in verse 3 that he has “carefully investigated everything from the beginning.” A physician doesn’t deal with anything but fact.

Luke is the only one who tells about the woman who was “bent double,” as some translations say. He says she has been disabled for 18 years. When her healing came, she woman was in the synagogue hearing Jesus teach. So here we know of her faith. She had come to hear the Master teach, not to seek healing. But when Jesus notices her, He felt compassion for her, and he set her free from the horrible bent over condition, and immediately, she stands upright. Jesus said Satan had kept her bound like this; why, it is not said.

A healing such as this should be reason for excitement, and those around her were. All but the temple ruler, that is. He was outraged because healing took place on the Sabbath. He should have been bowing before the long-awaited Messiah, thanking God that He had finally come, and delighted to see firsthand His miracles, but he was blinded by his pride. His ego stood in the way of truth.  It reminds me of what a friend used to say about his opinionated mother: “Don’t confuse her with facts, her mind is made up.”

Healed after being an invalid for 38 years (John 5:5-9)
We don’t know what made this man an invalid. Verse 3 of the NIV translation said those gathered at the pool by the Sheep Gate were the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed. Other translations mention withered limbs. Whatever the man’s illness, he needed help to get into the pool that was believed to bring healing when the waters were stirred.

Jesus approaches this man of long-standing disability and asks if he wants to be made well. That may seem a strange question to ask of him, but I believe the Lord wants to get the man to focus on Him. His healing will not come from the pool of water, but from the Son of God.  When the man explains that he is never able to get to the waters when they are stirred, Jesus ignores the statement and tells him to get up, take his mat, and walk.

Again, we see immediate healing, and again, we see the ire of the Jewish leaders when they see the man carrying his mat (working), because this healing also took place on the Sabbath. The Jewish leaders had decided for themselves how the Sabbath was to be lived, and they observed it in a superstitious way. Jesus took every opportunity to convince them that they were wrong in their interpretation, but they simply could not get past their prideful law-keeping to God’s grace of healing.

Stories of chronic illnesses being healed give hope to those with them.  For 10 years, I suffered with severe fibromyalgia. Pain and fatigue were debilitating. Social life was non-existent. I read every resource I could find on the illness and none gave hope that it could be cured. I saw different physicians and tried different medications, none of which helped. But about five years ago, my healing came and I now have no symptoms at all of fibromyalgia. It was the Lord in His mercy that healed me; there is no question in my mind.

All scripture references are from NIV translation.

Healing of the Blind

14 Sunday Jul 2013

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healing blind

(Matthew 9:27-31; Mark 8:22-25; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43; John 9)

We depend on our senses to help us through life. Only through loss can we understand the extent of their importance. The blind depend greatly on touch as a means of getting around and understanding what something is or looks like.  Because they are void of sight, their sense of hearing becomes heightened as they depend on it more than the sighted do to navigate through life.

The two blind men of Matthew 9 couldn’t see the one who healed, but they realized who He was by listening to what others were saying—their sense of hearing was determinedly engaged. They had heard how Isaiah had said the Messiah would open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf (see Isaiah 35:5). These men, though unable to see, knew who the one standing among them was. They called Him by the messianic title, Son of David, and Jesus said to them, “According to your faith will it be done to you” (v 29).

Bartemaeus , the blind beggar of Mark 10, also called out to the Son of David, asking for His mercy. And Jesus said “your faith has made you well” (v52). What Jesus has for us to see doesn’t require physical sight; it requires seeing Him with our heart—our faith. Just as Bartemaeus received what he needed through his faith, we receive what we need through ours. Whatever our darkness, faith in Jesus can dispel it.

In Mark 8’s account of a blind man being healed, the healing was not instantaneous, but gradual. After the first touch, the man could see something, but he couldn’t see clearly. So Jesus touched his eyes a second time to bring about complete restoration. Ours is not a God of partial blessing, but complete. We may, at first, get only a glimpse of what the Lord has for us; through continued faith, we will eventually receive what we believe He has promised. What Jesus begins, He will always finish.

The healing of blindness in John 9 takes on the question of who had sinned to cause the man’s blindness, the man or his parents. The Jewish people made connections between suffering and sin, so the question was typical of current opinion. But Jesus’ response gets to a higher level; He didn’t deal with what caused the blindness, whether it was by sin or not; rather, He healed the man to illuminate the power of Christ and to bring glory to God. Here is a lesson about salvation: Jesus is interested in making us whole, not focusing on our sin. He is always concerned about the greater good than pointing out someone’s faults to the satisfaction of man.

Each of these blind men received physical and spiritual healing. It is the latter that truly sets us free.

Healing of Paralysis

07 Sunday Jul 2013

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The gospels tell of two accounts where Jesus healed men who were paralyzed. In both stories, it is the faith of others, those aiding the ones needing to be healed, that is seen.

Centurion’s Servant (Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7:1-10)
A centurion was a Roman officer who commanded one hundred men; he was in a position to recognize authority. He has obviously heard about Jesus and probably the healing of the leper. He comes seeking healing for his paralyzed servant. (King James Version calls the servant palsied, rather than paralyzed.)

In Luke, we are told that the centurion first sent Jewish elders to Jesus to make the case for his servant. They told Jesus how this man had built a synagogue for them and he was therefore worthy to be healed. They were presenting the man worthy of being healed based on his good works. They were caught up in the law and didn’t know about a God who healed out of compassion alone. Jesus had no requirement of good works, just faith that He was who He said He was–God.

Jesus agrees to go to the servant but before he can get there, the centurion comes to meet Him and says this, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it. (Luke 7:8-9).” Jesus’ reaction is sheer amazement and he tells those around them that in all of Israel, He has never seen so much faith. Then He says to the centurion, “’Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.’ And his servant was healed at that very hour.” (v 13)

Let this serve to remind us of the importance of surrounding ourselves with fellow believers who have strong faith.

Paralytic brought to Jesus on a mat (Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:17-26)
When I heard this story growing up, I was caught by how they got the man to Jesus. He was brought on a mat (or bed) by others and when they could not get in the house where Jesus was, they went to the rooftop and lowered the crippled man on the mat down through the roof. This required taking apart a piece of the roof to make an opening (Mark 2:4, Luke 5:19). That took a fair amount of courage, I would think, to take apart someone’s roof. And it certainly took strength to take the man on his bed up to the roof and then lower him down into the house without dropping him. However, it is not about how they got the man in front of Jesus, but that they had so much faith in Jesus’ power to heal that they would not give up. Whatever it took, these men knew if they could just get the Lord to see the paralytic, he would be healed.

Jesus responds by first recognizing the four men’s faith and then immediately follows that by telling the paralytic man his sins are forgiven. And that stirs up the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They don’t speak aloud, scripture says, but began thinking that here was a man speaking blasphemy, for as experts on the law, they knew only God could forgive sins. Jesus knew what they were thinking and turned to them and asked “Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say ‘Get up and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ‘“(Luke 5:23-24) He then told the man to get up, take his mat, and go home.

It seems Jesus always adds a little extra when He blesses us. In this case, He didn’t give the man the ability to stand and walk in some stumbling way. He gave him immediate strength and balance, enough to walk and carry his mat. Such is the richness of God’s blessings.

In this healing story, Jesus teaches us determination in seeking His face, and He reveals Himself to the experts of the law as God who has come in the form of man.  And one other thing not to miss: When the people saw what Jesus had done for the paralytic, they praised God!  May we, too, remember always to give God glory for what he does in our lives and the lives of others.

All scripture references are from New International Version (NIV)