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)       

The healings of Jesus are told in the first four books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the synoptic gospels because they each tell the stories of Jesus’ life and ministry with a similar view and structure. The gospel of John focuses on proving that Jesus was truly the Son of God and that through Him, all may have eternal life.

Matthew and John were two of the Lord’s 12 disciples, so they were witnesses of Jesus’ healing miracles. They told what they personally saw and heard.

Mark was not a disciple but his source is considered by many to have been Simon Peter, who was a disciple. In 1 Peter 5:13, Peter refers to Mark as his son (spiritual son).

Luke, a physician and Gentile, writes his gospel from Mary’s viewpoint and confirms the tradition that Luke’s source of information was from the mother of Jesus.

Those healed either came in faith or were presented by others who had faith that Jesus could heal. As you read in scripture the stories of healing, look for the word “faith” or its indication.

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The first healing recorded is of a leper and that story is told in all three synoptic gospels (Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45, Luke 5:12-16). The healing of a leper was an especially important report. A leper was an outcast of society. There was no known cure and some forms were highly contagious. A leper was removed from his family and society and was required to warn people not to touch him by crying out “Unclean, unclean.”

In Luke 5:12, it says “a man came along who was covered with leprosy” (NIV). To be covered, would mean his disease was advanced and he likely had lost fingers, toes, or bodily tissue of some kind. His need was great, but so was his faith.

The first thing Jesus did when the leper cried out for healing was to touch him. (Can you hear the gasp of the crowd?) “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man” (Matthew, Mark, and Luke record this with the same words). It was an important point to make. Since his leprosy was advanced, it would have been years since this man had been touched or even acknowledged as a person. The healing Jesus provided was restorative physically and psychologically. When Jesus healed the man’s leprosy, he gave him far more than a clean and recovered body.

Take a minute to put yourself there on that day when this man was healed and look at it from different perspectives: as an onlooker, as a disciple, as a teacher of the law caught in legalism. Finally be the leprous man and take in the wonder of your healing miracle.

(Along with this particular man’s story, there is one other healing of leprosy told in Luke 17:12-10 and it was the healing of ten leprous men.)

If we do not take time to dig deep into scripture, we will miss the wisdom and direction for our personal journeys.  We read the experiences of others, but there, in the midst, we find truths for ourselves.

If we search scriptures for hidden truths, we will see how there is something there just for us, to guide us through a situation in our own life, to bring order to some confusion, to replace despair with hope and joy. Sometimes it can be found in the oddest places –because it is the work of the Holy Spirit and designed with love for that particular time in your life. We can often test that by marking a scripture with a date of revelation, then returning to that some years later and not remembering what it was that made it so meaningful to us. It is because the Lord spoke to us at a personal time of need in a very personal way.

When we become too familiar with Bible stories, and such could be the case with the healing stories, we risk losing what may be “quieter” messages for personal revelations. We can lose intimacy with the accounts and lose personal truths just for us. What we’ve been taught by someone else is their truth passed on to us, and grateful and indebted we are for that. It is wealth untold. But never deny the Holy Spirit the opportunity to speak truth to you personally, to work in your mind and heart. Fan the flame.

The teachings of Jesus were recorded and preserved to make His power active in our lives today. Read my notes, study scripture prayerfully, and see what the Holy Spirit speaks into your life.

Scriptures to ground you in our study:
The Holy Spirit reveals the truth of God. (See John 14:16-17)
The Holy Spirit speaks about what He hears. (See John16:13-14)
Read those scriptures as if for the first time in your life and trust them.