Jesus HEALED the SICK and so can we
Jesus – our great Healer and Doctor!
But how about this Bible text?:
Mark 6:4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 Now HE COULD DO NO MIGHTY WORK THERE, EXCEPT THAT HE LAID HIS HANDS ON A FEW SICK PEOPLE AND HEALED THEM. 6 And He marveled because of their UNBELIEF. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. (NKJV)
It could of course be interpreted as though Jesus was unable to heal sick people due to their unbelief, despite trying a few times, or maybe he gave up before trying because he could sense their unbelief. That scenario would be quite different from other scenarios where Jesus was healing people, because then he healed ALL. Another interpretation of the above verse, is that people lacked belief (in getting healed) to the extent that they didn’t even approach Jesus about it, because they believed they wouldn’t be able to get healed anyway, so why bother trying? Neither did they believe that sick family members and friends would be able to get healed, so they didn’t bring them to Jesus either. The outcome would be that Jesus couldn’t heal that many people for the simple reason that he didn’t have that many candidates to work on. He did heal a few, because a few people asked to get healed.
Since Jesus was so effective when he performed healing, it increased the level of faith among people – to believe that he could be successful also concerning THEM. If you see friends and family members getting healed (despite knowing they have an illness) then why couldn’t it also happen to you? The more people who got healed, the easier it would be for others to get the needed faith to get healed themselves – much like an avalanche. Jesus fame spread and multitudes followed him and got healed, leading to even more multitudes following him.
Luke 4:17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised—21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Matthew 12:15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all
Matthew 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Matthew 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
Luke 4:36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.37 And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.
Luke 5:15 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.
Jesus is rather clear about that FAITH is an important ingredient for getting healed
Jesus was of course effective when he healed people because he was anointed by his Father to do mighty work, and of course he didn’t lack any belief in that people would be able to get cured. On top of that, it certainly looks like other people’s FAITH had much to do with getting healed, but not always since Jesus’ friend Lasarus was healed despite being dead and unable to have faith.We are not expected to believe anyone is the Messiah just for saying so, but Jesus showed that the circumstances surrounding him were prophesied about him in Scripture long before he was born, and also the miracles he did confirmed that he indeed was the Messiah. Jesus expects us to believe he is who he says he is for these reasons.
John 10:37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, BELIEVE THE WORKS: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
Matthew 11:21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, THEY WOULD HAVE REPENTED long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Matt. 17:14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.17 Then Jesus answered and said, O FAITHLESS AND PERVERSE GENERATION, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?20 And Jesus said unto them, BECAUSE OF YOUR UNEBELIEF: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Examples where FAITH plays a big role in order to get healed:
Luke 5:17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.20 And WHEN HE SAW THEIR FAITH, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.—24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day
John 4:47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And THE MAN BELIEVED THE WORD THAT JEUS HAD SPOKEN unto him, and he went his way.51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.
Acts 14:8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked:9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and PERCEIVING THAT HE HAD FAITH TO BE HEALED,10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.11 And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
Luke 17:.17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: THY FAITH HATH MADE THEE WHOLE.
Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, GREAT IS THY FAITH: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Luke 18:41 Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: THY FAITH HATH SAVED THEE.43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
Some people believed they could get healed just by touching Jesus, and since they believed this very strongly, they got healed:
Luke 6:17 And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;18 And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.19 And THE WHOLE MULTITUDE SOUGHT TO TOUCH HIM: FOR THERE WENT VIRTUE OUT OF HIM, and healed them all.20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
Mark 5:27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.—34 And he said unto her, Daughter, THY FAITH HATH MADE THEE WHOLE; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
Jesus was truly amazed when he saw the faith of the Centurion:
Luke 7:8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.9 When Jesus heard these things, HE MARVELLED AT HIM, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I HAVE NOT FOUND SO GREAT FAITH, no, not in Israel.
Matthew 8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. —13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and AS THOU HAST BELIEVED, SO BE IT DONE UNTO THEE. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
People close their eyes and ears and thus make it hard for Jesus to heal them.
Matthew 13:15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes THEY have closed; LEST at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them
Acts 28; 26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and THEIR EYES THEY CLOSED; LEST they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
John 12:36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.37 But though he had done so many MIRACLES before them, YET THEY BELIEVED NOT ON HIM:38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
In Jesus home city he wasn’t successful in his healing due to people’s unbelief. Only a few people got healed, and Jesus MARVELLED at their unbelief:
Mark 6:4 But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.5 And HE COULD THERE DO NO MIGHTY WORK, save that he laid his hands upon A FEW sick folk, and healed them.6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.
Luke 4:24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
Jesus disciples had the gift of healing as well
Jesus disciples must have watched countless of people getting healed through the hands of Jesus, and it would therefore have been easier for them to actually believe in their own abilities to heal once they got this power. The same thing applies here; they were successful and when people noticed the wonderful results they could easier produce faith to believe that the disciples could heal also THEM.
Matthew 10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
Luke 9:6 And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.
Acts 28:8 And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.9 So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed
Acts. 3:9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
Acts 5:16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.
Acts. 4:6 Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.—13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.—16 Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.—21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.22 For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.—.30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
We are told to be eager to seek the gift of Healing (and other gifts) TODAY
There are people wanting to see mighty miracles and getting healed just as much today as the case was 2,000 years ago, so there is no reason for this powerful gift to have passed away shortly after Paul wrote his letters. (Surely we would expect to see information about this ceasing if it ever occurred in our past.) That’s why we shouldn’t let the devil fool us into believing that this gift was only for the first christians, and thus miss out on the wonderful promises. Many christians DO realize the gift is for today and are blessed with the gift of healing, and it wouldn’t make sense for them to try to ignore the obvious – loads of people getting healed!
Despite the information in the Bible, and despite that true born again christians have this gift, there are still christians who are skeptic about this gift and some even tie today’s healing with the devil. (Wouldn’t that be close to the unpardonable sin?) Each time Satan manages to convince church leaders that healing isn’t something they should engage themselves with because it’s “controversial” or because they simply don’t believe they are for today, Satan will stand there as the winner since there WILL be people who miss out on the opportunity to get healed, and God will get less glory when we place the lid on such wonderful manifestations which could actually lead to people getting saved due to what they see.
Some ask for “proof” (often from secular non-christian sources), but what proof would convince them? There are hospital journals which confirm that a cancer has strangely vanished unexpectedly, and doctors even write “much like a miracle”, but would the doubters accept this as proof? No, they would say “Such journals can easily be tampered with” or “That is no proof” or “Send it to me then, and let me have a look“. I don’t have these journals in my own possession and naturally a hospital wouldn’t send out copies of other people’s journals. And if I would provide the contact information to a person who got healed so that a copy of such a journal could be acquired, would they actually write and ask for it? I highly doubt it since they wouldn’t accept a copy as proof anyway.
I’ve heard people saying things such as “I’ve been a christian for 30 years and I have not seen one single example of healing”. Well, I’m sorry that no one has ever knocked on their door to ask if they care to be a witness to a healing, but even if someone did, would they actually believe it and accept it? I don’t think so! If they on top of this attend a church where the leaders don’t even believe in the gift of healing (or it’s nothing they engage themselves in even if they are not officially “against” it), then of course it’s extremely unlikely that the congregation will ever be witness to a healing. So again, what “proof” would ever satisfy them? Some might say “the burden of proof is on those who claim there is healing today“, but why would we even bother trying to provide proof? What would WE gain by spending valuable time trying to convince people who have already made up their mind? They are free to believe whatever they want, and the rest of us can continue praising God for the gift of healing which has been such a blessing to loads of people and which highlights the power of the mighty one.
Yet others try with “guilt by association”, or they try to convince people that the misuse of the gift of healing (which they claim is SO COMMON despite that they have no means of knowing this since they are not active in charismatic churches) is evidence for that ALL healing should be avoided to all costs. They reason that if the evangelist Smith, the horrible charismatic prosperity preacher, misuses the gift of healing and loves luxurious houses, fancy cars and private jets, then this is “proof” for that ALL healing are ungodly.
It seems to be easier to believe in healing in certain countries/areas that are less fortunate when it comes to material things, like in the third world. A witness told me that she went with a group to a large christian meeting in a country in Africa and she said; “It seemed like more people got healed than NOT healed”. That is hard to imagine in a western country where faith is lacking. But the promise to us is that we too can perform healings due to the gift from the Holy Spirit. We are even promised to do “greater works” than Jesus and that is BECAUSE Jesus went to his Father and made this possible for us. Thanks to his death on the cross and his resurrection, we can get the help from the Holy Spirit to do all those mighty things and even get people back from the dead. Just like Jesus. The reason why we don’t see this very often is likely due to lack of faith.
John 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and GREATER WORKS THAN THESE SHALL HE DO; because I go unto my Father.13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues
1 Cor. 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
Paul provides instructions for how a church (a christian assembly) is supposed to function, and the gift of healing is part of it. We are told to be eager to get the best gifts, and the gift of healing is mentioned fifth:
1 Cor. 12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.—7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.—8 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
Also James explains how a gathering of christians should function:
James 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:15 And the PRAYER OF FAITH SHALL SAVE THE SICK, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
