4 Understanding The Healing Ministry Of Jesus (1/2)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today for ever
Heb 13: 8
Herein is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment: because as he is so are we in this world”
l John.4:17
If the name of Jesus is an investment of G.o.d in the church with the main purpose of accomplis.h.i.+ng what our lord accomplished in his earth ministry then it is expedient for us to understand the healing ministry of Jesus.
The first thing you need to know is that Jesus healed on two platforms. One by the anointing and other on the basis of the individual faith of the sick. The one by the anointing of the Holy Spirit is the manifestation of the spiritual gifts as the Holy Ghost wills. Let us see an instance out of more than nineteen individual healings recorded in the four gospels.
Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda having five porches.
In these lay a great mult.i.tude of impotent folk, of blind, Balt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water
And a certain man was there which had an infirmity thirty and eight years
When Jesus saw him lie and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, wilt thou be made whole?
The important man answered him, sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
Jesus said unto him, Rise, takes up thy bed and walk. And immediately the man was made whole.
John 5:2-9.
I. Through the operation of one or more spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit must have shown Jesus the will of the lord for that day. This included the issue of this man.
II. There were many folks who were sick in the porches and none other was given the benefit of this miracle.
III. We may not be able to say what prompted this divinely-ordained encounter with this man but it will certainly not be far from compa.s.sion and mercy of the lord in the face of his helplessness.
IV. This man was not expecting healing from Jesus as he did not even know him. He was neither exercising any faith nor aware of anything like that. In fact his focus was on the pool of water and the unpredictable visit of healing angels. Do you know the world is full of men like that who still keep on trying to be healed through medicine when the best of doctors have giving up on their cases. They ought to turn to the greatest physician who manufactured the human body.
V. Since Jesus was acting on divine instruction the power of the Holy Spirit must have surged through the body of the sick without his having a control over it. Noting could have brought up this man except the supernatural.
VI. You will see further in the pa.s.sage that sin opened the man to those afflicting demons. Jesus searched out for him to warn him.
Going further with the story you will observe that the man never bothered to inquire of the name of the healer. He later joined the Pharisees. It shows the depth of his moral degradation.
The scriptures portray G.o.d as a very positive G.o.d – positive in words and action. I am sure a man like this would possibly have lost his healing. But the bible has no time to monitor men who are so foolish as to lose their healing.
We also know that Jesus healed the sick on the platform of their individual faith. Since faith is an action based on G.o.d's word, faith is a priority to him.
So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of G.o.d
Roman. 10:17
Even the captives were delivered as he preached deliverance to them.
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 broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives.
Luke 4:18
It may surprise you to know that Jesus did not allow anything, even miracles, testimonies, praises, evil reports, and calamities to hinder his preaching and teaching ministry. Great mult.i.tudes were attracted to his healing ministry.
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 the devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them
Matthew 4:24
In the midst of this great success, fame and honor see the response of the perfect son of man.
”And seeing the mult.i.tudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying....”
Mathew 5:1-2
The natural world is ruled by their five senses but the sixth sense of faith is given to you as a supernatural power to reach a supernatural G.o.d. Jesus is the author and the finisher of your faith and since it is born of G.o.d, it gives you automatic victory when sown like a seed.
”For whatsoever is born of G.o.d overcomenth the word: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith”
l John 5:4.
Faith is a spirit and a law of his kingdom. It is not an option but the life-style of the kingdom. No wonder, faith was honored and rewarded in the ministry of Jesus even in those who were not part of the commonwealth of Israel.
”But without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to G.o.d must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”
Hebrews 11:6
You can see faith demonstrated in a certain n.o.ble-man whose son was sick at Cper-num. With a deluding feeling of independence, his contemporaries saw Jesus and what he represented as a danger but he maintained a hunger and thirst for the supernatural during his hour of crisis.
When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judea 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.
Then said Jesus unto him, except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.
The n.o.bleman saith unto him, come down are my child die
John. 4:47-49.
What desperation! What an expectancy and antic.i.p.ation!! The intensity of the desire of this n.o.bleman was too high to be ignored by the perfect author of faith, the lord Jesus.
Hear this:
”Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth”
And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.
And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, thy son liveth.
Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend.
And they said unto him, yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. so the father knew that it was at the same hour, in which Jesus said unto him ”thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house” – John. 4:50-53
I. The n.o.bleman refused to be affected by any other voice apart from the voice of Jesus. He could have allowed his mind to be ruled by his senses since Jesus did not meet his demand to come down and heal.
Your door of liberty opens when you dare to confront the things that scare you.
”For whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved”
Romans 10:13
II. The n.o.bleman knew that Jesus was as good as his word. What a child-like acceptance of a promise! The n.o.bleman believed. He agrees to go home convinced in his earth that all was well. The spiritual stability of his heart brought him great reward.
III. There is no way of knowing in the outside that the n.o.bleman believes until he acted on the instruction of Jesus, the healer. He went home believing. Action is the natural fruit of direction. Faith is dead without work (which in this case is an action). As he followed the instruction attached to the promise 'Go thy way, thy son liveth' his persistency paid off in form of a miracle.
iv. The healing manifested that same hour. The bible calls this gradual healing, a miracle.
”this is again the second miracle that Jesus did when he come out of Judea into Galilee”
John 4:54.
People who recover gradually gain extra knowledge about G.o.d which brings them spiritual stability and confidence in G.o.d's way of doing thing. We often desire instantaneous manifestation but since we can see our miracle with the eye of faith it is as good as seeing it by the natural eye.
v. once the n.o.bleman was convinced of the miracle, the act of G.o.d made believers out of his whole house. The essence of miracles is to make believers out of you.
G.o.d is not interested in curiosity seekers; for curiosity does not draw Divine virtue but simple faith in his ability and willingness. We know this from the story of the woman with the issue of blood.
”And a certain woman which had an issue of blood twelve years. And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grow worse when she had heard of Jesus came in the press behind and touched his garment. For she said, if I may touch but his cloth, I shall be whole. And straightaway the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him…..
Mark 5:25-30.
The disciples did not know that heaven must account for the anointing of that day. Jesus was mindful of where the anointing had gone.
”And his disciples said unto him, thou seest the mult.i.tude thronging thee, and sayest thou, who touched me? And he looked round about to see her who had done this thing”
Mark 5:31-32.
Jesus did not heal and does not heal to prove a point that he is a healer but he heals in response to faith and as expressions of his love. The lord once spoke the following words to my human spirit. He said;
”The reason for giving you the Holy Spirit is to tell you what you need and give you timing for it”.
That shocked me! I started to meditate on those words. It helps me not only to understand the earthly ministry of Jesus but also to walk closely with the Holy Spirit until a point that the miraculous becomes a common occurrence in our ministry. I now know why Jesus was not surprised when his words come to pa.s.s. When the lord said those statements to me; I believe ”what you need” will mean ”what you need to do and what you need to say”. I then remember a scripture.
”The former treatise have I made O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach”
Acts 1:1.
Luke the author of the book of acts was therefore saying to Theophilus that the main trust of Jesus ministry was doing and teaching. No wonder the book of acts of apostles is actually the action of the early church as they taught the word under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and within the timing of G.o.d.
”And they went forth and preached everywhere, the lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen ”
Mark 16:20
The spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit confirmed their preaching as the Holy Spirit worked with them as their lord. Sad to say that there are many today who do not exert themselves to know the written word; not to talk of obeying it. Of course, you will only obey what you know.