JESUS CAME TO HEAL!

 

JESUS CAME TO HEAL!

We are called to be Christ-like. But what does this mean? It means that we should use Christ as our role model. What He did, we should try to do. 1 John 2:6 (KJV) says it this way:

        6He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

So when we are studying all the things that Christ did during His earthly ministry, we will see three things included on this list.

        1. He taught (explained spiritual concepts)

        2. He preached (proclaimed spiritual concepts)

        3. He healed

How do we know this? Consider this verse from the first Apostolic Gospel (Matthew 4:23, KJV, emphasis mine):

        23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing ALL manner of SICKNESS and ALL manner of DISEASE among the people.

Our topic today is on biblical healing.

Did you notice that this verse in Matthew emphasised three things in relation to healing? When Jesus healed:

        1. He healed ‘ALL’- i.e. everything that attacked good health.

        2. He healed SICKNESS.

        3. He healed DISEASE.

Do you understand the difference between ‘sickness’ and ‘disease’? No? Then it is time to dig deeper!

WHAT DOES ‘HEALING’ MEAN TO YOU?
Before you read any further- STOP! Put down your device, put your computer to sleep and get a piece of paper and something to write with!

        1. First, I want you to take 2-3 minutes and write down your definition of healing.

        2. Then, I want you to take another 2-3 minutes and write down what you think the Bible means when it talks about healing.

Are your two definitions the same or are they different? When you have finished these two small exercises, pick up your device or wake up your computer and let’s get going!

SICKNESS, DISEASE AND ILLNESS
We cannot learn about biblical healing without starting with a quick language lesson! What is the difference between these three terms- sickness, disease and illness?

If you google them, you will find that they are actually used as synonyms for one another but is this correct? Actually, it isn’t! Our modern English is sometimes different from the English of the 1600’s (i.e. when the King James Bible was being written). So, if you want to correctly understand the Bible, sometimes you have to be willing to do a short language lesson!

SICKNESS refers to the state of being sick. So what does this mean? Being sick is the opposite of being healthy. We should use the word ‘sickness’ in this way-

        Betty is healthy now but last year she was suffering with a sickness.

DISEASE refers to a specific pathological condition that affects a particular part or system of your body. We should use the word ‘disease’ in this way-

        Pneumonia is an infection that causes lung disease.

ILLNESS is a modern version of the word ‘evilness’! Did you know this? And sometimes, people wrongly use the word ‘illness’ as a synonym for sickness or disease. But this is wrong. We rarely use the word evilness anymore to describe people but this is wrong as well! We should use the word ‘illness’ in this way-

        Many people suffer with mental health issues but some people- like the serial killers Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer, are mentally ill. There is a difference between having mental health issues and being mentally ill.

In Matthew 4:24, we learn how the Bible defines SICKNESS (KJV, emphasis mine):

        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.

Therefore, in biblical terms, when you have a sickness, it means that you have one or more of these five conditions:

        1. A disease

        2. A torment

        3. Demonic possession

        4. Lunacy (aka psychosis)

        5. Palsy (aka conditions that affect the proper use of your limbs)

This list teaches us that people with a disease are always sick but not everybody who has a sickness has a disease! And we see this distinction everyday! We meet people who appear to be ‘normal’ until we have to interact with them! And that’s when we realise that we are dealing with a tormented soul or a demon possessed soul or whatever!

Before we review what Christ teaches us about healing, let’s go backwards. Does the Old Testament talk about healing? What does it say?

WHAT DOES THE OLD TESTAMENT SAY ABOUT HEALING?
Do you know that God has 12 different names?

        1. Jehovah/YHWH/Yahweh- I AM who I AM (singular, Exodus 3:13-15)

        2. Elohim- Mighty Creator (plural)

        3. El Shaddai- LORD God Almighty (Exodus 6:3)

        4. Adonai- LORD, Master

        5. Abba- Father

        6. El Elyon- God Most High

        7. Jehovah Nissi- The LORD is my banner

        8. Jehovah Jireh- God will provide

        9. Tzevaot- LORD of Hosts

        10. El Roi- God saw me

        11. Jehovah Shalom- God of peace

        12. Jehovah Rapha- The God who heals

Jehovah Rapha. There are numerous references in the Old Testament about God’s healing powers. God can heal us when we are suffering from a specific disease, or when we are injured or when we are suffering from a spiritual, emotional, mental or physical sickness. God can heal nations as well.

Did you know that God also heals people so that they will have a testimony to share? Think of Naaman, the Syrian captain who had leprosy. Through a sequence of events, God used the Prophet Elisha to cure Naaman of his disease (2 King 5:1-19). Surely many of those who knew Naaman began worshipping God after they witnessed this miracle!

WHAT DOES CHRIST SAY ABOUT HEALING IN THE APOSTOLIC SCRIPTURES?
There are at least 18 references to Jesus’ healing in the Gospel of Matthew and there are at least five references to this in the Gospel of John. Some of the people that Jesus healed had a disease (eg. the woman with the issue of blood, Matthew 9:20-22). Some were suffering from other conditions (eg. the young lunatic boy, Matthew 17:14-18). And some people were tormented. We all get tormented- even Jesus! Do you remember how He became tormented while He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, as the hour of His crucifixion approached? But He calmed Himself down by remembering His purpose! Jesus can calm our torments too because He has given us His peace. In John 14:27 (KJV), Jesus says:

        27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Did you know that Jesus expects us to comfort and heal others? Consider these two verses. On our responsibility to comfort one another, Matthew 25:44 (KJV, emphasis mine) says:

        44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or SICK, or in prison, and DID NOT MINISTER UNTO THEE?

And on healing others, do you remember the instruction that Jesus gave to His Apostles in Matthew 10:7-8 (KJV, emphasis mine)? It says:

        7 And as ye go, PREACH, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

        8 HEAL the sick, CLEANSE the lepers, RAISE the dead, CAST OUT devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

As you can see, healing was a very important part of Christ’s earthly ministry. We should, therefore, make sure that our healing activities are a very important part of our discipleship walk.

WILT THOU BE MADE WHOLE?
One final thing that Jesus taught us on the subject of healing is this- some people accept their sickness. Perhaps they don’t really want to be healed. Perhaps they even enjoy some aspect of being sick- who knows?

Therefore, we should always remember to ask those who appear to need healing this very important question. John 5:5-6 (KJV, emphasis mine) says:

        5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

        6 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?

People have to want to be healed in order to get healed!

HOW CAN WE RECOGNISE A HEALTHY PERSON?
So what does a healthy person look like? Van Loon (Baptist Care South Australia, 2018) describes healthiness this way. There are three signs that prove that healing has occurred and that we are dealing with a healthy person:

        ‘a holistically healthy person has healthy relationships with others, with the planet and with God’

I love this description!

How can we achieve this? According to Van Loon, we need to add these four ingredients together:

        Physical wellbeing + right social relationships + good moral behaviour + positive spiritual relationships

So be Christ-like, comfort and heal someone today!

*****

‘HARVEST TIME Prophecies’ is the blog post site of TNG Academy. Our blog post site gets its name from Matthew 13:30- the separation of wheat and tares that occurs at harvest time (i.e. the endtimes). Remember, the ‘wheat’ symbolises the things of God and the ‘tares’ symbolise the things of the devil.

The purpose of this blog is threefold.

1. Some of the posts are written to help the reader develop a deeper understanding of the theology of Christ’s core message- i.e. the ‘gospel of the kingdom’.

2. Some of the posts are written for the reader’s personal discipleship journey. We need to understand what God expects from us. After all, all believers should be on a journey of ‘becoming’ our best selves, capable of impacting and changing the world!

3. Finally, some of the posts are written to answer this question:

    What would our faith look like today IF we had fully embraced Christ’s doctrines, as recorded by His Apostles, and rejected the doctrines of Paul and the other false apostles?

If we are sincere about our desire to restore Christianity to its roots, i.e. a return to Christ’s original message, then we must start by admitting that ‘while men slept’ (Matthew 13:25) the enemy planted false teachings (tares) into the New Testament!

Visit our website- WWW.TNGACADEMY.ORG, to see our Bible study books. Which books would I recommend for you to read first? Start with these three-

• WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
• MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN!
• THE APOSTOLIC SCRIPTURES.