The Works of God

The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
The Lord preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Psalm 145:14-21

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God used the apostles to heal:

Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. . . The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.  Acts 5:12, 16

Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda.  There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed.  And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. Acts 9:32-34

This is one of those dangerous places where some are tempted to say, “see that! We can expect healing, too!”

My response is that God can certainly heal people if chooses.  But he doesn’t always choose to do so.  And he is still kind and strong and gracious and merciful.

And we should not confuse what Jesus was able to do with what the apostles were able to do.  Jesus healed out of his own authority and power over creation, always in perfect obedience to the Father.  The apostles needed God; in themselves they had no power and no authority and no ability to change anyone’s physical condition.

Very early in his pastoring at Bethlehem, Pastor John addressed the issue of healing:

That is my theology of sickness in a nutshell. First, in this age all creation, including our bodies, has been subjected to futility and enslaved to corruption. Second, there is a new age coming when all those who endure to the end in faith will be set free from all pain and sickness. Third, Jesus Christ came and died to purchase our redemption, demonstrate its character as both spiritual and physical and give us a foretaste of it now. Fourth, God controls who gets sick and who gets well, and all His decisions are for the good of His children even if they are painful. Fifth, we should pray for God’s help both to heal and to strengthen faith while we are unhealed, and should depend on the Holy Spirit’s intercession when we don’t know which to pray for.

Finally, we should always trust in the power and love of God even in the darkest hour of suffering.

John Piper, Christ and Cancer, August 17, 1980.

Amen! We can always trust God.

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We often see in the Bible that people pursued Jesus for healing, either by the person with the illness or disability or by his or her family members or friends.

But sometimes Jesus took all the iniative:

In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.  One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. John 5:4-9

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.  And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.  We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”  Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.  John 9:1-7

For the man who was an invalid, he didn’t even answer the question Jesus asked.  The man born blind doesn’t say a word until John 9:9!  Yet both were healed.

Even better, after each is healed, Jesus pursues them again to make sure they received an even better message:

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” John 5:14 (No, this isn’t about his getting another disability if he sins)

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”  He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”  Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.”  He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.  John 9:35-38

The unasked-for healings were certainly gifts.  But seeing Jesus as God – that’s a gift that lasts beyond this lifetime!  And knowing Jesus like that is all gift; nobody comes to that conclusion without God giving spiritual eyes to see.

I thank God for his gracious initiative in granting saving faith!

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When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.”  And he said to him, “I will come and heal him. . .”   And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.  Matthew 8:5-7, 13

Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” And he went with him. . . Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.  Mark 5:22-24, 41-42

It is worth reading the entire accounting of each healing: the faith of the Centurion and Jesus healing Jairus’ daughter.

But the point remains, people brought their requests on behalf of other people to Jesus.  Let us do so as well!

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And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And stopping, Jesus called them and said,“What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.  Matthew 20:30-34

And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant.  They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”  And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”  And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him,  “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.”  And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. Luke 18:36-43

Let us ask God for what we need!  And then let us trust that he knows what is best.

Sometimes, God will give us something even better than what we ask for, like his grace and power in the midst of our suffering rather than lifting the suffering itself:

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12:7-10

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 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. Matthew 9:20-22

 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was.  And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. Mark 6:55-56

We don’t get to touch Jesus.  But Jesus himself said it was good for him to leave for a time:

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.  John 16:7

And we are indeed helped in this present age full of grief:

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5

Someday, we will get to be with him!

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Revelation 21:3

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Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” Matthew 11:2-6

And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight.  And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”  Luke 7:20-23

Some people are embarrassed to talk about the healing miracles of Jesus, preferring to emphasize the sermon on the mount or other aspects of his earthly ministry.

I’m happy to talk about those things, but I’m also happy to talk about the healing miracles!  And it appears Jesus wanted us to know that telling the story of his acts of mercy would be helpful to others getting a full understanding of who he is: the very Son of God.

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And even talking about healing could get Jesus into enough trouble that people wanted to kill him!

(Jesus said,) “And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.  But passing through their midst, he went away.  Luke 4:27-30

The full account of Naaman’s cleansing can be found in 2 Kings 5.  It is one of my favorite stories in the Bible, and I come back to it often.

I love 2 Kings 5 because I was Naaman (and you probably were as well) – proud, violent, quick to take offense, idol worshipper, not a natural member of the people of Israel.  Yet God, in his kindness, freely gave this unrighteous man a gift.  And that resulted in this glorious statement from Naaman’s lips:

Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel (2 Kings 5:15).

And that is what made them so angry at Jesus, this acknowledgment that even people like us could be freely cleansed by God.

To God be the glory!

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Jesus chose to heal some people through touch:

When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened.  Matthew 9:28-30

Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her.  And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. Mark 1:30-31

And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. Mark 1:40-42

That last one is particularly incredible – Jesus touched a leper!  He didn’t need to, but he did.  Jesus was always demonstrating that there is a way to do things that shows God is merciful and glorious.

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