“That evening people brought to Jesus many who were demon-possessed. He threw the spirits out with just a word. He healed everyone who was sick.” Matthew 8:16 CEB
Several years ago, a member of the church I was serving asked to meet with me. They came to my office so we could speak in private. This person had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. They had gone through chemotherapy, several trials, and a lot of dietary and lifestyle changes in an effort to beat the cancer. The person told me that their bloodwork had come back and everything looked really good. Everything, at that time, was trending in the right direction. This person was very, very encouraged. This was a very positive person by nature. I had never heard them complain or wish it hadn’t happened to them. As I listened I was amazed at such positivity in the face of such an uncertain diagnosis and long treatment. I asked, “To what do you attribute the positive results? The chemo? The trials? The dietary changes?”
Without hesitation the answer came …” I attribute the success to God and the power of prayer.”
I was reminded that day about the true power behind healing.
I believe that at times healing comes through medicine, doctors, nurses, and other members of a medical team. I believe that new trials and special techniques can heal as well. There are amazing people with truly amazing talent, intellect, education, and skills. There is a long list of people for which I am praying that their medical team does everything within their power to bring healing in their life. However, I believe that the ultimate member of the medical team is the great physician himself, Jesus. The reason my friend and fellow follower of Jesus was experiencing healing at that time in his life was because of Jesus. Countless people were praying, visiting, supporting, and loving this person in the name of Jesus. There isn’t any physician, nurse, or medical professional that can make the claim that Matthew makes of Jesus. Matthew makes the claim, “He (Jesus) healed everyone who was sick.” That is truly miraculous healing.
There are a lot of occurrences of Jesus performing miraculous healing for people. The one thing that amazes me as I read these accounts in the Gospels is why Jesus performs these healings. It seems clear that Jesus was healing because he felt compassion for those who needed to be healed. Whether the person had leprosy, bleeding, a fever, a lame hand, or any other infirmity, it was not the illness that motivated Jesus to heal. Jesus was motivated to heal out of love for the person. It is obvious in Scripture that Jesus healed to make people well, to make them whole. The love Jesus demonstrated through every healing was to set the person free from what ailed them. Perhaps the most obvious of these healings was his friend Lazarus. Everyone was grieving for their dead brother, relative, and friend, including Jesus. Because of his great love for his friend, Jesus raised him to life. This was not simply to demonstrate he could, it was because he loved his friend also. Miraculous healing is a loving encounter with the divine nature of Jesus Christ who desires for us to be whole.
Because the desire is for us to be whole, healing is not just for our physical health. Healing can come physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. Where do you need healing today? Are you facing an illness which needs physical healing? Are you experiencing emotional or mental illness that needs healing? Is there a broken relationship in your life that needs healing? Are you in need of spiritual healing? Whatever the need is, I assure you that Jesus wants you to be whole. Jesus can perform miraculous healing in your life. [It is at this point that I want to caution us. Because Jesus can perform a miraculous healing in our life does not necessarily mean that Jesus will. There are a lot of things about healing that we cannot understand. One of the major things we cannot understand is why some people experience healing and others do not. After 33 years as a serious student of Christianity and the Bible, I still do not fully understand this. I also believe we will never fully understand this until we are face-to-face with Jesus in heaven.] We should pray that Jesus would have compassion toward us and bring miraculous healing to us and those we love. The rest is completely up to Jesus.
Where do you need healing today?
This Sunday we continue our message series for Lent entitled “Miraculous.” We will look at several of the ways Jesus healed miraculously. There will also be an opportunity for healing prayer at each service. We can choose to live a miraculous life in Jesus Christ. I hope you will join me this Sunday at 8:15|NINE45|11:15 in worship. You can also go to SAUMC.NET and join us via livestream. The best is yet to come. I love you all and can’t wait to see you in church!