The Power to Heal

In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord, ate the forbidden fruit, and brought sin into God’s perfect creation. But sin wasn’t all they brought into the world. Suddenly, sickness and death became part of human existence.

When the Messiah came, then, what better way to reveal Himself than by showing His power over these misery-makers? And by giving a preview of His coming kingdom, where “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever” (Revelation 21:4 NLT).

Jesus showed His power over death when He rose from the grave on the third day after He was crucified. Before that, though, He showed His power over sickness and pain time and time again. Two thousand years later, it’s hard to understand how everyone who witnessed even one of Jesus’ miraculous healings wasn’t immediately and forever convinced that He is the Messiah.

As word spread of His healing power, people flocked to Him, pleading for relief from pain, sickness, and other afflictions. Only Jesus’ deft handling of crowds—and expectations—kept His healing ministry from overshadowing His message.

Jesus healed from a distance. He restored full movement to the paralyzed servant of a Roman centurion without going anywhere near the centurion’s home (see Matthew 8:5–13).

Jesus healed with a word. He relieved the suffering of a Canaanite woman’s daughter simply by telling the woman that her daughter was healed (see Matthew 15:22–28).

Jesus healed with a touch. He spit in the dirt and rubbed the resulting mud on the eyes of a blind man. When the blind man rinsed off the mud, he could see (see John 9:6–7). Jesus placed His hands on a leper to cure the man of his disease (see Mark 1:40–45).

Jesus healed the casualties of spiritual warfare. Several times in the Gospels, He drove demons from the bodies of people who were possessed.

Jesus healed when religious authorities didn’t approve. He miraculously took away the afflictions of a woman who had suffered a crippling condition for eighteen years (see Luke 13:10–17), a man who had been born blind (see John 9:1–41), Simon Peter’s ailing mother-in-law (see Mark 1:29–31), a man with a withered hand (see Mark 3:1–6), and others. But He did so on the Jewish day of rest. So rather than praise God for allowing them to witness such miracles, the religious leaders of the day criticized Jesus for doing too much work on the Sabbath.

Jesus heals today. And it’s okay to pray for that healing. Maybe you’re going through a time of suffering right now, and you’re saying, “Lord, it’s enough. Could you just make this stop? Could you get me through this? Could you bring an end to this?” It’s okay to pray that. And sometimes, the Lord will heal. But other times He will not do that. And it is in those times that He will walk with us through the suffering, and we will see Him on the other side.

Reflection Question: When have you or someone you know experienced Jesus’ healing power? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

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