The ministry of Jesus was a healing ministry. The Gospels mention many times Jesus healing people everywhere He went.
That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
-Mark 1:32-34
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 6:36
Jesus also performed many miracles, which are a separate gift from healing. These included feeding the five thousand, turning water into wine, walking on water, etc. Interestingly, Jesus operated in the gift of healing a lot more than He did the gift of miracles. Why is that? Why not perform more miracles than healings? Surely events such as the feeding of the five thousand would have convinced more people of His divinity than healings.
We also see more healings than miracles in the life of the early church recorded in the book of Acts. Why not more miracles than healings, or at least an even balance between the two? Indeed when Christ sends the 12 and the 72 ahead of Him, He commands them to, "heal the sick" (Luke 9:1, 10:9). Why was healing so important to the Gospel?
The Bible tells us that when Jesus suffered and died for us, He bore our sicknesses and diseases just as much as He bore our sins.
This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
-Matthew 8:17
Healings then, are a demonstration of our redemption found in the cross. They show the world, "This is an example of what Christ has done for us. This shows the effects of redemption." Healings prove and confirm that humanity has a resurrected savior. We tell people that Christ will restore them. That He will remove their sin, and make them new and whole. Healings paints a tangible picture of what that looks like as an example. In addition, it backs up this Gospel that we proclaim.
That's why divine healing is so central to the Gospel. That is also why it must be central to our witness and evangelism. We should heal the sick as Christ commanded us. Not for popularity, not to grow our church, not so we can feel important, but so we can give the world an example of what redemption looks like, and a demonstration of the power of the cross.
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