Jesus healed those he met who needed to be healed, and at the same time he spoke to them about the Kingdom of God[1]. Their healing was part of the evidence for his authority, but apart from that he had no hidden agenda. There was:
No disgrace in the diagnosis
Whether the illness or disability was the result of their lifestyle, or that of their parents', or had no connection with either, their healing did not depend on repentance. On just one occasion[2] he did delay healing, as first he debated with the crowd about whether it was easier to heal the body or to forgive sin. In this case the paralysed man had been lowered through the roof by his friends in order to jump the queue. There was no danger of his being embarrassed further by this little bedside tutorial.
No threat from the therapy
The only pre-condition for healing seems to have been faith in Jesus[3,4,5]. People asked him to heal them. No failure to heal nor complication of the cure is recorded. His disciples failed to cure an epileptic boy[6] but Jesus took over and healed him.
No tabloid hype
Once when a woman with menorrhagia secretly touched Jesus in a crowd[7] and was healed, he did ask her to say what had happened in order to teach that it was her faith in him that had healed her. Sometimes[8,9] he told the patient to tell no-one else because he wanted to avoid being delayed in his preaching ministry by his healing ministry. Moreover, he did not at this stage want his divine identity to cause open conflict with the authorities.[10]
No cost for the cure
Jesus healed people out of compassion.[11] They did not owe him anything. When he had cured ten men with leprosy[12], only one bothered to come back and thank him. Those he healed were under no obligation to follow him as a result of their healing.
But . .
If a physical cure of disease or disability is all that happens through healthcare, there is only a temporary benefit. Jesus' gospel teaches that whether we are sick or healthy, there is always sin to be forgiven, self to be abandoned and eternal life to be received. Following him means confessing his name and living a life of service. So, the healing practice of Jesus challenges a secular health service that may heal the body, but ignores the healing of the soul.
Medical mission
John the Baptist spent his life telling his nation, Israel, then under Roman occupation, that God would send the promised Messiah to deliver them. John, imprisoned by Herod, and seeing no sign of Israel's release, wondered whether he had made a mistake in pointing to Jesus as the one who would fulfil this prophecy. Jesus sent John's followers[13] back to him with the message: 'The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.'
Jesus' healing was evidence of the coming of the Kingdom of God, but his authority does cause some to fall away. Since his life on earth, a healing ministry to the poor has developed wherever that gospel has been preached.
Jesus had taught his followers that they would do greater things than him. Scientific medicine could have controlled and eliminated diseases of poverty and affluence world-wide, but instead, lifestyles have seldom changed for the better. Technology has failed to control many potentially controllable diseases. And new ones have replaced those that have gone. Meanwhile curative medicine has priced itself beyond the reach of the world's poor.
In many churches in the developing world there has been a resurgence of faith healing. It may not always be honest but when it is honest, something greater than the cures is happening - 'the poor are hearing the good news preached'.
A diagnosis that disgraces us
As healthcare professionals, we and the societies who have raised us face a diagnosis that disgraces us. The gospel has not been preached and a healing ministry has not been taken to all the world. We may also face a therapy that is threatening to the economy on which our professions have been built, for when the poor are empowered the rich are disempowered. This was what Jesus wanted. It made him unpopular and led to his death.
The way medical mission should be going
In some places the emergent churches are using scientific medicine according to the values of the Kingdom of God. They are combining it in a holistic ministry that includes Kingdom preaching and teaching. In spite of opposition, partnership in these projects is the way medical mission should be going.
No disgrace in the diagnosis
Whether the illness or disability was the result of their lifestyle, or that of their parents', or had no connection with either, their healing did not depend on repentance. On just one occasion[2] he did delay healing, as first he debated with the crowd about whether it was easier to heal the body or to forgive sin. In this case the paralysed man had been lowered through the roof by his friends in order to jump the queue. There was no danger of his being embarrassed further by this little bedside tutorial.
No threat from the therapy
The only pre-condition for healing seems to have been faith in Jesus[3,4,5]. People asked him to heal them. No failure to heal nor complication of the cure is recorded. His disciples failed to cure an epileptic boy[6] but Jesus took over and healed him.
No tabloid hype
Once when a woman with menorrhagia secretly touched Jesus in a crowd[7] and was healed, he did ask her to say what had happened in order to teach that it was her faith in him that had healed her. Sometimes[8,9] he told the patient to tell no-one else because he wanted to avoid being delayed in his preaching ministry by his healing ministry. Moreover, he did not at this stage want his divine identity to cause open conflict with the authorities.[10]
No cost for the cure
Jesus healed people out of compassion.[11] They did not owe him anything. When he had cured ten men with leprosy[12], only one bothered to come back and thank him. Those he healed were under no obligation to follow him as a result of their healing.
But . .
If a physical cure of disease or disability is all that happens through healthcare, there is only a temporary benefit. Jesus' gospel teaches that whether we are sick or healthy, there is always sin to be forgiven, self to be abandoned and eternal life to be received. Following him means confessing his name and living a life of service. So, the healing practice of Jesus challenges a secular health service that may heal the body, but ignores the healing of the soul.
Medical mission
John the Baptist spent his life telling his nation, Israel, then under Roman occupation, that God would send the promised Messiah to deliver them. John, imprisoned by Herod, and seeing no sign of Israel's release, wondered whether he had made a mistake in pointing to Jesus as the one who would fulfil this prophecy. Jesus sent John's followers[13] back to him with the message: 'The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.'
Jesus' healing was evidence of the coming of the Kingdom of God, but his authority does cause some to fall away. Since his life on earth, a healing ministry to the poor has developed wherever that gospel has been preached.
Jesus had taught his followers that they would do greater things than him. Scientific medicine could have controlled and eliminated diseases of poverty and affluence world-wide, but instead, lifestyles have seldom changed for the better. Technology has failed to control many potentially controllable diseases. And new ones have replaced those that have gone. Meanwhile curative medicine has priced itself beyond the reach of the world's poor.
In many churches in the developing world there has been a resurgence of faith healing. It may not always be honest but when it is honest, something greater than the cures is happening - 'the poor are hearing the good news preached'.
A diagnosis that disgraces us
As healthcare professionals, we and the societies who have raised us face a diagnosis that disgraces us. The gospel has not been preached and a healing ministry has not been taken to all the world. We may also face a therapy that is threatening to the economy on which our professions have been built, for when the poor are empowered the rich are disempowered. This was what Jesus wanted. It made him unpopular and led to his death.
The way medical mission should be going
In some places the emergent churches are using scientific medicine according to the values of the Kingdom of God. They are combining it in a holistic ministry that includes Kingdom preaching and teaching. In spite of opposition, partnership in these projects is the way medical mission should be going.
