The Work and Person of the Holy Spirit. Pt. 11 Gift of Healing

Good morning everyone.

We have had issues with squirrels gnawing on our nice lawn chairs probably because they are made from recycled plastic components.  They are cute and acrobatic but I must confess I do not like when they damage the furniture.  Perhaps they are upset since I took down the squirrel feeder we used over the winter months:)

Today we will look at the gift of healing.  There is much confusion about this gift and I will try to carefully show us what the scripture says about healing.  It will probably need a couple of posts to cover the material adequately for our understanding. 

Purpose of Sign Gifts.

Remember that "sign gifts" were sent from God to authenticate or certify that the Old Testament judges, prophets and men like Moses were genuinely speaking for God.  The same reason holds true for the Lord Jesus and His apostles.  Certification of spokesmen and proof that God is speaking through them is the primary reason these gifts existed. 

In the New Testament, sign gifts were given to certify the apostles as spokesmen for God and for the purpose of spreading the gospel.  The sign gifts were given so people could know they were hearing from the One, True God of heaven.  The intent was to lead them to believe in the work and person of the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. 

John 20:30-31 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Again, these gifts were necessary during the ministry of Jesus Christ especially during the birth of the Church, because the New Testament scriptures had not yet been written.  The use of signs  was how God chose to certify to the people that He was speaking through Christ and His disciples. 

The Gift of Healing.

Healing was very evident in the ministry of Jesus Christ and His ability to heal was related to the fact that Christ was and still is "Jehovah Rapha" in the flesh.  It is noteworthy that there is a correlation between having faith and being healed in the gospels that we will explore. 

1 Corinthians 12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

Jehovah Rapha: The God who heals. 

The connection between the name "Jehovah Rapha" and the Lord Jesus Christ is very clear.  In the texts below we briefly trace the prophetic statements about the Messiah and healing and then move on to show how they relate to Christ. 

Paul reminds us that the Jews require a sign and they would expect Jehovah Rapha in the flesh to be able to heal people of their various afflictions. 

The Psalmist references Jehovah and then tells us what Jehovah does.  He “healeth all thy diseases.”  The word “raphe” is translated ‘healeth” in this verse, so we have Jehovah and raphe in the same paragraph of text.  However, the most important disease that Jehovah heals us from is the disease of sin.

Psalm 103:2-3 "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: "Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;"   

Isaiah speaks to Israel and Judah during a time of prosperity.  He describes their hearts from God’s perspective.  From head to toe, the nation was  corrupt and sinful.  He is picturing the disease of sin for us in a vivid way. 

Isaiah 1:4-6 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

The cure for the disease of sin is found only in the work and person of Jesus Christ.  He is Jehovah Rapha in the flesh.  Notice that Isaiah chapter 53 speaks of Christ 800 years before He was born.  The prophet sees Jehovah, the Messiah as bruised, wounded and crucified for our sins and our transgressions. 

Through His substitutionary death on the cross, Jesus “healed” us from our sins.  The word “rapha” is the word translated “healed” in this text.

Isaiah 53:3 "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."    

Malachi was the last Old Testament prophet and he spoke about 400 years before Christ was born.  Malachi had an intense longing for the Messiah to come and save the nation.  The word “raphe” is translated “healing” in this text. 

He refers to Israel’s coming King as the “Sun of Righteousness” who would arise with healing in His wings.  Malachi is telling us that one of the main characteristics of the Messiah would be His overwhelming ability to heal people of various diseases.

Malachi 4:2 "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall."     

Jesus Christ: The Great Physician.

Notice Matthew’s record of Jesus' healing.  It is helpful to remember that Jesus is Jehovah Rapha in the flesh.  He healed all manner of disease and sickness in Galilee.  They brought all the sick people suffering from various diseases and torments. Torments refers to horrible pain due to a disease. 

The word "lunatic" refers to a madness believed to be caused by a full moon or mental illness.  "Palsy" refers to a disabled or weak limb of the body.  Some of the people were demon possessed. Matthew records a profoundly simple statement declaring the fate of all these people.  “He healed them.”

Matthew 4:23-24 "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them."   

Matthew provides more details demonstrating that the “Sun of Righteousness” did indeed come with healing in His wings.  The text in Matthew 8 indicates that Jesus healed every person that they brought for Him to cure.  Matthew connects the healing work of the Messiah to Isaiah 53.

Matthew 8:16-17 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

Matthew 9 states that Jesus healed every disease and every sickness among the people. 

Matthew 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Matthew 12 contains yet another account of the healing that Jehovah Rapha in the flesh did for people who were otherwise in a hopeless condition.  We do not know exactly the size of this multitude but the Greek word suggests that it was a very large number of people who were healed.  The text simply states “he healed them all.”

Matthew 12:15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;

Luke’s gospel does provide an accurate number of the crowd size. This is the same large group of people that Jesus would later feed in the same chapter.  The men numbered 5,000 and there were also women and children present. Most commentators agree that the crowd numbered around 20,000.  Jesus healed every person among them that needed healing.

Luke 9:6 And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.

The four gospels describe at least 50 times when Jesus who is Jehovah Rapha in the flesh, healed people. 

The Apostle Peter shines light on the most important aspect of healing that every man, woman and child is in great need of.  A healing of the soul so that sinners can enjoy a restored relationship with the God of heaven.

Peter notes the humility and submissive attitude of Christ as He prepared to die on the cross.  However, Peter also states that Christ carried our sins on His body and died in our place in order that we might have our broken relationship with God healed.

1 Peter 2:22-24 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Points to Ponder.....

• Sign gifts had a specific purpose of authenticating a spokesman for God.

• Jehovah Rapha is the God who heals and Jesus Christ is Jehovah Rapha in the flesh.

• Jesus Christ demonstrated His control over all diseases, over death and over demons. 

• The focus of Christ's healings were to lead people to believe on Jesus Christ for salvation.

I encourage you to read through the gospels and note when, where and how often Jesus Christ healed people.  When Jesus healed someone it was a complete healing and they were cured. It is a rich blessing to see Jehovah Rapha in the flesh at work healing multitudes of people that He had compassion on.

In our next post we will see how this gift was manifested during the birth of the church and the apostolic ministry.

Bob