Jesus Heals the Sick

Matthew 4:23-25                                                                                                             by Diane Ward

 Jesus responded to human need. His authority was expressed in what he said and what he did. Jesus authoritatively and consistently rebuked disease of the body, mind and spirit. He declared an all-out offensive against sin, disease and death. He was moved with compassion to heal and liberate. Of the four gospels, Luke the physician records the most accounts of Jesus healing the sick. 

Many of the apostles, (specifically Paul and Peter) interpreted the whole gospel to include the gift of healing through the power of the Holy Spirit, and the human touch of bodily anointing. Jesus told them as he prepared to return to the Father that they would do greater works than he when the Holy Spirit came. (John 14:12)

God heals to lead people to repentance, to remove hindrances for service and ministry, to demonstrate the presence of the kingdom. God heals simply because people ask Him to, and He heals for sovereign purposes known only to Him. (Jack Deere – Surprised by the Holy Spirit)

“Lord Jesus with your compassion to heal, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, let us be wound dressers, Samaritans who need only to know where the sore is so that we can anoint it.”

Jesus “the great physician” was always with me as I silently prayed for the people I cared for at bedside as a critical care nurse. What a gift it has been, (and continues to be) to serve in this healing profession and ministry, to witness the compassion and healing power of Jesus!

by Diane Ward