Why Jesus Did Healing (& What it Means for us Today)

“Large crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the dumb, and many other sick people, whom they placed at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them.” (Matthew 15:30GNB)

One book I read say that Jesus healed 35 people throughout the four Gospel. These are the 35 men, women, and children whose story sometimes told very briefly, some just a few sentences. But more than that, Jesus probably healed thousands of others whose stories aren’t recorded at all. Example, he healed all the sick people, all, in the village of Capernaum. “…he placed his hands on every one of them and healed them all.” (Luke 4:40GNB)

FACT: He can heal,
even all the incurable diseases at that time.
All diseases!

Why Jesus did healing?

‘Compassion’, you may say. ‘Yes,’ I’ll reply, ‘but that’s not the big reason.’ The main reason Jesus did miracles (as I went through the Scriptures over and over again) for healing people was to convince the Jews that he was the Messiah that they were (and is) waiting for.

Do you remember reading about John the Baptist, when he was in jail, sending messengers to Jesus to ask him whether Jesus was really the Messiah? (Read Matthew 11:4-5). Jesus told John’s messengers: “Go back and tell John what you are hearing and seeing: the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are brought back to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor.”

Now, why would Jesus told him that? Why don’t he just say, ‘I am the Messiah’ plainly? He could, but he didn’t because – Jesus knew that John, a prophet himself (and also the Jews in general), would understand that all these, the things that he does and says, was fulfilling what the Old Testament prophesies said that all these would happen when the Messiah came.
Yes, the Messiah has come!

Prophet Isaiah, way hundreds years ago wrote, “…God is coming to your rescue… The blind will be able to see, and the deaf will hear. The lame will leap and dance, and those who cannot speak will shout for joy.”

The main point of healing miracles is to show that Jesus is the Messiah; meaning, ‘the anointed one’ in Hebrew, ‘the Christ’ in Greek and ‘the promised Savior’ in my language. Jesus died and rose again – It take his resurrection from the grave to convince them (and us) that he was divine – the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

What it means for us today?

After Jesus ascended to heaven, the church began to grow. Healing miracles diminished and no longer remained a primary focus of Christian ministry (though healing, I believe, is still going to be part of Christian ministry); it’s not the important thing! It was crucial for Jesus’ ministry at that time because it proved who he was, but not very crucial for our ministry today. Healing conferences, healing concerts, healing seminars, healing classes, etc. – are not primary focus! Get down with it!

Our focus, the core of Christian ministry, the reason we believe the healing miracles of Jesus, the main reason we have faith in Jesus, is so that we (and I pray for others too) in our own voice and heart declared that;

“You (Jesus) are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16GNB)

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.