Yesterday, our elder Jonathan taught on Matthew ch. 9, dealing specifically with healing and miracles. You can get the full message here.
In today’s post, I am going to give a brief summary of Jonathan’s teaching on the 5 reasons Jesus healed people and why we still heal today.
1. Jesus Healed to Prove Doctrine
In Matthew 9:6 Jesus is talking with a man who was crippled on a mat. He looked at the man and told him his sins were forgiven. Some of the religious leaders present scoffed to one another, accusing Jesus of blasphemy. Jesus addressed them and asked which was easier, to say “Your sins are forgiven,” or “Get up and walk.” He turned to the crippled man and told him to get up, take his mat, and go home. Jesus explained to the crowd that his ability to forgive sins is proved by his ability to bring healing. The Son of Man has power to forgive sins and power to heal.
2. Jesus Healed to Fulfill Prophecy
At the end of Matthew 8, Matthew commented that Jesus’ healing of the sick and casting out demons was a fulfillment of the prophecy found in Isaiah 53. Matthew quotes is saying, “HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.”
Given the immediate context of the Scripture, we see Matthew linking the prophecy’s fulfillment to Jesus’ miraculous healing ability.
3. Jesus Healed in Response to Faith
In Matthew 9:22, 29 we see Jesus moving through a crowd. In the crowd is a woman who had suffered from an issue of blood for several years. She believed that if she could just touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, she could be healed. She made her way to him, touched his garment and was healed. Jesus didn’t know who touched him and got healed, but he felt the healing power go out of him. When it came to light what the woman had done, Jesus told her to go on her way because her faith had healed her.
4. Jesus Healed out of Compassion
In this instance, we will look to the Gospel of Luke in 7:3. It is the first account of Jesus raising someone from the dead. Luke tells us that Jesus and his followers had come across a funeral procession. The deceased was the only son of a widow. That means she had already buried her husband and now was going to bury her only son. Jesus saw the funeral procession and had compassion on the grieving widow. He raised the son from the dead on the funeral bier during the procession. Jesus healed out of compassion.
5. Jesus Healed for the Glory of God
Jonathan pulled the scriptural example for this from the Gospel of John 11:40. The context is his friend Lazarus had died and Jesus went to Bethany where he and his sisters lived. When he got there, Martha told him had he come before Lazarus died, Jesus could have healed him, but now he is dead. Jesus asked to be taken to the tomb and requested the stone be rolled away. Martha protested, saying there would be a terrible stench since he had been dead for 4 days. Jesus told her that she would see the glory of God. Then he called Lazarus out of the grave. He came out walking in his burial shroud, but alive and well.
So those are the five reasons Jonathan gave for Jesus healing. The rest of the sermon deals with other parts of Matthew 9, like other miracles and fasting. Click the link above for the full message.
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