“And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”
Matthew 8:5-10,13
“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”
“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”
Matthew 8:14-17
” And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. 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.”
” And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. 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.”
If you notice, in each of these examples, the people came to Him. Why? He had a reputation for healing and miracles. The point here is that Jesus healed as He went about His day. Seeking people out was not His M.O. That's not to say we can't do it but Jesus didn't. At least we are not told He did it that way.
Let's take a look at each of these instances:
Matthew 8:2-3 -
He was asked if He could heal him and Jesus simply declared him clean from leprosy
Matthew 8:14-17 -
In this instance Jesus simply laid his hand on the woman and the fever left her.
Matthew 8:5-10,13 -
Jesus was willing to go to the Centurion's home to heal his servant but due to his faith, Jesus simply stated that because he believed that Jesus could heal him, that he was declared healed.
In the first two examples, Jesus simply touched them and declared them healed. In the third
example, Jesus simply declared the man healed. In all three, however, there is one common theme: faith.
Hebrews 11:6 comes to mind: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Faith is a necessary prerequisite for healing. Yes, God can heal you even if you don't believe He can. Will He, possibly, but if you really want to see God at work in your life, have faith!
In the New King James version, faith is mentioned 243 times. Do you think it's important? Yep!
Let's look briefly at another facet of healing. When did Jesus heal? Did He go with the express intent of healing? I don't think so. Many times in the New Testament, we see that Jesus was traveling from point A to point B and while He was on His way, He healed 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.”
“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.”
You see, our mission is to live our lives and in doing so, to bring the good news of the Gospel to others. Yes, some are called to be ministers, but that's not the point here. If I go to the grocery store (which I am about to do), I pray for open doors to minister God's healing power.
"But wait!," you ask. "Can I heal like Jesus did?" Yes, you can. Read on...
Matthew 10:1,7-8
“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give”
“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give”
Thankfully, we have, in the words of one of my favorite songs, been given "the very same power that raised Christ from the dead". Jesus commanded us to heal, cleanse, raise and cast out all manner of sickness, disease and demonic presence. Notice what He didn't say here. He didn't say, "Go pray over the sick so that maybe they would be healed". He commanded us to go heal, cleanse, raise, and cast out.
Go heal someone today and share your experience! WOOHOOO!!!™
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