What parts of the body did Jesus heal?
What parts of the body did Jesus heal?
This may sound like an odd topic to write about, and I am probably thinking of this because we are missionaries among the Angave people, just who are 2-3 generations out of the Stone Age, and being Animistic, the health of the body is a huge thing to them; remember, they have no understanding of how the body works, it is all a big mystery to them.
But none-the-less, it is interesting to see how many different physical maladies Jesus healed.
And then, in addition to all these different healings, there are the three (3) people whom Jesus raised from the dead, which is a “healing” in one sense, but obviously beyond “healing”.
While we may not be clear as to what illness is, meaning what do we call that illness today, they were obviously different illnesses, clearly seen to be different, and hence called by different names.
The illnesses and maladies that Jesus healed are:
Blind: Mat 9:27, 12:22, 15:30, 20:30, 21:14; Mrk 8:23, 10:46; Luk 7:22; Jhn 9
Lame: Mat 15:30, 21:14
Palsy: Mat 4:24, 8:6, 9:2
Maimed / Injury: Mat 15:30
Sick / Ill (it would seem a temporary illness): Mat 8:16
Diseased: Mat 14:35; Mrk 1:34; Luk 6:17
Plagues: Mrk 1:34
Infirmed: Luk 5:15
Leprosy: Mat 8:2, Luk 7:22, 17:15
Re-attachment of severed ear: Luk 22:51
Paralyzed: Jhn 5:8
Withered hand: Mat 12:10
Fever: Mat 8:14; Jhn 4:47
Lunacy: Mat 4:24, 17:15
Vaginal Bleeding: Mrk 5:29
Dropsy: Luk 14:4
Dead raised:
Jairus daughter: Mrk 5:38
Lazarus: Jhn 11
Widow of Nain’s son: Luk 7:11
The above list shows us that Jesus was not a one-off healer; there are 32 healings, and 3 people who were raised from the dead! In this Blog, I will not address the “Raising of the Dead”, except to say, firstly, no one else has ever done that, and secondly, it shows Jesus to be the Lord of Life in the truest, fullest way.
Now regarding the healings, some of them are “bodily” (blindness, palsy) others are “of the mind” (lunacy); there is no part of the human being that Jesus is not capable of healing.
And note, all of these were done in public settings, all the people were instantaneously healed, and all were healed by the uni-lateral work of Jesus alone.
Why was Jesus able to heal?
If we had a machine that was broken, or not working well, we would take it back to the Manufacturer; Jesus is the “Manufacturer” of Man! And being the Manufacturer, he not only knows how the body works, but he can fix it; he can over-ride the natural effects of illness and fix what is broken. He is God, he is the Creator, and he is specifically the creator of Man = Gen 2.
And why did Jesus heal the sick?
Jesus healed for two (2) reasons:
Firstly, as an attestation that he was the Christ, the one sent from God:
“When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” Luk 7:20-23
Secondly, out of pure human pity and compassion:
“And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.” Luk 13:11-17
What about healings today?
When we are sick, we should absolutely ask the Lord Jesus to heal us!
He has not forgotten how to do it. If it is his will, he can and will heal us.
Several questions though arise from this:
Jesus healing is often used as a rationale for “Medical Missions.” I frankly do not see the connection. Cheryl and I do medical work among the Angave people, giving out basic medicine and bandaging up cuts and sores, but the great need, the only life and death need they have is to be born again. The gospel delivers from Eternal Death; medical work only postpones inevitable physical death. We do medical work because it is the right thing to do as a Christians, living among people who have no access to basic medical help, and who would otherwise suffer. For Jesus healing to be a rationale for Medical Missions, a person would have to have the “Gift of Healing,” and heal as Jesus did; and FYI, we do not have that gift!
Jesus healing cannot be used as an argument that there are “faith healers” today. The question is not, “Does God still heal;” of course God still heals; the real question is, “Do people today have the “Gift of Healing?” Meaning are there people today who have sovereignly control over the healing of a person; they decided to heal or not to heal; to heal totally, instantaneously, permanently, and visibly; that is the way Jesus healed! Is it within the power of these people to say to a paraplegic “Arise, take up your bed and walk,” and instantly effect a full and total cure? I would say, “No.” I would say none of the so-called “Faith Healers” heal like Jesus did! They claim to have the power, and then blame the failed results on the sick person, saying, “You do not have enough faith;” I think that is total manipulative deception.
The fact that Jesus sent the 12 and then the 70 with power to heal, is also not relevant. They were sent out with the power to heal, to validate their message, but now that we have the written Scriptures, there is no longer a need to validate the message with miracles and signs and wonders. 1Co 13:10 is clear, when the perfect is come (the written Scriptures), that which is imperfect (the miracles which were attesting to the truth of the message) would cease to be needed.
Regarding the relationship between sickness and demon possession, some, but not all of the illnesses listed above were caused by demon possession, as we see in Mat 12:22,
Luk 9:42, 13:11. We should therefore not assume ALL illness is due to demon possession, and likewise we should not assume NO illness is due to demon possession. Some people err on one side, other people err on the other side.
The main point of the Blog is that Jesus healed all manner of sickness, with a power and authorities no one else has ever had, and he himself appealed to them as validation as to who he was:
“Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake” Jhn 14:11
Skeptics need to deal with these healings, and realize that they are proof that Jesus was who he said he was: The Son of God, he himself being The Eternal God, and the Savior of the world.