Jesus as Healer

1. Jesus as Healer

2. Pool of Bethsesda

3. Pool of Siloam

4. Nazareth

5. Theodotus Inscription "Theodotus, (son) of Vettenus, priest and archisynagogos (ruler of the synagogue), son of an archisynagogos, grandson of an archisynagogos, built the synagogue for the reading of the law and the teaching of the commandments, and the guest-chamber and the rooms and the water installations for lodging for those needing them from abroad, which his fathers, the elders and Simonides founded."

6. Jesus' Healings in the Gospels Mark 2:12: And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.” Luke 5:26 They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen remarkable things today." Luke 7:16: Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and, "God has visited His people!" How did people respond to Jesus’ healings?

7. Jesus' Healings in the Gospels Mark 5:30 Immediately Jesus, perceiving in himself that the power proceeding from him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched my garments?" 31 And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you, and you say, 'Who touched me?'" 32 And he looked around to see the woman who had done this. 33 But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction." What does the fact that Jesus was aware of a power to heal tell you about the experiential side of his healings?

8. Jesus' Healings in the Gospels General References Luke 4:40: "And laying his hands on each one, he healed them." Matt 4:23: "And healing every disease and sickness among the people." Matt 8:16: "And he healed all the sick." Matt 9:35: "And healing every disease and sickness." Matt 12:15: "And he healed all their sick." What do you learn about Jesus as healer from these general statements?

9. Jesus' Healings in the Gospels Examples of Healings Organized by Type The gospel narratives in which Jesus heals are classified form-critically as Miracle Stories. The purpose of the creation and telling of Miracle Stories was to present Jesus as compassionate and powerful to the early church. Typically, a Miracle Story begins with a description of the situation, followed by the miracle, the results confirming the miracle and the response of the onlookers. It is interesting that in these healing narratives Jesus does not always heal in the same way.

10. Jesus' Healings in the Gospels Examples of Healings Organized by Type Jesus healed by means of: Direct Command Mark 2:10: "He said to the  paralytic, 11 ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home’. 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and the praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

11. Jesus' Healings in the Gospels Examples of Healings Organized by Type Jesus healed by means of: Touch Mark 1:41: Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean." 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

12. Jesus' Healings in the Gospels Examples of Healings Organized by Type Jesus healed by means of: By Being Touched Mark 5:27: When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,  28 because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"  Mark 3:10: “For He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him.” Mark 6:56: “Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured.”

13. Jesus' Healings in the Gospels Examples of Healings Organized by Type Jesus healed by means of: By Application of Secondary Means Mark 7:33: After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means, "Be opened!").  35 At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. 

14. Jesus' Healings in the Gospels Jesus' Raising People from the Dead John 11:38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39" Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."  40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"  41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have  heard me.  42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they  may believe that you sent me."  43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"  44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.  Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

15. Jesus' Healings in the Gospels Jesus' Giving Authority to his Disciples to Heal Luke 9:1 And having called the twelve together, he gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.  Mark 6:13 And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

16. Question What are the kinds of healings that Jesus performs?

17. Healing in the Ancient World H.C. Kee, Medicine, Miracle, and Magic in New Testament Times • "Medicine is a method of diagnosis of human ailments a prescription for them based on combinations of theory about and observation of the body, its functions and malfunctions." • “It [miracle] embodies the claim that healing can be accomplished through appeal to and subsequent action by the gods, either directly or through a chosen intermediary agent." • [Magic is] "a technique through word or act through which a desired end is achieved, whether that ends lies in the solution to the seeker's problem or in damage to the enemy who caused the problem."

18. Question How would Jesus’ healings have been interpreted by his contemporaries?

19. The Significance of Jesus’ Healings Eschatological Context of Jesus' Healings Luke 7:18 John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" 20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’" 21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 23 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

20. The Significance of Jesus’ Healings Eschatological Context of Jesus' Healings Isa 29:18: In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. 19 Once more the humble will rejoice in Yahweh; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. Isa 35:5: Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.  6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. Isa 61:1: The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is on me, because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.

21. The Significance of Jesus’ Healings Messianic Apocalypse (4Q521) 1 [for the heav]ens and the earth will listen to his Messiah, 2 [and all] that is in them will not turn away from the holy precepts. 3 Be encouraged, you who are seeking the Lord in his service [blank] 4 Will you not, perhaps, encounter the Lord in it, all those who hope in their heart? 5 For the Lord will observe the devout, and call the just by name, 6 and upon the poor he will place his spirit, and the faithful he will renew with his strength. 7 For he will honor the devout upon the throne of eternal Kingdom, 8 liberating the captives, giving sight to the blind, straightening out the twisted. 9 Ever shall I cling to those who hope. In his mercy he will jud[ge,] 10 and from no one shall the fruit [of] good [deeds] be delayed, 11 and the Lord will perform marvelous acts such as have not existed, just as he sa[id] 12for he will heal the sick and will make the dead live, he will proclaim good news to the poor 13 give lavishly [to the need]y, lead the exiled and enrich the hungry.

22. The Significance of Jesus’ Healings Healing and the Appearance of the Kingdom Matthew 10:7: And as you go, preach, saying, “The kingdom of Heaven has drawn near.” 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Luke 10:8: When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, “The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.” What is the connection between Jesus’ and the disciples’ healings and the Kingdom of God or Heaven?

23. The Significance of Jesus’ Healings Jesus' Healings as Fulfillment of the Role of the Servant Matt 8:16: When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases" (Isa 53:4). 18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.  How are Jesus’ healings interpreted in Matthew’s gospel? What might this imply about the identity of the servant?

24. Question How does Jesus interpret his healing ministry?

25. Faith as Condition of Healing Examples of Healing Conditional upon Faith Mark 2:5 (The healing of a paralytic): "And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven'" (= Matt 9:2; Luke 5:20). Mark 5:34 (The healing of the woman with the bleeding problem): "And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction" (= Matt 9:22; Luke 8:48). Mark 10:52 (The healing of blind beggar [Bartimaeus]): "And Jesus said to him, 'Go; your faith has made you well'. Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road" (= Luke 18:42). Luke 7:9-10 (The healing of the centurion's servant): "Now when Jesus heard this, he marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following him, 'I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith'. When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health" (= Matt 8:10, 13). Matt 9:29 (The healing of two blind men): "Then he touched their eyes, saying, 'It shall be done to you according to your faith'." Luke 17:19 (The cleansing of the ten lepers): "And he said to him, 'Stand up and go; your faith has made you well'."

26. Faith as Condition of Healing Jesus' Inability to Heal because of Lack of Faith Mark 6:1: Jesus went out from there and came into his hometown; and his disciples followed him. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to him, and such miracles as these performed by his hands? 3 "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. 4 Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household." 5 And he could do no miracle there except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled at their unbelief. How did the people from Jesus’ hometown respond to him? What was the result? What does unbelief mean in this context?

27. Question What is the condition that Jesus requires in order to be healed?

28. Satanic Cause of Illness Luke 13:10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. 14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath." 15 The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?  16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long  years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?"  17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

29. Question What is Jesus' view of the connection between Satan and human illness?