“But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell Him of her.” (Mark 1:30)
The word anon tells us that this was their concern and maybe the very reason they bring Jesus to Simon’s house. Jesus, Whose ministry on earth was healing, healed her. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19)
The healings of the lepers, blind and cripple was a sign to the world that Jesus was the Messiah. When John is imprisoned and begins to wonder about the events that led him there, he begins to wonder if Jesus is the Messiah. In the Spirit of the Lord, he was sure. But imprisoned and under great duress, he wonders and sends word with his disciples to ask Jesus. (Luke 17:18-20) Jesus gives this response: “...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.” (Luke 7:22-23) Jesus declares that the works that He did spoke of Who He was.
Near the end of His ministry, after the last supper and after Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, He begins to give them last instructions. He knows that they will have doubts and that they will be scattered when He is crucified. He tells them, “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” (John 14:11-12) His works demonstrate Who He is.
Jesus is God the Son, the Messiah and Redeemer of the world and the Great Physician. He healed spiritually, physically and the souls (mind, will and emotions) of man. It’s defined by the Greek word "zoe," meaning life derived from God with the capacity to know His eternal life. This is the kind of healing that Jesus gives, it’s life, complete and whole.
Spiritually, Jesus gives life to our spirits. His work of redemption through the cross, nailed our sins and our old sinful man there to die so that we could be reborn of God. “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him:” (Romans 6:6-8) We live with Him in God’s kingdom here on earth and eternally.
He heals physically. It’s a sign from God that all can see what God is doing. His compassion for the sick and downtrodden is seen throughout the Bible. Although He came for the house of Israel, He healed others because of their faith in Him and His compassion. The suffering of man touched His heart because He is love. And it’s that love for mankind that brought Him to the cross. “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. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” (Matthew 9:35-36) People didn’t have any understanding. They followed Jesus because of the healings. He had what they needed. They aimlessly followed Him.
And Jesus heals the soul. We have the examples of the madman of Gadarenes. Jesus delivers him of the demons that caused his madness. He casts the demons into the swine which run off the cliff. “And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.” (Mark 5:14-15) Matthew also records the event, except in his version there are two madmen. (Matthew 8:28-34) Jesus healed and still heals those whose soul is tormented with fear, bound up with wrong thoughts and emotions. He is peace and gives peace. “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29)
Jesus gives us zoe, complete and wholeness spirit, soul and body. I must make a clarification that is so important. Many mistakenly think that divine health is a given if we belong to Christ. But this is not true. Yes, we can enjoy divine health, but we live in this fallen and sinful world. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) That word tribulation means all kinds of trouble, from within and without because we do live in this sinful world. But the promise of Jesus is that He has overcome the world. He has victory over the world and in Jesus we have victory over the world. He has promised healing from sickness. “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (1Peter 2:24) Healed spirt, soul and body. It may come against us, but even if we die in sickness, we have victory which is eternal life with Jesus.
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