O LORD My God, I Cried Unto Thee, And Thou Hast Healed Me.- Part 2057

"LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee." (Psalm 41:4)

"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over." (Psalm 23:5)

"Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:13-16)

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus healed those who were sick and lame. He forgave them their sins. Jesus preached the Kingdom of God and along the way, continually healed the multitudes. In one place, Jesus used mud made from spittle to heal a blind man. (John 9:1-7) In another example, Jesus only used spittle for healing. (Mark 8:22-26) Elsewhere, Jesus laid His hands directly on the sick and those who were infirm. And in yet another situation, the woman with the issue of blood pressed through the crowds to the point of crawling on the ground in hope of just touching His garment. (Luke 8:43-48; Matthew 8:1-3; Mark 6:5; Luke 4:40; 13:11-13)

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus not only preached the good news gospel, but also healed "all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people." (Matthew 4:23) There was nothing that Jesus could not do, because He was God manifest in the flesh. (I Timothy 3:16) God in Christ, performing the miracles, signs and wonders so that those who did not believe would see, and understand that Jesus is both Lord and the promised Christ. (Acts 2:36)
Repeatedly, "great multitudes came unto Him [Jesus], having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and He healed them ..." (Matthew 15:30)

"And great multitudes followed Him; and He healed them there." (Matthew 19:2)

"And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple; and He healed them." (Matthew 21:14)

Jesus told His disciples to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:1, 8)

"And He healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew Him." (Mark 1:34)

Sometimes, Jesus only spoke a word and the person needing healing was completely restored. (Matthew 8:5-13; Matthew 9:1-7; Luke 7:1-3; Matthew 27:54; Luke 8:43-48; Luke 18:35-43)

More specifically, "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 I say unto you, "That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 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 8:5-13)

"For He had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon Him for to touch Him, as many as had plagues" (Mark 3:10-15)

There is only one place in the scriptures wherein Jesus could not do a mighty work, except to lay His hands upon a few sick folk so that they could be healed. Jesus explained why this was -- because "a prophet is not without honour but in His own country, and among His own kin, and in His own house." For clarity here, note that Jesus marvelled because of their unbelief. (Mark 6:4-6) But did this stop Jesus from preaching the Kingdom? Not a chance!

What did Jesus do? He called unto Him the twelve, and began to send them forth two and two, and gave them power over unclean spirits; and commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only, no scrip, no bread, no money in [their] purse, but be shod with sandals and not put on two coats. And He said unto them, "In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them ..." (Mark 6:7-11)

"And they went out and preached that men should repent and they cast out many devils and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed [them]. (Mark 6:12-13)

There is also an example in Luke 5:17-39 worth including here because it prioritizes the need for one's sins to be forgiven. Jesus is teaching on this certain day, and there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem, and as the scripture states, "the power of the Lord was present to heal them."

In another place, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with palsy tried to get him to Jesus. When they could not (because of the multitude) they let the man down through the tiling from the housetop, "into the midst before Jesus." And when He saw their faith (because an abundance of faith these men must have had to let a man down through the roof, Jesus said, "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." (Luke 5:20) Of course, as we know, this caused a stir among the scribes and Pharisees who accused Jesus of blasphemies, stating that only God alone can forgive sins.

But Jesus, always perceiving their thoughts asked them, "What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say: "Thy sins be forgiven thee" or, to say, "Rise up and walk." But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins." (Luke 5:22-24) He then said to the sick of the palsy, "Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house." And the man did, glorifying God as he went back to his house.

The reason I cite so many examples of Jesus healing the sick is that today, in some circles, we have come to rely on olive oil from a bottle for healing, rather than the mercy and grace of the Lord God Himself. These oft cite James 5:13 as support for doing so. But as the psalmist David asked, "Who forgives all thine iniquities; who heals all thy diseases ...?" (Psalms 103:3)

Yes, "He sent His Word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." (Psalms 107:20)

And we know also, that after the day of Pentecost, the sick only had to have Peter's shadow fall on them as he passed by to be fully restored. Likewise, for apostle Paul, who either spoke a word, or performed miracles while passing through the multitudes. (Acts 5:12-16; Acts 9:32-35) The point is that rather than getting hung up on olive oil, press into the Lord Jesus, for it is He who "heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds." (Psalms 147:3)

For it was He who was wounded for our transgressions. "He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)

"Then shall Thy light break forth as the morning ... the glory of the LORD shall be thy re-reward." (Isaiah 58:8)

And indeed, His Word "shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones." (Proverbs 3:8)

Much more to come on this subject. Stand in the offering plate.