Tag Archives: healed

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – YES OR NO?

October 28, 2019Bible Studydisease. distress., healed, John's disciplesLuella Campbell

YES OR NO?

“John’s disciples reported back to him the news of all these events taking place. He sent two of them to the Master to ask the question, ‘Are you the One we’re expecting or are we still waiting?’ The men showed up before Jesus and said, ‘John the Baptist sent us to ask you, “Are you the one we’re expecting or are we still waiting?”‘

“In the next two or three hours Jesus healed many from disease, distress and evil spirits. To many of the blind He gave the gift of sight. Then He gave His answer: ‘Go back and tell John what you have just seen and heard: The blind see; the lame walk; lepers are cleansed; the deaf hear; the dead are raised; the wretched of the earth have God’s salvation hospitality extended to them. Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourself fortunate!'” Luke 7:18-23.

Poor John!

He was sitting in a dungeon at King Herod’s good pleasure. Would it not have been reasonable for him to expect Jesus to do something about him? After all, He was family and he, John, had paved the way for Him! And besides, didn’t the Scriptures prophesy that He would set captives free?

What did John expect? Perhaps, at the very least, Jesus could have gone to Herod and put in a good word for him. Day after day he sat in his prison, waiting and hoping for release, only to be disappointed. He began to doubt that Jesus was the Messiah, after all. Perhaps He was a hoax. The longer he sat there, the more the doubts plagued him.

He had to find out. At least he would know whether there was any hope of being rescued before Herod got it into his head to execute him. He couldn’t go himself, so he sent for a few of his disciples to go for him. ‘Master,’ they asked Jesus, ‘John wants to know whether you are really the Messiah, or do we have to keep waiting for someone else to come?’

Jesus gave them no direct answer. All He said was, ‘Watch and listen.’ So they followed Him around, watching and listening. After some hours He asked them, ‘So? What have you just seen and heard? Now go and tell John all about it.’ He gave them a resume’ of the miracles He had done over the last while. ‘Ask him if this is what he was expecting? If it was, then he is truly blessed.’

What was going on here? John’s circumstances were getting to him. No one can blame him. Who can endure incarceration like that and not give in to self-pity. He had preached that the kingdom of God was a realm of generosity and unselfish service but, in his own suffering, he had begun to turn inward. Hoping that Jesus would mount a rescue, he could not understand why nothing had happened. Perhaps he had been mistaken after all.

His disciples returned with an answer he had not quite expected. A straight ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ would have been better. Instead, in typical “Jesus” fashion, He invited John to weigh up the evidence and decide for himself. That was His way of convincing him who He was according to the evidence and the Scriptures.

John was a rabbi and, of course he had memorised the entire Hebrew Scriptures. He would have immediately caught on to what Jesus was saying. ‘John, don’t take my word for it. Take another look at what the Scriptures say about me and then decide for yourself.’ The Messianic fingerprint was clearly visible in the Old Testament prophecies. All John had to do was to match it up with what Jesus was doing.

Whether or not Jesus got him released was irrelevant. Overshadowing Herod was God’s hand and he had to rest in that. His story was being written into God’s bigger story and Jesus was writing the meaning of that story into the lives of sick, maimed and side-lined people. It was up to John to answer his own question.

We all have to decide whether Jesus is the Messiah or not. Weigh up the evidence. Is He? Then follow Him!

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – EVERYONE EVERYWHERE

October 5, 2019Bible Studyeveryone, healed, sickLuella Campbell

EVERYONE EVERYWHERE

“When the sun went down, everyone who had anyone sick with some ailment or other brought them to Him. One by one He placed His hands on them and healed them. Demons left in droves, screaming, ‘Son of God! You’re the Son of God!’ But He shut them up, refusing to let them speak because they knew too much, knew Him to be the Messiah.” Luke 4:40-41.

After the initial excitement of this new prophet who said and did out-of-this-world things, they all settled into a routine. They dutifully waited until after sunset, when the Sabbath was over, before they brought their ailing friends and relatives to Him for a touch and a word.

Don’t you love the “one by one” bit? He didn’t run a mass healing campaign. ‘Everyone who is sick, come to the front. Now pray a healing prayer.’ He touched them, one by one. I can imagine that, in those few moments, when He placed His hand on a fevered brow, a diseased limb, or an aching belly, the word that He spoke was a tender expression of love, of kindness and reassurance. God was there and He was showing His people just how big His heart of compassion was for them.

Deep into the night they came, patiently waiting their turn for the Master’s touch, with a bubble of expectant excitement inside. They knew that tonight, when they put their heads down to sleep, they would be free of aches and pains and fever, and they would wake to a brand new day.

“He left the next day for open country. But the crowds went looking for Him and, when they found Him, clung to Him so He couldn’t go on. He told them, ‘Don’t you realise that there are yet other villages where I have to tell the Message of God’s kingdom, that this is the work God sent me to do?’ Meanwhile He continued preaching in the meeting places of Galilee.” Luke 4:42-44.

A strange way to respond to a successful healing campaign, wasn’t it? At the height of success and popularity, He goes missing! Leaves town! Escapes into the country! Was Jesus suffering from “burn out”? Already? His ministry had only just started and He couldn’t take the pace?

Far from it! He knew that His commission was far bigger than a local Capernaum success campaign. He had a message to deliver and work to do that extended over the entire nation, not just to a little pocket of people in Capernaum. Excited and happy as they were and bagging Him to stay, He had to leave them and move on because others needed His message and His ministry.

So what was He actually doing? If He was not running a healing campaign, what was His purpose? Did He come to tell them that, if they accepted Him as Lord and Saviour, they would go to heaven when they died? Was that the sole purpose for His coming? The way the gospel is presented from many pulpits today, that might be what we think He came to do – to die on the cross so that we can go to heaven! Really!

Jesus was always about God’s kingdom. For too long the “liar” and “usurper” had held sway over the people and they were living with the result – emotional pain, physical distress, social and political upheaval. That was not God’s way. Jesus came to show and tell the real story about God’s rule. Get back under His rule, follow His way and things will be very different.

There was one major obstacle to becoming a part of His restoration plan – sin – the big barrier between God and man. But Jesus came to deal with that as well so that there would be nothing to stop people from returning to the Father and coming back under His rule – right in the heart of enemy territory.

But everyone needed to know, not just Nazareth – and they didn’t want to know – and Capernaum – and they couldn’t get enough. Everyone, everywhere, so they could choose. You, too.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

August 26, 2019Bible Studydysentery, healed, Publius' fatherLuella Campbell

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

“The head man in that part of the island was Publius. He took us into his home as his guests, drying us out and putting us up in fine style for the next three days. Publius’ father was sick at the time, down with a high fever and dysentery. Paul went to the old man’s room, and when he laid hands on him and prayed, the man was healed. Word of the healing got around fast, and soon everyone on the island who was sick came and got healed.” Acts 28:7-9 (The Message).

Imagine a small community of islanders having to play host to 256 unexpected guests, and not just for a day!

But with Paul among them, they were not parasites. Through him, God repaid their hosts’ kindness and generosity in ways that were far beyond what money could buy. Wherever he went, you could count on it that Paul would share his priceless message and the mercy of God that reached out to all people. In the unshakeable knowledge of God’s grace, he gave away the gift of healing to people who were ignorant and undeserving but who needed to know Him as much as anyone else.

Once again the devil’s agenda was thwarted and what could have been a terrible disaster turned out to be another of God’s opportunities to share His love with an isolated island community which might not have otherwise heard. Paul did it in a very practical way, dispensing healing through the power of the Holy Spirit to the whole island. I’m sure many of the people would have wished they were sick just to experience God’s healing power!

“We spent a wonderful three months on Malta. They treated us royally, took care of all our needs and outfitted us for the rest of the journey. When an Egyptian ship that wintered there in the harbour prepared to leave for Italy, we got on board. The ship had a carved Gemini for its figurehead: “The Heavenly Twins.”

We put in at Syracuse for three days and then went up the coast to Rhegium. Two days later, with the wind out of the south, we sailed into the Bay of Naples. We found Christian friends there and stayed with them for a week.” Acts 28:10-14 (The Message).

Mission accomplished! The Roman centurion and soldiers must have breathed a sigh of relief when they placed their feet on Italian soil. Luke does not specify, but it seems that the centurion trusted Paul enough to allow him to stay with friends until they could deliver him to Caesar. Perhaps he left him in the custody of one or two soldiers while he continued on to Rome to make arrangements for Paul.

One wonders why Luke commented on the figurehead on the Egyptian ship. Was he telling his reader that the ship sailed under the protection of “Gemini” until the moment that Paul and his little company of believers stepped on board? From then on, while they were on the ship, it sailed under the covering of Paul’s God. The company that boarded the ship after their own was wrecked had learned that anywhere was safe, even in a hurricane storm, where they were in the hands of God.

Would they ever forget their interlude in the company of Paul? Their time on Malta was no trial — they had experienced the bounty of God’s provision through the islanders, and all because God was showing them the care and favour of a loving Father. No doubt Paul took every opportunity to tell them the story of Jesus and demonstrate His resurrection power by healing sick people.

Wherever he went, Paul was a living, walking, breathing testimony to Jesus. He turned every disaster into an opportunity to put the glory of his Master on display. As turbulent and eventful as his life had been, it was all lived for and focussed on the one person who had captured his heart and transformed him from angry persecutor to passionate preacher. For Paul, God’s peace which was his priceless possession was all that mattered and came to him through his unassailable trust in God.

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 (NIV).

Pigs Or People?

July 7, 2015Bible StudyGenessaret, healed, ran, recognised, sickLuella Campbell

PIGS OR PEOPLE?

When they had crossed over, they landed at Genessaret and anchored there. As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognised Jesus. They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was. And wherever He went – into villages, towns or countryside – they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged Him to let them touch even the edge of His cloak, and all who touched it were healed (Mark 6: 53-56).

Genessaret again, but what a different reception this time! The pigs were forgotten. Sick people needed help and Jesus was there in person – the same Jesus they had chased away a short time before because He had driven a legion of demons out of a mad man; and they were terrified of Him as a result.

What a different story now! The healed man had done his job well. Jesus had instructed him to go home and tell his story to family and friends – and he had done just that. I don’t think he spared any details, not even the bits about his sordid lifestyle and the invasion of demons that took hold of him as a result. Demons don’t just take over a human being without invitation. He had certainly made enough bad decisions and done enough bad things to give them free entry into his life and his body. And he had paid a heavy price as a result.

After Jesus had driven the demons out, the people’s livelihood took a knock because the unclean spirits invaded their pigs and sent them careering down the steep embankment into the lake. These Gentiles had no idea who this was and what He was up to, so they got rid of Him as fast as they could, but they could not silence a free man. Wouldn’t you keep talking if you had been delivered from a living hell?

Slowly the mood began to change. The crazy-now-sane guy kept talking and didn’t go crazy again. He became the sanest person in the region. Gone were his lustful gaze at the girls, ogling and undressing each one with his eyes as they passed by, his suggestive comments, his promiscuous behaviour and his disgusting language. He was clean-living, respectful and considerate. Even his wife began to trust him again.

The change in him was permanent, so his neighbours began to realise. Something dramatic had happened to him – and it must have had something to do with the man they had sent packing when the pigs went over the cliff. The people were finally convinced and began to hope that the stranger would return. They would not send Him away this time. He had something to offer them and they needed His help.

Imagine their surprise and delight when news of His arrival spread around the region! They lost no time in rushing out to greet Him and bringing their ailing friends and family members to be healed. Before you could blink an eye, crowds had gathered from all over the region. Talk about a healing campaign! Jesus didn’t have to put up posters everywhere announcing His arrival. One man was witness enough to what He could do. His presence was there and they came.

From place to place Jesus and His disciples went – villages, towns and farms were all in it. And the people welcomed them. Never had this Gentile region, so alienated from God and from His people because they were hated and despised, and they knew it, been so blessed by the coming of the Son of God Himself! Did they know who He was? Probably not, but they were content to receive the blessing of healing and deliverance from their suffering and pain.

No doubt Jesus also taught them about the kingdom of God. After all, He was not just a miracle healer; He was God’s Messiah, sent by the Father to announce to both Jew and Gentile the good news that God was in charge. His miracles and His teaching were a testimony to His identity and they were inescapable.

The devil was there; demons were active, but not for long. An event was on the horizon so earth-shattering that even nature would writhe in pain as it happened. The Creator of the universe, the Son of the living God was soon to be killed by His own people for the sin of the world. Not only the stand-offish Jews but these Gentile pagans were also in on the deal. Jesus was there to tell them and to show them that God’s favour was about to be unleashed on them as well.

What a moment for helpless and hopeless people! They may have not understood when their kinsman was delivered from his torment. They may have sent Jesus away in their fear, but they were given a second chance and they grabbed it with both hands, thanks to the testimony of a freed man. That’s what Jesus came to do. This time they chose people over pigs!

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An Agonising Interruption

June 27, 2015Bible Studybleeding, healed, twelve years, womanLuella Campbell

AN AGONISING INTERRUPTION

So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around Him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.

When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak. Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she had been freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realised that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ ‘You see the people crowding against you,’ His disciples answered, and yet you ask, “Who touched me?”’ But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.

Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at His feet and, trembling with fear, told Him the whole truth. He said to her, ’Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.’ (Mark 5: 24-34).

An intriguing story – two stories in tandem. There are some amazing similarities and contrasts in these two healings. One character, Jairus – an important man, a synagogue ruler – had a name. The other – an unknown woman with an embarrassing condition – was nameless. Jairus’s child was twelve years old. The woman had suffered her condition for twelve years, as long as the little girl had been on earth. Both conditions would have made Jesus, the rabbi, unclean had He touched them. Both produced miracles with equal ease.

Did you notice how He treated an important man and an unimportant woman with equal compassion and equal dignity? Jairus must have been angry and on tenterhooks while Jesus dealt with the woman. Hadn’t he got in first? Wasn’t his need far more urgent than hers? Why couldn’t she wait? In any case, what right had she, who was “unclean”, to come pushing in through the crowd? Now she had made everyone whom she touched unclean as well, including the Teacher. What a mess she had created by her appearance!

The woman, on the other hand, was terrified. She thought she could just creep in, touch Jesus and melt into the crowd, and no one would know what had happened. But Jesus didn’t do things that way. The moment He felt the power go from Him, He stopped everything. Why didn’t He just let her go and not embarrass her by calling attention to her presence? Ah, but Jesus was Jesus. Her little story fitted into a much bigger one.

He usually cautioned people who had been healed not to talk about it. Now He was making a fuss about who touched Him. Why was He so inconsistent? He had a reason. Jesus always had a reason. He was on His way to the house of Jaius where a dead child lay. It was forbidden for a rabbi to enter a room where there was death. What if the crowd, which He made aware that an “unclean” woman had touched Him, thought that He was unclean? There would have been no problem for Him to enter the room of the dead child then since He was unclean anyway.

He had a second reason for calling her to own up that she had touched Him. For twelve years she had been an outcast of society, shunned by everyone, confined to her house, perhaps even abandoned by her husband and children. After all, they did not want to live with an “unclean” person and be perpetually unclean as well. No matter what she tried, nothing helped her condition. She was trapped in a loveless situation until she was full of self-loathing.

Did you notice how Jesus called her “Daughter”? To Him she was not an unclean and shunned woman – the lowest of the low; she was God’s beloved daughter. He must have known who had touched Him but He wanted her to have the reassurance that, not only was her body healed but her heart as well. She was fully accepted as a member of God’s covenant family.

If the people thought that Jesus was already unclean, no one would have tried to stop Him from entering the room of the dead child. Hence the woman’s condition and Jesus’ insistence that she own up, paved the way for Him to raise the little girl from the dead without interference. Brilliant, don’t you think?

By the way, Jesus made a point of touching many unclean people but He never became unclean Himself because He always made the unclean clean! That’s how it was with Jesus! Brilliant again!