Jesus Christ is the will of God in action. “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” He said on more than one occasion. “I am doing the works I do because I see the Father doing them.” (John 5:17, 19; 8:19; 14:9)
Jesus’ compassion among the sick is easily seen in the Gospels. But Jesus’ compassion is not just sympathy. He was absolutely passionate when it came to wanting people well, and then He did something about their condition.
When a leper questioned His willingness to heal him, Jesus quickly silenced him by stretching out his hand to touch the untouchable and saying, “It IS my will; be healed.” (Matthew 8:2-3)
When a Roman centurion began describing how tormented his servant was because of disease, Jesus didn’t even wait for the man to finish his plea. “I will come and heal him,” He said. (Matthew 8:5-7)
When a widow woman was grieving at the funeral bier of her beloved son, Jesus didn’t wait for an invitation to the visitation; He reached out and touched the dead man and brought him back to life. (Luke 7:11-15)
Jesus spent a great deal of his time healing the sick and delivering the oppressed. But the numbers of hurting people were more than one person could minister to. When He looked out on the multitudes and had compassion on them, it caused Him to send out His disciples to heal the sick of all kinds of sicknesses and diseases. (Matthew 9:36; 10:1)
If we could have been there during His earthly ministry and looked into His eyes, I believe we would have seen in them a fiery passion for people to be restored to wholeness, a burning desire to have God’s will accomplished on the earth. “I have not come to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 5:30) There was nothing passive about Jesus or His ministry when it came to sickness and disease. He saw it as an enemy of God’s creation; something that He should undo, not tolerate or attribute to “God’s will.”
In fact, nowhere in Jesus’ teachings is it mentioned that a person should be sick as part of God’s will. The omission is glaring. Instead, His actions, as a representative of Father God, make it clear that God’s will is healing and wholeness for the entire person.
Confession: Jesus is passionate about me being whole, spirit, soul and body. He died and rose again so I can be whole.
Scriptures for meditation: Matthew 8:2-7; John 5:16-23; Luke 7:11-15
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Copyright © 2007 by David Hagni. All rights reserved.