Healer of Body and Soul

Healer of Body and Soul

God sent the angel Gabriel to a virgin named Mary. The angel told Mary she would be overcome by the Holy Spirit of God and conceive a son. Mary was dumbfounded for she was a virgin so how could this be? Yet, she trusted in God and offered herself for His service. I am sure she could not imagine until years later just what this decision to trust and obey God would do for all humankind throughout eternity.

Gabriel told Mary that her cousin Elisabeth who was past age of childbearing and barren was also with child. For with God nothing shall be impossible. (Luke 1:38)

Mary was engaged to Joseph, a carpenter. The angel visited Joseph and assured him it was acceptable to marry Mary even though she was pregnant and the child was not his. It was a profound disgrace in this time to be with child outside of marriage. The angel also told Joseph the child was of God and they should call him Jesus.

In holiness He began.

Mary visited Elisabeth when she was six months into her pregnancy. When Elisabeth heard Mary's voice her child jumped with joy in her womb. Both of these babes were in God's merciful plan for man. John the Baptist would grow to be the forerunner of Jesus.

Jesus grew up in Nazareth as any other child for he was human as well as God. He helped Joseph in the carpentry shop and learned and grew.

At twelve years of age the family went to Jerusalem at the Feast of the Passover which was customary. Jesus amazed scribes and Rabbi's in the temple with His knowledge and understanding of the scriptures. Jesus was human and Mary I am sure would forget He was also God. She was agitated at Him for remaining in the Temple when she and Joseph were on their way home. They had to return to get Him filled with anxiety and fear.

Jesus admonished them, "How is it you sought me? Did you not know I must be about My Father's business?"(Luke 2:49) And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. (Luke 2:52)

Just as Jesus knew His purpose for being on earth, John the Baptist also did. He was the forerunner of Jesus Christ, the Messiah as predicted by prophets of old.

When it was time for Jesus to begin His ministry on earth, He went to the Jordan River and was baptized by John. The heavens opened up and a dove descended settling on Jesus' shoulder and a booming voice proclaimed, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." (Luke 3:22}

In Holiness He continues His mission.

Don't you think each step of the way thus far everything He has done could have been done differently? God could have just created Him as He did Adam and Eve or the angels. So why didn't He? Could it have been that he knew all His children well enough to know we would always sin and the only way to atone for that was a blood sacrifice...A Holy Sacrifice. So He sent His Son to live, breathe, eat, sleep, hurt, weep, exist as we do...to be an example for us to follow.

The very first thing that happened to Jesus after being baptized was being overcome by the Holy Spirit and led to the desert where He encountered Satan and temptation. By example, Jesus used God's Word to defeat the Devil as we should always do. In order to do this we must first study and know what His Word says.

Jesus also taught us by example every step of the way, in peril, in temptation, in joy, in weeping, in sickness, in health we should talk to God. He prayed. And when He prayed, God sent angels and the Holy Spirit to renew His strength. Should we not do the same?

Jesus' acts of healing and exorcism formed the major part of his activity and made the greatest impression on those around Him. Jesus' healings were a response to Individual suffering. This reflects His deep concern for social outcasts, because those with physical disabilities, such as lepers, were shunned by other citizens. This led to a darkness hovering over them deep into their souls. It was not just the physical that needed to be touched with Jesus' holiness.

Many in this time considered Jesus just another charismatic healer and exorcist. Even His opponents saw Him in this light. Jesus recognized the power of other miracle workers during this time. (Matt.12:27; Mark 9:38-39; Luke 9:49-50, 11:9)

Jesus was significantly different than these other wonder-workers because His healings had a great underlying purpose. When John the Baptist's followers asked Jesus if He was the "Coming One," the Messiah, Jesus replies by referring to His healing miracles in words that are derived from messianic prophesies in the Hebrew Scriptures: "Go tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them." (Matt.11:2-6 and Luke 7:18-23, citing Isa. 26:19, 35:5-6, 61:1) What Jesus did then proved he was indeed the expected Messiah.

These miracles indicated that the present epoch was nearing its end and a new age was dawning as the kingdom of God was being realized. (Matt. 10:7-8, 12:28; Luke 10:9, 11:20) The healings and exorcisms were not just remarkable cures of physical disorders, but the means by which individual men and women received the kingdom brought to them in the person of Jesus. The result of this was that their whole existence was transformed and the reign of God became reality in their lives.

The miracles of Jesus were done as a direct result of faith in Him as God's manifestation and acceptance of His divine forgiveness.

Holiness continues on.

Is this not what happens to us when we accept Jesus as Savior?

Jesus appealed to those who were healed to keep their cures secret.(Matt.9:30; 12:15-21; Mark 1:41, 5:43, 7:36; Luke 8:56). This indicated that unlike other wonder-workers, Jesus did not wish to claim personal credit for His miracles.

Is this not another example of how we should minister and witness...in everything, To God Be The Glory.

Jesus was widely regarded as a prophet. His miraculous healings and even bringing the dead to life, led people to recognize His prophetic status.(Luke 7:16; John 6:14, 9:17)

Jesus' antagonists wanted to disprove His entitlement to such status by attempting to show He lacked the superior knowledge or "second sight" that was believed to characterize a real prophet. (Matt. 26:68; Luke 7:39,22:64) Jesus demonstrates the He does possess such abilities when he tells the Samaritan woman things about her past that He could not have known otherwise: she instantly acknowledges Him as a prophet (John 4:16-19).

Jesus was called by many names: Master, Rabbi, Lord

Rabbi in Jesus' time literally meant "my master" and was a reverential greeting to one in authority. Rabbi is also translated as "teacher".

Like other teachers, Jesus taught in the synagogues and gathered around Him a body of students. The proper meaning of disciple means pupil. Rabbi in this time did not mean a religious teacher or scribe trained in the Pharisaic tradition as it does today.

Jesus' way of teaching was in fact very different from those of the Pharisees. He explained the true intent of the Old Testament Law (Matt. 5:17-47). Jesus told his listeners he had not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them.

In His teaching, He gave us all we need to face every day of the rest of our earthly life:

He taught values in the beatitudes. (Matt.5:3-10)
He emphasized the personal nature of a relationship with God. (Matt. 6:1-8)
He taught we should not sound a trumpet in our own name but humbly give glory to our Heavenly Father where it belongs. (Matt. 6:2-4)
He taught us how to pray. (Matt. 6-9-13)
He taught personal priorities in Matt. 6:24 when He tells us we cannot serve two masters.
He taught us to trust in Dad as a loving Father. (Matt. 6:25-34)
He encouraged conscious dependence on God.(Matt. 7:7-11)

And HOW did He teach? By living His earthly life as an example to us as to how we should live ours.To be able to weather the storms of life we need to hear and practice His teachings.

Jesus was also regularly addressed as "lord". This word in His day had a different meaning as well. It could be little as a polite way of addressing a man much as we say "sir". It could also be used as a title of the head of a family, owner of a large property,or a ruler.

His disciples began calling Him "Lord" as an expression of awe at his supernatural power.(Matt.8:25, 14:28; Luke 5:8; John 21:7)

Jesus only once describes Himself as "lord,"(John 13:13) but He did not stop others from doing so. This could be an example of His self-understanding of who He really is.

And holiness continues.

Outside the research and study, who do I say Jesus is?

He is someone who loved me enough to leave His heavenly realm to live simply as a lowly human. He did and does intensely love everything alive, from God down to the simplest creature. He is simple and "down to earth." He is complex and rich with holy treasures.He is highly intelligent, prudent, farseeing, gentle, compassionate, and courageous. He is charming, gracious humble, meek and loves to laugh. He is patient with my downfalls, my hesitancy at times, my bad decisions, my intentional and unintentional sins.

He is the One who holds my hand when I am sad and lonely. He is the One who holds me close and comforts me when I grieve. He is the One who fills my soul with peace when I am anxious. He is the One who fills me to overflowing with joy just at the mention of His name.

He is the light in my darkness. He is my everything, my all. It is but up to me to accept the fullness of all He has for me.

words:1750

References:
The Holy Bible
A Portrait of Jesus by Joseph F. Girzone
Jesus Christ, The Jesus of History, The Christ of Faith by J. R. Porter
The Bible, The Smart Guide to the Bible Series by Larry Richards
Personal Experience