Tag Archives: healing

The Compassion of Christ

Posted on by under Love of God

Jesus Heals Leper     Many of us cannot imagine what it would be like to have to live as a leper in ancient times.  Just take a moment to consider what our mental and emotional state would be if we knew we had a disease that could not be cured and that mandated that we be isolated.  Lepers could not live among their loved ones, due to the disease being contagious.  They had to live in separate colonies.  They had to pass by people on the other side of the street and yell out “unclean,” so no one would come near them.  Certainly, no one would ever touch a leper.

     Now notice what Matthew records for us with regards to one who was a leper in ancient times. “And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ Immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (Matthew 8:2-3, NKJV).  In this event Jesus is shown to have power that mortal men do not have.  Leprosy was an incurable disease, but Jesus had the power to heal this man.  We might also notice that the miracle Jesus performed did not take time to become effective, but that the cure to this man’s leprosy was immediate.  Therefore, there can be no doubt as to how the man was healed.

     There is another aspect of this occasion, however, that is often overlooked.  That is the compassion of Christ.  As previously noted, lepers could not have any physical contact with others, but look at what Jesus did.  The Bible says that Jesus reached out His hand and touched this man.  It can be seen in other miracles that Jesus performed that the touching of this man was unnecessary in order to heal him.  Indeed, Jesus later healed the Centurion’s servant from a distance.  So why did Jesus reach out and touch him?  I believe that Jesus touched him to show His compassion on this man.  Christ has compassion for His children.

     Perhaps you have something in your life that no one else can help you with, and you need compassion too.  Maybe you need that comfort that only God can afford.  We invite you to come and see the compassion of the Christ, to learn more about Him, and to become a child of God by being born again (John 1:12-13; 3:3-7).

Who is This Jesus?

Posted on by under Christian Evidences

who-am-i

People may often wonder about Jesus and who He really was.  It has been said by some that Jesus was just a good man, or that He was only a prophet, but that He was not the Son of God.  What evidence do we find in God’s word about who Jesus really was?  When Jesus and His disciples approached the region of Caesarea Philippi He asked them what the people thought about who He was.  They answered Him that some thought that He might be John the Baptizer, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.  However, when He asked His apostles who He was, “Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Matthew 16:16 NKJV).

How did Peter know who Jesus really was?  One reason is that Peter had been travelling with Jesus for some time and had seen the things that Jesus was able to do.  Some of what Peter had seen is recorded for us in Matthew chapter 8, which chronicles several of the miracles of Jesus.  In this chapter we can see that Jesus exhibited power that mere men or prophets simply did not have.  Specifically, there are 5 such miracles that demonstrate the power of Jesus over several aspects of life.

The miracles of Jesus in chapter 8 of the book of Matthew include the following:

  1. The healing of the leper (Mat. 8:1-4), which demonstrates Jesus’ power over the seen or external world.  All could see that the leper had the disease, but no one else could have healed him other than God.
  2. The healing of Peter’s mother-in-law (Mat. 8:14-15), which demonstrates Jesus’ power over the unseen or internal world.  She had a fever, and while others may be able to tell by her demeanor that she was ill, none but God could see the internal cause of the fever.
  3. The healing of the centurion’s servant (Mat. 8:5-13), which demonstrates Jesus’ power over time and space.  It was not necessary for Jesus to travel to the centurion’s home to heal the servant, He was able to do it from a distance.  This shows that Jesus had a power that mortal man does not posses.
  4. The calming of the storm at sea (Mat. 8:23-27), which demonstrates Jesus’ power over nature.  No mere man could have accomplished this feat as even His disciples exclaimed, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matthew 8:27b).
  5. The casting out of demons (Mat. 8:28-32), which demonstrates Jesus’ power over the spiritual realm.  Again this shows that Jesus was more than a man and that He really was the Son of God.

We see that the purpose of miracles was to confirm the message that was spoken (Mark 16:20).  Therefore, it is not unusual that Matthew shows these 5 miracles here in chapter 8 as Jesus has just finished delivering the Sermon on the Mount (Mat. 5-7).  Indeed, at the end of that great sermon the people realized that Jesus was not like other men.  “And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Mat. 7:28-29).  Thus the miracles of Jesus help to prove to us just who He really is, that being the Son of God and a member of the Godhead.