A series about what we have to learn from and about Jesus on a range of subjects. This month, Viv Henderson looks at healing

There is no getting away from the fact that healing was an integral part of Jesus’ ministry. Each gospel has examples. In them we see Jesus healing every kind of sickness and disease. To ignore this is to discount a huge part of Jesus’ ministry. Healing was seen as a physical manifestation of God’s power and concern and flowed out of the relationship Jesus had with God. Jesus shared God’s compassion for all who sought him out and they were healed.

It was unlike anything that had happened before. Previously, Moses had performed miracles; so had Elijah and Elisha through the power of God’s Spirit. Their healings are seen as evidence of God’s power, even to resurrect the dead. But with Jesus, the incidence of healing reached another level.

In Mark’s Gospel, healing is very much part of the good news that Jesus was proclaiming, that ‘the kingdom of God has come near’. Jesus’ ministry drew crowds so large that these miracles were in danger of overshadowing the message. There was also the danger that the crowds would attract the attention of religious and civic authorities…

Viv Henderson is a retired URC minister. Her ministry included serving in hospital chaplaincy and as Healing Adviser in South Western Synod

Image: ©Estate of Frank Wesley, www.frankwesleyart.com

___

This is an extract from an article published in the November 2023 edition of Reform

Subscribe to Reform