Chapter 9: Our Mandate to Heal.

Chapter 9: Our Mandate to Heal.

As we have seen, Christ has provided on the Cross for our sin and for our sickness. But many people still do not want to believe that God wants to heal today. One objection to healing comes in a resistance to the idea of people having an ability to heal. It is often expressed as a strong reaction to faith healers of the American type as seen on Television declaring them to be all hype, deception, etc. This is in spite of the many hundreds of verified healings that many of these ministries can produce evidence for.

But the objection is seen more subtly in the statement, “If God wants to heal me he can do it, but I’m not going to go up to the altar for healing, or go and ask for prayer.” The real reason behind this objection is pride – the person does not want to go up and be seen by others, particularly if they are not healed. Their pride is at stake. “Why didn’t I get healed? Is there something wrong with me, some sin or something else?” So rather than risk being, at least in their own eyes, abased, they object to the healing ministry en toto. It may be God wants them to have a little humility and be healed through the Body of Christ rather than directly from himself. There is an implicit demand in their response that God do it directly and not through the agency of a human ministry. And pride is also behind this demand. God can choose to do it however he likes, but if you refuse to try all avenues he has offered then you can’t blame him if you don’t get healed.

Another similar objection is the following: “I asked once, I am not going to ask again. If God didn’t heal me that time then he doesn’t want to so I am not going to ask again.”

But this is to work against the very words of Jesus where he says, “Ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking and it will be opened to you (Matt 7:7).” Thus it is actually not a sign of faith to argue that you “asked once so you won’t ask again.” It is actually a sign of disobedience – as Jesus told us to keep on asking. And faith is spelt – O.B.E.D.I.E.N.C.E.

Jesus encourages repeat asking because the perseverance of faith brings about spiritual growth and deep inner change. In this healing is no different from any other temporal promise of God. We may have to press in over a long period of time to get the answer. The only exception to this rule is the prayer for salvation. God always answers that one immediately. (This, in itself, indicates that healing is not exactly on an equal par with salvation.) God may want to heal us, but he may be more interested in our perseverance and other virtues of spiritual growth so he may delay the healing to produce the result he wants.

Some argue that healing is not as readily available today - or not available at all - because things have somehow changed. The Scripture says otherwise: “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8).”

But there is a change – whereas he did it directly himself while he was on earth, now he is not here physically, so he does it through his Body, the church: “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote to you about all that Jesus began to do and teach (Acts 1:1).” The implication is that Jesus is still doing and teaching the same things and that we see this continuation in the book of Acts. But now he does it by his Spirit through the Church, which is his body on earth.

So we need to look at our mandate from God to heal, our right to do this ministry of healing. This mandate is seen in the words of Jesus in Scripture.

The first place to begin is with the Great Commission. We have several versions of this in different Gospels and in Acts. The Great Commission is often preached from Matt 28 and the other records of it are ignored or treated as if they were a separate event. But a careful reading shows that there are four records of one event and it will do us well to read them all. As with all personal recollections different people recall different things from the same event. It is only as we put them all together we can get the whole picture of what Jesus said on that occasion.

If this was a purely human event and record we might be able to say that some of those who were there misremembered and so their words carry less significance. But because we are dealing with the Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and the very words of Jesus we cannot relegate words in that way. The fact that one writer records one thing, another writer records something different, does not mean each is unreliable - only that the true picture is found when we put it all together.

The thing that is common to all of the following references is that they all clearly indicate that this was Jesus’ last discussion with them. After this he was taken up to heaven. One would think that if this was the last time he had opportunity to share with them before his departure then he would tell them the most important things he wanted them to remember, and such is the case.

 “Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (MATT 28:18-20)."

Matthew was there and heard the words of Jesus so we can verify them as true.

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God (MARK 16:15-19).”

Mark was presumably NOT there but he was close. It is generally held that Mark’s gospel is largely that which Mark gleaned from Peter.

“Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven (LUKE 24:45-51).”

Luke was not there, but he did do considerable research to ensure his record was accurate. It is generally held by historians today that Luke is a first class recorder of history and can be relied upon.

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the

Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight (ACTS 1:4-9). “

Putting it together we get the following things:

1. Jesus gave them a supernatural ability to understand the Old Testament in a new way – so they could see clearly the teaching concerning Christ hidden there.
2. He gave them a commission to go and preach the gospel of the kingdom to all nations.
3. They asked him about the nature of the kingdom and he refused to answer – presumably because he knew they would soon understand that the kingdom was not what they had previously imagined. The kingdom is a spiritual reality, not an earthly Jewish kingdom.
4. Jesus promised them the Holy Spirit which would give them power to witness to him.
5. This power would be seen operating in supernatural works and signs.
6. They were to call people to repentance, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and discipling them – teaching them to do all Jesus had commanded the Apostles to do.

Some writers argue that the ending to Mark’s gospel was not original, or is suspect the facts are completely different. This objection is based on the fact that the longer ending, referring to supernatural signs, does not appear in “some manuscripts.”

Not in all mss? It is not found in the Sinaiatic mss – but this was not written until the 4th Century. This is the only mss it is not found in. That these verses are authentic has been proved from the writings of the church fathers, written before the Sinaiatic mss and less than 270 years after Christ. The Sinaiatic mss was found among trash paper at St Catherine Monastery at the foot of Mt Sinai in 1841. It is considered to be a flawed mss.

A compilation New Testament was made from New Testament references and quotes found in the writings of the church fathers previous to 300 AD. The whole was completed and found to be identical with our present version except it lacked seven verses in Hebrews, and these have been since forthcoming. The longer ending of Mark’s gospel is found there.

So we can safely assume that the longer ending is authentic and hence the reference to supernatural signs is actually Jesus own words.

A key phrase is Matt 28:20 “teaching them to do/obey all I have commanded you.” What the apostles were to pass on was what Jesus had trained them to do. Jesus’ expectation here is that this process would continue from generation to generation – passing on what he had passed on to the apostles. There is not expectation that what he had trained them to do would stop with their death. So the important question is: What did he train them to do?

“He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness (Matt 10:1).”

“These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: `The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give (Matt 10: 5-10).”

“When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household (Matt 10:23-25)!”

What Jesus commanded his 12 apostles to do is preach the gospel and demonstrate it with signs – healing, deliverance, raising the dead. These are the things he later, in the Great Commission, commanded his apostles to pass on to those who believed through their word.

Look closely at Matt 10:25, “It is enough for a student to be like his teacher” – Jesus is expecting that he will be adequately represented by the apostles wherever they go – it would be just as is he were there himself.

Now this commission to the 12 was given in a limited context – the numbers are significant. 12 was the number that represented Israel, the 12 tribes. Jesus emphasizes this fact in what he says – and we read it: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel… you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes (Matt 9:5, 6).” The commission here to the apostles was limited – it was to the nation of Israel only. Some teachers want to argue from this that the signs were only intended for the apostle’s ministry to the Jews, and not for the later Gentile mission.

But this was not the only time Jesus sent out preachers: “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field (LUKE 10:1-2).”

Again the numbers are significant. Different manuscripts read 70 or 72 but the difference is insignificant compared with the obvious symbolic meaning. 70 or 72 was the number of Gentile tribes there were in the world, according to Jewish reckoning, depending on how the list of the nations is counted in Genesis 10 and 11. The variation in the manuscripts between 70 or 72 shows that this symbolic meaning is what we are meant to read here. What Jesus was prefiguring here was the mission of the gospel to the Gentiles. In Luke 9 he prefigures the mission to the Jews – and again the restriction to not go to any Gentile town is found. But in Luke 10 where there are 72 that restriction is omitted. The 72 can go anywhere.

So what we see in Matt 10 and Luke 9 is the application of the Great Commission to the Jewish world, and in Luke 10 the application of the Great Commission to the Gentile world. And in the context of the Gentile mission what does Jesus command? “Heal the sick who are there and tell them, `The kingdom of God is near you (LUKE 10:9).” And later we read: “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name (LUKE 10:17)." So deliverance was included too – Gentiles have as many demons as Jews do – more maybe.

So the Great Commission contains the order by Jesus to us, his disciples, to preach, heal, deliver from demons, raise the dead and so on. Jesus made it clear to his disciples that they would not be able to do this until they received the power of God in the person of the Holy Spirit – the baptism in the Spirit. This is clear in Luke 24 and Acts 1 but the same idea is found in John’s gospel: “As the Father sent me so send I you (John 20:21).” Preaching healing and teaching. No one of any sense could imagine that the disciples were sent to do anything other than what Jesus did in the way he did it. By the power he used to do it – the Holy Spirit. So then he goes on to talk of the Holy Spirit: “And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit (JOHN 20:22).” He did not present them with a medicine kit but with the conscious power of God on their lives.

This was not just for the apostles:“When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed (Acts 8:6-7).” Philip was not an Apostle. Nor was Stephen: “Now, Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people (Acts 6:8).”

So we have been commissioned to teach and preach the gospel of the kingdom of God and to demonstrate the truth of the word we preach by signs that follow.

We need to get the Message Right:

It is the word that God confirms with signs. If you want the signs logic indicates you must have the right word. You can’t expect God to confirm a word that isn’t a word he is prepared to confirm.

For many centuries much of the church has not presented the message of the gospel – it has been truncated. Only a part has been presented. The good news of the gospel includes healing.

“So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders (ACTS 14:3).”

“I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done - by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ (ROM 15:18-19.)”

In these two references we see two things:

1. It was Christ who did the signs – by the power of the Holy Spirit.
2. The purpose of the signs was to “confirm the message” or, to use Paul’s words, to “fully preach the gospel”. The implication is that the gospel is not fully preached if we do not have the attending signs.

The signs are the proof of the kingdom. God has never expected the world to believe a gospel without proof and the church has never been authorized to offer the message without proof. Where there isn’t proof there really isn’t any kingdom. There is just a theological abstraction.

The signs are God’s own mark on the faithful preaching of the gospel. We know the goods by the trademark they bear.

Matt 4:23 says Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom. This is the same Gospel he told his disciples to preach. It is the gospel Paul preached to the Gentiles. In Romans 15 which we read previously he calls his message “the Gospel of Christ”  but in Acts 28:31 we are told his message was “the kingdom of God and… Jesus.” Earlier in v23 it says that Paul “declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the law and prophets.” So there is no difference. There is not a gospel of the kingdom and a gospel of God’s grace in Christ. They are the same gospel.

It is unscriptural to leave out the words “of the kingdom” when presenting the gospel. The gospel is not just some vague good news. It is not simply the fact that you can have your sins forgiven and receive eternal life – that is only part of the story. It is a stepping stone to God’s ultimate purpose – that is, God is willing to take over governance of the human race. Kingdom in the Bible is the normal form of government. All man’s problems started when we rejected the government of God. God is calling men back to be part of his kingdom. We become members of his kingdom by being born again, as Jesus said: “no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit…you must be born again (John 3:5-7).”

The church is the visible form of the kingdom. We are ruling with Christ. The kingdom is within us. The Lord looked on the visible church as the embodiment of his kingdom. We must see that the kingdom forces which are at work find expression in the visible church.

It follows from this that we are his ambassadors. An ambassador is a person who represents another nation or kingdom. Usually he is vested with authority to act on behalf of the nation he represents. We are vested with authority to represent Christ and his kingdom: “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God (2 COR 5:19-20).”

The gift of the Spirit is the power of the kingdom as we have seen.

The gift of the Spirit is often called a seal in the Bible; “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,  who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory (EPH 1:13, 14).”

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 COR 1:21, 22).”

The idea of a seal comes from the ancient idea of a signet ring which was used for signing official documents. Often a person would give his signet ring, or his seal to another person if they were going to act on his behalf. We see an instance of this in the life of Joseph after he interpreted Pharaoh’s dream: So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?" Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you."

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt."

Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, "Make way!" Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt “GEN 41:38-44).”

The gift of the Holy Spirit to us is like a signet ring – it is an authority to act on behalf of God.

In ancient times a slave or an adherent to a religious group were often tattooed with a mark designating who they belonged to – either the god or the man. This was usually done on the forehead or right hand. In the Spiritual realm we have been tattooed with God’s signet. We can’t see it but the spirit world can: Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name (REV 3:12).”

The gift of the Spirit is God’s seal on every Christian. With that we get written on us the name of God the Father, the name of the kingdom of God – the new Jerusalem and Christ’s own new name – the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what it means to be “baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matt 28:20).” The gift of the Spirit is a seal on us in then Spirit that gives us authority to act as citizens, ambassadors, of the kingdom of God.

We have not been called to explain healing and sickness, we have been called to heal the sick. That is the mandate he has given us. One of our problems is that we are praying for healing. This is alright, but Jesus didn’t tell us to pray for healing – he commanded us to heal. We spend too much time begging God to do what he has commanded us to do.

Another problem is that we don’t know God’s will. So many pray for healing “if it be your will.” The problem here is that they don’t know God’s will and the reason for that is that they have not taken the time to find out from the Word what God’s will is. The revelation of God in Christ is that God wants to heal everyone who comes to him for healing. Jesus took our sicknesses and pains on the cross so we could be free from them. So the will of God is revealed regarding healing. To pray “if it be your will” is thus not faith – it s disobedience and unbelief. Rather we have been given authority to command healing in Jesus name.

Christians have been given unlimited power of attorney over Christ’s kingdom: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it (JOHN 14:12-14).”

Here Jesus specifically says that those who are his disciples will do exactly the same things he did – healing, delivering and so on. The implication is that it is not us doing it however – we ask in his name and he will do it.

This is the same as we saw in Rev 3 – his name is on our forehead – we have been given his name so that we can do his work on his behalf. Interestingly immediately after this promise in John 14 Jesus talks about the coming gift of the Spirit. See how it all ties together? The King of the Kingdom has given the citizens of the kingdom a task to do – to represent the kingdom on earth. To enable them to do this he has given us his signet ring, his name so we can act on his behalf – and he has given the power of the kingdom, the Spirit of God, to back us up. In effect he has made us kings and priests in the kingdom to rule now. We need to rise up and live according to our mandate.

We need to command healing. Act on the commission we already have.

 “Silver and Gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee – in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk (Acts 3:6).”  Peter knew what he had. He had the name of Jesus.

Jesus left his name with us – we have the right to use it… we use his name by his authority. He said, “You ask the Father in my name and I will endorse it.” When we ask in his name the request and the petition passes out of our hands into the hands of Jesus. He then assumes the responsibility for that need. When we pray in Jesus name it is as if Jesus himself were doing the praying. He takes our place.

There are four proofs of our mandate to heal:

1. We are to be witnesses of the gospel of the kingdom with signs following: “These signs shall follow those who believe (Mark 16).”  This is for all Christians.

2. God has given gifts of Holy Spirit in the area of healing: “To another gifts of healings (1 Cor 12: 9).” Both words (gifts, healings) are in the plural. This indicates that there are different healing gifts. One person may be gifted in healing one complaint; another person may be gifted in healing another complaint. It also indicates that each healing is a separate gift. Thus the person may not necessarily always have this gift.

3. God has given the ministry of healers: “Do all have gifts of healing (1 Cor 12:30)?” (The answer demanded is, “No.”) When included in this list it indicates that the person has a recognized ministry of healing that has a degree of permanence and a spread of ability to it.

4. The Elder have a special role in healing: “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (JAMES 5:14-16).”

The connection of healing with confession here indicates that the role of the elders involves discernment as to whether or not there is a hidden cause to the sickness – some sin or other. Under such ministry James says the sick will be healed. There is no doubt about it.

Let’s be Practical:

1. We need to speak authoritative commands of faith.

We need to tell somebody’s body what to do in Jesus name.

Prophesy to the body parts – tell them what to do – vibrate, grow, feel, come alive.

We are often just too timid – false humility because we don’t want to sound proud or arrogant.

2. Often we need to carry out prophetic actions. Jesus often did strange actions when healing people. We can do the same if we are hearing the Spirit. God will reveal himself as the miracle working God.

3. Sometimes the sick person needs to do something – Jesus often required them to act before they saw their healing.