Jesus from Nazareth, the healer

A simple reading of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) makes it plain that Jesus was a healer. He gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. He healed lepers, paralytics and a woman with scoliosis in her back. According to the Gospel record, Jesus cast out demons, restored health to the mentally ill and reduced fevers. People flocked to Jesus to be healed. Among scholars the tradition that Jesus was a healer is rock solid.

In our modern world of hospitals, doctors with a range of specialties, and prescription medicines, physical healing is not a matter of religious fervor, but of going to the right medical facility, finding a highly trained doctor and, if needed, using sophisticated medications. The world of Jesus was medically primitive. I do not read the Bible literally, but I do read it seriously. What is a serious, intelligent, informed reader of the Bible to make of the healing ministry of a Jesus?

In college and seminary I learned the importance of good translations from one language to another. Jesus’ first language was Aramaic. How the words that describe his work as a healer moved from Aramaic to Greek to English is a fascinating search. Modern scholarship has brought the discussion a long way. We now have high quality translations of the Bible. Further, we have high quality transliterations that add to the discussion of the meaning of healing. The evidence is clear. Jesus was known as a healer.

Healing of one kind or another is at the heart of the entire Israelite, Christian, and Muslim traditions. Essential to all three traditions is the pursuit of community, wholeness, and a positive relationship with God and neighbors. My own understanding of my personal Christian Faith is bound up in a very few words. Shalom (peace) is achieved when everything is the way it ought to be. Salvation is achieved when a person is made whole. Love is the giving of one’s self to others for their wholeness. Justice is achieved when the needs of everyone are met. Faith is the claiming of wholeness before it is achieved. Healing is the restoration of shalom whenever it is lost.

Healing is often left out of our theological discussions. Christian theology without a prominent place for healing is sick theology. Jesus was a healer. I suspect the greatest heresy in modern Christianity is the neglect of healing ministries. What are healing ministries in a modern scientific world? Another kind of translation is needed in our thinking.

Christian theology needs to be healing oriented. Without being critical of physical, health related healing, Christians need to broaden their understanding of what healing ministries are all about. Providing appropriate housing is an example. Vast numbers of Americans are inappropriately housed. Appropriate housing is healing. Truly appropriate housing is done in such a manner as to build communities (not ghettos). Building contractors seldom understand this dynamic, and continue to build complexes that destroy community rather than build community. We now know that health care costs for seniors are reduced by as much as 50 percent when they live in meaningful community. Housing is a healing ministry. Churches ought to be the largest home providers in most every community rather than wealthy landlords, who care for little other than collecting the rent. Churches providing appropriate housing is a healing ministry.

Everything that churches do should make a contribution to the healing of the wounds of the people who surround them.

An additional word needs to be shared about healing. There is a place for ministries of non-medical physical healing in church life. There are those who have concluded that a fact based, scientific understanding of life leaves no room for faith based healing of physical illnesses. They would have us believe that faith-based healing has no rational basis and is no more than a form of superstition. I would offer a different point of view. I would argue that there is a mystery to life that will never be fully understood. It is non-rational but not irrational. This mystery of life respects reason and facts but refuses to bow to their power. This is a part of my own experience and the experience of a host of devoutly religious people, who have lived in every age. This life mystery defies explanation. It is value based and powerful. It is the power of the good. It is motivation for the doing of good.

This mystery of higher meaning is ancient and ever changing in its application. It never asks for permission or operational space. It has the power of healing. Jesus was uniquely adept at tapping into this mystery that has the power to heal and make whole. Jesus was a healer and invites every one of us to join him in making the world whole.

The End

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer, Alaska. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.