Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

1 Samuel 1, Mark 8-12 (Selected verses)

“God Brings Healing”

Rev. Meagan M. Boozer

Let’s begin this morning by looking at several passages from Scripture from our Bible readings from this past week that have to do with healings. This is the word of the Lord:

1 Samuel 1:9-20

After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the LORD. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD. She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD, and wept bitterly. She made this vow: “O, LORD of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall neither drink wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.” As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.” But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.” Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.” And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer. They rose early in the morning and worshipped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her. In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the LORD.”

So, first we have Hannah who was barren. She was deeply distressed and anxious. But she persisted in prayer, and the Lord healed her from her barrenness.

Mark 8:22-25

They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Can you see anything?” And the man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

This time a man was brought to Jesus. Jesus touched him and he received a partial healing. Then Jesus touched him again and he was completely healed.

Mark 9:20-29

And they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. It has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “If you are able! – All things can be done for the one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” When Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You spirit that keeps this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him, and never enter again!” After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he was able to stand. When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “This kind can come out only through prayer.”

This time, by the love of a father, a young boy was freed from demonic possession and completely healed and restored to his right mind and control of his own body.

Mark 9:46-52

They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Man sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

This final time, the man asked specifically for his sight to be restored- and he was completely healed.

I want us to notice that in the first and fourth passages, it was the person who was not well who asked for healing.

In the second passage, we read that some unnamed people brought the blind man to Jesus and asked for his healing.

In the third passage, it was the boy’s father who asked for his son’s healing.

In all four passages, a miraculous, spontaneous healing occurred as a gift from the hand of God.

Two weeks ago I began teaching about the Holy Spirit- reminding us that though the people who lived in Jesus’ day were waiting for the promised Spirit to come after Jesus ascended into heaven- we don’t have to wait. Since that first Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit of God is completely available for each of us as believers. The Holy Spirit wants to come and fill us up, and bring us healing and healing gifts for the purpose of fulfilling of God’s good and perfect will in the world today.

We just read about 3 different incidents in which Jesus brought healing to individual people when he was here on earth. But Jesus also healed whole groups of people at one time. Let’s take a look at a few more examples of Jesus’ healing ministry:

Matthew 4:23-25

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Matthew 9:35

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness.

Mark 6:56

When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

Luke 4:40

As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them.

Luke 6:17-19

He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of the diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

But it’s not just Jesus who healed in those days. He commissioned his disciples to do the same. First he commissioned the 12. Matthew 10:8 tells us what he said, “The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.” Jesus wanted them to begin to help him expand the ministry of healing beyond what he himself could touch. “What I’ve been doing, now I want you to do also.”

But then, he expands the circle even further. After appointing the 12 to begin an enlarged ministry of healing, he then appointed a further group of 70. Let’s take a look at that in Luke 10:

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way.. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

But that’s not the full extent of his commissioning. We read at the end of Matthew’s Gospel what we now call the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:18-20). He didn’t say, “Everything except, of course, healing.” He said, “Everything.” This includes the ministry of healing. At the end of Mark’s Gospel we read, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation, and these signs will accompany those who believe. In my name they will drive out demons, they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

Jesus healed people from the very beginning of his ministry. After a time, he commissioned his 12 disciples to begin healing ministry. After a bit more time, he commissioned 70 more to begin. At the end of his time here on earth, he commissioned all who believe to continue the ministry of healing.

Why didn’t he just get everyone together at the beginning of his ministry, have a class on healing techniques, and then send them out from there? He could have gotten a whole lot more people healed that way.

I believe that first; Jesus wanted to show those who followed him that the focus always needed to be on God as the bringer of healing. Jesus never said, after healing someone, “Wow! Look what I did!” He would say, “Give thanks to your Father in heaven.” Remember what he said to the 70 when they came back saying, “Wow! Even the demons submit to us!” He said, “Yes, you have all authority to do what you are doing. But, if you want to rejoice today, rejoice that you know you will be in heaven one day. Don’t boast about what you can do for others, boast about what God has done for you!”

Today, we continue the work of Jesus. He commissioned the 12, he commissioned the 70, and he commissioned all those who believe to continue the ministry of healing. John’s Gospel records Jesus saying this; “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.” (John 14:12). Clearly no one has performed miracles of greater quality than Jesus, but there has been a greater quantity since Jesus returned to heaven, hasn’t there?

God continues his healing work in people’s lives today through imperfect, weak human beings like you and me. The only things, the ONLY thing, that makes us worthy of praying for one another is our faith in Jesus Christ, whom we believe is present with us now, through the fulfilled promised of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

5-7-2006