Jesus spent more time healing people than ministering salvation. The Greek word sōzō means to heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole. Salvation not only includes the saving of one’s soul but the healing of one’s body as well. We should embrace all aspects of salvation rather than minimizing the power resident in HIS Word and accepting only the initial impact of salvation upon our souls.
In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus provides us an example of how to spread the good news of the Gospel:
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria, and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.
25 Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
In the ministry of Jesus, there were no incurable diseases, and He did not rely on advanced medical research to assist Him in curing people. He was not moved by requirements to be politically correct nor did He concern Himself with statutes issued by the government concerning His statements with respect to healing the sick. There was no sickness or disease that could not be cured, and Jesus was not intimidated by the history or chronic state of the person’s disease.
Epilepsy and paralysis were no match for the Love of FATHER towards mankind. The ONE Who created you can surely restore you to health no matter what the ailment. Jesus was not moved by what He saw when it came to the chronic state some were in. In Luke chapter 8, there was a woman with an "issue" of blood:
43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any,
44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”
When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”
46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.”
47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
Can you imagine the state of the woman before hearing the good news proclaimed by Jesus? She was desperate to be healed of what her physicians surely called an incurable disease. She depleted her life savings in her quest to be restored to health but to no avail. The doctors of the day were restricted to man’s methods of healing and relied on society’s acceptable level of healthcare.
Suddenly Jesus arrived on the scene, and in a simple act of faith, she was healed. She heard the Word of salvation which within it contains the power of healing. She doubted not but was convinced that this power was available to heal her once and for all. A touch of His garment provided inflection point where her faith manifested the result of healing. The power flowing from Above in and through Jesus was received into the body of the woman. The result was immediate healing of a chronic disease. Oh, what a blessing that awaits those who dare to believe!
FATHER’S willingness to heal the multitudes did not begin the ministry of Jesus Christ, and indeed it was not reliant on Jesus going to the cross. One of the most notable examples occurred during the time of the first Passover. The children of Israel were an estimated three million souls when they were departing Egypt after centuries of bondage. They were entering a place unknown to them called the wilderness. Moses was directed by Our Heavenly Father to lead them to the Promised Land, and this required them to spend at least eighteen months in an area without permanent dwellings and crops. With this many people of various ages to manage, health must have been a major concern, but FATHER was watching over the people. Psalm 105 reveals HIS Love for the people by keeping them healthy:
37 He also brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among His tribes.
All were healthy and were protected by HIM, and this was not confined to their departure. On the third day after the crossing of the Red Sea, they were thirsting for water and only found bitter water at the springs of Marah. In Exodus chapter 15, the people complained in their unbelief, but once again FATHER confirmed HIS Love for the people as Moses petitioned HIM:
25 So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.
There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them,
26 and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD, who heals you.”
FATHER reveals one of HIS Holy Names: Jehovah Rapha, The Lord That Heals. Each name specifically reveals an enduring characteristic of Our Heavenly Father. HE doesn’t heal one day and put sickness and disease on you the next day. HE is consistent and trustworthy to stand by HIS Word. Jesus was the physical expression of Our Heavenly Father and the writer of Hebrews in chapter 13 proclaimed HIS unwavering consistency:
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
There have been some preachers who have taught the GOD puts sickness and disease on you to teach or correct you. Wrong! There is no verse in Scripture that supports that tradition. Psalms 34 plainly tell us HIS nature and Divine Intent:
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
FATHER has revealed HIS character by providing us with the various names HE is known by depending on the needed revelation:
El Shaddai (Lord God Almighty)
El Elyon (The Most High God)
Adonai (Lord, Master)
Yahweh (Lord, Jehovah)
Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner)
Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd)
Jehovah Rapha (The Lord That Heals)
Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There)
Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness)
Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You)
El Olam (The Everlasting God)
Elohim (God)
Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide)
Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace)
Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts)