We are continuing on in our series on healing. If you haven’t read it yet, see Healing for Today where we lay the scriptural groundwork for the universal law of healing, and then Common Objections to Healing – Part One where we started looking at some of the “Yeah, but….’s” people come up with when you say it is always God’s will to heal.
In my 47 years as a Christian, I have heard every one of these objections to the universal law of healing that I am listing. One thing I have observed however is that a much higher percentage of Christian do embrace the belief that it is God’s will to heal always, than when I started. That is a good thing!
I’m suffering for the glory of God
First of all, not all types of suffering bring glory to God.
1 Peter 4:15-16; 19 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters.
16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.
We see here that there is a suffering that is “according to the will of God”, and also a suffering which is not according to the will of God – as an evildoer. It’s interesting that along with a thief or murderer, which we readily recognize as evil doing, it also lists someone who pokes his nose in other people’s business.
1 Peter 4 is not talking about sickness, but about being persecuted for the testimony of Christ. That is suffering as or because you are a Christian.
1 Peter 4:12-13 NASB 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;
13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.
Did Christ suffer from sickness? The only physical suffering that He did (other than perhaps bone tired weariness) was on the cross. If it ever comes to the point that we suffer a martyr’s death, we can glorify God in that. Note that there is a difference between suffering a martyr’s death and just being slaughtered. A martyr leaves behind a testimony.
Besides the opposition of people against Him (persecution), there is another suffering that Christ experienced.
Hebrews 2:18 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
Hebrews 5:7-8 7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear,
8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
Jesus learned obedience through the things which He suffered. This is not talking about the cross, since going to the cross was the last act of obedience that He did; i.e., He had already learned to obey by then. Heb 5 is referring to His travail in the garden of Gethsemane when His flesh was tempting Him to run away – so much so that He even prayed to the Father to get Him out of it, if there was a way.
Hebrews 12:1-4 1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Verse 4 is another reference to Gethsemane – He was striving against temptation and sin, and it was such a fierce internal battle that He sweat blood.
Hebrews 4:15 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
There are two sufferings of Christ in which we can imitate Him and bring glory to God – persecutions at the hands of men, and to be tempted, yet not sin.
But sickness in your body? That does not glorify God.
“Well, maybe the sickness by itself doesn’t glorify God, but my reaction to it does, when I accept it with patience and still praise the Lord.”
That is commendable that you are able to praise God in the midst of adversity (see my post, Rejoicing in Adversity). People may think of you, “That person really loves God.” People are impressed by those who overcome obstacles. But wouldn’t it be a much greater testimony to God if you were healed supernaturally?
And just as there are those who may be impressed with your relationship with God and strength of character, there will be others who will be turned against God because of it. Relatives who become bitter because their loved one who loved God died of cancer. “What kind of God would allow someone who loved and served Him like that to die of such a horrible disease?”
Remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego who were threatened to be thrown into a fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar if they did not fall down and worship the image he had made? They took a stand and refused, and were cast in. Had they perished in that fire, people might have been impressed by their strength of commitment to the Lord and their faith. But the fact that they were delivered supernaturally from the intended evil against them made the people impressed with God.
If you read in the gospels the accounts where Jesus healed people, you will see it was only after He healed them that the people “began to glorify God”, and never before.
Sickness for the glory of God
“But what about the man born blind in John 9? Didn’t Jesus say his sickness was for the glory of God? Or what about Lazarus?
These are sited as examples where God had a purpose in sickness, to enhance Jesus’ reputation. The implication that they draw is that their own sickness somehow also advances the kingdom of God.
First of all, it is only in the case of Lazarus that it says the sickness was for the glory of God. In the case of the man born blind it says it was in order that the works of God should be manifest in him. I find things like this typical – people who site Biblical examples as arguments, but only have a half baked idea of what it really says.
Secondly, both of these incidents resulted in supernatural healings (or a resurrection, in the case of Lazarus), that were undeniably the work of God and became widely known to large groups of people. So until you experience the same thing – a supernatural healing that is undeniably the work of God and becomes widely known – you cannot put yourself in the same category as these two people. Only after the healing could you possibly have any merit to argue that maybe God had some purpose in your sickness to bring Him glory in the same way as the man born blind or Lazarus.
The man born blind
John 9:1-7 KJV 1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
Note how the disciples make the assumption that the man was born blind because of someone’s sin. How a person could sin before they were born (in the womb?) I have no idea. It was a prevalent thought amongst the Jews, and in middle eastern thought in general. Sickness was viewed as a curse for sin. Also remember the attitudes of Job’s friends; he had all those calamities befall him, so they just knew that Job had sinned.
Even afterward when the rulers grilled the man born blind about his healing and he gave the speech about how God does not hear sinners and how if Jesus were not of God, He could do nothing ….
John 9:34 34 They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him out (i.e., excommunicated him).
One thing we need to understand is that the ancient Greek language does not have punctuation like we have; it was all added by the translators. And though translators pray that the Lord will guide them in their work, their translations are not the inspired word of God in the same sense as the original words. That is why we have many translations, each trying to bring out the truth and portray the original more accurately and bring out greater meaning. “If the King James version was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me.” ;^)
So the bottom line is that the original languages are inspired, but the translations are not. I’m going to change the punctuation around a bit, and we’ll see some different meaning come out from this passage.
“Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents. But that the works of God should be made manifest in him, I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”
Jesus answered the disciples’ question fully with “Neither. The man didn’t sin, and his parents didn’t sin.” Being born blind was not a judgment for anybody’s sin. He then started talking about the works of God.
The question is, what was the work of God? Tradition would say that making the man be born blind, never to see the light of day his entire life up until then, was the work of God. But Jesus said it was necessary for Him to work the works of God.
So we have the dilemma now of God doing a work, and Jesus coming along later to undo that work, so He could get some PR. The Pharisees accused Jesus of a similar thing in a negative way when they said that He cast out demons through the power of the prince of demons. Jesus’ reply was that if that were the case, then Satan would be working against Satan, and his house could not stand.
Can you see that those who say God made the man born blind so that Jesus could come along later and heal him are making the same accusations that the Pharisees did, but against God?
Demon possession: a bad thing. Jesus casting the demon out: a good thing. Purpose: to give Jesus good publicity so people would follow Him. In the Pharisees’ thinking Jesus was trying to deceive the people to think He was good.
Making a man born blind: a bad thing. “Well, God had a purpose in it”. Now you’re talking about purpose, not the thing itself. What if it were your child, and it was born blind? Would you consider that a bad thing or a good thing? People have accused God of things, that if it were anyone besides God, they would agree were the acts of a monster.
“But there are examples in the Bible where God struck people with blindness.” Yes there are, several. But those were always cases of judgment, and Jesus made it perfectly clear that the man being born blind was not a case of judgment when He said neither the man nor his parents sinned.
So let’s continue: Making a man born blind: a bad thing. Jesus healing the man: a good thing. Purpose: to give Jesus good publicity so people would follow Him. So that is the same thing the Pharisees have accused Jesus of, except now God is cast in the role the devil was. Basically they are saying the end justifies the means, and it’s OK because God did it.
However, they are forgetting Acts 10:38:
Acts 10:38 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
Jesus went about healing people who were oppressed by the devil, not oppressed by God.
Lazarus
John 11:1-15 1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.
7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?”
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”
12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.”
13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.
14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.
15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”
Verse 4, “this sickness is not unto death” can be more clearly rendered as “the end result of this sickness will not be death.” Jesus knew at the very beginning what He was to do. “But for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified in it.” It is very plain that God did have a plan for Lazarus’ sickness.
Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was sick, and their intentions were quite clear: come and heal him. Furthermore, it was stated that Jesus had a relationship with Lazarus. And what did He do? He stayed where He was for two days. This was not typical of Jesus. We see many examples where Jesus went off with people immediately who came for Him in behalf of someone sick at home.
Why did He wait? Well, we know that Jesus only did as He was instructed by the Father to do, so it must have been the Father that told Him to stay put. Then, after two days, Jesus says it was time to go to Lazarus. Again, He is being led by the Spirit.
The disciples protest that the last time He was in Judea the Jews tried to stone Him. Perhaps they had reasoned this as why Jesus didn’t go to Lazarus when He was first called. Now they are surprised when He says, “Let’s go.” Notice He also uses similar terminology as He did in John 9 concerning the man born blind, about walking in the day and not stumbling in the night. Jesus was talking about being led; He was being led by the Light of the Holy Spirit, and not by the darkness, or the fear of the Jews.
“Lazarus is asleep and I go to wake Him”. Jesus used similar terminology when He went to raise Jairus’ daughter: “She is not dead, only sleeping”. That is the difference between a dead and a sleeping person. The sleeping person wakes up.
The disciples didn’t understand what Jesus meant, and He had to explain to them that Lazarus was dead. This was a Word of Knowledge, Jesus had not received any news from any person that Lazarus was dead. “And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.”
When Jesus arrives at Bethany, He finds that Lazarus has already been dead four days. From this you can reason out that it took at least two days for Jesus to get from wherever he was to Bethany (since He waited two days), or else that Lazarus died even before the messengers had reached Jesus, and it took them a day to get to Jesus and a day for Jesus to get back to Bethany. In either case, there is a very good chance that Lazarus would already have been dead even if Jesus had left immediately upon hearing the news.
Martha meets Him. “Lord, if You had been here my brother would not have died.” “Your brother will rise again.” And Mary, like so many, puts it off to the “great by and by”: “I know he will rise in the resurrection at the last day.”
John 11:25-26 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Martha goes and fetches Mary, and she comes to Jesus (who for whatever reason had remained in the place where Martha met Him outside the city; maybe that’s where the tomb was), and said the same words: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus saw the sisters weeping, and all the friends of Lazarus weeping, and it says He groaned within Himself. He is touched by our sorrows and the feelings of our infirmities. Even knowing that He would raise Lazarus from the dead, Jesus wept.
The four days that Lazarus had been dead has significance. In Jewish folklore, they believe that the spirit of a departed person hangs around the body for three days, and then goes off to Sheol forever as decay sets into the body. Lazarus had been dead four days, “and by now he stinketh”. It is interesting to note that the other two people Jesus raised – Jairus’ daughter and the widow’s son – had not been dead long.
You have to realize the effect that the raising of Lazarus had on people. The news went nationwide. Many of the Jews believed in Him. It caused the Jewish leaders to call a council on what to do about the “Jesus issue”, and it was there that they decided they had to kill Him. John 11:47-52.
In John 12 they throw a party for Jesus. This was when Mary, Lazarus’ sister, anointed His feet with the spikenard.
John 12:9-11 9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.
10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also,
11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.
The very next day when Jesus entered Jerusalem, it was Palm Sunday where they spread palms branches on the road before Him and cried out “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Can you see what an effect this act had? And you’re saying your sickness is for the glory of God? Maybe after you are healed in a documented miracle that goes nationwide and you are on all the talk shows giving your testimony and people are getting saved by the thousands because of it, maybe then you have the right to say your sickness was to bring God glory.
