CHRIST'S HEALING MINISTRY

Jesus was not constrained by a specified approach or method in His healing ministry. In many cases, He simply spoke and a person's health was restored ...

As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. Luke 17:12-14 

Yet Scripture tells us that on three separate occasions, the Lord used His 'spit' in the process ...

1. Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” Immediately his ears were opened, and the [a]impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. Mark 7:32-35

2. So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.” Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. Mark 8:23-25

3. He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. John 9:6-7

It is believed that the reason Jesus used His spittle had to do with the culture of His day. Several Roman writers and Jewish rabbis believed saliva had healing properties. So Christ offered a physical action to communicate His intentions ... which raised expectations and increased their faith in what was about to take place. 

There was no sickness or infirmity that Jesus could not heal. Significantly, the details of each miracle varied slightly ... 

Guzik - He healed with a word, healed without a word, healed in response to one’s faith, healed in response to the faith of another, healed those who asked, and healed those He approached. Jesus didn’t want to be tied down to any “one method” to show that His power was of God.

This eliminates confidence in any one technique or 'modus operandi'. Healing was never the product of any talisman, amulet, spell, or process. 

Today, there are so-called 'faith healers' who prey on those who suffer from a disease or infirmity. If these false prophets proclaim that they heal through the same power and in the same way that Jesus did. If so, we should be able to see marked similarities between them. 

But we don't ... 

Christ's healing of leprosy, blindness, and paralysis were miracles that were instant and verifiable. They did not require faith as a precondition. In fact, most of the people He healed were unbelievers. (Think of those who were children, demon-possessed, or raised from the dead) 

It is appropriate to pray for healing however, we must always defer to God’s judgment. Often we do not know what is best for us or what fits into His larger plan. 

There is no evidence in Scripture that it is always the Lord’s will to heal. In fact, we have plenty of examples of God not healing individuals. Sometimes we are allowed to suffer hardship or illness so that we might have a higher level of 'spiritual' health than we would otherwise attain.