When God Doesn't Heal

A look at how Jesus and the disciples heal and a discussion on whether supernatural healing still exists today.

[Watch the Video]

Outline:

• Introduction
• Death Was Promised
• Jesus Healed by Forgiving Sins
• Sickness For God’s Glory
• Authority Given to the Disciples
• Conclusion

Scripture:

• Romans 6:23
• Luke 7:46-50
• Luke 5:19-25
• Mark 6:4-6 (NASB)
• John 9: 1- 3
• John 20:22-23
• Mark 6:7;13
• Acts 3:3-6

Introduction

Could Jesus forgive sins before He was resurrected?

• Could the disciples forgive sins?

Did the Disciples / Apostles pray for people to heal them?

Review

God’s Responses to Prayer

1. Yes
2. No
3. Wait
4. Direction / Guidance / Clarity
5. Silence

When God is Silent

1. When Biblical Promises Don’t Come True
2. When God Doesn’t Heal

Does God Still Heal?

I wish sometimes that we had the power that the apostles had

• Peter’s shadow healed people (Acts 5:15)
• Paul’s handkerchief healed people (Acts 19:12)

Does supernatural healing still exist today?

Stories: supernatural healing (on video)

• mom died 9 times and came back to life
• mom lived because son kicked her in the stomach
• breast cancer healed

Death Was Promised

The Penalty of Sin

What is the penalty for sin?

Romans 6:23

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Death is a promise

• This was promised after Adam’s sin
• Death is not the penalty of a specific “big sin” but the consequence of being a sinner 
• If we have ever sinned we are destined to die at some point. 
• We do not get to determine when that time is

Aging, sickness and disease are the process which God has put into place to accomplish this promise.

Death is God keeping His promise

Jesus Healed by Forgiving Sins

Could Jesus forgive sins before His death and resurrection?

Luke 7:46-50

46 "You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume.

47 "For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little."

48 Then He said to her, "Your sins have been forgiven."

49 Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this man who even forgives sins?"

50 And He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved [sozo] you; go in peace."

Yes, Jesus forgave sins prior to His death and resurrection

Healing Was a Sign that Sins Were Forgiven

Is there a link between forgiving of sin and healing?

Luke 5:19-25

19But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. 20Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” 21The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” 22But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23“Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24“But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” 25 Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.

• His sins were forgiven because Jesus saw their faith
• Notice that the faith of the man’s friends is mentioned  as well

What did they have faith in?

• That Jesus was the Messiah

Why did Jesus heal the man?

24 “ so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...get up”

• So they would know that Jesus could forgive sins
• So they would know that Jesus was the Son of Man – the Messiah

What happened

• The healing was a sign
• The healing proved that Jesus had the authority on earth to forgive sins
• The healing wasn’t just because the man had been good
• The healing wasn’t just about the man’s faith

The main reason that Jesus healed was to prove that He had authority to forgive sins

This meant that He had authority over Satan

The main reason that Jesus healed was to prove He was the Messiah

God Got the Glory

The man “went home glorifying God”

Notice that the result of the miracle was that the man gave glory to God

God receiving glory is a big reason for the signs

It wasn’t about the healed person

The miracles were to bring God glory not to fulfill the desires of the faithful

• Not to ease suffering
• Not to prevent mourning 

The faith of the man was not the reason why Jesus healed him

• It was actually the reason why Jesus could heal him

Without Faith Jesus Couldn’t Heal

If a person had faith that Jesus was the Messiah He could forgive their sins which would heal their disease

Jesus Couldn’t Heal in His Hometown

He couldn’t heal when He went to Nazareth

Mark 6:4-6 (NASB)

4Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” 5And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6And He wondered at their unbelief.

      And He was going around the villages teaching.

The people from Jesus’ hometown knew Him before He was walking in His gifting so they were not able to accept the “new” Jesus

Summary

• Jesus healed people by forgiving their sins
• The ability to forgive sins proved that He was the Messiah
• Jesus only forgave the sins of those who had faith that He was the Messiah

Note: there are weather conditions under which Jesus can heal…

Sickness For God’s Glory

John 9: 1- 3

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

• The disciples assumed that the man’s blindness was caused by sin
• The blind man didn’t ask to be healed
• We don’t know if He had even heard about Jesus

Two types of sickness / disease / ailment

1. That which is caused by sin
2. That which will give God glory

Disease Caused by Sin

• Healing involves forgiveness of sins
• Healing is achieved by someone’s faith

Disease Caused For God’s Glory

• Not necessarily caused because of sin
• Healing doesn’t require faith of the believer
• Healing does not require the forgiveness of sin

Example: Job

You May be sick not because you’re out of God’s will, but because you’re in it 

Authority Given to the Disciples

The Disciples healed...does that mean that they could forgive sins?

The Disciples Could Forgive Sins

This occurs after the resurrection

John 20:22-23

22And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23“If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

• Does this mean the disciples could forgive sins?
• Is this a promise to us too?

This is when they first received the Holy Spirit

• Not at Pentecost
• This is where they were indwelt by the Holy Spirit

The forgiving of sin was linked to believing that Jesus was the Messiah

Authority Over Demons

I always thought the disciples healing and casting out demons was a result of the impartation of the holy spirit

• That doesn’t seem to be the case
• They could do that before the impartation

Mark 6:7;13

7And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits;

...

13And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

• They cast out demons with the authority given by Jesus
• They cast out demons “in the name of Jesus”

Not a Spiritual Gift

• This is before the Holy Spirit had come
• The oil represents the Holy Spirit

In The Name of Jesus

They cast out demons and healed “in the name of Jesus”

Acts 3:3-6

3When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. 4But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!” 5And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!”

Did they pray for healing?

• No they commanded it in the name of Jesus
• The apostles never prayed for healing
• They either cast out the demons in the name of Jesus

Performing Signs and Wonders

The healing and casting out demons done by the disciples was

• Done in the authority of Jesus
• Was not done through prayer
• Was done as signs

The apostles healed as a sign that Jesus was the Messiah

• Not because they would miss the person if they died
• Not just to heal the sick person
• It was to glorify God

Summary

When the disciples healed

• They commanded healing and deliverance in the name of Jesus
• The signs and miracles were intended to prove that Jesus was the Messiah
• They didn’t heal because of the relationship they had with the sick person

Note:  This is not to say that we shouldn’t pray for healing for ourselves and our loved ones

• It is just pointing out that our motives and circumstances may be different than the apostle’s

Conclusion

We are susceptible to sickness and disease because of Adam’s fall

When Jesus or the apostles healed

• The result was that God got the glory
• Their signs and miracles were intended to prove that Jesus was the Messiah

• It wasn’t about them or the healed person

If your goal is for God to get the glory the question is how can God get the most glory

My Daddy’s Funeral

• Brother worked at Paramount
• Many of his Hollywood coworkers came to the church to support him
• Some were atheist and hadn’t been to church
• Others said it was the best Church service that they have ever seen  

• It was a celebration of life.

My Mother’s Funeral

• church split
• Family split

Helping Someone Else

God may get the most glory because now that you have gone through a loss you can relate to and help someone else through it

It’s hard, but we want to pray that whatever will give God the most glory be done

Ask God to be with you as you go through it 

Instructor: Michael Leadon

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References

Your Sins Are Forgiven

https://www.gotquestions.org/your-sins-are-forgiven.html

When God Doesn’t Heal

https://youtu.be/kmR7IwipcRc

Extra

Death Was Promised

The Bible says that God warned Adam about eating the forbidden fruit: 

Genesis 2:17

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

Genesis 3:3

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.

Did they actually die when they ate the forbidden fruit? The Bible says that they did not physically die the moment they ate the fruit but lived on many years afterward. Is this a contradiction? The answer is, No. There are several ways in which to understand the sense in which Adam and Eve died.

As Surely As You Eat of It

Idiomatic Expression

The phrase “the day you eat of it” is simply a Hebrew idiom meaning as surely as you eat of it. Other biblical examples are provided to show what the phrase means in other contexts. 

1 Kings 2:37

For it shall be, on the day you go out and cross the Brook Kidron, know for certain you shall surely die; your blood shall be on your head.

As Certain As

In both of these passages, the expression in the day means simply as certain as. If we apply this to Genesis 2:17 we do not need to explain that Adam and Eve experienced death that very same day they ate the forbidden fruit, but rather their death sentence was something for certain.

Jesus Healed By Forgiving Sins

Angel of the Lord

Exodus 23: 20-21

20“Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21“Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him.