“But that ye may
know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins (then saith he to
the sick of the palsy), Arise, take up thy bed and go unto thine house” (Matt.
9:6).
In man two
natures are combined. He is at the same time spirit and matter, heaven and
earth, soul and body. For this reason, on one side he is the son of God, and on
the other he is doomed to destruction because of the Fall; sin in his soul and
sickness in his body bear witness to the right which death has over him. It is
the twofold nature which has been redeemed by divine grace. When
the Psalmist calls upon all that is
within him to
bless the Lord
for His benefits, he cries,
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, who . . . forgiveth all thine iniquities, who
healeth all thy diseases” (Ps. 103: 3).
When Isaiah
foretells the deliverance of his people,
he adds, “The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick; the people that dwell
therein shall be forgiven their iniquity” (Isa. 33:24). This prediction was accomplished beyond all anticipation when
Jesus the Redeemer came down to this earth. How numerous were the healings wrought
by Him who was come to establish upon earth the kingdom of heaven! Whether by
His own acts or whether afterwards by the commands which He left for His
disciples, does He not show us clearly that the preaching of the Gospel and the
healing of the sick went together in the salvation which He came to bring? Both
are given as evident proof of His mission as the Messiah: “The blind receive
their sight and the lame walk.., and the poor have the Gospel preached to them”
(Matt. 11: 5). Jesus, who took upon Him the soul and body of man, delivers both
in equal measure from the consequences of sin.
This truth is
nowhere more evident or better demonstrated than in the history of the
paralytic.The Lord Jesus begins by saying to him, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” after which He
adds, “Arise and walk.” The pardon of sin and the healing of sickness
complete one the other, for in the eyes of God,who sees our entire nature, sin
and sickness are as closely united as the body and the soul. In accordance with
the Scriptures, our Lord Jesus has regarded sin and sickness in another light
than we have. With us sin belongs to the spiritual domain; we recognize that it
is under God’s just displeasure, justly condemned by Him, while sickness, on
the contrary, seems only a part of the present condition of our nature, and to
have nothing to do with God’s condemnation and His righteousness.Some go so far
as to say that sickness is a proof of the love and grace of God.
But neither the Scripture nor yet
Jesus Christ Himself ever spoke of sickness in this light, nor do they ever
present sickness as a blessing, as a proof of God’s love which should be borne
with patience. The Lord spoke to the disciples of divers sufferings which they
should have to bear, but when He speaks of sickness, it is always as of an evil
caused by sin and Satan, and from which we should be delivered. Very solemnly
He declared that every disciple of His would have to bear his cross (Matt.
16:24), but He never taught one sick person to resign himself to be sick.
Everywhere Jesus healed the sick, everywhere He dealt with healing as one of
the graces belonging to the kingdom of heaven. Sin in the soul and sickness in
the body both bear witness to the power of Satan, and “the Son of God was
manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8).
Jesus came to
deliver men from sin and sickness that He might make known the love of the
Father. In His actions, in His teaching of the disciples, in the work of the
apostles, pardon and healing are always to be found together. Either the one or
the other may doubtless appear more in relief , according to the development or
the faith of those to whom they spoke. Sometimes it was healing which prepared
the way for the acceptance of forgiveness, sometimes it was forgiveness which
preceded the healing, which, coming afterwards, became a seal to it. In the early part of His ministry, Jesus
cured many of the sick, finding them ready to believe in the possibility of
their healing. In this way He sought to influence hearts to receive Himself as
He who is able to pardon sin. When He saw that the paralytic could receive
pardon at once, He began by that which was of the greatest importance;
after which came the healing which put a
seal on the pardon which had been accorded to him.
We see, by the
accounts given in the Gospels, that it was more difficult for the Jews at that
time to believe in the pardon of their sins than in divine healing.Now it is
just the contrary. The Christian Church has heard so much of the preaching of
the forgiveness of sins that the thirsty soul easily receives this message of grace; but it is not
the same with divine healing;that is rarely spoken of; the believers who have
experienced it are not many. It is true that healing is not given in this day
as in those times,to the multitudes whom Christ
healed without any previous conversion.In order to receive it, it is
necessary to begin by confession of sin and the purpose to live a holy life.
This is without doubt the reason why people find more difficulty to believe in
healing than in forgiveness;and this is also why those who receive healing
receive at the same time new spiritual blessing, feel more closely united to
the Lord Jesus,and learn to love and serve Him better. Unbelief may attempt to separate
these two gifts, but they are always united in Christ. He is always the same
Savior both of the soul and of the body,equally ready to grant pardon and
healing.The redeemed may always cry:“Bless the Lord, 0 my soul.., who forgiveth
all thine iniquities,who healeth all thy diseases” (Ps. 103:3).
