From “Standing by the Poor’s Side” to the “Healing of Life”

1. Standing by the Poor’s Side

In the New Testament, discourses on God’s compassion and loving care for the poor constitute a central thought in the gospel of God’s kingdom. According to the gospel of Jesus Christ, God stands beside the oppressed poor. This care for the poor gives a glimpse of the coming of God’s kingdom.

Jesus challenged those who are wealthy but lack of love and encouraged them to share their wealth. When a rich young man asked Jesus how he could inherit eternal life, Jesus told him to sell all that he had and distribute it to the poor (Lk 18:18-25). He also encouraged people to lend to those who could never be able to repay the debt (Lk 6:34-35). Jesus even warned those rich people who did not care for the poor that they would receive eternal punishment (Mt 25:31-46).

Besides challenging the rich, Jesus went to be with the poor and to stand beside them. He fed the hungry and healed the sick. Jesus Christ declared: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.” (Lk 6:20-21)

However, there is no suggestion that Jesus cares more for the poor than he does for the rich, or that any evangelistic effort must begin by “standing beside the poor.” The admonishment to care for the poor does not imply there is a dichotomy between the poor and the non-poor. Nor does it suggest that we should ignore the rich. In fact, God cares for everyone and desires that everyone will receive Christ’s salvation and the joy of the newly created life.

The rich are also the target of God’s compassion. The statement of “God standing beside the poor” is to remind the disciples and the society not to ignore the poor who cannot speak up for themselves. It is too often the case that those who lead a comfortable life concern only their own well-being and seldom, if ever, care for the poor. Moreover, man’s sinful nature makes us all liable inadvertently to ignore or even deliberately oppress the poor. Therefore, the people of God’s kingdom must make a conscious effort to stand beside the poor. The practice of “standing beside the poor” is a worthy standard by which to assess the mission of any Christian individual or of any Christian church.

2. The Healing of Life

The healing ministry of Jesus Christ is also a sign of God’s kingdom. When the disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus whether he was the Messiah of God’s kingdom, he replied that his preaching and his miraculous healing are signs of God’s kingdom. Jesus’ miraculous healing includes his healing of the blind, the lame, and the lepers. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is described as the healing Messiah who can bring God’s kingdom to man (Mt 11:2-6, 12:28). We can therefore say that God’s kingdom has already come through the healing ministry of Jesus Christ.

Holistic Healing

Jesus’ healing involves the whole person, the body and the soul. Jesus healed a woman who had for twelve years had a flow of blood (Lk 8:43-48). In her illness she suffered anemia, physical weakness, and infertility. In her society, she was regarded as unclean (Lev 15:19-30) and whatever and whomever she touched were considered unclean. She would have probably been abandoned by her husband, her family, and friends. Her soul would have been sad, filled with depression and anger. She may have nursed an unspoken rage against God. Certainly, her spiritual life was severed from God because she was an unclean person who was forbidden to worship in the Temple.

When that woman heard about Jesus Christ, she was determined to find him hoping that she would be healed. She took the risk to get into the crowd in order to reach Jesus. If she was caught, she would face the danger of being stoned to death. According to the religious and cultural norms at that time, women with a flow of blood are forbidden to touch any man who is not related by birth or marriage. Yet, she knew that to touch Jesus was her only hope. The moment she touched Jesus’ robe, she knew that she was cured. She was about to leave at once when Jesus stopped her and asked her to stand before him.

When the woman heard what Jesus Christ had demanded of her, she would probably be in great fear that Jesus was going to reprimand her. What this woman was about to experience was Jesus’ holistic healing that goes beyond her physical recovery from sickness. Jesus blessed her by saying, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” When the woman heard Jesus calling her “daughter,” it was as if she was being told, “You can come to my house. You are clean, and have been made whole.” Jesus Christ delivered her from pain and suffering in his presence and with his words and action.

Liberating Those Who Are Bound

In another case, Jesus Christ showed his loving kindness by healing a crippled woman (Lk 13:10-17). At that time, the synagogue was ruled by a Pharisee who believed that God would not heal the sick on the Sabbath. Yet, Jesus was determined to heal this woman and he told her directly, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” When Jesus laid his hands on her, she was healed and could immediately straighten up. When compared with the woman with a flow of blood who reached out to touch Jesus, this crippled woman was passive. It was Jesus who took the initiative to touch her pain and suffering. He then healed her and asked her to stand up straight.

The synagogue ruler was indignant at what he saw. But Jesus was quick to point out his false pretence: “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” Jesus’ message was clear: “This woman is a human, not an animal, and is a daughter of Abraham. For eighteen years, Satan had bound her and bent her over. As a result, she could not straighten up to walk, to look up at the sky, and could not look others straight in the eye. If man can show compassion to a donkey by leading it out and giving it water, why cannot God set Abraham’s daughter free on the Sabbath? This woman is a human worthy to be healed even on the Sabbath.”

Jesus Christ crossed the cultural and religious boundaries to restore this woman’s identity as “Abraham’s daughter.” As a result, she was healed, experienced God’s salvation and life transformation within the community of God’s people.

In examining the healing events, we will come to the understanding that healing is related to salvation when we trace the etymology of salvation. The Latin word salus for salvation means healing and wholeness. Another meaning of salvation is to set free, that is to set free all those bound by the Evil One. Those who were described in the New Testament as demon possessed were like psychiatric patients, unable to extricate themselves from their bondage. Neither could they lead a normal life. Their lives fell into deep despair with no hope of recovery. They are like those who have fallen into a trap. Some have given up on their health while some would rather remain in bondage than seeking freedom. These are the people whom Jesus Christ desires to set free.

As both sickness and falling into captivity are the same thing, what salvation does is to heal the sick and set the captives free. The Evil One has the power to make a person a captive, separating this person from eternal life and from health. God is man’s only redeemer, the only one with the authority to overcome the power of the Evil One. Whenever the power to hold a person captive is restrained, that person can be fully healed and redeemed. In other words, all salvation and healing come from God, the source of eternal life. Those in captivity cannot set themselves free; those who are sick cannot heal themselves.

The Messiah’s Kingdom Is the Kingdom of Healing and Liberation

If the church can understand the relationship between salvation and sickness, then faith and healing will no longer be treated as separate experiences. In that “already but not yet” kingdom, the Holy Spirit can strengthen the church’s healing ministry that helps people to face life’s suffering and sicknesses in the light of Christ’s salvation. On the one hand, God’s kingdom is a reality in the eschaton (end time). The grace of God’s salvation is infinite. It is He who conquers the power of the Evil One; it is He who is the healer. In God’s kingdom, the healing is thorough and it is perfect. There is no sickness, suffering or death in His kingdom. God’s power of redemption manifests itself in a person’s life.

On the other hand, healing is part of life of the church. When healing takes place, it signifies that God’s kingdom and salvation “has come into the church.” However, God’s kingdom is not the church. God’s kingdom will not be fully fulfilled in this generation. In God’s kingdom, we can see many witnesses of God’s healing and other people can experience God’s power of healing and liberation in their lives. To be healers, we ourselves must first experience redemption. If people are willing to cry out to Jesus Christ for salvation, they can then experience the power of healing and can receive God’s gift of new life──a new life reconciled with God, with oneself, with other people, and with the world.

As pastors, we all believe that a healed life is a life that the Lord has redeemed, a life that has been set free from the evil one by the Lord’s authority. This is the hope of the pastor; it is the hope of the pastor when he fixes his eyes on eternity. In this way, we submit to Jesus Christ’s calling, claiming the assurance of Christ’s continued presence. We then live out our lives as disciples who seek to sacrifice ourselves for the good of others. As we follow Jesus Christ closely, we immerse ourselves in other people’s suffering and commit ourselves to bring healing to their lives. We desire to be priests called by God and empowered to help others. As priests, we bring healing to people’s lives; as healers, we set them free.

In conclusion, salvation is not only God’s redemption of the poor but it also relates closely to healing. The healing of Jesus Christ and his instruction to his disciples come to provide an important model for today’s churches. Healing is central to the gospel, since healing is a powerful demonstration of God’s salvation. This healing has profound meaning and can only be understood within the framework of God’s kingdom. When the church lives out a life of healing, it declares and affirms clearly that indeed Jesus Christ’s “messianic kingdom has begun.” Jesus Christ’s kingdom is a kingdom of healing and liberation.

(Scriptural quotations are taken from the NIV Bible.)

May 2013