CHAPTER I.PARDON AND HEALING
"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"(Matthew 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" (Psalm 103:2-3).
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" (Isaiah 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" (Matthew 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," [Matthew 9:5]
after which He adds, "Arise, take up thy bed and go." 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 (Matthew 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, O
my soul.., Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, Who healeth all thy
diseases" (Psalm 103:2-3).
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