BY GREG CRUM
PASTOR, CALVARY TEMPLE
“And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.” Luke 6:17-19
Jesus is the cure for all that ails humanity. We could stop right there and just ponder on that for days and be the better for it. In fact, that would probably be the best thing that many of us could do because in doing so, we might just begin to see the truth the way the early followers of the Lord did and realize that there is still healing power in the name of Jesus. Maybe then our dependency on him would grow and overcome the dependency we have placed on man and his inventions.
Last week we wrote of God’s medicine, a virtue or healing power mentioned all throughout the Gospels that can heal spirit, soul and body. We said that God has intended for this medicine to be available to His children any time they would need it and that this medicine can bring relief from pain and cure any sickness and any disease. We left off stating that this medicine from God, the very same substance that the “multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem” came to receive, is always going to lead to our best cure—there’s never going to be a better alternative.
Now, if this is so, and you’d have to insert a lot of modern ideology into sound Biblical interpretation to believe it wasn’t, but if this is so, why are way too many Christians sick and afflicted? If God’s medicine is so good and so readily available, why isn’t it having the same effect it was 2,000 years ago? Well, there are several reasons for sure, but the biggest reason is because modern Christians trust in the alternative more than the original. Instead of looking to Jesus, the one who is anointed with the “Dunamis” power of God to heal all that are oppressed, we’ve looked to everything else. How’s that working out for us? Yeah, you’re correct, not well.
Think for a few moments about what you’ve read in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. (You have read those, haven’t you?) We read of thousands of people doing whatever they could to get to Jesus and touch him. Why? They knew that there was a power that was coming out of him that was acting as a medicine to cure the physical ailment they had. They weren’t looking for the ancient equivalent of an injection, just a touch from the master—and the Holy Ghost administered all that was needed! Mind you, this wasn’t because there were no doctors available in that day; there were (the Bible mentions physicians). It was because what Jesus had was so much better. Friends, even with all the assumed advancements in the medical field over the years between then and now, Jesus’ medicine is still way better.
Brothers and sisters, let me challenge you to consider again what you believe about the healing power of God. His medicine is a cure-all, and all we need to do to get it is to do what those people did all those years ago when the Lord walked the Earth: touch Jesus. “What? How can we do that today, the Lord is no longer walking among us?” some would say.
You can still touch him, friend. Didn’t you touch him when you asked him to be your Savior? Sure you did! How did you do that? By your faith! We can still touch Jesus with our faith, and that faith in his healing power can cause virtue to flow into your body through the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within us. Let’s make better use of the sacrifice that Jesus was for us. Let’s enjoy all the benefits of the Gospel and depend on God for our health as well as our home in Glory.
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely.