1. LESSON 7
May 17, 2015
Power over diseases and death
Golden Text
“They were all filled with awe1
and praised God. “A great prophet has
appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” (Lk 7:16)
Useful Practice
As he healed the sick and gave life to the dead, Jesus demonstrated his
messianic power and also proved the love of God for the fallen2
humanity.
Scripture Reading
Luke 4:38,39; 7: 11-17
Lk 4.38 - Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now
Simon’s mother-in-law3
was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus
to help her.
39 - So he bent4
over her and rebuked5
the fever, and it left her. She got up at
once and began to wait on them.
Lk 7.11 - Soon afterward6
, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples
and a large crowd7
went along with him.
12 - As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the
only son of his mother, and she was a widow8
. And a large crowd from the town
was with her.
13- When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
1
Medo, temor; admiração, reverência; v. amedrontar, aterrorizar, intimidar
2
Caído
3
Sogra
4
Dobrado, encurvado
5
Repreender, censurar
6
Depois, mais tarde
7
Multidão, grande grupo
8
Viúva
2. 14 - Then he went up and touched the bier9
they were carrying him on, and the
bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”
15 - The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his
mother.
16 -They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has
appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.”
17- This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding
country.
General Objective
To explain the reason why Jesus showed his power over diseases
and death.
Specific Objectives
I – TO RAISE AWARENESS10
among students that forgiveness is
therapeutic.
II – TO SHOW that compassion was one of the reasons for healing in
the ministry of Jesus.
III – TO ANALYZE the authority of Jesus to heal.
IV – TO UNDERSCORE the redemption of our body.
Introduction
Diseases, sickness and death exist as a consequence of the entry of
sin into the world. Paul says, writing to the Romans, that "just as sin en-
tered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way
death came to all people, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12). Jesus, the
Messiah promised in the Scriptures, came to deal with the problem of
sin and its consequences (Is 53:4-7; 6:1, 2). With this purpose, during
his earthly ministry, Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead (Mt 8:14-
17; Luke 7: 11-15). All evangelists, especially Luke, highlight this fact
(Luke 4:16-19).
In this lesson, we will study some biblical accounts on the authority
of the Lord to heal the sick and raise the dead.
I - DISEASES, FORGIVENESS AND HEALING
9
Esquife, ataúde, carro fúnebre
10
Consciência
3. 1. Guilt, forgiveness and healing. Jesus once told a paralyzed man
that he was forgiven, and the teachers of the law and the Pharisees
thought to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who
can forgive sins but God alone" (Luke 5:21) It was because of this
disbelief that the Lord proposed: "Which is easier: to say, ‘your sins are
forgiven, or to say, get up and walk?" (Luke 5:23).
Jesus' words took aback the city of Capernaum. Before declaring the
paralyzed man cured, Jesus first uttered a word of forgiveness. In the
context of the Old Testament, sin and diseases were interrelated
concepts (Ps 103:3). That was the popular belief of Israel in Jesus' day,
and the context shows that the paralyzed man also thought like that. The
New Testament teaching will reveal that, in fact, there is a relationship
between sin and diseases (John 5:14; James 5: 15-16). However, we
should observe that the law of cause and effect cannot always be used
to justify certain diseases or events that happen (Jn 9:1,2; Luke 13:1-5).
In Luke's narrative, Jesus, the Son of Man, showed his power by
treating the problem of the soul, removing sickness (Luke 5:24).
2. Satan's action. It is a biblical fact that every disease and sickness
exist as a result of the entry of sin into the world (Gen. 2:17). On the
other hand, Scripture also shows that there are diseases that come
because of the trial of a personal sin (1 Corinthians 5:5; 11:30) while
others, as shown by Luke, are associated with the action of Satan (Luke
13:10,11). Although not every disease can be attributed to the action of
demons, yet it was the case here. When faced with the synagogue
leader, Jesus made this truth clear (Luke 13:16). Jesus demonstrated
his power over the disease and over the one who caused it, Satan.
II - REASONS TO HEAL
1. Compassion. The Gospels show that one of the reasons for the cure
of the sick in the ministry of Jesus lay in his ability to show compassion
(Luke 5:12,13). Do you know what compassion means? According to the
Dictionary.com, it means: "a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for
another who is stricken by misfortune,accompanied by a strong desire to
alleviate the suffering". Jesus identifies himself with human suffering. He
cures the diseases because he is merciful (Mark 3:5; Mt 20:34). What
about you? In front of the sick and the needy, have you been
compassionate? We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, so that our
hearts are full of compassion for others.
2. Messianic manifestation. Luke records that in one of his visits to the
4. city of Jericho, Jesus met with a blind11
beggar12
(Luke 18:38-42). The
account reveals another reason for healing in the ministry of Jesus - the
revelation of his messianic nature. The title, "Son of David", used by the
beggar, was a clear allusion to the promised Messiah as shown in other
biblical texts (Mt 1:1; 12:23; 22:42) It was an attribution to the Messiah
for healing the sick (Is 61:1; Luke 4:18). According to Matthew, the
Messiah vicariously took up our sickness and diseases (Is 53:4,4; Mt 8:
14-17).
III - AUTHORITY TO HEAL
1. Given authority. Luke, more than all the other evangelists,
associates the person of the Holy Spirit with the healing ministry of
Jesus (Luke 4:16-18). The text of Luke 5:17 says that before the healing
of the paralyzed man in Capernaum the "power of the Lord was with him
to heal" (Luke 5:17). The word "power", from the Greek dynamis, is the
same used in Acts 1:8 to refer to the power of the Holy Spirit. Dynamis is
the Holy Spirit's power to perform miracles. Jesus healed the sick
because the anointing of the Holy Spirit was upon him. This is a
significant event in Luke's theology. He portrays Jesus as being filled
with the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1), empowered by the same Spirit to perform
miracles and also to heal the sick (Luke 4:14; 5:17).
2. Delegated authority. If on the one hand Jesus is empowered by the
Holy Spirit to perform miracles, on the other, He gives this same power
to his disciples. When the Master had called the Twelve, he gave them
power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases. He
also sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick
(Luke 9:1,2). What Jesus began to do by the power of the Holy Spirit
would continue through his followers. The Lord has delegated to the
Church the same power that was upon him (Luke 9:1,2; 10:9,18,19, Acts
1:8). Thus the Church would be empowered to fulfill13
its mission. When
the Church neglects the Third Person of the Trinity, not only it loses its
focus, but also its identity.
IV. – THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY
1. THE PRESENT KINGDOM. Jesus not only showed power over
sickness and diseases, but also about death itself (Luke 8: 53-55). One
of the aspects of the manifestation of the Kingdom of God, that is, God’s
11
Cego
12
Pedinte, mendigo
13
Cumprir
5. ruling among men, was his already present reality (Luke 17: 20,21). The
healing and resurrection of the dead attested to that (Lk 7:22). Jesus
came to destroy the power of sin and overcome death!
2. The Kingdom to come. If on the one hand we have the Kingdom of
God in its present aspect, on the other, we have its future aspect (Luke
21:31; 23:43). As we have seen, the healing of the sick and the
resurrection of the dead recorded in the Gospels showed the present
reality of the Kingdom. But the reality of the Kingdom was not
manifested in its entirety. People are still struggling14
with illnesses and
even those who were resurrected by Christ died later. The kingdom in its
fullness will only be consummated at the Second Coming of our Lord,
when we will have the redemption of our body and there will be no death
anymore (Rev. 21:4).
CONCLUSION
When he healed the sick and gave life to the dead, the Lord Jesus showed
His power over sin and its consequences. People who saw the Son of Man
perform signs and wonders exclaimed filled with awe, "God has come to help
his people" (Lk 7:16). God visited a forgotten people, who was suffering, in
need, oppressed and hopeless! Yes, the word had become flesh to participate in
human suffering. He has power to heal the physical and spiritual diseases of
mankind. (Luke 9:11).
14
Lutando