Spiritual Healing

Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to His own town. Some men brought to Him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven. At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So He said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Then the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man. (Matthew 9:1-8 NIV)

Some friends brought a paralyzed man to Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, He forgave the man's sins. Wait. What? The man is paralyzed, and Jesus forgives his sins? How can Jesus overlook the man's obvious need? What's going on here?

Jesus knows the human heart. I believe He zeroed in on the man's sins because they were at the root of his physical paralysis. There is a powerful connection between our body, mind and spirit. What affects one part affects the other two. When I grieve the loss of a family member (emotional effect) I can feel exhausted by the grief (physical effect) and I can, in my pain, shake my fist at God and blame Him for the loss (spiritual effect).

The pain and guilt of deep sin can cause physical symptoms. The medical community calls this conversion disorder, which is "a condition where a mental health issue disrupts how your brain works. This causes real, physical symptoms that a person can't control. Symptoms can include seizures, weakness or paralysis, or reduced input from one or more symptoms (sight, sound, etc.)."

So Jesus sets the man free spiritually in order to set him free physically. But before He can tell the man he is free to get up and walk, the teachers of the Law freak out. “This fellow is blaspheming!” Their default was 1--only God can forgive sin. 2--this Jesus just dared to forgive the man's sin. 3--therefore He claimed God's place and committed blasphemy. They got it half right. Only God can forgive sin because all sin is ultimately against Him and His holiness. Jesus acted as God in granting the man forgiveness. But it was not blasphemy, because in fact, Jesus was God-in-flesh-and-blood.

Jesus reads people. He knew what the teachers of the Law were thinking about this being blasphemy. So He speaks to them: “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Jesus wanted them to know He had the authority to forgive sin. To prove that authority, He then healed the man physically.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the source of spiritual healing in our lives. He is the One who can pronounce us "not guilty" and remove the shame and pain of our sin, giving us peace with God (Romans 5:1) and the peace that surpasses all human comprehension (Philippians 4:7) in our hearts. The night I gave my life to Jesus when I was 15 years old, the clearest sign of the spiritual forgiveness and healing that took place in that moment was a sense of deep peace that washed over me. Like the old spiritual song, There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead to cure the sin-sick soul.

Jesus knows that we can be paralyzed by our sin, even if figuratively, rather than physically. Without the assurance of our salvation the Holy Spirit gives, we can be so ashamed and feel so guilty that we come to believe we are damaged goods and could never make a difference for the Kingdom of God. We think to ourselves, "God could never use me. I've... (fill in the blank with the sin we're ashamed of). The enemy of our soul, Satan, is an accuser. His accusations are designed to keep us from living the life of freedom and victory Jesus gives. That's the big reason why we need the spiritual healing of Jesus to be set free to be the gracious, loving, effective bearers of the image of God we were created to be.

A disclaimer: not all physical illnesses have spiritual causes. Sometimes we just get exposed to the germs and get the flu. Sometimes we find ourselves with an illness that is genetic and happens to people who have the parents and grandparents who also have the condition. Being the grandson of alcoholic grandparents, my genetics are predisposed to addiction. That's not because I sinned some awful sin. It's a biological fact.

The good news is that Jesus can heal it all - spiritual illness, physical illness, emotional illness. He can bring us to healing through all kinds of brokenness. Sometimes He intervenes directly and supernaturally, like with this paralyzed man. Sometimes He works through our body's own immune system, like recovering from the flu. And sometimes He uses medication and therapies and surgery. He is not limited to any one form of healing.

Jesus heals from guilt and sin. He forgives us to the uttermost. That's the work He did when He died as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world on that cross outside Jerusalem. Whether sin and guilt are causing physical symptoms or not, we can come to Jesus to receive healing and health for our soul. And that is indeed Good News!