There is real sense of joy and peace that can come from knowing and believing what we learned this past Sunday – that Jesus has authority over bodies and diseases and demons and the weather and, most importantly, authority to forgive our sins. But there is a nagging question that can come up when we recognize Jesus’ authority: If Jesus has authority over every disease, then why doesn’t he heal me?
The idea that Jesus could heal us all, but chooses not to, is not simply a misguided inference drawn from reading about his miraculous healings. It is a point that is actually made in the text itself, in Matthew 8. In verse 2, a leper falls down (in honor) before Jesus and says, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” In other words, it was not Jesus’ ability to heal leprosy that was in doubt; it was Jesus’ willingness to use that ability in that particular situation. Jesus was able to heal the man. But was He willing to heal him?
In that case, Jesus was willing. “Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (Matt 8:3). Jesus was willing to heal the man, so he was immediately healed. As we continued through Matthew 8-9, we saw that Jesus has authority over every kind of disease and sickness, over demons, and even over the weather. There is no question about Jesus’ authority. If He wants to heal someone, He doesn’t have to ask anyone’s permission and nobody can overrule Him.
So…this means that if we – you or I or a loved one – go unhealed, it is never because Jesus can’t heal them. It is always because Jesus won’t heal them – because Jesus chooses not to. And this is where the big question comes up: If Jesus can heal me, why would He not heal me?
Let me begin by saying that I will share a number of possible answers to this question. But in a particular situation, we must be very slow to settle on a particular answer. God’s ways are beyond our understanding. So even if we think we understand why He chooses leave someone unhealed, we cannot be sure. With that being said, here are some possible answers.
1. For good. Romans 8:28 tells us that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” This is a pretty general statement. But it does make it clear that if God leaves someone unhealed, it is for their good – in some way. God’s idea of good and ours may be very different. When a disciple of Jesus dies, we may think of it as bad. But Paul, who had a more Biblical view of things than we sometimes have, said that “to depart and be with Christ” is “very much better” than remaining on earth to work for God’s kingdom (Philippians 1:23). So would it not ultimately be “good” for a Christian when God doesn’t heal them, but allows them to depart and be with Christ?
2. For punishment. This is a possibility (not an absolute) when a non-Christian is not healed by Jesus. Sickness and death were not part of God’s original creation. And they won’t be part of the new heavens and the new earth. So sickness and death are properly understood as part of God’s punishment for our sin. For a Christian (a true disciple of Jesus), Jesus has taken our whole punishment and any suffering we do is not punishment, but could be discipline. But for someone whose punishment has not been placed on Jesus, their sickness could be part of their punishment. But we would hope that rather than punishment, it would be the next reason (#3).
3. To lead us to repentance and dependence on Him. I was struck by the number of pastors in Sierra Leone who came to faith in Jesus as the result of some sickness that they had experienced. There isn’t anything quite like facing the reality of our own death to get us to take seriously our need for forgiveness. Some people, if they are always healthy, will never feel the need to prepare themselves for death.
4. To lead others to repentance and dependence on Him. In some cases, it is not a person’s own sickness, but that of someone else, that causes them to face the prospect of their own death. This may not sound fair to the sick person who remains unhealed. But since Jesus has suffered so that salvation might come to you, would you not count it a privilege to suffer in order that salvation might come to someone else?
5. To direct our circumstances so that His purposes and plans will be carried out. This is related to the previous possible answer. Sometimes, we wouldn’t end up being where God wants us to be or doing what God wants us to do, except that He allows us to experience some kind of sickness. Sickness is a powerful way to direct our paths. In fact, the apostle Paul first preached the Gospel in Galatia “because of a bodily illness” (Galatians 4:13). Some missionaries I talked to recently ended up changing mission fields due to an illness. Jesus could have healed the sickness. But He allowed it to continue and directed their paths elsewhere.
6. To allow someone else to demonstrate God’s grace as they care for us. Robertson McQuilken is a well-known Christian leader who “had” to step down from leading Columbia International University in order to care for his wife who has Alzheimer ’s disease. (You can listen to a two-minute clip of him explaining his decision here.) There is something very powerful about his love for his wife – and about anyone’s love when they sacrifice to care for a loved one – that can open a hardened heart to consider the love of God. I’m willing to bet that Christians who have cared for loved ones in this way have been a significant reason that some people have believed the Gospel and been saved from their sins. (If this doesn’t seem fair, see number 4 above.)
7. To help us know that God’s grace is enough for us. The apostle Paul, after seeing a glorious vision, was given what he called a “thorn in the flesh” to keep him from exalting himself (2 Corinthians 12:7). This “thorn” was some kind of bodily illness, possibly a vision problem. He prayed that God would remove it, but God did not. Instead, God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). I need to spend more time meditating on this statement. But I can at least say that God allowed Paul to remain weakened by this illness so that neither Paul, nor anyone else, would make the mistake of thinking that Paul was adequate for the task God had called him to or that he could perform that task on his own. When we are strong, we may not feel that we need God. We may think that the strength God gives us is our own strength. So God may leave us weak, so that we depend on Him and learn that even when we are weak, He is strong. He will work in and through us to accomplish His purposes. His grace is enough.
8. To help us put our hope in the future, in God’s eternal kingdom, rather than in this life. Even though we “know” that eternity is a very long time and that this life is incredibly short by comparison, we still tend to put our hope in this life – in maximizing our comfort and pleasure in this life. This is a terrible mistake – one that can keep people out of the kingdom of God – since the kind of faith that Jesus calls His disciples to live out requires that they believe that the kingdom of heaven is far more valuable than the best that this life has to offer (see the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7). If everything is going well, it becomes even easier to focus on this life, rather than the next one – the eternal one. So Jesus may sometimes choose to leave us unhealed so that we don’t make the mistake of putting our hope in the enjoyment of this life. When we suffer, we are reminded that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18), so that we rejoice more in forgiveness than in healing.
This may not be the most complete list of possible answers to the question: Why would Jesus be unwilling to heal me? But it is a start. If you have been praying for Jesus to heal you or someone you love, but He has not chosen to answer that prayer, please know that there are good reasons – reasons that are good for you and for others – why He has chosen to give this answer at this time. Keep praying. But don’t let your hope be simply for this life. Instead, “fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).
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