“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18).
Jesus’ work was for people. His life was one of unselfish labor on their behalf. He healed the sick and preached the way of salvation.
After His death, He commissioned His disciples to work as He worked. He said, “As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you” (John 20:21). This commission is for all of us.
“Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me’” (E.G. White, Ministry of Healing 143.3).
Jesus was the greatest Medical Missionary. Modern Medical Missionaries imitate Him as they labor for the people.
So how did Jesus labor for the people? We see many examples throughout the Gospels, and I shall highlight a few. The gospel of Mark tells us in chapter one of a demoniac who came to the synagogue. As Jesus was speaking, suddenly a cry came up from among the audience.
“Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God!” (v. 24).
Everyone was looking now. This man’s whole appearance testified that he was not in his right mind. What would Jesus do?
Jesus remained at the front of the synagogue, His face calm. “Hold thy peace, and come out of him,” he commanded (v. 25). A complete change came over the man, and the audience was amazed. “And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him” (v. 26). Unable to free himself from Satan’s power, his heart cried out and Jesus understood his cry. He restored the man’s mental health.
Today we are surrounded by a mental health crises. It is not rare for someone to deal with depression or anxiety or a host of other issues. Jesus healed people’s mental ailments and freed them from the power of Satan. He calls us to do the same. We are to reach out to others, to support them in their mental struggles, to teach them natural ways to overcome these problems, and most importantly, to show them that God can deliver them.
But Jesus’ work was not limited to mental problems. He also healed people physically. We have many examples of this, but a few stand out to me. Consider the story of the leper found in Matthew 8,
“And behold, there came a leper and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (vv. 2,3).
This man was the perfect example of a societal outcast. He was considered to be under the judgments of God. Considering how contagious leprosy was, no one wanted to be anywhere near him. Yet notice how Jesus interacted with him. He put forth His hand and touched him. Jesus came near to him. He physically touched this man and provided him healing. This is the work of Medical Missionaries. They are to reach out and touch the world around them to bring healing to it. The appropriate physical touch breaks down barriers.
Today though, we generally do not have the ability to supernaturally heal people. So what is the best method to bring healing? Jesus gave us an example in this when He healed the man who was blind from birth. This story is found in John 9. One day, when Jesus was walking, He saw a man born blind. The disciples ask Him, “Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” (v.2). Jesus replied,
“Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of Him that sent Me,” While it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (vv. 3-5).
He then stooped down, spit in the dirt, and made clay. I am sure the disciples must have watched curiously. This was not how Jesus typically went about healing. He took this clay and placed it on the eyes of the blind man. He then sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The Bible tells us that the blind man “went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing” (v. 7).
Sister White comments on this story:
“The cure could have been wrought only by the power of the Great Healer, yet Christ made use of the simple agencies of nature. While He did not give countenance to drug medication, He sanctioned the use of simple and natural remedies” (MH 233.1).
Medical Missionary work is more than just pushing medications. It is curing the root cause, just like Jesus did, with as natural of remedies as possible. Many drugs don’t cure the disease, they just change its form by only treating the symptom. As medical missionaries, we want to bring complete healing. Natural remedies are the best way to do that.
While Jesus performed many different types of healings, each act was a demonstration of His desire to restore not just the body but also the soul. Another remarkable healing illustrates this, when a paralyzed man was brought to Him. This story is found in Matthew 9 and Mark 2. A certain man was suffering from paralysis, but that wasn’t the only thing that plagued him.
Sister White says,
“His disease was the result of a sinful life, and his sufferings were embittered by remorse. In vain he had appealed to the Pharisees and doctors for relief; they pronounced him incurable, they denounced him as a sinner and declared that he would die under the wrath of God” (MH 73.2).
When he heard of the works of Jesus, hope was sparked in his soul, and he got four of his friends to carry him to where Jesus was teaching. However, the crowd was so great that they could not get through. Yet they were not discouraged and determined to lower the paralyzed man through the roof.
I can only imagine the inside of that house and the disruption it was when the ceiling started being broken up. But pretty soon everyone knew why, because a paralyzed man was being let down into the room. Jesus paused His discourse and looked into the man’s face. “Son,” He said, “be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee” (Matthew 9:2). The heaviest burden on this man’s heart rolled away. The torment he had been suffering was gone. He no longer cared whether he received the physical healing. He knew his paralysis was the result of his sin, and to be freed from that burden was the sweetest thing to his soul.
Yet not everyone in the room was happy with what Jesus had said.
“But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark 2:6,7).
Jesus perceived their unspoken judgment. Looking at them, he said,
“Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins,” turning back to the paralytic, he continued, “I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way unto thine house” (Mark 2:8-11).
Immediately, the paralyzed man obeyed. Not a trace of his disease was left. The people were all amazed, but the paralyzed man was free.
Notice the order in which Jesus healed this man. First, He brought spiritual healing. Then He gave the physical healing. Medical Missionaries are not to neglect the spiritual healing. Often, guilt for sin brings physical disease. Indeed, many times physical disease is a direct result of sin, though this is not always the case. It is the work of Medical Missionaries to point people to a sin pardoning Savior. He can heal them, not only physically, but spiritually as well. As Medical Missionaries work for the physical healing, they must show the sufferer that God wants to heal their heart.
We have seen how Jesus worked to heal people mentally, physically, and spiritually. He was the greatest Medical Missionary. Today’s Medical Missionaries are to imitate His work. As Jesus described His own ministry in Matthew 11:5:
“The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them.”
Medical Missionaries are also to reach people where they are, to minister to their needs, and to show them that the Savior can fulfill their soul desire. It is to do the work Jesus did. Each of us can have a part in this work, even if it is only to a degree. May we all be willing to labor for people the way Jesus did and point them to the never failing Friend we have in Him!
****
Bethany Wickham is a student at Wildwood Center for Health Evangelism. She loves the Bible, nature, music, writing, and church history. Her goal in life is to work in God's service.
