Divine Healing and the Great Commission

Biblical Accounts of Healing in Acts

The book of Acts contains six specific recorded accounts of healings, each carrying profound significance for the early church:

Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them--walking, leaping, and praising God.

(Acts 3:6-8)

And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

(Acts 5:12-16)

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.

(Acts 8:5-7)

Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed." Then he arose immediately.

(Acts 9:32-34)

And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother's womb, who had never walked. This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet!" And he leaped and walked.

(Acts 14:8-10)

And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.

(Acts 28:8-9)

 While there are other accounts that infer healings (such as the Lord working special miracles through Paul's hands when he laid hands on cloths to heal people), these six represent specific, detailed accounts of healings in the early church. The Holy Spirit's decision to record these particular accounts is extremely significant.

The Common Denominator

Beyond the fact that each account describes someone being healed, there is one other significant common denominator: each account records believers being used by the Lord to heal the unsaved. By recording these accounts for us, the Holy Spirit emphasizes that the church's mandate is to lay hands on the sick among the unsaved.

Some may ask, "But what about the sick among those who are saved?" While we will discuss this question in detail in a later section, believers have the right to walk in divine health and should therefore not need to have hands laid on them for healing. Nevertheless, the Bible does make provision for hands to be laid on believers for healing as well.

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

(Mark 16:15-18)

This passage confirms that the Lord Jesus has called all of His saints—not just a select few—to lay their hands on the sick among the unsaved. We are familiar with this passage, often referred to as the "Great Commission," where our Lord tells us what we, as His believers, are required to do.

We are to go into the entire world and preach the gospel to every creature. When Jesus says this, He is not requiring every believer to become a full-time minister of the gospel. Rather, He is saying that every believer should witness to those around them about their testimony of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Understanding the Signs

Our Lord then lists certain signs that will follow those who believe. These are the signs that He will perform through believers as they go into all the world and preach the gospel. Two of these signs refer to the Lord's divine protection provided to His saints:

1. Taking up serpents refers to our divine protection in the spirit realm, because of the authority the Lord has given us over all the power of Satan and his angels (Luke 10:19).

2. Drinking deadly substances without harm refers to our divine protection in the physical realm.

As an aside, we must understand that these divine protections are not given to us to test the Lord. Some foolish individuals might fall for Satan's temptation to drink deadly poison to prove their immunity. Satan tried to tempt the Lord to jump off a building to prove that God's angels would protect Him, and our Lord's response was that we do not tempt God (Matthew 4:5-7).

A key word used by the Lord in this passage is "signs." Signs are always used by God for the unsaved and not for believers. One of the signs our Lord mentioned is speaking with new tongues, and the apostle Paul teaches the church very clearly that tongues are for a sign to unbelievers (1 Corinthians 14:22).

Two of the signs our Lord mentioned in Mark's gospel refer to His saints ministering to others: those who believe will cast out demons and lay their hands on the sick so that they may recover. In context, our Lord is telling us that this is how He wants us to minister to the unsaved, for these are the accompanying signs that He will perform when we preach the gospel of salvation to the unsaved.

Every Believer's Ministry

As far as Jesus is concerned, the ministry of casting out demons and laying hands on the sick is for every believer. Just as Jesus expects every one of us to witness to the unsaved about Him, He also expects every one of us to cast out their demons and lay our hands on their sick so that they may recover.

Someone might ask, "How can Jesus expect every believer to cast out demons and heal the sick?" We can all agree that our Lord Jesus expects all of us to witness to those around us about salvation through Him. We also know that our Lord has called some to full-time ministry and given them a special anointing to preach the gospel to the unsaved—Billy Graham would have been an example of someone like that. But even though the Lord's evangelists are used by Him to add multitudes to the church, they are not going to reach everyone.

There are unsaved people we know who have never heard Billy Graham preach the gospel and most probably never will. But those same unsaved people encounter us every day and can see our changed lifestyle since we were saved. It is to those people that our Lord Jesus expects us, as His ambassadors, to tell them about Him.

Notice that Jesus does not expect us to get them saved—we can't do that; only He can. Jesus only expects us to tell people about Him, and He then works the miracle of the new birth in those who choose to believe.

Ministering Healing and Deliverance

The same principle applies to laying hands on the sick to be healed and casting out demons. We know that our Lord has raised up ministry gifts and given them a special anointing to minister His healing power to the sick and to cast out demons. Smith Wigglesworth would have been an example of such a ministry. But again, unsaved people we know who are ill have most probably never heard of any ministers of the gospel who are specially anointed by the Lord to heal the sick and cast out demons. They will never experience receiving their healing through those ministries.

But those same unsaved people who are ill encounter us every day. It is those people that our Lord Jesus expects us to minister to through the laying on of hands. Notice that Jesus does not expect us to get them healed and delivered—we can't do that; only He can. Jesus only expects us to pray in faith for those people and lay our hands on them. He then works the miracle of healing and deliverance in those who choose to believe, for it is the same Holy Spirit who resides in every anointed minister of the gospel who also dwells in every believer. Ultimately, He is the healer.

Faith and Results

Believers who are obedient to tell the unsaved about salvation through Jesus Christ will experience seeing some of them being saved. But just as not everyone is saved who hears an evangelist preach the gospel, not everyone we witness to will be saved, for not everyone will believe our testimony. However, just because some don't believe, we don't stop telling others about the gospel of salvation through Jesus. Our mandate is to tell people about Jesus, so we continue telling them.

In the same manner, believers who are obedient to lay hands on the sick and pray for them in the name of Jesus Christ will experience seeing some being healed and delivered. But also, just as not everyone is healed who has an anointed minister lay hands on them, not everyone we pray for will be healed, for not everyone will believe in the healing power of our Lord Jesus. But just because some don't receive healing when we pray, we don't stop praying for others to be healed and delivered. Our mandate is to lay hands on people in Jesus' name, so we continue praying for them.

Building Faith Through Witness

Notice that I said not everyone will believe in the healing power of Jesus. Scripture teaches us that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). No one witnesses to the unsaved by walking up to them and asking if they can pray for them to receive salvation through Jesus—people would think they are nuts. We first witness to people about salvation through Jesus. The Holy Spirit then takes those words to minister to them so that their faith can be stirred up to respond to the message of salvation. Only after we have witnessed to the unsaved do we ask them if we can pray with them to be saved.

In the same manner, when we pray for the unsaved to be healed and delivered, before we pray for them to be healed, we first need to tell them about the healing power of Jesus Christ. The reason we do this is to stir up their faith to receive the Lord's healing power when we lay hands on them.

Conclusion

The only thing that can hinder an unsaved person from receiving healing from the Lord is unbelief. Sin is not a hindrance simply because all unbelievers are sinners. Our Lord Jesus laid His hands on all sinners seeking to be healed through His ministry, and He has not changed one bit since then.

Michael E.B. Maher

Laying on of Hands

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