The Doctrine of Laying on of Hands

The Foundation of Christian Doctrine

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

(Hebrews 5:12-14)

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.

(Hebrews 6:1-3)

As revealed in these scriptural passages, there are six foundational doctrines to the Christian faith. Because they are foundational, every believer should have a clear understanding of each doctrine and live by them. The six doctrines are: repentance from dead works, faith toward God, the doctrine of baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. Those who have a clear understanding of these doctrines and live by them will have a sure foundation and will not be deceived by false teachings they may encounter in their Christian walk.

Scripture reveals that these doctrines are the milk of God's word, meaning all newborn believers should feed on them and understand them. However, even mature adults drink milk as part of their natural diet, and in the spirit, that principle remains the same. Therefore, it is good for mature believers to revisit the foundational principles of Christ from time to time to ensure their foundations remain solid. In this teaching, we will examine the doctrine of the laying on of hands, which is the fourth of the six foundational doctrines listed in these passages.

Jesus's Example of Laying on of Hands

But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

(Mark 1:30-31)

Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house. But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them. When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!" And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.

(Luke 4:38-41)

It is our Lord Jesus, the head of the church, who has instructed us as His disciples to lay our hands on people. In the Great Commission, Jesus told us that those who believe in Him would lay their hands on the sick and the sick would recover (Mark 16:18). Therefore, it would benefit us to examine how Jesus practiced this ministry so we can learn from Him.

First, let me note that it is with the ministry of Jesus that we see for the first time in the Bible the extensive use of this method of ministry. The examples of this method in the Old Testament are relatively few in comparison to the New Testament. In the above account from Luke's Gospel, we see Jesus laying His hands on those who were sick and healing them. Notice that Scripture tells us Jesus laid His hands on every one of them. This passage also reveals that our Lord used the same method to cast out demons, for He was not only healing the sick that night but also casting out demons.

When our Lord laid His hands on people to heal them or cast out demons, He always spoke to the sickness or demon at the same time. In speaking to the sickness or demon, He would rebuke it and command it to leave the individual He was ministering to. In Mark's account quoted above, we see our Lord ministering healing to Peter's mother-in-law through the laying on of hands. If we read only Mark's account of this incident, it seems to indicate that all Jesus did was take her by the hand, and that was sufficient for her healing to take place. However, that is not the case at all, because when we look at Luke's account of the same incident, we see that in order to impart His healing power to her, Jesus did more than just take her hand in His. Luke's account reveals that our Lord also rebuked the fever at the same time.

Therefore, we see that in order to heal an individual and get them delivered, our Lord would lay His hands on that individual and simultaneously rebuke whatever sickness or demon He may have been dealing with. Jesus would rebuke the sickness or demon by commanding it to leave the body He was ministering to.

Another observation from this account is that our Lord took Peter's mother-in-law by the hand when He rebuked the fever. In other words, He didn't lay His hands on her head to impart God's healing power. His hand holding her hand had the same effect of transferring God's healing as if He had laid hands on her head. The reason our Lord could do this in this instance was because the fever was in her entire body. Therefore, His hands just touching her hands had the effect of imparting God's healing power to her body to drive out the fever.

Normally, our Lord Jesus would place His hands on the affected part of the person's body in order to heal that person's affliction. For example, when our Lord laid hands on those who were blind, He would place His hands on their eyes. Following our Lord's example, when we lay hands on people, we are to lay our hands on the afflicted part of their bodies and rebuke whatever sickness we are dealing with, commanding it to leave that body in the name of Jesus.

The Anointing and Power Behind the Laying on of Hands

And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.

(Matthew 14:35-36)

When Jesus ministered on earth, He ministered as a man anointed by the Holy Spirit to do the works of God (Acts 10:38). Recall that when our Lord was baptized in water by John the Baptist, God the Father then filled Him with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:10). Prior to our Lord being filled with the Holy Spirit, He performed no miracles on earth and no demons recognized Him for who He was. It was only after our Lord was filled with the Spirit and anointed with power that He began to minister healing and deliverance to the people. Only from that time onward did the demons recognize Him for the first time and begin to cry out whenever they came into His presence.

So why did our Lord Jesus lay His hands on people to heal them and cast out demons? The reason Jesus would lay His hands on people was because, primarily, the healing anointing was in His hands. I said primarily the anointing was in our Lord's hands, but we can clearly see in the above scriptural account—when our Lord came into the region of Gennesaret—that all the sick needed to do in order to be healed was to touch His garments. The reason for this was because our Lord was so anointed that even His clothes carried that anointing.

Our Lord Jesus is the perfect example because there was nothing in His life that hindered God's power from flowing through Him. Therefore, God's power rested on Him to such a degree that even His clothes were anointed with that power. The apostles, for a brief period when the church began, walked in that degree of anointing to the point that even Peter's shadow falling on a sick person would get them healed (Acts 5:15). But then, sadly, divisions arose in the church and that degree of anointing was lifted from the church (Acts 6:1).

We can learn a very important lesson from this example: God the Father does not limit His power flowing through us—we do. Jesus never limited God's power, however, and so He carried God's full anointing on Him to the point that anyone who just touched His clothes in faith could receive God's healing power. Following our Lord's example, we need to keep sin out of our lives so that when we lay hands on others, there is nothing in us that can hinder the flow of God's power through us. The power that went out from our Lord Jesus was tangible, which is why people sought to just touch Him. The moment they touched Him in faith, they could feel that healing power flow into their bodies and they were healed (Luke 6:19).

Michael E.B. Maher

Laying on of Hands

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