In my 50 years of walking with King Jesus, I don’t think there has ever been a greater need for the healing touch of our Lord Jesus Christ than there is today. My prayer list grows almost daily, and I am honored to be an intercessor.
Many times in Scripture, we see Jesus healing all who came to Him. Now, I believe in the power of Jesus to heal, but we often fail to recognize the greatest aspect of the healing that is ours through Jesus Christ. Both the Old and New Testaments acknowledge that “by His stripes we are healed.”
- “But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds [KJV — ‘stripes’] we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5, ESV).
- “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds [stripes] you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
It is unfortunate that the ESV renders “stripes” as “wounds.” The word “stripes” clearly identifies the “Suffering Servant” who was scourged as a part of His suffering. But while physical healing has been a part of the church’s ministry since the time of Christ, we fail to grasp the deeper meaning.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus calls Matthew to follow Him and then goes to dinner in his house. The Pharisees were incensed and asked Jesus’s disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (9:11) Jesus’s response is enlightening: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (9:12–13).
Several things stand out in this passage. There is no indication that anyone was ill in the physical sense, so there is an underlying principle here. Jesus is saying in effect that “I am the Physician” and that these “sinners” need His healing touch.
Sin is the sickness that has afflicted mankind since the day Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Salvation through Jesus Christ is the only cure for this sickness. We are all in need of the Great Physician’s healing touch. Matthew and his tax-collecting buddies experienced it because they drew near to the Savior in intimate fellowship with Him.
Jesus told His disciples, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26) If I am only physically healed but have not made provision for my eternal soul, I receive far less than what King Jesus desires for me.
All too often we seek God’s hand for what He can give. God desires that we seek His face for who He is. In Revelation 3:20 we see Jesus standing at the door of our heart. He knocks. He doesn’t barge in. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
Matthew and his sinner friends sought the face (presence) of Jesus. Will you and I do the same?
What say ye, Man of Valor?
Semper Fidelis!
