Bad Things Do Not Come From God - Part 20

The Gospels reveal some wonderful things concerning God's will, nature and character. As mention before, Jesus did not come to earth to do His will but the will of the Father (John 6:38) We also saw that to see the actions of Jesus and to know Him, we see and know the Father. (John 14:7-9) So for the final this week of this series, "Bad Things Do Not Come From God" we will look at some of the ministry of Jesus as He reveals the Father's will and true nature.

Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them. When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses." (Matthew 8:14-17)

Let's review some key points in this passage. "Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them." If this sickness was caused by God, then what would be the point of Jesus healing her? If the sickness was caused by God, then Jesus should not have stopped what God was doing in her life. Unfortunately, I have had church leaders say that God made her sick so that Jesus could prove that He was the Son of God by healing her. It wasn't the preaching or the supernatural healings that proved Jesus to be the Son of God, but His resurrection from the dead.  The way of salvation is not to confess the LORD Jesus with your mouth and believe in your heart that He is the Son of God because of all the miracles that He performed, but to believe with your heart that God raised Him from the dead, that one is saved. (Romans 10:9-10 No, Peter's mother-in-law was made sick with fever by the devil, not God.

Next we see, "When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick," How many sick were healed? ALL who came to Him. There is no indication at all that there was even one person who was not healed. There is no mention that He turned some away because it was not God's will for them to be healed. There is no mention that God caused anyone to be sick or demonized. Now, we can certainly read something into this passage of scripture that is not mentioned, but this is where we find many of the problems in the church today, adding to or subtracting from God's Word. Unfortunately, many passages of scripture have been rendered powerless and or twisted from their true  meaning by the opinions and wisdom of men. This has robbed multitudes of Christians who truly love the LORD from receiving the promises of the Father through Jesus Christ, such as healing.

Finally, we see that Matthew draws us back to an Old Testament prophecy concerning the Messiah, "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses." The Hebrew of Isaiah and the Greek of Matthew bears the same meaning; Messiah (Jesus Christ) removes the diseases of one's body. It is a part of the doctrine of Atonement as spoken by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 52:13-15, 53:1-6)

I would like to conclude this with two more thoughts. First, let's never forget "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." (Acts 10:38) and I might note, without a time limit. God was, is and will always be, until Jesus returns, Jehovah Rapha, The God Who Heals. Secondly, "Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." (Mark 9:23) Not only was Jesus stating this truth to the the father of a demonized son, but also "to him (anyone) who believers." PTL