Part 8 - Matthew 8:16-17 - I PRAYED FOR HER, LORD, AND SHE DIED! WHY?
The children of a lady with cancer invited us to pray for her. We did and she gave her life to the Lord before she died. We prayed for her healing as well as for her to come to know Christ personally. The Lord answered only one of our prayers. When I took the funeral service we celebrated her life and her decision to come to Christ. It was a great time to witness to her family.
But Matthew 8:16-17 (NLT) says that when people came to Jesus, "HE HEALED ALL THE SICK. This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said, "He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases." EVERYONE WAS HEALED!
DID JESUS DIE FOR OUR HEALING? The only answer that I can see in the Bible is YES! Is it for now? Yes! Will everybody be healed? No! What kind of answer is that? Truthful. Because Jesus chose to heal everyone who came to Him THEN doesn’t guarantee He chooses to do that today. That’s obvious. Not everyone is healed today. Why?
The best I can come up with is this - NOT EVERYONE WILL BE SAVED AND NOT EVERYONE WILL BE HEALED. Not everyone will receive eternal life and not everyone will have a full life. Some will die in war in horrible ways. Some will be murdered in terrible ways. Some will die of diseases such as AIDS and waste away. Some will die of starvation in inexcusable ways - not because God allows it, but because we do! So are you encouraged so far?
The Bible never says that God will intervene into every situation and fix it for us. But He does say that as Christians we can offer to others a taste of eternity and make a difference in this world. It says that this world is winding down, not up. It is not getting better, but worse. We are the "SALT" AND "LIGHT" (see notes on Matthew 5:13-14). We give the world opportunities to respond to Christ.
One day He will wrap things up. The earth as we know it will not exist. In the meantime, He allows us the opportunity to repent and come into right relationship with Him and do something of significance for Him.
Sometimes, I admit, I would like God to have stopped the murderer and rapist with a lightning bolt? When it concerns my sin, however, I have slightly different desires of God. I’d rather not be struck down, but I would love it if God would stop my sinful behaviour from taking it’s course? From any consequences.
I don’t want the Lord to mess with my mind so that I become God’s robot, but I don’t want to admit that I might be responsible for the mess the world is in either? Forgive me, Lord. I admit it! I am responsible! I have messed things up! And I do need You in my life to get things right! I do need a renewed mind, not a robotic one, so that I can make a difference for You. I like the way Ephesians 4:21-24 (NLT) puts it. "Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. (NASB says "be renewed in the spirit of your mind") Put on your new nature, created to be like God-truly righteous and holy."
It’s not about me and what I would like You to do, Lord. It’s about seeing things from Your point of view and choosing to come under Your authority, even when it comes to healing.
The Bible says that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. Does it mean I will not sin anymore? No! Hopefully I sin less but I am not sinless. Not yet anyway. Someone said it like this "I AM SAVED FROM SIN. I AM BEING SAVED FROM SIN. I WILL BE SAVED FROM SIN." All those statements are true. Yes Jesus dealt with my sin on the cross but the total realisation of that will take place in the future. He killed the root problem. The tree is still there and it still has bad fruit, but it’s dead and like the fruit, is beginning to rot. I like it less and less. One day the council worker will come and that tree will be gone forever and burned at the rubbish dump.
When Jesus died on the Cross, He defeated death itself! Am I still going to die? Yes! The total fulfilment of death’s defeat is in the future for me. I have eternal life but it doesn’t mean I won’t die physically (unless God chooses to take me like He did with Enoch. Genesis 5:23-24 (NLT) says "Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.")
When Jesus died on the Cross did He deal with the consequences of what was brought into the world because of sin, such as sickness and disease? Yes! Do I still get sick? Yes! I will get a new body sometime in the future which will never get sick, but for now I am plagued by the common cold at times. Can Jesus intervene? Yes! But I will I be completely saved from ever getting sick again? No!
One day I will die, because my body will get older and give up. Will Jesus stop the aging process? Maybe! He may give you some more years such as He did with King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20:1-6. Hezekiah became mortally sick, and the prophet Isaiah gave the king this message: "This is what the Lord says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness." When Hezekiah heard this, he prayed and before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, God told him to go back to Hezekiah, and tell him, ‘I will add fifteen years to your life". Does this happen all the time for us? Generally No! Lazarus was raised from the dead. Did he die again? Yes!
Can God heal people like Joni Eareckson Tada, who is in a wheelchair? Yes! Has He chosen to do so? No, not yet.
When I become a Christian and give my life to Christ, the world changes. The consequences of a life without God changes. The world is powerfully changed by that one transaction.
When Matthew says Jesus "HEALED ALL THE SICK" he says that it was to fulfil a prophecy by Isaiah who said "He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases."
When Jesus healed ALL THOSE WHO CAME TO HIM, it was a taste of what will happen in the future. A little bit of heaven on earth. A preview of a time when there will be no death or dying or disease or as Revelation 21:4 (NLT) puts it, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever."
When Jesus was on earth He didn’t HEAL EVERYONE. He did however heal ALL THOSE WHO CAME TO HIM. Why? I believe He was showing us that He was who He said He was. He was God. Nothing is impossible for Him. He does know what is best. He can make a difference to this messed up world. He was giving people a taste of what was to come when sin and sickness would be completely wiped away.
That leads me back into a trust relationship with Him. My responsibility is to pray for those who are sick and as long as they are alive, to believe for their healing. I am not to speak words of death but words of life. I don’t prepare people to die. I give them hope beyond what doctor’s can do. And I will respect them when they may not want me to pray for their healing with them. I will not argue with them like Job’s friends did. I will simply pray for them in private. And then I leave the rest to Jesus. On earth He chose to heal everyone who came to Him. Since His ascension not everyone who comes to Him is healed. That’s His decision. I trust you Lord, that You know what You are doing. I love You, Lord. Help me understand more about these things.
God bless you Church as you continue to pray for people to be healed, speaking words of life and hope into their lives, expecting a miracle and leaving the rest to God.
Pastor Ross
