In the last post, I concentrated on Jesus being a man of sorrows, so this post will concentrate on Jesus being acquainted with grief. First of all, as always, I check to see what the Old Testament Hebrew words are to make sure that I am interpreting the prophet's words correctly. In this verse, the Hebrew word used is “holi” which means grief, but also sickness, and disease. It’s interesting (to me at least) that this word means sickness twelve times, diseases seven times, and grief only four times in the Old Testament. And so with a quick scan of the four gospels, we can say that the Suffering Servant, Jesus Christ, was acquainted with grief. But we also agree that he was acquainted with sickness and diseases.
Jesus Christ was acquainted with grief. Every day in Roman-occupied Judea there would have been executions, and crucifixions just as Jesus suffered. Grief would have been all around. But in this dark time, Jesus brought some light. Death was all around but Jesus brought life. Specifically, we know that Jesus raised the boy from Nain back to life. He brought Jairus’s daughter back to life and he brought his friend Lazarus back to life. “Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.” (Luke 7:11-14, NIV) “Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around.” (Mark 5:35-41, NIV) “They took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” (John 11: 41-43, NIV)
Jesus turned the verse in the Book of Lamentations upside down. Joy returned to their hearts; dancing returned instead of mourning. The words of King David would have been ringing in the ears of those who were grieving; “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.” This is our Jesus. Jesus brought life where there was only death. Jesus' disciples saw what he was doing and sometime after the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came down, we see Peter, the man who denied Jesus three times, raise Dorcas from the dead. The Bible records that; “Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.” (Acts 9: 39-40, NIV) Next Paul also raised a man from the dead. “Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man, and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” (Acts 20: 9-10, NIV) The Apostles Peter and Paul raised the dead back to life. Down through the ages, we know of examples of people praying and people have been brought back to life. Today in our medical age, there are plenty of examples of people dying, their heart stopping, but because of medical interventions, they are brought back to life.
Let's step back and review what happened in these various times. Yes, Jesus raised the dead, the apostles raised the dead. God can intervene and bring joy and life where there is mourning and death. But also note that the Romans didn’t leave Judea for many years so executions would still take place. People still grew old and died. Jesus’' parents Mary and Joseph will have died. Tragically children will have died and still die prematurely. So what do we make of all this? First, God is ultimately in control and people will be born and die as He wills. Second, man’s flawed nature means that there will be conflict and death. Third, man has a free will to seek God’s ways or not. We see the result of faith in action (life) and we see the result of man ignoring God and going his own way (death).
Lastly, the Book of Matthew indicates that even at the end of time there will be wars and rumours of war. Man killing man will still be a feature of our existence. But in the end, when Jesus returns, His Second Coming, He will come back and God the Father will be God the Judge. He will separate those who believe from those who don't believe. He will separate the sheep from the goats. And those who remain in His presence will find eternal life. There will be no more deaths because death has been defeated. As Paul wrote; “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” Grieving will stop because Jesus was acquainted with grief.
Jesus was acquainted with diseases and sickness. The four Gospels are full of stories of Jesus overcoming diseases and sickness. There are too many to recite but please note the following:
Jesus stepped over sick people at the Sheep Gate to get to a person who had been sick for 38 years. After a conversation, Jesus healed the person, but everyone else remained sick. Jesus healed ten lepers including one from the area of Samaria, a people hated by the Jews. Jesus healed a man and asked the man to lift his mat and go, and this infuriated the religious leaders of the day. Forgetting the fact that a man was healed, they were furious that the man worked on the Sabbath. Jesus was so prolific in his healing that when some disciples of John came to Jesus to ask if he was the Messiah. We read that “At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” No one, I repeat, no one who asked to be healed was turned down by Jesus. Jesus brought wholeness to both; the body and spirit.
Again looking into the future, to the end of time, we see that there will be no more sickness. When we put off this mortal body and put on our new immortal body then there will be no more sickness or diseases.
Today, if we hold scripture to be true, then we can hold that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” to be true. We can hold onto the fact that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for us. If that is the case, then even if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can come to Jesus Christ and ask God to heal today.
I want to repeat the points about Jesus healing at the Sheep Gate. He stepped over sick people and they remained sick. The man who was healed was sick for 38 years. Jesus did not heal everyone, and some had been ill for a long time. But those who asked Jesus in faith were healed. Why do I repeat this fact? I do this because when we read the account of Lazarus’ death we also read that “... it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” The darker our world gets, the brighter the Son of God gets. Every time we pray and people are healed then God gets the glory. The ordinary person in the street can see death and sickness all around, and they will see these pools of light when our prayers are answered.
To conclude, death, diseases, and sickness remain a feature of our fallen, flawed human race, but God can, will, and does intervene. He can raise to life whom He chooses and He can heal whom he chooses. For me personally, I will continue to pray for the healing of others. I want to see sickness and diseases gone from those I know. I want to see God getting the glory, and I want to see pools of light in my area. I pray that you join me in praying for our friends, family, and neighbours, that we see God moving in our area of influence and see Him healing. Will you join me?
