Can you and I learn to heal like Jesus?
Recently, in Episode 300: Questions for Jesus, I shared over 150 questions that you, my listeners, would like to ask Jesus. If you haven’t listened to that episode I highly recommend it. One of the things that intrigued me the most about all the questions you had for Jesus, was how many of them were asking Jesus about healing: Is it possible for us to heal like Jesus did? Why isn’t there more spiritual healing today? What can we do, what do we need to do, or not do, to heal like Jesus did?
I talk a lot about healing, spiritual healing, on The Bible Speaks to You Podcast. Just type in the word “heal” or “healing” in the search bar at the top of the sidebar on this page or the bottom of the home page, and you’ll see dozens of references. I even put together a play list of past episodes that talk about healing called Spiritual Healing Today (also with a link in the sidebar).
But because so many people had questions about how Jesus healed, if it’s possible for us to heal like he did, and if so how do we do it, I thought it would a good time to revisit this topic of healing the way Jesus did and share just a few ideas to help you go forward on this spiritual journey to healing.
There is no formula to heal like Jesus
First, let me say, there is no formula. You can’t just quote some Bible verses and expect this to bring healing to a situation.
And it’s not an intellectual exercise of the human mind. You can’t use your human will to manipulate people, circumstances, and certainly not God, to experience healing. In fact, it actually involves a surrender of the human will and a silencing of the human intellect in order to hear God’s direction and see God’s healing power in action.
So what does it take to heal like Jesus? Is this something you can learn to do. Or is it just a gift, that God gives to only a few spiritually minded people?
The Bible does refer to the ability to heal as a gift.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
…to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12:7, 9 NIV
If you take that passage all by itself, it might be reasonable to assume God gives some people the gift of healing, or the ability to heal, and not to others.
Jesus says we can heal
But it’s important to put this verse in the larger context of what Jesus says about our ability to heal.
He makes a powerful promise, which actually becomes a prophecy as well.
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. John 14:12 NIV
Jesus is not just saying it will be possible for you and me to do the things he did, including healing. He’s saying it is a natural consequence of believing in him.
Well then, you’re probably thinking: Why isn’t there more healing going on since there are so many people who believe in Jesus?
Here’s where it’s helpful to take a look at the original Greek verb translated believe, which is pisteuō.
It means more than just to casually believe something is true. It has a stronger meaning of conviction and trust. It means to know something to be absolutely true.
For example, when you understand the basics of mathematics, you would never say, I believe 2 + 2 = 4. You are absolutely certain this is the fact. This is what the verb means in this verse from John. To believe in Jesus means to be absolutely convinced Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and has revealed God’s truth to the world.
Why don’t more people heal like Jesus?
So again, I’ll ask, why isn’t there more healing then, since so many people claim they believe in Jesus this way?
Well, frankly I don’t have the perfect answer to that question. But I have noticed that some people who think of themselves as totally convinced Jesus is the Messiah and say they believe in God’s ability to heal theoretically, are not really sure God is able to heal them or if it’s God’s will for them to be healed.
To come back to the math analogy, it’s almost like someone saying they’re pretty sure 2 + 2 = 4, but they’re not so sure they can figure it out every time, or if it’s true in every situation.
It’s easy to see how absurd that kind of attitude is, when it comes to a simple math equation. What if you had that same solid conviction in God’s willingness and ability to heal in every situation?
The point is, Jesus says it’s possible to heal the way he did, when our faith in him is an absolute conviction, unwavering and firm. With this state of mind, he says we will even do greater things than he did.
Take a moment right now, to renew and deepen your faith, your solid conviction, in Christ. If there are any doubts or uncertainties about Jesus being the Son of God, and as such, the bearer of God’s truth to the world, you can actually surrender those doubts right now and trust completely in Christ. God has given you the ability to do this.
To heal like Jesus…
There are so many things I could say about what is required of us in order to heal like Jesus, and there’s no way I can talk about all of them in this short podcast episode. But I will share five things that I’ve found really helpful and I think will help you think and pray more like Jesus, and as a result see more healing in your life and the lives of those you pray for.
Paul declares a powerful truth in
…we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16 NIV
To have the mind of Christ means to think, pray, and love like Christ. The natural result is that we will live like Christ, which includes healing the way Jesus did.
1. The kingdom of heaven is at hand
One of the most important aspects of having the mind of Christ is the realization that heaven is at hand and not just way off in the future after we die. This is the first point I want you to think about.
Jesus established his ministry on this simple but profound truth.
…the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:17 KJV
Other translations say the kingdom of heaven is near. It’s really the same thing: it’s here; it’s near.
This was the basis of everything Jesus said and did. It was his awareness of heaven’s presence here and now that made healing possible.
In heaven, there is no sickness, no disability, no disease, no sin, no death, no relationship problems, no financial crises, no hopelessness, no doubts or uncertainties.
Jesus saw this so clearly. He saw the kingdom of heaven as a present reality, here and now.
Seeing what’s true in heaven
When a sick person came to him for healing, Jesus could see what was spiritually true about them in heaven at that very moment, that they were not sick in heaven, but well, radiating health and wholeness, as their natural, God-given, and God-maintained state of being.
When you pray for healing, for yourself or someone else, are you pleading with God to heal the situation? Are you trying to get God to change a bad circumstance or condition into a good one?
This was not Jesus’s approach. He wasn’t trying to change anything when someone needed healing. His modus operandi was to bear witness to what was already true in heaven. He saw so clearly what was true about someone in heaven that it brought this truth to earth and the person was healed.
Jesus expected us to follow his example in everything he did. That means you can see what’s true in heaven right now. Not with the five material senses, the human mind, or the human emotions and affections. Only with your spiritual vision can you see the truth God is revealing to you in and from heaven.
Think about something that need’s healing. It could be something you’re dealing with personally or a friend you’re praying for. It could be something going on in the world. Whatever it is, ask yourself: What is true about me, this person, or this situation right now in the kingdom of heaven?
This is not you trying to imagine with the human mind, what is true in heaven. It’s about you being receptive to what God is revealing to you.
2. See what God is doing
And that brings us to the second thing you can do that will help bring healing into your life.
Jesus made a fascinating comment on his ability to heal, as well as everything else he did.
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son [referring to himself] can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:19 NIV
Jesus didn’t just see what was true about someone in the kingdom of heaven. He saw what God was doing. Whatever Jesus saw God doing, he says, he could do also.
And he points out he can’t do anything by himself, with his own power. He only does what he sees the Father doing.
If this is true for Jesus, it’s true for you and me as well, as his followers.
What is God doing?
What can you see God doing? Can you see Him healing every sickness, every disease, every sin? It’s easy to say intellectually that of course we see God healing everyone of whatever the problem may be, but if that’s just the human mind turning its little wheels and going nowhere, it won’t bring healing.
It’s when we quit using the human mind to try to see what God is doing and start using the mind of Christ, which Paul says we do have, that we can see what God is doing. When you see God doing something, you will see it happening in your own life.
I know some Christians who don’t believe God heals today the way He did in the Bible. They don’t pray for healing because they don’t think God interferes with someone’s life in that way. Or if they do pray for healing, it’s more for moral support to help them cope with a problem.
Now I don’t know the whole story in every situation like this, but if you have a deep conviction that God is not able or willing to heal you the way people were healed in the Bible, then you are not really seeing what God is doing and so you won’t experience healing in your life. You’re not seeing what’s true in heaven. You’re only focused on what’s going on here on earth. That state of mind will not bring healing.
The question is: Are you focused more on what’s going on in heaven or on earth? Your starting point will more than likely be where you end up.
Keep your focus on what is true in heaven and what God is doing.
3. It is always God’s will for healing
This brings us to the third thing to think about that can bring more healing into your life. It’s really a mental and spiritual shift or change of perspective, that it is always God’s will that you are healed.
I hear so many Christians pray something to the effect of: God, if it’s Your will, please heal this situation.
On the surface of this prayer, it seems like it’s a submission to God’s will, which is a powerful prayer in and of itself. But this prayer starts with the assumption that it might be God’s will that you or the person you’re praying for is healed, but it might not be God’s will for there to be a healing.
That’s not a very stable foundation to build on. It lacks the solid conviction in God’s unchanging willingness and ability to heal the way Jesus was talking about.
Every time you pray the Lord’s Prayer, you’re actually affirming it’s God’s will for you to be healed. We say it all the time.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 KJV
What is God’s will in heaven for you and everyone you pray for? It’s wholeness, harmony, and health, fullness of joy and lovingkindness. This is where to start your prayer, that God’s will for you in heaven is what God’s will for you is here on earth.
The material world and the un-spiritualized human mind only promote and believe what they see with the material senses. And so, all too often, we fall into this mindset of looking at what’s happening here on earth and assuming it must be God’s will, or it wouldn’t happen.
But Jesus is teaching us in the Lord’s Prayer, and his whole ministry, to focus on what’s going on in the kingdom of heaven. This is a much better foundation for prayer that heals.
4. You are not the healer. God is
The fourth thing I want to mention that helps bring healing is something I touched on earlier, but it needs to be reemphasized. You are not the healer. God is.
It is always God who does the healing work. We may use the language of you and me being healers. Jesus even does this by telling his disciples to go out to preach and heal the sick.
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Luke 9:1, 2 NIV
But he also made it clear:
I can do nothing on my own. John 5:30 NLT
It’s okay to think of yourself as a healer. Jesus tells all his followers to heal, to be healers. But it’s really important to remember you are not the source of the healing. God is.
5. Be full of compassion toward people to heal like Jesus
The fifth thing that plays a vital role in your ability to heal like Jesus, or I could say, to see God heal, is the attitude Jesus had toward people in general.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36 NLT
When you see crowds of people who are confused and helpless, or even just one or two people in this state of mind, how to you respond? Are you moved with compassion toward them as Jesus was? Or do you just want to get away from them because they’re so needy and you don’t know if you can really help them anyway?
Think of all the people you meet on a daily basis: strangers on the street or in a crowded airport, the sales clerk in a store or on the phone, people at work, and so many other places. Now think of all the problems they might have. Some may be more obvious than others. But almost everyone is walking around with something in their lives that needs to be healed.
Your attitude toward them, the way you see and interact with them, is a barometer of your ability to heal them. Because Jesus had compassion for these “sheep without a shepherd,” he was able to reach them with the healing power of God’s love.
You can’t love this much with just the human mind
Your human mind is incapable of loving people this way. It just doesn’t have the capacity. But because you have the mind of Christ, you can love people the same way Jesus did, whether it’s one person at a time or a whole multitude. And this brings healing.
Now it may seem a little daunting to be in a crowd and try to love them all at once, to have this healing compassion for them all. I know exactly how you feel. Sometimes if I know I’m going to be in a large group of people in a meeting, at an event, or wherever, I like to love everyone ahead of time, before I even get to the place I’m going. I like to see how God is loving them and that makes it natural for me to love them too.
Several times recently when I’ve been on an airplane, I’ve look up from what I’m doing and just embrace everyone on the plane with love and compassion. I can feel God loving them. It’s an amazing experience every time it happens.
Try this the next time you’re in a group of people. Let God’s love for all these people wash over you. Let your love and compassion flow freely to everyone there. This clears the way for healing in ways you could never imagine.
Where to start to heal like Jesus
There’s so much more that could be said about learning to heal like Jesus. But I hope these ideas have been helpful.
- To accept and affirm that the kingdom of heaven is at hand
- To see what God is doing in heaven
- To know it’s always God’s will for you to be healed
- You are not the healer; God is
- Being filled with compassion toward people like Jesus was
Let these ideas become part of your daily practice, if they’re not already. The more you embrace and practice these precepts, the better you’ll be at it and the more healing you will experience in your own life and everyone you pray for.
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and church mentor. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by learning to think, pray, and love like Jesus. Contact him here.
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Bible References
1 Corinthians 12:7, 9 NIV
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,
John 14:12 NIV
12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
1 Corinthians 2:16 NIV
16 we have the mind of Christ.
Matthew 4:17 KJV
17 the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
John 5:19 NIV
19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son [referring to himself] can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
Matthew 6:10 KJV
10 Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Luke 9:1, 2 NIV
1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,
2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
John 5:30 NLT
30 I can do nothing on my own.
Matthew 9:36 NLT
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
