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Christ Brought Spiritual and Physical Healing, January 11
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all
thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases.
Psalm 103:2, 3
.
Christ bade the paralytic arise and walk, “that ye may know,” He said, “that
the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins.”
The paralytic found in Christ healing for both the soul and the body. The
spiritual healing was followed by physical restoration. This lesson should not be
overlooked. There are today thousands suffering from physical disease, who, like
the paralytic, are longing for the message, “Thy sins are forgiven.” The burden
of sin, with its unrest and unsatisfied desires, is the foundation of their maladies.
They can find no relief until they come to the Healer of the soul. The peace which
He alone can give would impart vigor to the mind, and health to the body.
Jesus came to “destroy the works of the devil.” “In him was life,” and He says,
“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
He is “a quickening spirit.” And He still has the same life-giving power as when
on earth He healed the sick and spoke forgiveness to the sinner. He “forgiveth all
thine iniquities,” He “healeth all thy diseases.”
The effect produced upon the people by the healing of the paralytic was as
if heaven has opened, and revealed the glories of the better world. As the man
who had been cured passed through the multitude, blessing God at every step, and
bearing his burden as if it were a feather’s weight, the people fell back to give
him room, and with awe-stricken faces gazed upon him, whispering softly among
themselves, “We have seen strange things today.” ...
In the home of the healed paralytic there was great rejoicing.... He stood before
them in the full vigor of manhood. Those arms that they had seen lifeless were
quick to obey his will. The flesh that had been shrunken and leaden-hued was now
fresh and ruddy. He walked with a firm, free step. Joy and hope were written in
every lineament of his countenance; and an expression of purity and peace had
taken the place of marks of sin and suffering. Glad thanksgiving went up from
that home, and God was glorified through His Son, who had restored hope to the
hopeless, and strength to the stricken one. This man and his family were ready to
lay down their lives for Jesus. No doubt dimmed their faith, no unbelief marred
their fealty to Him who had brought light into their darkened home.—
The Desire
of Ages, 270, 271
.
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