The Part of Faith in the Miracles of Jesus

17 Apr

When Jesus commissioned His twelve disciples to go preach the kingdom of heaven to the Hebrews, His instructions included “…Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give” (Matt.10:8). In Matthew 8 and 9 He had shown them these miracles and then He enabled them with the power to also do these miracles at the beginning of chapter 10. Mark 6:13 tells us “And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.” Likewise the seventy disciples sent out after them, came back declaring that “even the devils are subject unto us through thy name” (Luke 10:17).

But when the apostles were unable to dislodge a demon, Jesus decried their faithlessness (Matt. 17:17) and proceeded to do the miracle Himself. Matthew 17:19-21 tells us “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, ‘Why could not we cast him out?’ And Jesus said unto them, ‘Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, ”Remove hence to yonder place” and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting.” On the side of the apostles doing the miracles themselves, faith and belief were required.

Jesus needed no faith to accomplish miracles because He is Faith and all faith comes from Him. We are able to align with what God is doing only by accepting that faith, as was necessary for the disciples as well. Jesus’ miracles were a natural outflow of His Divinity. He chose to heal and deliver because He was following the will of God the Father, obeying His direction in all things.

Faith was also needed on the part of many of the recipients of Jesus’ miracles. Each miracle happened in a different way, but they all achieved the same results: the gospel was spread, people repented, lives were changed, and God was glorified. Let’s take a look at a few of them:

The leper of Matthew 8:2-4 came to Jesus already worshipping Him. In complete faith that Jesus had the power to do so, He asked Jesus to heal him if He was so inclined. Jesus merely “…put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, ‘I will; be thou clean.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

The centurion’s servant of Matthew 8:5-10 and 13 was also healed as the result of faith. But it was the faith of the centurion, not of the servant:

“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him saying, Lord, my servant lies at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus said unto him, ‘I will come and heal him.’

The centurion answered and said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed…When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to them that followed, ‘Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel… And Jesus said unto the centurion, ‘Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.’ And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”

The woman with a chronic hemorrhage of Matthew 9:20-22 demonstrated the same attitude of worship and humility as the centurion. Just as he knew Jesus could heal the servant with only a word, the woman knew that the mere touch of His garment would heal her. “But Jesus turned Him about, and when He saw her, He said, ‘Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.’ And the woman was made whole from that hour” (v. 22).

The ruler’s daughter of Matthew 9:18-19, 23-25 was not just sick, she was actually dead. The ruler came to Jesus in worship, seeking his daughter’s restoration of life, “saying, ‘My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.’ And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did His disciples And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, He said unto them, “Give place, for the maid is not dead, but sleeps.’ And they laughed Him to scorn. But when the people were put forth, he went in and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.”

The two blind men of Matthew 9:27-30a approached Jesus with humility, calling Him Lord, requesting mercy, and believing entirely in Jesus’ ability to heal:

“And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying, and saying, ‘Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.’ And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said unto them, ‘Believe ye that I am able to do this? ‘They said unto Him, Yes, Lord.’ Then touched He their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith be it unto you.’ And their eyes were opened… “

When we come to Jesus for healing, here are the lessons we need to learn from these five people who came face to face with Jesus to request and receive healing:

Worship Jesus, remembering Revelation 5:12, “…Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.”
Approach Him in humility, knowing that “…God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble” (James 4:6b).
Ask for mercy just as David did in Psalm 119:132, “Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou are used to do unto those that love thy name.”
Seek His will, because “…this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, he hears us” (1 John 5:14).
Have faith, believing that He “…is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us…” (Eph. 3:20).