How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. (Acts 10:38)
The question now is, Did Jesus really heal every sick person He met? If not, what does the above verse really say or mean then?
One of the laws of responsible interpretation of the Bible is that you look at examples as well as statements. Acts 10:38 has made a statement that many suppose means that Jesus healed every sick person he came in contact with. However, Bible records provide examples of situations in which He did not.
One such situations was at the pool at Bethesda. The story also actually provides more light on whether faith is an absolute requirement for healing or not. Here is the account:
John 5:2-9
2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
Note that Jesus walked in there, met a multitude of sick, diseased and maimed people. He walked up to ONE of them and healed him, then walked out, leaving many more in the state He had met them. But note a few more things:
- The man Jesus healed did not express “faith”. Apparently, he had no idea who it was that was addressing him
- Jesus did not preach a sermon on “How to obtain your healing”, “How to activate your faith for healing”, and the like (and He never did anywhere else either)
- Jesus healed one man and walked away, leaving many more still sick. Jesus DID NOT heal every sick person He met; He did not heal ALL that were sick and oppressed in the literal sense of every sick person that He met.
Acts 10:38: Sickness from demonic oppression?
If Jesus did not heal “all”, what does Acts 10:38 mean? Honestly, I do not have all the answers, but at least it is clear that He did not heal “all” in the sense of “all He came in contact with”.
Could it be that He healed all whose sicknesses were a direct consequence of demonic oppression? That verse says “healing all that were oppressed of the devil“. Note that His healings were often associated with demons being cast out.
Mark 1:34: And he healed many [not all] that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.
Mark 6:13: And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick [again, not all], and healed them.
Jesus certainly did not heal all that were sick, but it does seem that where a physical infirmity was the consequence of demonic or spiritual assault, Jesus cast out the demon, and the sickness, infirmity or physical condition left. That is the only sense I see in which Acts 10:38 stands. If anyone has other insights, feel free to share.
The Healings of Jesus
But we do have numerous records of Jesus healing people, and in some of those circumstances, He responded with statements like “thy faith hath made thee whole” (Mark 5:34). There were times such “faith” was not required, like in the passage above.
Notice also that everyone Jesus did pray for or ministered to got healed without fail. And none of them developed symptoms of that disease and die of it later. We cannot, however, say this of our modern-day “healers”. At times, some people get healed, and at other times they do not get healed under the ministry of the same man.
The Purpose of Jesus’ Healings
To understand this divine healing business, we must never forget that the healings and miracles Jesus worked were for a purpose: to validate His Person.
Matthew 11:2-6
2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
John went through a dark period of his life and sent emissaries to Jesus. Note the Lord’s response: Jesus pointed to His works. Matthew 8:17 says He healed “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses”.
The purposes of Jesus’ healings and miracles was divine validation. Acts 10:38 confirms that as well: “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth”.
Jesus’ Anointing
Anointing: The act of anointing was significant of consecration to a holy or sacred use; hence the anointing of the high priest (Ex. 29:29; Lev. 4:3) and of the sacred vessels (Ex. 30:26). The high priest and the king are thus called “the anointed” (Lev. 4:3, 5, 16; 6:20; Ps. 132:10). Anointing a king was equivalent to crowning him (1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 2:4, etc.). Prophets were also anointed (1 Kings 19:16; 1 Chr. 16:22; Ps. 105:15). The expression, “anoint the shield” (Isa. 21:5), refers to the custom of rubbing oil on the leather of the shield so as to make it supple and fit for use in war.
Source: Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary
To “anoint” (Greek word, chrio) means to choose specially for a work. Here, Luke was saying that God set Jesus apart to this work, and was with Him, acknowledging Him as the Messiah. How did God show that Jesus was His Chosen One? “with the Holy Ghost and with power”.
God declared Jesus as the Messiah by placing on Him the Holy Ghost and His power. Contrary to what people have been told by compromised teachers and preachers, the anointing is NOT the power of God. It is a public ceremony or sign or display to indicate that a person has been chosen for a task.
Under the Old Testament, usually a horn of oil would be poured on a chosen person. Remember how kings were “anointed” with oil? It was a sign to people that this person has been chosen. That is all there is to the anointing.
In this case, the way God demonstrated that Jesus was His Chosen One, the Saviour, and the Messiah was by giving Him the Holy Spirit and power. For example, one of the aspects of His status is that He was God.
Mark 2:9-11
9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
He healed that man to demonstrate His Divinity. He did it to demonstrate the fact that He had the power to forgive sins.
Are We Not Anointed Too?
No; we are not, at least not in the sense that Jesus was chosen. Jesus belongs in a class not one of us are in, or ever will be. He was God in the flesh! We are men.
Have you noticed that there is NOT one single reference to anyone else in the New Testament as an “anointed” one? Paul never referred to himself that way. Peter did not. James did not. Not one reference in Acts or Revelations either.
The Believer’s Anointing
There is a general sense in which ALL believers are said to be “anointed”:
1 John 2:20, 21, 27
20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
Note that this “anointing” teaches us to recognise truth and expose error. Sadly, it is this very anointing that it seems many modern-day believers have lost. This general “anointing” teaches. Nothing else. It does not validate anybody’s person or ministry via healings and miracles, but via truth. It teaches.
God validated the Person and status of Jesus with the miracles and healings He did. God validates our status as true believers with how much we recognise truth from error, and by whether we abide in truth or not. Take some time to think this over. The consequences of this realization are mind-blowing.
Healings and miracles are not a means of validating anyone else besides Jesus Christ. Hear Jesus:
Matthew 7:22-23
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Jesus did not respond that they were lying, and that they did not do those works in His Name. He simply said, “I do not know you”. Beware of people claiming to be “anointed”. In all probability, they are wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Isn’t it strange that every Kenneth, Fred and Benny today are calling themselves “anointed”? Jesus occupies that sole position. He is the only one whose word we must obey.
A Healing Anointing?
There is no such thing as a healing anointing, a breakthrough anointing, a prosperity anointing, or any of those other “anointings” we hear men on our pulpits tout. There is nothing in the Bible that even remotely suggests that there is.
For example, what the Bible teaches – and what many may mistakenly tag a “healing anointing” – is “the gifts of healing by the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:9). Note that this is listed along with what Paul refers to as “the manifestation of the Spirit” (verse 7), and he says specifically that the Holy Spirit manifests “as he will” (verse 11).
That means men cannot turn the manifestations of the Spirit, gifts of healing inclusive, on and off as they will. Rather than wait for God to move and manifest among us, our preachers want to turn it on by “faith” and all that, something that is clearly beyond their jurisdiction. But because the manifestations are as the Lord wills, these things do NOT work all the time. The Bible says they do not work all the time. They work only as and when the Lord wills.
Is faith always a criteria?
The plain answer is a “no”. We have seen in the passage we read that faith is not always required for healing. Here is a passage that seems to introduce some difficulties:
Matthew 17:14-21
14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 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.
21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Here, it is obvious that the problem was the disciples’ lack of faith. But balancing it with other passages of Scriptures, it simply shows that there are times faith is an issue, and there are times it is not. And note that the issue here was not faith to receive something for ourselves; it was faith in Him to minister on His behalf.
This is contrary to the claims by the “faith” gang that if you have faith, you will always be healed, and that it is always God’s will to heal.
Epaphroditus was healed by the mercy of God (Philippians 2:25-27). Take note of Paul’s words. There is no mention of “claiming healing” or “the believer’s rights”. The word is “mercy”.
In 2 Timothy 4:20, Paul mentioned that he left Trophimus at Miletum sick.
In 1 Timothy 5:23, Paul instructed Timothy, “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities”. That would be like me instructing another member of my pastoral or ministry team to take Panadol Extra for a headache.
In 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, Paul requested for a particular infirmity to be taken away. Whatever that infirmity is, we do not know, but we do know that it was not a good or pleasant thing. Did God take it away? No; God’s answer was “no”. Instead, He offered Paul grace to endure the infirmity.
Did Paul not have faith? But he did. God did not say, “Paul, your unbelief is the problem”.
The right to ask is Not a right to have
Where people get confused is that they mistake a right to ask for a right to have. But they are two different things entirely.
As a son growing up in my father’s house, it was my right by birth to go to my father for whatever I needed (or even wanted). History bears me record that I did not always get what I asked for, even when my father possessed the resources to grant that request.
My right to ask certainly did not equal a right to have. That was discipline. Today, I am glad my father did not spoil me by giving me everything I wanted. I developed some of the character that it takes to stand upright in life that way.
Like any true father, our heavenly Father also disciplines us.
Hebrews 12:6-11
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
When we hear the word “discipline”, we think it means that we must have done something wrong and now God is punishing us. No; discipline can be positive and pro-active, and often it is.
As God’s children, we have the right to go to Him in prayer for our needs, including healing; but do not mistake that as the right to have it. The right to grant or deny whatever you request lies with God.
Conclusion
Let us not make any mistake about it: God still healed people after Jesus departed the earth. He healed through the apostles and others. And He still heals today. But what the “faith” movement teaches on the subjects of faith and healing is far from balanced, Biblical truth.
Stay blessed.
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