Did you ever notice how often the people Jesus healed during His ministry on earth had no faith for their own healing?
Ok, now you’ll say, “Dan, you’ve really gone over the edge now.”
Well, let’s have a look at it. Consider all of the examples laid out in the Scriptures of the healings Jesus performed. We know that the woman with the issue of blood came on her own behalf and apparently had faith that if she touched Jesus’ clothes that she would be healed. Bartimaeus as did several others cried out to Him face to face for their healings and He granted those request.
There are accounts of several lepers who did the same. So indeed some came to Him on their own behalf and Jesus commended them for their faith and healed them.
But consider the others who also were healed. Consider Jairus’ daughter. She couldn’t have faith for her own healing. She was dead. Likewise Lazarus. The Canaanite woman (Matt. 15:22) came on behalf of her daughter who probably owning to her condition had no idea who Jesus even was.
Account after account tells the same story. Perhaps the most unique one was of the paralytic told in three of the Gospels. The telling of the account is practically the same in all three books. A group of men brought him to Jesus for Jesus to heal him. We know the length they had to go through to reach Jesus. It was indeed a roof top experience.
In all three accounts of the event, the response of Jesus was reported as: “When He saw their faith….” Notice the “THEIR”. No reference to the faith of the sick man. We don’t know enough about his physical or mental condition to judge even his awareness of the encounter. We don’t know whether he had any faith or not. I suspect not for Jesus never addressed the matter. His address was to the friends who had brought him. It was their faith that Jesus recognized and rewarded.
The lesson we should learn from this is that there will indeed be times in our lives where we are for one reason or other incapable of approaching Jesus on our own behalf. We may be incapable of it for some mental or emotional reason or we may simply be burned out from the struggle and fallen on the ground.
It doesn’t matter to Jesus. Someone will have faith for us. That is what Jesus is honoring. Whether it’s your faith or my faith, it matters not to Him. It is the faith itself on behalf of the person or situation that He is honoring.
If you see your brother or sister down and unable to believe for their own deliverance, take on the part of the men. Each take an end of the cot and carry it to Jesus.
© 2006 Dan W. Dooley
Dan W. Dooley
Dooley’s Treasure Chest
