Purpose-Driven Healing

He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.
–Isaiah 53:5

In Bible study, there is a principle called the law of first mention. It’s simple: To gain insight into a topic or a word in the Bible, look at the first time it’s mentioned. For example, the book of Genesis contains a lot of first mentions–man and woman, sin, sacrifice, and many more. The book of Acts also has a lot of firsts. Last week, we studied the first sermon preached in the newly birthed church.

This week, we’re going to look at another first: the first instance of physical healing in the church.

When we talk about healing in the New Testament, it’s important for us to understand that healing was limited in scope. Healing was not a gift that all Christians had or even that most Christians had. In the New Testament, the only Christians who could heal were the apostles (including Paul) and a few people closely associated with the apostles, such as Barnabas and Stephen. There were also a limited number of people who were healed. Not everyone who asked for healing in the New Testament was healed.

Why didn’t God heal everybody who needed healing? Because the purpose of healing was not just to heal somebody physically; it was to point to the message of the healer.

Let me explain it this way: The gift of healing is called a sign gift. A sign is not the fulfillment of a promise; it points to the fulfillment of a promise. For example, let’s say I’m driving down the highway, and I’m getting hungry. To my relief, I see a billboard that says McDonald’s is five miles ahead. What do I do when I see that sign? Do I pull off the road, park under the billboard, and wait for somebody to deliver a Big Mac to me? I would be waiting there a long time! The sign is not the fulfillment of the promise of food; it points to the fulfillment of that promise. It’s the same way with the gift of healing. In the book of Acts, healing was not an end in itself; it pointed to the fulfillment of God’s promise to provide the ultimate healing through His Son.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “Purpose-Driven Healing,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2021.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.