Topical Bible: Sickness: Christ Healed with a Touch

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In the New Testament, the healing ministry of Jesus Christ is a profound testament to His divine authority and compassion. The Gospels recount numerous instances where Jesus healed the sick with a mere touch, demonstrating His power over physical ailments and His deep empathy for human suffering.

One of the most notable accounts is found in the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus heals a leper. In Matthew 8:2-3 , it is written: "Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, 'Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.' Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' He said, 'be clean!' And immediately his leprosy was cleansed." This passage highlights not only Jesus' willingness to heal but also His breaking of social norms, as touching a leper was considered ceremonially unclean.

Another significant healing occurs in the Gospel of Mark, where Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law. Mark 1:30-31 states: "Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and they promptly told Jesus about her. So He went to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them." Here, Jesus' touch brings immediate relief, and the healed woman responds with service, illustrating the transformative power of His healing.

In the Gospel of Luke, the healing of a woman with a disabling spirit is recounted. Luke 13:11-13 describes: "And there was a woman who had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said, 'Woman, you are set free from your disability.' Then He laid His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and began to glorify God." This miracle underscores Jesus' authority over spiritual and physical afflictions, as well as the immediate and complete nature of His healing touch.

The healing of Jairus' daughter further exemplifies Jesus' power over sickness and death. In Mark 5:41-42 , it is recorded: "Taking her by the hand, He said to her, 'Talitha koum!' (which means, 'Little girl, I say to you, get up!'). Immediately the girl got up and began to walk around. She was twelve years old, and at once they were utterly astounded." This miracle not only demonstrates Jesus' dominion over life and death but also His tender compassion, as He gently takes the girl's hand to restore her to life.

The healing of the woman with the issue of blood, as described in Mark 5:27-29 , also illustrates the power of Jesus' touch, even when initiated by the faith of the afflicted: "When the woman heard about Jesus, she came up through the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. Immediately her bleeding stopped, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction." This account highlights the role of faith in receiving healing and the efficacy of even indirect contact with Jesus.

These accounts collectively reveal the multifaceted nature of Jesus' healing ministry. His touch not only cures physical ailments but also restores individuals to community and spiritual wholeness. Through these miracles, Jesus fulfills the prophetic anticipation of the Messiah who would bear our infirmities and carry our diseases, as foretold in Isaiah 53:4. His healing touch serves as a foretaste of the ultimate restoration promised in the Kingdom of God, where sickness and suffering will be no more.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Matthew 8:3
And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be you clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Christ's Touch
... Thank God, there are many in every communion who know that constraint of the love
of Christ. But the world will not be healed of its sickness till the great ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture d/christs touch.htm

Whether the Sinner Sins in Receiving Christ's Body Sacramentally?
... the hem of His garment were healed." Therefore, they ... sinners, who lack living faith
regarding Christ are not ... does not suit every stage of sickness; because the ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether the sinner sins in.htm

The Healing Christ
... them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them.' Now ... is antagonistic to man"pain, misery,
sickness, death itself ... that great hope and promise that Christ has the ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture a/the healing christ.htm

August 14. "Touch not Mine Anointed, and do My Prophets no Harm" ...
... fiery current, than speak a reckless word against any servant of Christ, or idly ...
You may often wonder, perhaps, why your sickness is not healed, your spirit ...
/.../simpson/days of heaven upon earth /august 14 touch not mine.htm

The Death of Christ
... died on our behalf, we who believe in Christ no longer ... How could He fall sick, Who
had healed others? ... did He not prevent death, as He did sickness?" Because it ...
/.../athanasius/on the incarnation of the word/chapter 4 the death of.htm

Healing and Service
... lifted her up,' and the grasp banished sickness and brought ... can gather from the variety
of Christ's methods of ... condition of the people to be healed, and partly ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture d/healing and service.htm

The Life of Christ.
... He healed "all manner of sickness, and all manner of ... The claims of Jesus as the Christ
were decisively established ... His touch, or His word, he healed the most ...
//christianbookshelf.org/killen/the ancient church/chapter ii the life of.htm

Real Contact with Jesus. "And Jesus Said, Somebody Hath Touched Me ...
... She had but a touch, and she was healed; and oh ... be a sweet medium for leading you
to receive more of Christ. ... The more I feel my sickness, the more shall I adore ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/till he come/real contact with jesus and.htm

Isaiah Teaches that Sins are Forgiven through Christ's Blood.
... but by faith through the blood of Christ, and through ... is a man in affliction, and
acquainted with bearing sickness, because His ... With His stripes we are healed. ...
/.../chapter xiii isaiah teaches that sins.htm

A Parable in a Miracle
... There are forms of sickness in which the man goes ... to the leper that crowds had been
healed, that floods of ... If you wish to have Christ's cleansing you must make ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture d/a parable in a miracle.htm