HEAL - God's Heart for Healing in JohnSample

Seek Him for Who He Is

Jesus began His ministry by gathering His disciples and traveling throughout the land sharing the good news of God’s Kingdom to all who would listen. In these passages, Jesus had left the Samaritan region and headed back toward His home turf, the area around the Sea of Galilee. He and the disciples ended up back in Cana, the place where He had performed his first public miracle, turning water into wine. Many people had heard of Him as a result of the “wine miracle,” as well as witnessed the miracles He recently performed in Jerusalem during the Passover Festival. So, when He arrived back in the area, it was no surprise to see crowds gathering wherever He went. But, it would have been shocking, in those days, for a Roman official to even speak to Jesus, much less beg Him for help. Remember, all of the area within which Jesus travelled was governed by the tyrannical Roman regime at the time, and Jews were considered inferior in all aspects to Roman citizens. Despite all of that, Jesus healed the Roman’s son immediately upon request.  

An important truth revealed in this passage is that Jesus came for ALL people, not just the Jews, or any other select group. He came for whosoever! Another truth we see here is that Jesus’ words are not constrained by time or space. The words Jesus spoke on earth thousands of years ago, have the same force and effect today. He spoke it and it was done! Both principles are mind-blowing; but, perhaps, we should also pay close attention to what Jesus said to the crowd when the Roman’s request for healing was made that day. Jesus audibly observed, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.” All of His words are important, so why did He say this?

Again, He’s letting us know that we must be careful not to seek Him only for miracles and wonders. Of course, those are fantastic, supernatural characteristics of Him, but He is so much more. Seeking Him solely for physical healing, for example, may cause us to feel disappointed if our “healing” doesn’t manifest quickly or in the way we expect. He wants us to seek Him for Who He is - the Creator of everything that exists and the One who loves us the most. While seeking ALL of Him, we may find that our whole being is in a much better place than if we simply seek “the miracle physical healing” part of Him. The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 that we were all created with three basic parts - a spirit, a soul, and a body: “And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Let’s continue to seek all of Him so that our entire being (body, soul and spirit) will be whole.

QUESTIONS:

1. Do you see Jesus’ ministry and His desire beyond physical healing? Why is wholeness important?  
2. Beyond the offering of physical healings, Jesus desires for us to see the fullness of who He is and believe upon Him not just because of what we can see with our own eyes. That’s faith. Why is this important to Him?
3. Who is Jesus to you?