The stories of Christ healing are numerous in scripture. As a woman, I always sort of chuckle when I read the story of Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law. Matthew 8:14-15 “When Jesus came into Peter's home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him.”

Isn’t it just like a woman to be healed and then immediately to get up and wait on her family, her friends, and her Healer! But I think that’s what the healing Jesus is all about. Restoring us, even if from a minor illness so we can be about the work of God in our daily lives.  This story also resonates with me because it shows us healing doesn’t always have to be dramatic, life-changing event, as it was in some of the other healings Jesus performed. Sometimes it is simple as it was in the story I related in the introduction to this book. I didn’t have a life-threatening illness, nor was I at death’s door, but a simple upper respiratory infection was devastating for me because it prevented me from going about my daily tasks and even attending church. So, while Jesus didn’t come raise me from my deathbed, he inspired Marty to cook me a meal that was nourishing and brought my body back to its normal state. Sometimes may be all we should ask of Jesus is the healing that will help us live our lives that allow us to go on serving others. And, although Jesus performed this healing himself, in our lives he often sends others—doctors, nurses, priests, family members, or friends, to do the work of healing. 

Another healing story, a bit more dramatic, is the story of the healing of the Centurion’s servant. Matthew 8: 5-13 “And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.’ Jesus said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ But the centurion said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it.’ Now when Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who were following, ‘Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.’ I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ And Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.’ And the servant was healed that very moment.”

This healing story is remarkable for several reasons. First the centurion is a Roman, not a Jew. Second, he is not asking for healing for himself, but for a servant. Surely servants were a dime a dozen, or a denarii a dozen to be more accurate, so why would the centurion show this much concern for a servant? Third, here is a non-Jew who shows the ultimate faith, he is convinced that Jesus can and will, indeed, heal his servant. 

A couple of lessons we can learn from this are first not to judge people of other faiths. We know from scripture that the Romans thought the Jews were foolish to expect a Messiah to come save them, and the Jews themselves thought the Messiah’s purpose was to free them from the occupation of Rome and restore their land to them. However, this centurion came to Jesus and was accepted by him. Most likely he would have expected rejection by this Christ, since most Jews hated the Romans. But Jesus, was not most Jews. Repeatedly he told us to accept all people and, repeatedly, he healed gentile, Jew, and those who perhaps didn’t accept any God, or thought they had been forgotten by God. Our lesson from this is that we should never think that Jesus will reject someone’s plea because they don’t look like us, or they don’t worship in the same way we do, or even that they may be our persecutors.

Secondly, the centurion’s care for his servant is to be commended. And, like the centurion, interceding for someone who is homeless, poor disabled, is our duty. Jesus expects us to show concern for all people, even those may seem insignificant to us. We’re back to that “love your neighbor as yourself” theme again. And who is our neighbor? Everyone.

Thirdly, faith is often alive in people we don’t expect it from. The reason Jesus listened to the centurion’s plea is that he was most likely astounded to see this faith coming from a Roman. So, while we need to remember that the poor are suffering are our neighbors, we also must remember that the wealthy and powerful are also our neighbors.

These are just a few stories you will find in my new book, See This Christ, 2^nd Edition