Daily Devotions
Matthew
The Ministry of Healing
Text: Matthew 10 : 1- 8
The disciples must have felt both awe and humility as they listened to the words of Jesus.
“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the
dead, cast out demons.”
Matthew 10:8a
How were the disciples to practise the ministry of healing? They had hitherto never healed anyone, or cast out any demons! Raising the dead too? How would they be able to do all that?
They would have to rely heavily on their memory of what they saw Jesus doing when He attended to the sick. What would they recall?
1. There must be compassion
Jesus was always so filled with compassion. They too must seek to cultivate such a heart. One of the things that Jesus did to express a compassionate heart was to touch the patients! They must not be afraid to touch the lepers. They must not be afraid of being contaminated. Only when a person has a great heart of compassion would there be the ability to forget about self, and to dwell only on communicating with the sick.
2. There must be faith
They must believe in what Jesus had said! They must struggle against whatever doubts or unbelief there may be in their hearts. Had not Jesus said He had empowered them with His authority? Then they must believe that as they pray for the sick, and even the dead, their prayers would not be in vain!
3. There must be discernment
Jesus could always discern who had faith! They too must learn how to tell if a person had genuine faith. It would not be an easy thing to master, but they must learn.
4. There must be instruction
Jesus never failed to speak a kind word or two. He would advise the lepers to show themselves to the appropriate authorities. He would speak kindly of forgiveness to those He healed. Healing was only the means. A word of instruction was always given to all who came for help. The disciples must learn how to articulate the right word to all who would come to them for help.
5. There must be careful differentiation between the disciples and their Teacher
Jesus was able to receive worship. He was also able to receive certain titles like “Son of David” or “Lord”. The disciples may be empowered by Jesus to perform mighty miracles, but they must guard their hearts most carefully. They must differentiate between their ministry as apostles, and the ministry of Jesus which was Messianic. There was a world of difference between the two things!
6. They must even point people to salvation in Jesus
The disciples must guard their ministries carefully. It would be so easy to get caught up with healing people, and then forget that the greater need was to help people find salvation in Jesus! The disciples would have to learn how to master this lesson through actual ministry.
THE MINISTRY OF EXORCISM
This ministry was probably even more difficult than that of healing the sick! How would the disciples practice this ministry?
1. They must not plan to go around chasing demons!
As Jesus ministered, people who were possessed by demons were brought to Him for healing. At no time did Jesus go around chasing demons out of people! This would be a good starting point.
2. They must be careful about being obsessed
How easy it is to become absorbed or even obsessed with this ministry. It would be easy to be caught up with a sense of being “powerful”. This would be a very heady experience, and the unwise disciple could end up dwelling on how “mighty” he is. The demons would love to encourage that false state of mind.
3. They must cultivate great courage in the face of a powerful enemy
Demons were the worst of enemies! They can create havoc to the bodies they possessed. They can cause people to become like the two mad men of Gadara. The disciples must never allow fear to overwhelm them. They must somehow find the necessary courage to stand up to the demons and more!
4. They must learn how to exercise the authority Jesus gave them
Authority is essentially an “abstract” thing. It was not something tangible that they could handle! They would just have to believe that when they utter the mighty Name of their Teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, the demons would obey!
5. They would have a deeper sense of understanding of a great spiritual battle
The disciples must learn this vital lesson. Only in actual ministry would they be able to comprehend the deadly ways in which demons had afflicted human beings.
CLEANSE THE LEPERS! RAISE THE DEAD!
Did Jesus expect them to raise the dead? The disciples had seen Jesus raising the dead daughter of Jairus! Would they really be able to do that too? All the provisions had been made. Jesus was not saying to His disciples that they were to attempt everything. He was however saying that His authority given to them would be sufficient for everything!