Can Jesus Christ Heal the Sick and Raise the Dead Today?: Answering 8 Common Questions

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our wellbeing fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.

—Isaiah 53:4–5, NASB

As a father of five, like many, I was heartbroken to hear the story of the sudden death of a beautiful two-year old girl named Olive. In response, her family and Bethel church family began meeting and praying that God would raise her from the dead since Jesus Christ defeated death upon His own resurrection: https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-family-church-pray-girl-resurrection.

This series of events had led to a lot of media coverage and raises a lot of questions that Christians and non-Christians alike have regarding what the Bible says about death and resurrection. The remainder of this blog is intended to serve as a balanced and biblical summary of death, resurrection, Jesus Christ, and the Kingdom of God by answering eight common questions on these issues.

1. WHY IS THERE SICKNESS AND INJURY IN THE WORLD?

God made you as one person in two parts. Part of you is immaterial and spiritual—your soul. Part of you is material and physical—your body. You are one whole person, and your spiritual and physical aspects affect one another. It is the same for all of us: sin has infected and affected every dimension of who we are.

Sin has brought suffering to the body. Every one of us is either battling an injury or illness or walking with someone who is. Consider for a moment how much money and energy we spend on the war against physical suffering—ambulances and hospitals, doctors and nurses, medical devices and medications.

Thankfully the God who made us also sent His Son to heal us, both body and soul with outer and inner healing: “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isa. 53:5). Jesus died for both our sin and our suffering. Importantly, this promise of physical healing does not come with a time frame. Some of God’s people will experience bodily healing in this life; all of God’s people will experience total healing in their resurrection bodies in the eternal life.

When God finished making the world, everything was “very good” and alive; sin made everything very bad and brought death. There are at least three reasons why people suffer sickness and injury. These categories are not mutually exclusive, and sometimes all three work together, which requires multiple levels of care to help a person experience total healing.

One, the fall of humanity has infected and affected all of creation. Therefore, not every person who is sick or injured has a direct cause of personal sin. Sometimes suffering results from being in a broken, fallen, dying world. “Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men.” (Rom. 5:12) Suffering is something we experience personally, but the cause can be general rather than personal. In instances like this, spiritual responses such as prayer and physical responses such as a doctor’s visit are the steps to take on the path to wellness.

Two, not only is the world fallen, so is each person on the planet. Not only are sin and its effects a general problem around us, but they are also a specific problem in us. Sometimes our sinning directly causes our suffering: “That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” (1 Cor. 11:30) God can see the future and knows when sin will continue without repentance. In instances like this, repentance of personal sin and inviting of the Holy Spirit to empower a new lifestyle are the keys to healing.

Three, sometimes the sin behind the suffering is not general sin from Adam or specific sin from the victim, but demonic sin, where spirits who hate God attack the people God loves. This is the case in the story of Job. Job was a godly man who endured a vicious season of injury and sickness solely because of satanic attack. Not understanding this third category, his “friends” kept trying to get him to come clean about any personal or secret sin that was causing his suffering. They only had category two (personal sin causing suffering) and did not understand category three (demonic suffering). This case study is important because it shows us that to help the whole person, we need to understand the whole Bible.

Many times in Jesus’ ministry, people were healed through deliverance. The demon brought the sickness or injury, and once the demon was gone, so was the sickness. (Matt. 4:23–25; 8:16; 9:32–33; 12:22–23)

2. DOES HEALING REPLACE TRADITIONAL MEDICINE?

A doctor named Luke wrote more of the New Testament than anyone. His concurring books, Luke and Acts, record verified healings by the Holy Spirit’s power operating through Christ and Christians. Luke was also the personal physician to Paul and traveled on various mission trips, bandaging him up after his beatings, riots, or imprisonments. Paul and Luke had a close friendship and ministry partnership. Setting an example for all Christians and caregivers, Paul had a doctor who cared for his body and soul: “Luke the beloved physician.” (Col. 4:14)

God can and does heal. Sometimes God does this naturally through a physician. Sometimes God does this supernaturally as the Great Physician. Therefore, healing does not replace traditional medicine. As we see in Doctor Luke, it is biblical to believe in both medical science and faith- filled prayer. We know many medical professionals who went to college for a degree and also go to the Spirit for power. They minister to not only the bodies of their patients but also their souls. This is the example of Doctor Luke, which helps prevent the either/or thinking that someone needs to be healed either only through prayer or only through a doctor.

3. DOES GOD HEAL TODAY?

Jesus began His public ministry reading from Isaiah 61: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18–19). Jesus declared His entire ministry would be done by the power of God the Holy Spirit. He could have healed people out of His divinity, but much if not most of the time He did so by the power of the Spirit to set an example for us. Many scholars believe Luke’s Gospel is the only one written chronologically. Chapter 4 includes a reference to Jesus as “Physician” (Luke 4:23) and records the way He healed a man from sickness by casting out the demon that was harming him. (Luke 4:31–37) The remainder of Doctor Luke’s Gospel records other healings Jesus performed.

One Christian teaching says in effect that God worked in supernatural ways in the early church but those ways have largely ceased in our day. There are nuances to this position, but it is referred commonly to as “cessationism.” Both the Bible and church history refute this false teaching. Furthermore we cannot simply dismiss the testimony of saints around the globe who report divine healing because it does not fit a flawed theological paradigm. (Kenneth O. Gangel, Holman New Testament Commentary: Acts (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1998), 82).

To begin with, Jesus was healed. He suffered and died on the cross and then rose to conquer sin, sickness, and death. When Jesus rose from death, some dead people also rose as a foreshadowing of the healing power of God’s kingdom. Jesus also healed others. Roughly twenty-seven times in the Gospels we see Jesus heal an individual. Roughly ten times we see Jesus heal entire groups of people. (Matt. 4:23–25; 8:16; 12:15; 14:14, 34–36; 15:30; 19:2; 21:14; Luke 6:17–19) Jesus performed other verified healings not recorded in the Bible. (John 20:30) Specific deliverance miracles Jesus performed through the Holy Spirit include healings from bleeding, epilepsy, deafness, muteness, and blindness. (Luke 13:11–16; Matt. 17:14–18; Mark 7:35; Matt 9:22–23; 12:22)

Once Jesus returned to heaven following His healing from death, some wondered if God would continue to heal people. Doctor Luke wrote his follow-up book, Acts, which reports the supernatural acts of the Holy Spirit through Christians who continued the Spirit-filled ministry of Christ. Just as the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ at His baptism, the Holy Spirit then descended upon Christians so that they could live by His power and continue His kingdom ministry.

The Book of Acts records roughly fourteen healing miracles. Twelve of the twenty-eight chapters in Acts record a miraculous healing reported by Doctor Luke. This was to be expected as it’s what Jesus promised His first followers: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.” (Matt. 10:8) In obedience we read of the early church, “Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ…they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city.” (Acts 8:4-8) Simply stated, the miraculous is part of ministry.

It is also important to note that problems arise when people seek the miraculous rather than the God who does the miraculous. Jesus warned of this tendency: “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign.” (Matt. 16:4) God’s people are not to chase after signs and wonders but rather to use their energy to pursue God. As we follow God, signs and wonders will follow us.

4. WHY DOES GOD HEAL?

We know of at least five reasons God heals. These reasons are not mutually exclusive, and in His loving creativity God often heals people for more than one reason.

One, healing reveals God’s love and mercy to the afflicted person.

Two, healing validates someone as a chosen servant of God.

Three, healing reveals the kingdom of God.

Four, healing motivates Christians to increase faith and worship.

Five, healing evangelizes non-Christians. Some people come to Christ by persuasion, and some people come to Christ by power. Those who come to Christ by persuasion have a lot of questions and objections that they need a thoughtful, researched, and learned person to answer before they cross the line of belief. Those who come to Christ by power see God show up in a supernatural way and trust in the reality of their experience. This was the case with my (Mark’s) mom. She was healed at a prayer meeting, which caused her to commit to a personal relationship with Jesus as the first believer in our family.

5. WHAT ARE THE FOUR WAYS TO MINISTER TO THE SICK?

To follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we must minister to the sick. We know of at least four ways to do so.

1. Pray from a distance.

Jesus healed from a distance at least three times in the Gospels. (Mark 7:24–30 cf. Matt. 15:21–28; Matt. 8:5–13 cf. Luke 7:1–10; John 4:46–54) Sometimes Jesus would travel to be present to heal someone. Other times He would pray from a distance, and the person would be healed. This just goes to show that whether we are present or not, so long as the Holy Spirit is present with the suffering person, there is a possibility of healing.

2. Lay hands on people and pray.

Laying hands on sick people to pray for them was part of Jesus’ earthly ministry (Luke 4:40; Matt. 9:18), and it is part of local church ministry. (James 5:14) The laying on of hands is foundational doctrine to Christian ministry (Heb. 6:1-2), and it is relational in that it brings comfort and friendship to the hurting person. The laying on of hands is part of the ministry of presence. Having a loving person present with us in our suffering is a tremendous ministry. Laying hands on someone can include spiritual transference, where the presence and power of God are released. One deliverance manual says, “Just as power lies in the hand of God (Hab. 3:4), it also lies in the hands of His servants (Acts 5:12; 19:11). There is tremendous power released through anointed, holy hands.” (Michael S.Heiser, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015), 277).

3. Anoint people with oil.

Jesus anointed people with oil and expects the church to do the same. (Mark 6:13; James 5:14–15) Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit who anoints us for ministry. By praying and anointing with oil, we are showing with our words and works that we invite God’s presence into the situation to minister to the hurting person.

4. Minister in faith.

If Jesus were walking on earth today, hurting people would flock to Him. Just because Jesus is in the kingdom does not mean we cannot approach Him, since by faith we can and do approach Him to heal in our realm from His realm. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16)

6. IS ALL HEALING FROM GOD?

Hurting people are vulnerable people. When you or someone you love is struggling with chronic pain, suffering, or is in the process of dying, the grief and fear can be overwhelming. This compels us to try most anything to bring health and stop suffering, including spending large sums on medical treatments or taking risks on experimental medicine.

The demonic realm is so evil that demons look for opportunities to exploit hurting people. The devil and his demons will even heal someone if it is a way to lead them away from the Lord. This is Satan’s counterfeit to God’s healing. Think of it like an evil doctor infecting a patient without his knowledge with the intent of making him sick, and then charging him an exorbitant fee for the antidote. Jesus warned of this very thing: “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” (Matt. 24:24)

Why would Satan do this? He is willing to trade short-term physical suffering on the earth for long-term spiritual suffering in hell. If it takes a healing miracle to get someone to worship a guru, false god, or spiritual deception, then he will heal someone to lead them astray. This explains the occurrence of real healing miracles in false religions and spiritualities— demonic forces bring sickness and relieve that suffering in exchange for powerful and delusional deception. It is better to suffer in this life and be healed in eternity than to be healed in this life and suffer for eternity.

7. CAN EVERYONE RECEIVE HEALING IN THIS LIFE?

God can heal people in this life, and God will completely heal all of His people in eternity. At times the kingdom of God shows up in power, and the supernatural power of God invades the natural realm. These are occasions of signs, wonders, and miracles, including healing. This leads to a reasonable question as to whether or not everyone who seeks healing from God receives healing in this life.

In surveying all of the New Testament occurrences of divine healing, sometimes the person’s faith does play a role, and their faith somehow helps unlock God’s power to bring supernatural healing to the natural realm. Sometimes, however, the healed person evidences no faith at all. They do not seek or ask for healing and instead are entirely passive and not in any way active in the healing process.

One example is in John 5. A man who could not walk for thirty-eight years sat day after day at a place in the temple where God would on occasion provide healing. Jesus arrived asking, “Do you want to be healed?” (v. 6). Without demonstrating any faith in any way, the sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me” (v. 7). Despite the man not exercising any faith, Jesus said to him, “‘Get up, take up your bed, and walk.’ And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked” (v. 9).

God is free to do whatever He chooses for whatever reasons He chooses. This is one of the primary differences between paganism and biblical belief. In pagan belief across various belief systems their god, gods, and/or goddesses are not entirely free and can be manipulated. Paganism teaches that the seen natural realm can manipulate the unseen spiritual realm.

We’ve ministered to numerous former practitioners of Wicca as well as converts from various pagan beliefs over the years. During that time, we have seen a unifying common belief that the unseen realm is not good, sovereign, or free and must be manipulated by people engaging in some sort of activity that forces the spiritual realm to give the person what they want. Spells, incantations, sacrifices, oaths and vows, offerings, and the like are used to force the demonic realm to unleash some desired blessing or outcome, such as healing or prosperity. God is not like demons. The Creator is not like the counterfeit.

According to the New Testament, there are times we can contribute to our healing. If the problem is unrepentant habitual sin, we can repent and cancel the stronghold we have given the demonic realm, which can bring physical healing. If the problem is unbelief, we can pray and act in faith to welcome the power of God to work in our life. But being a godly and faith- filled person does not guarantee that a person can unlock the power of God and unleash healing in his or her life. This is because we can cooperate with God, but we cannot control God.

To start we need to look to the Lord Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane on the eve of His crucifixion, Jesus was suffering, unable to sleep from stress, and sweating drops of blood. Jesus, of course, did not have sin but did have perfect faith. Knowing that enduring the wrath of God on the cross was before Him, Jesus in earnest prayed all night asking that the suffering would end before His life was poured out. In the end He surrendered, saying, “My Father…your will be done.” (Matt. 26:42)

God answers every prayer in one of three ways. Yes now; no, never; or later, as I have better timing planned. The answer to the faith-filled prayer of Jesus was no. His pain continued and escalated until He endured the greatest possible suffering—separation from the Father and Spirit, taking our place, enduring the wrath of God until He died.

Similarly, Paul “left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus.” (2 Tim. 4:20) Trophimus was a godly man. This section of Scripture mentions people who have betrayed and abandoned Paul in his time of trial and trouble. Thankfully, Trophimus was a trophy of loyalty who walked with Paul when others walked away. He faithfully carried money for the ministry to the saints in Jerusalem. (Acts 20:4–6; 21:29) Unlike Judas, Trophimus was tested, tried, and true but became too ill to travel with Paul. Despite being godly, faith-filled, and seeing numerous other people healed, Trophimus was not healed.

Paul was even unable to heal himself: “A thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” (2 Cor. 12:7–9) Paul had some sort of physical suffering that had a demonic cause, but he had to learn to live with it rather than be delivered from it.

Paul wrote at least thirteen books of the Bible (fourteen if he is the author of Hebrews) and is the central human figure in the Book of Acts recording his conversion and expansion of the Christian church through his missionary journeys. Paul had faith through beatings, shipwrecks, imprisonments, floggings, mobs, and riots that he gladly endured until he was put to death—the only way to silence him. For those who love Jesus, you may suffer for Jesus and suffer like Jesus, not because you lack faith, but because you have enough faith to love Christ more than your own comfort.

8. WHEN WILL ALL OF GOD’S PEOPLE RECEIVE HEALING?

When God made the world, there was no sin, sickness, or suffering. When sin entered the world, it unleashed the demonic, difficulty, and death.

Christians are residents of an earthly nation but citizens of God’s kingdom. We Christians ought to see ourselves as “sojourners and exiles.” (1 Pet. 2:11) An exile is someone who is away from his homeland, and a sojourner is someone who sees himself as a missionary passing through a foreign land until he returns home.

The Bible often repeats this because we are prone to forget it. Paul writes, “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi.” (Phil. 1:1) They live in the city of Philippi, their temporary home. These Christians are then reminded “our citizenship is in heaven.” (Phil. 3:20) Though they live in Philippi, it does not feel like home because their home is in heaven with God. One day, however, the next verse says “and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Phil. 3:20–21)

This is our tension—we are already citizens of the kingdom, but not yet residents of the kingdom. Some Christians relieve this tension with something called an under-realized eschatology. The big idea is that the kingdom exists in heaven and does not show up until it comes with King Jesus. Therefore, we should not expect much in the way of the supernatural or miraculous, such as healing.

Other Christians relieve this tension with something called over-realized eschatology. Those big words mean some believers think that since our citizenship is in heaven, all of the power and prosperity of our eternal kingdom life is ours to enjoy in this life. Both of Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians were written to Christians who erred in this way, telling them that the work of God was not completed until Jesus returned a second time and the dead were raised.

Every Christian will be fully, totally, completely, and eternally healed forever. This will happen upon the second coming of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the dead. On that day the curse will be fully lifted, death will be defeated, and Jesus “will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

Until the day of Jesus’ return, the resurrection of the dead, removal of the curse, ruin of Satan and demons, and re-creation of the world, we are in the time between the times. The kingdom of God does show up in power at times, bringing revivals, awakenings, healings, and outpourings of God’s presence that are sneak previews, glimpses, and dress rehearsals for the coming of King Jesus and the kingdom of God. Until that day of sight, the righteous live by faith trusting that when all is said and done all will be well and good thanks to Jesus Christ. 

Note: Much of this blog was adapted from the book Win Your War.