Hello, friends! It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. In fact, it’s almost a year since my first post in October 2019. A lot has changed since then, but I’m glad that I’m making time to do this again. Here’s are some thoughts that I’ve been thinking about lately.
Jesus did many miracles in His time on earth. Recently, I counted every story where Jesus healed a physical body. Just healings, not multiplications of food or calming of seas. This included freedom from demon possession, epilepsy, or even death. These account for 26 instances of healing. Some individuals, some groups, all healed. I was curious about the context of those miracles, so I did some digging.
In the gospels, there are only five stories of a person (or persons) approaching and asking Jesus for a miracle. Every single one of them received their healings. Blind men, lepers, a woman with an issue of blood, etc. That’s an incredibly small percentage of the total. So, what happened to the rest?
There are ten more stories where Jesus initiated the conversation with the person that He would eventually heal. The widow of Nain who received her son back, the lame man by the pool of Bethesda, the list goes on. The other eleven stories are those in which a person asks Jesus for a miracle for *someone else*. Jairus for his daughter, the four friends for the paralytic, Mary and Martha for Lazarus. Every single one of them asked for Jesus to do something for their friend or relative or employee.
This means that out of the 26 healings in the gospels, 21 were received by someone who did not initiate the encounter with Jesus. A handful did, and they did indeed receive their healing. But over 80% – EIGHTY PERCENT – never asked Jesus to restore them. Some of them couldn’t; dead Lazarus wasn’t much for speaking. Others were prevented somehow; demons weren’t terribly fond of letting their host seek out restoration. In every case, they received their healing. The story of the paralytic who was lowered through the roof is telling; Jesus looked at the faith of the *friends*, not the paralytic, before he forgave and healed the man.
Jesus invites us to ask for our own miracles. He’s very good at bringing the Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. But overwhelmingly, Jesus is drawn to heal the people we love. We can bring Him our problems. He has no problem with them. But what if we asked for so much more? What if we asked for the epileptic son who can’t? The daughter who’s dying in the town next door? The paralyzed friend who’s bedridden? Jesus loves to heal them when He sees our faith. I think it’s because we become like Him in that moment. Compassion for the people we love, especially when they can’t help themselves, is the Gospel in a nutshell.
Think about the people you know for a moment. Odds are good that at least one of them needs a miracle. Likely physical, but possibly financial or familial or mental or any other number of -als. Why don’t you ask on their behalf? It might not be easy. Most stories tell of long journeys or impromptu roof demolitions before the conclusion. But in the end, you’ll find Jesus. And in the end, that’s all you need.