Grant B. Caldwell
03/26/09
Jesus said, "According to your faith let it be to you." (Matthew 9:29). When Jesus was confronted by two blind men who followed Him, "crying out and saying, ‘Son of David, have mercy on us!’" (verse 27), He asked them if they believed that He was able to do this. Their reply was "Yes, Lord!" (verse 28). "Then He touched their eyes and made the statement of our text.
Faith and Healing —
There are times in the life of Christ when the healing He performed was in relation to the faith possessed by the one requesting the blessing. In Matthew 8:13, Jesus said, "As you have believed, so let it be done for you." The centurion had said that Jesus did not need to go to his house, but to merely "speak a word, and my servant will be healed" (verse 3). It was in this way that Jesus healed his servant. That is, He did not come to the centurion’s house. In our present text, their faith was that if Jesus would "have mercy" they would be healed. That is precisely what happened. While it is true that the healing was often linked to one’s faith, the healing was not dependant on faith. In 8:26, the disciples had little faith. And yet, the miracle was accomplished. In 9:24, a dead girl was raised. No faith on her part!
Faith Healers —
To say that faith is required before healing can be accomplished is to go beyond the record for such miracles. The only time in the New Testament a duly authorized miracle worker ever failed to perform the miracle intended was in Matthew 17:14-20 and that was because of the unbelief of the ones attempting to work the miracle. It was not because of the unbelief of the one receiving the miracle. If a person today claims to be a divine healer and fails to accomplish the miracle, he demonstrates that he does not have either authority or power from God to work miracles. Modern faith healers are not able to perform bona fide miracles. They heal only psychosomatic ailments. They heal those only naturally over the course of time and not miraculously as any physician knows. When they are confronted with a genuine, verifiable, organic ailment, they fail to accomplish the healing. This is when they blame their inability on the lack of faith of the one with the need. Can you imagine Jesus or the apostles ever blaming a person because they could not accomplish the healing. Where did He ever say, "I am only the messenger of God. I can’t help it if they don’t believe"?
Faith and Spiritual Healing —
To be healed spiritually of our sins, however, it is not enough to believe Jesus is able to heal. We must believe in His method of healing. The gospel is the power to save (Romans 1:16). It is imperative that we believe the gospel and obey its terms (Mark 16:15-16). Only then will we receive spiritual sight and be saved.