Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 68:270 (Apr 1911)
Article: What Does The New Testament Teach About Healing?
Author: Frank Fox

BSac 68:270 (April 1911) p. 233

What Does The New Testament Teach About Healing?

Frank Fox, D.D.

Inasmuch as a number of religious sects have arisen in these last days claiming omnipotence for the curative powers of their systems, and each maintaining that his or her religion represents the true teaching of Jesus and the apostles, it behooves every Christian, and especially the regularly ordained leaders of our churches, to examine carefully the teaching of the New Testament on the subject of Healing.

The country is flooded with millions of tracts and booklets on this subject. But, so far as I have examined, one and all have the same defect—they present a biased and superficial view of this subject. Thousands of anxious inquiries are being made for the scriptural teaching about healing.

Since there are not more than a half-dozen noted cases of healing recorded in the entire Old Testament, and since it contains little or no teaching on the subject of healing that does not receive fuller amplification in the New, we can con-fine our examination to the New Testament.

It is not in the scope of this paper to discuss mental healing or the false philosophy of many modern healers; but by a careful examination of every passage in the New Testament which touches in any way on the subject of healing, to find what is the unquestioned teaching of the New Testament about healing.

BSac 68:270 (April 1911) p. 234

For convenience our investigation may follow three lines: 1. The Practice of Jesus, as recorded in the Gospels; 2. The Practice of the Apostles, as recorded in the Book of Acts; 3. The Teaching of the Epistles.

The Practice of Jesus

According to the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus began his public Galilean preaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. In that service, Jesus, for the first time, healed a demoniac. From the synagogue service he went to Peter’s home and there wrought his first cure of ordinary disease, by healing Peter’s mother-in-law (Matt. 8:14–15; Mark 1:29–31; Luke 4:38–39). In the evening of the same day Jesus healed many sick at Peter’s door (Matt. 8:16–17; Mark 1:32–34; Luke 4:40–41). From this time forward, physical healing occupied an important place in the ministry of Jesus. He toured Galilee, teaching, preaching, and healing (Matt. 4:23–25; Mark 1:39). He healed the leper who came to ...