The Healing of Messiah
We have recently been considering the 'Healing of Nations', the groundwork of which we have laid and will continue at another time, but we turn now to the Healing of the Person, and the types of Healing that Jesus , Yshua conducted in His earthly ministry. In the Old Testament, in Isaiah 61, the pronouncement is made of what the earthly ministry of Messiah, the King of Israel will contain, and it is reaffirmed in the reading of Jesus in the Temple at the beginning of his ministry, with miracles as signs and affirmations of His Messiahship:
Isaiah 61:
The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to [them that are] bound;To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Luk 4:17-9 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
It is very clear that from the beginning, one of the roles and declarations of Messiahship was HEALING, and deliverance from the many forms of captivity, which include what we now call 'psychological' bondages but which were recognized in the 'divine battle' as 'imprisonments'. It is interesting to note that even in modern psychology, the concept of the 'demonic' has been reintroduced by such an eminient psychologist as Rollo May, who defined it secularly as something --an event, person, emotion, state which so overpowers a person as to control him or her. So the phenomena are observed even today, though the defintions differ.
The Healing of the Person is seen in scripture as healing of the Deaf and Dumb, the Healing of the Lame, of the Blind and of the Demonically possessed, along with leprosy and other conditions. Healing of the Deaf and Dumb, while easily ascribed to 'healing' is almost more of a deliverance, from captivity, or from a possession of an unclean spirit. Deafness and dumbness often are seen hand in hand as those deaf find speaking difficult, but oddly, blindness and dumbness are mentioned together in scripture especially when the malady of ascribed to possession. The Greek word 'Kophos' is used to describe both referring to a bluntness or dullness in hearing or speaking, a lameness of tongue.
There had been healings before Jesus the Messiah came to Israel: Elijah healed the widow of Zarepheth's son, and Naman sought healing from the Prophet, Miriam was given leprosy and had it removed and so did Moses, and so on, but out in public right before Israel's eyes type healings were a new thing, and they accompanied the teaching of the Kingdom of God in such a powerful way that none could ignore.
Types of Deafness
Deafness and Dumbness both are thought of in Scripture to be both literal and figurative: One deaf may be
1. Physically deaf
2. Spiritually Deaf
3. Deaf to the World, as in the idea of a 'deaf' Messiah, deaf to all that is not God's way.
Consider the following passages:
Exodus 4:11 "whoh maketh the dumb or deaf or the seeing or the blind? have not I the LORD [the Lord has sovereignty over deafness, blindness and dumbness"]
Psy 38:13 But I as a deaf man heard not and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth....14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not."
Is 29:8 In that day shall the deaf hear [physical deafness, sign of Messiah]
Isaiah 35:5 ...ears of the deaf unstopped." {"}
Isaiah 42:18 "Hear ye deaf"---[spiritual deafness]
Isaiah 42:19-Who [is] blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger [that] I sent? who [is] blind as [he that is] perfect, and blind as the LORD'S servant? [the 'deaf' Messiah?]
Isaiah 43:8 bring deaf that have ears...
Mt 7:16 their ears shall be deaf...
The Messiah Heals the Deaf
In Matthew 11:5, when the servants of John the Baptist are sent to ask Jesus if he is the Messiah or should they look for another, he replies with the following:
T
he blind receive their site and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the DEAF hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them...
and in Luke 7:22
Go your way and tell John what things you have seen and heard. how that the blind see and the lame walk , the lpers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to he poor, the gospel is preached...
It is clear that one of the signs of Messiahship was the ability in the full view of Israel to heal the deaf and heal all these others.
Deaf and Dumb
While deaf and dumb are most often mentioned together coming from the same word, it is interesting to noted that occasionally dumbness is associated also with BLINDNESS in the New Testament:
Then was brough unto him one possessed with a devil, BLIND AND DUMB...Mt 12:22.
mT 15:30-31 describes all sorts of infirmities being cast at Jesus's feet for healing, lame blind, dumb, maimed and many others. The healing of these diseases and unclean spirits and the making whole of dissensioned lives and spirits was a sign of Christ's compassion, and His empathy for the hurting in Israel.
more to follow....
