There are many articles and materials on the topic “Why do believers get sick?” And an interesting similarity among them is that the believer is doing something wrong, and if he changes something in what he does, then of course healing will come. It turns out that healing depends not on Almighty God, for whom nothing is impossible, but on weak man and his behavior. Any attempt to answer such a question always turns the believer’s eyes away from Christ and what He has already done for us on the cross, to the problem and to what the believer still has to do to achieve the desired result. Jesus’ disciples also asked a similar question…

Who Do You Say I Am?

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
–John 9:1-2

I would like to draw your attention to an interesting detail in the disciples’ question. They called Jesus “Rabbi”, or Teacher. The Holy Spirit did not emphasize this for nothing, because it is very important. The way a person sees Jesus is the way he lives, for Jesus is our life.

In the parable of the talents, the wicked servant saw his master as hard and cruel, because the master reaped where he had not sown, and so he did not multiply the coin given to him. Silver in the Bible symbolizes redemption from every kind of curse, and the lazy servant simply did not use what he had been given. And all for one simple reason — grace (reaping where you have not sown) was evil to him, and he regarded redemption not as a gift but as the fruit of his own efforts.

So in this situation the disciples saw Jesus as a teacher, and not as the Lord and Savior who is mighty to save a person from any problems and troubles. Their eyes were not on Jesus and His grace and power, but on human sins. It would be one thing if the blind man’s parents had sinned, but how can one understand the question: “Did he sin, so that he was born blind?” Clearly, when a person’s eyes are on sins, such an absurdity arises. And such a person sees Jesus as a good teacher, like the rich young ruler, and not as the Savior, like Zacchaeus.

Jesus answered: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” (Jhn.9:3) Jesus did not go into speculation about people being born defective because Adam sinned and so on. He was full of grace and truth, and where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. (Rom.5:20) That is why, whenever there was some infirmity or defect in Jesus’ path, Jesus was that grace and power which was revealed in such a situation. That is why He went on to say: “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (Jhn.9:5)

Are you suffering from some sickness today and asking yourself: “Why am I sick?” Jesus’ answer remains the same, for He is the same yesterday, today and forever, and His words are spirit and life: “For I am the LORD who heals you”, or in Hebrew: “YHWH Rapha”. (Exd.15:26)

Your Sins Are Forgiven You

Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching… And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
–Luke 5:17

The house where Jesus was teaching was full of Pharisees and teachers of the law from all over Judea, who had come to check whether this really was the Messiah whom so many people followed and of whom it was said that He opened the eyes of the blind and healed lepers. A paralyzed man was brought there, but because of the crowd they could not get into the house. Then they took apart the roof and let the sick man down on his bed right in front of Jesus.

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the sick man: “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” (Luk.5:20) It is interesting that Jesus did not heal the sick man at once, but told him that his sins were forgiven. Why? Because the faith was in his friends, for they brought him to Jesus, overcoming every obstacle, but the paralyzed man had no faith; he had self-condemnation, which was a barrier.

Jesus did not lecture the paralyzed man on how to get rid of self-condemnation or on declaring his own righteousness. The words of Jesus are spirit and life: “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” (Mar.2:5) When a child of God hears that every single one of his sins is forgiven and there is nothing left to condemn himself for, then healing begins to work in his life.

David, who lived under the law, yet whose heart was overflowing with God’s grace (which is why he was a man after God’s own heart), wrote in his Psalm: “Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases” (Ps.103:1-3) Immediately after the forgiveness of all iniquities comes the healing of all diseases.

The apostle Peter also, quoting the prophet Isaiah, writes: “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.” (1 Pet.2:24) The Spirit of God, testifying about healing through Peter, did not use the word tree for nothing. For it is precisely because Jesus was hanged, or more precisely nailed to a tree (the cross), that He redeemed us from all the curses of the law, among which are every kind of sickness and infirmity.

Redemption from the Curses

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus…
–Galatians 3:13-14

In Deuteronomy chapter 28, God’s blessings are listed up to verse 14, and after that, up to verse 68, comes a long list of the curses of the law, among which are all kinds of sicknesses and infirmities. The good news is that Jesus redeemed us from all these curses, taking upon Himself the curses we deserved. Those silver talents the master gave his servants symbolize exactly this redemption.

In the old covenant of the law people were slaves of sin, and that is why the waters the children of Israel came to after crossing the Red Sea were bitter. (Exd.15:23) Bitterness symbolizes the slavery of sin and of the law, which gives sin its strength (1 Cor.15:56). How did the Lord solve the problem of bitterness? Through a tree! When Moses, a type of the law, cast a tree into the bitter water, the waters became sweet.

My friends, a wonderful exchange took place on the tree. The Son of God took upon Himself all our bitterness and all our curses, and rose again after three days, so that through Him we could receive all of God’s blessings. Having risen, Jesus became a High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. His priesthood differs from the priesthood of the Levites in that the Levites blessed when a person kept the law and cursed when he broke it. The priesthood of Jesus is far more excellent – He only blesses and never curses, because He bore all the curses of the law in His own body on the tree. Glory to the Lord for this wonderful gift! Hallelujah!!!

So, beloved brothers and sisters, know that the curses of the law and all the sicknesses described in Deuteronomy have nothing to do with you, and I pray to the heavenly Father that all the lies and deceptions of the enemy, by which he keeps God’s children in defeat, would be destroyed in the name of Jesus, and that He would enlighten the eyes of your heart, so that you would know how completely you are forgiven and redeemed through the sacrifice and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and how greatly you are loved by Him!

I also pray, beloved, that you would be in strong health and prosper in all things, just as your soul prospers, filled and overflowing with the love of Christ! To Him be all glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen!