The Life of the Christ - ForMinistry

Resources for the Reader
against witchcraft could lead to harsh punishment (Exod 22.18;
Deut 18.10-13). When King Saul, Israel’s first king, was afraid of
the approaching Philistine army, he did not pray to God for help.
Instead, he broke the law forbidding witchcraft and asked a woman
from Endor who talked to spirits to call on the prophet Samuel,
who died some time before (1 Sam 28.4-20). In another example,
when the people of the northern kingdom (Israel) disobeyed God
by worshiping the stars and using magic, or by worshiping false
gods like Asherah and Baal, God became so furious with them that
he allowed them to be defeated by the Assyrians and carried away
as prisoners (2 Kgs 17.16-18). Later, King Manasseh of the
southern kingdom (Judah) sinned against God by worshiping the
stars and planets, by practicing magic and witchcraft, and by asking
fortune tellers for advice. Apparently, the advice he received
included offering his own child as a sacrifice (2 Kgs 21.4-7). For
Manasseh’s terrible sins, the whole nation suffered God’s judgment
and punishment (2 Kgs 21.8-16). In another example, King
Balak of Moab hired Balaam to put a curse on the Israelites, but
Balaam would not do it (Num 22–24). His explanation to Balak
contained this statement: “No magic charms can work against
them—just look what God has done for his people” (Num 23.23).
Parts of the New Testament make clear that sorcery and
fortune telling were caused by evil spirits. In one case, a slave girl
lost her power to tell fortunes after Paul ordered an evil spirit to
leave her. This angered her owners because she could no longer
make money for them by telling fortunes (Acts 16.16-19). In
Galatians, Paul includes witchcraft on the list of “shameful deeds”
done by those who obey their own selfish desires instead of
obeying God’s Spirit (Gal 5.20). And in Revelation, a beast fooled
people into believing in another beast who opposed God by doing
magical miracles, such as making an idol speak as if it were alive
(Rev 13.11-15).
MEDICINE AND HEALING
What does the Bible reveal about healers in the ancient
world? In one part of the Old Testament, it says that King Asa’s
death may have been from depending only on human healers, and
not asking for God’s help (2 Chr 16.12,13). Also, the prophet
Jeremiah questions whether medicine or doctors can truly provide
healing (Jer 8.22). After all, God is seen as the main healer in the
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Miracles, Magic, and Medicine
Old Testament (Exod 15.26; Ps 41.1-4; Jer 17.14; Hos 6.1). In
fact, often the priests were seen as healers on God’s behalf (Lev
13.1-3; 14.1-20). That is why Hannah went to the temple to pray
for God’s help once she realized that she could not have children
(1 Sam 1.1-18). (In ancient times, this was seen as sickness in
a woman.)
Some parts of the Bible reflect the belief that disease and
sickness are caused by failing to live according to God’s Law (Deut
28.21-23,27-29,34,35), while health and well-being were seen as
the reward for trusting God (Exod 15.26; Deut 7.12-15). Other
parts of the Bible question this belief (Job 2, 42.7; Eccl 8.10-13,
9.2; John 9.1-7). People with certain diseases were set apart from
the rest of God’s people because they were considered unclean
(Lev 13; Num 12.9-14). While this was done primarily for religious
reasons, those who had these diseases were not allowed to
worship or be among their friends and neighbors until they were
cured and had gone through a ritual cleansing ceremony (Lev 14).
Jesus knew these laws about sickness and being cleansed,
but he also showed himself to be a great healer. Many of Jesus’
miracles included healing people considered unclean. He encouraged
the ten men he healed of leprosy to show themselves to the
priests, probably so they could go through the ritual cleansing and
be welcomed back into the community of God’s people (Luke
17.1-16). Another time, Jesus’ power healed a woman who had
spent all her money and had gone to many doctors without finding
a cure (Mark 5.25–34). Jesus offered his healing also to those who
were not part of the Jewish people (Luke 4.23–29), just as the
prophets before him had done (1 Kgs 17.1–24; 2 Kgs 5.14). This
was surely amazing to many people, and was a way of showing that
God’s love is for everyone.
Around the time of Jesus, Greeks and Romans went to the
shrines of a god of healing, hoping to be cured of their ailments.
The early stages of modern medicine began in these shrines, but
some of the cures developed there, like eating the liver of a fox or
drinking juice from an iris plant, had no connection with the
cause of the diseases.
The Bible tends to teach trust in God along with prayer and
fasting as the way to be healed from illness, rather than trusting in
human doctors or healers. The Bible is not always against doctors
and medicine though, and biblical authors were not aware of
modern scientific techniques. After all, Luke, a companion of the