Compassionate Christ

One of the signs of Messiah was that he would perform many miracles. They were part of the evidence of his power, and the manifestation of his being and mission. Christ considered any deviation from health in the same category as sin, and saw both as an evil force intruding the world he came to save. Using words backed with the power of God, he constantly ordered disease and demons to depart; and raised the dead, restoring them to grieving families.

The Great Physician never refused anyone who came to him for help and used his precious time to cure as many as possible, even to the point of exhaustion. For salvation was wholeness of body, as well as of spirit and mind. In fact, roughly one third of the Savior’s public ministry was taken up with the healing of people’s bodies while at the same time healing their souls. His only motive was nothing more than pure love, compassion, and redemption.

In the Gospels, the word compassion is used repeatedly to describe his attitude toward the sick, and he often went out of his way to heal when the sufferer had neither asked for nor expected it. He delighted in making people well, especially seeing children restored with the joy of living a long life ahead of them. Formerly blind and lame people became useful citizens. Jesus healed because the Father’s love flowed through him in an unrestrained torrent, sweeping away evil and replacing it with the righteousness of the Kingdom of God.