Selfishly Wanting Physical Healing
An all-creatures Bible Message

Selfishly Wanting Physical Healing
 
A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church
 
21 January 2018
 
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Matthew 10:7-10
Mark 1:29-45

Selfishly wanting physical healing or something else is one of the main problems with most people who say that they believe in God, for such people don’t want to repent and have Jesus change them into children of God who truly desire to obey Him and help free creation from its present corruption, as we are called to do.
 
Instead they only seem to want what they can get from God while still living in the corrupt and evil ways of this world with all its violence, pain, suffering, and death.
 
Such people are really hard of heart.
 
As we look at Mark 1:29-45, let’s look at the people who are selfishly wanting physical healing without obeying the Lord, or giving of themselves in comparison to those who are really children of God.

29. And immediately after they had come out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
 
30. Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they spoke to Him about her.

We are not told who the people were who spoke to Jesus, or what they said, but from what we are told, they don’t appear to have asked Him to heal her.
 
We believe that they were just trusting in Jesus, which we all should be doing all the time.

31. And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them.

Here also we don’t see anything that indicates that she asked for anything, or that Jesus asked her to do anything; she just did what she did out of the goodness of her heart.
 
This is giving back as we discussed above.

32. And when evening had come, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed.
 
33. And the whole city had gathered at the door.

Did they come to see their Messiah, and have Him save them from this corrupt and evil world so that they too would become true children of God?
 
There is no indication of that.
 
Did they come to see Jesus perform miracles?
 
From what we are told there is every indication that many of the people came just for the entertainment value, and not to change their lives.
 
Did they come selfishly wanting physical healing for themselves?
 
Perhaps some of them did, but we are not told; so let’s go on and see if we can discern their true intentions.

34. And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

Jesus didn’t want the people to come just because someone told them about who He was; He wanted the people to be themselves, particularly if what He was saying and doing would bring them to recognize Him as their Messiah, and respond on their own.

35. And in the early morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there.

Jesus wanted to be alone with His Father where He could speak freely without having others around Him, but even here He could not truly be alone.

36. And Simon and his companions hunted for Him;
 
37. and they found Him, and said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."

Jesus knew that the masses would be looking for Him, which was the main reason that He went off by Himself, for He knew that most of the people were only selfishly wanting physical healing, and not to become true disciples.

38. And He said to them, "Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, in order that I may preach there also; for that is what I came out for."

Jesus wanted them to hear the message of the kingdom of God, before they heard about the miracles He had performed in other communities; He wanted them to truly repent and seek the kingdom of heaven, and not be there just for the show.

39. And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.

The people heard His message before they saw the miracles, which allowed each person to draw their own conclusion about who Jesus really was.

40. And a leper came to Him, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."

This sounds like a person who is truly repentant.

41. And moved with compassion, He stretched out His hand, and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed." 

Jesus felt compassion because the man was repenting, for he knew who Jesus really was; so He healed him.

42. And immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
 
43. And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away,
 
44. and He said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a testimony to them." 

There is a very elaborate ritual of sacrifice for cleansing a leper in Leviticus 14, and we seriously wonder why Jesus would have told him to do such a thing, because He had already healed him, and the Lord had clearly stated elsewhere that He wanted obedience and not sacrifice.
 
His already cleansed body should have been enough of a testimony for the priests to see.
 
The shedding of innocent blood cannot heal anyone; all it does is bring death to the innocent animals.
 
Miraculous healing only comes from God.
 
Perhaps Jesus said what He did because he knew that the man wouldn’t do what He told him, as is evident from what we are told next.

45. But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news about, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.
NASB

Were these people coming to Him because they were repentant and wanted to be healed both spiritually and physically, or were they selfishly wanting physical healing?
 
We are not told, but based upon what we have been previously told, we suspect that most of them were not repentant and were not looking for spiritual healing; most likely the majority of the people were only selfishly wanting physical healing for themselves, or they were just there for the entertainment value.
 
Let’s close our discussion for today by looking at Matthew 10:7-10, where we are told what Jesus told the disciples before He sent them out to deliver His message to the world around them.

7. "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
 
8. "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you received, freely give.
 
9. "Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts,
 
10. or a bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support.
NASB

In essence, Jesus was telling the disciples to go in faith as an example to the people they would be encountering.
 
He was also telling them to just do what He told them to do, and not to worry about the attitude of the people and whether or not they were selfishly wanting physical healing.
 
Most of us have not been given the power to heal in the same way that the disciples had, but by telling others about how God’s created plants in the Garden of Eden can heal them of most of their chronic diseases, and prevent them from occurring, as they have with us, we can help improve their health if they eat only the unprocessed plant foods that God created for us to eat.
 
And instead of selfishly holding on to this miracle, and yes, it’s a miracle, we are helping others, because healthful vegans just seem compelled to tell others about their improved health.
 
Additionally, doing this costs us nothing but our time, and in the process, we are saving a lot of money in medical and pharmaceutical costs, which to us is an added gift from God.
 
Amen.

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