"Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." (Matthew 9:35)
That was the kind of work that Jesus did, The reason why He did it is told: "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power; who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him." (Acts 10:38) "[He was] a Man approved of God...by many miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him." (Acts 2:22)
He was in partnership with God--one with Him, the visible member, so to speak, of the firm, of which God the Father was the silent partner. So He said: "The Father that dwells in me, He does the works." (John 14:10)
There are two very distinct words used in Matthew 9:35, but they are in our English versions rendered by two words that to the ordinary mind mean essentially the same thing, namely, "sickness" and "disease." The first word is correctly rendered, and perhaps the second one is also, if we resolve it into its elements, "lack of ease." What the word rendered "disease" in this and other places really means is: "infirmity," "weakness," "softness."
The corresponding adjective is rendered "soft" in Matthew 11:8 and Luke 7:25, in the expression "soft raiment," and in 1 Corinthians 6:9 it is rendered "effeminate." The statement in verse 35 therefore is that Jesus went about, God being with Him, healing every sickness of every sort, and all weakness, infirmity, every case of disordered nerves which rendered the possessor impatient and irritable. He healed not only actual sickness, but every enfeebled condition.
Before His healing touch, all weakness, lassitude, inertia, lack of energy fled, and bounding vitality came. He came to save those who were "without strength," (Romans 5:6) and He did it, "for God was with Him." (Acts 10:38) "And they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." (Matthew 1:23)
That being the case, the same sort of work ought to be done by those who believe in Him. Even such is the promise. "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark 16:17-18) "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself,...and has put into us the word of reconciliation," (2 Corinthians 5:19) so that as ambassadors for Christ, God is to work through us, in Christ's stead, even as He did through Jesus himself.
Christ was here working by the power of God, to set an example of labor. He showed the nature of the work that God wishes to have done, and the character of His chosen workmen.
The Twelve Sent Forth
Proof of this is found in what immediately follows the statement quoted at the head of this lesson. Jesus called the twelve to Him, and sent them out to preach the Gospel of the kingdom, "and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of disease and all manner of sickness," (Matthew 10:1) even as He himself did. The words here are identical with those in the statement concerning Jesus. He gave His disciples authority,--power,--over all devils, and to heal every sickness and every infirmity. And that means, of course, that He gave to them personally the power to rise above all infirmity. Lassitude is a thing foreign to the kingdom of heaven; superabounding life characterizes all that pertains to God. He says to us, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." (Matthew 28:20)
And as God is with Him, and He as God is with us, the works that Christ's followers are expected to do, even until the end of the world, are not such as mere men could do of themselves, but such as would reflect honor on the power of God dwelling in men. "Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary." (Psalm 96:6)
The only real trouble with any person is lack of power. "The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so that you cannot do the things that you would." (Galatians 5:17) "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:8)
Sin is weakness, degeneration, lack of Divine power; but the Gospel is "the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes." (Romans 1:16)
The cross of Christ is the power of God. Jesus Christ is our strength and our Redeemer; and He gave himself, for us; therefore strength, endurance, must characterize the subjects of His kingdom. This He indicated in the command, "As you go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely you have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:7-8)
The word rendered "sick" in this text is literally, "without strength," so that the command is really to heal those who have no strength. "Strengthen the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees." (Isaiah 35:3)
This shows Christ's true followers to be indeed partners, workers together, with God, "[Who] gives power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increases strength." (Isaiah 40:29)
Just take a glance at the character of the men whom Christ chose for this great work. They were of the common people. Quite a number were fishermen. We look back upon what the most of them became under the Holy Spirit's guidance, and we unconsciously attribute this power to them from the beginning, and assume that Christ chose them because of their peculiar attainments. No; they were very ordinary men. "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are; That no flesh should glory in His presence; But of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:27-31)
God chooses His workmen, not for what they are, but for what He can make of them.
In the church the terms "clergy" and "laity" have been adopted to mark the distinction between the ministers of the Gospel and the common people; but no such distinction exists in the Bible. The word "laity" is from the Greek word laos, people; but that is just what Christ's ministers are. Of Christ himself it is said: "I have laid help on One that is mighty; I have exalted One chosen out of the people." (Psalm 89:19)
The Jewish priests came to regard themselves as a distinct class, far above the people, and so the Pharisees spoke contemptuously of "this people who know not the law." (John 7:49)
The rulers marveled when they saw that Peter and John were but "laymen,"--common people,--and "They took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." (Acts 4:13)
That is the secret of power. The possession of great gifts does not ensure one against failing. Judas was sent out as one of the twelve, and there is nothing to indicate that he did not have the same power that the rest had. Why not? The Lord did not choose His followers for what they were, but for what He could make of them if they would yield to His influence.
Judas did not always listen to the promptings of Satan. There were in him possibilities of becoming a superior laborer. Even Satan was once a trusted servant of Jehovah, full of power and wisdom and beauty. It was jealousy, wounded pride,-or rather the yielding to pride, for pride when it is present is sure to get wounded,-that caused his downfall.
So covetousness, offended dignity, made a traitor of one of the twelve intimate companions of Jesus. Beware of self-love. It is well to "covet earnestly the best gifts, [but the] more excellent way" (1 Corinthians 12:31) is the possession of love, "the love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit." (Romans 5:5)
Take heed, "that you receive not the grace of God in vain." (2 Corinthians 6:1)
And, "Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." (1 Corinthians 10:12)--Present Truth, May 24, 1900--Timeline: IV-34 (Mission of the Twelve)--Matthew 9:35-10:8.