Freaky Frugalite

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And, as His custom was, He went in to the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.

And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And unrolling the book, He found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me; because of this He has anointed Me to proclaim the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and new sight to the blind, to set at liberty those having been crushed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

And rolling up the book, returning it to the attendant, He sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your ears.” -Luke 4:16-21

I suppose you could spend a lifetime, looking closely at the message and intent and evidences of this section of scripture. I spent three days on “to heal the brokenhearted,” and I only just scratched the surface! But so far as I have studied, He heals the brokenhearted as easily and completely as He heals diseases as He forgives sin.

I went through the New Testament, looking for instances for the Greek words iaomai (to heal) and suntribo (brokenhearted). Here is a sampling of the list I made.

Suntribo: literally and figuratively “shattered into shivers or pieces” or “bruised”; As in broken bones, a broken piece of pottery, or something that is totally destitute or worn out.

• The alabaster box that was broken open to allow the perfume out. Mark 14:3
• The demon-possessed boy’s condition often threw him down, breaking and bruising him. Luke 9:39
• Broken as compared to bones broken. John 19:36
• God breaking satan under our feet (destroying his influence and activity). Romans 16:20
• Compared to a vessel of pottery being shattered by an iron rod, and of ungodly power being dashed away. Revelation 2:27

Iaomai is simply “to heal” or “to make whole.” It’s used for physical, spiritual, and mental healing. So the implication is that just as we believe Christ can heal a broken heart, just as Christ can heal your understanding to acknowledge exactly what He has done for sinners, He can heal a body or mind, too.

• The healing of the centurion’s servant Matt 8:8; Luke 7:7
• Christ speaks of healing in the way of conversion, understanding, and beholding Matt 13:15; John 12:40; Acts 28:27
• The Gentile woman’s daughter was healed Matt 15:28
• The woman’s physical infirmity was healed in Mark 5:29; Luke 8:47
• The power of the Lord was present in an area where Pharisees and doctors of the law had gathered, to heal them. Christ forgave a man’s sins and healed him as proof. Luke 5:17; John 5:13
• People came to be healed of diseases Luke 6:17; Luke 9:11
• The “virtue” (literally, dunamis) went out from Him to heal them all. Luke 6:19
• Christ sent His disciples to preach and to heal the sick. Luke 9:2
• A boy was healed of demon possession. Luke 9:42; John 4:47
• A man’s cut off ear is healed. Luke 22:51
• A lame man at the temple walks again. Acts 3:11
• A man sick with the palsy walks again. Acts 9:34
• Christ healed all oppressed of the devil. Acts 10:38
• Paul prayed for the ruler of Malta, who was healed. Acts 28:8
• Pray for one another, to be healed. James 5:16
• By the sufferings of Christ we are healed. 1 Peter 2:24

I am one of those who don’t believe that God is frivolous or wasteful with His words (Matt 12:36). I believe He uses certain words and certain language intentionally. Therefore, I come to the conclusion that God can heal the sick just as easily and completely as He can heal broken hearts, and vice versa.

It has seemed out of vogue (for past, oh, 1900 years!) to hold to a doctrine that God no longer heals people. But if He still heals broken hearts, if He still heals us of our sin to give us newness of life, then He still heals our bodies and minds. I don’t see any place in scripture where this is not so (and I’ve been studying scripture for almost 25 years). I say we should ditch the religious doctrines, stop studying religions and religious people and the students of the Bible (theology-ology, Keith Green used to call it)— and study GOD as He is revealed in the scriptures and to our hearts by His Spirit.

But first things first. The heart needs to be healed- to be made right. That severed communication between you and God needs to be restored. This is why Christ came as a man- to bridge that vast gap between a holy God and an unholy person. He really does heal the brokenhearted.

Read more Word For Wednesday!

Other Stuff You Might Like:

• All About MS
• I’ve Been a Guinea Pig
• Word For Wednesday: Are You a Good Person?
• WFW: Enjoy the Good of the Labor
• Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled