“Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.”(Matt 20:34)
Medicine in Biblical Times
Jesus was known for healing people! It was right up there with teaching the crowds and one reason people followed him everywhere! Can you imagine living in those days? What type of medical training and medicine was available? Believe it or not, some artifacts show the first primitive “surgery” dates back to 6500 B.C. – anesthesia didn’t come on the scene until the 1800s. OUCH!
Biblically, several types of diseases are mentioned; wasting diseases, leprosy and various skin issues, boils, pestilence, infirmity, tumors, festering sores, and itch, to name a few. These are not individual illnesses but rather groups of diseases. Wasting diseases usually cause muscles to deteriorate, creating progressive emaciation and weakness. Chronic diarrhea or dysentery is one example that was prevalent during that time. Things like skin issues and boils could be anything related to the skin. In our day, infirmity is classified by several diseases, and many illnesses are caused by pestilence. The “itch” written in Deuteronomy 28:27 was most likely scabies. Many of the physical problems that existed in those days are curable in our time.
Biblical Origins of Illness & Physical Problems
God warns the Israelites that disobedience would result in many problems – crop failure, drought, death, famine, exile, and illness, among others. Deuteronomy 27 and 28 are dedicated to explaining blessings for following God and curses for being disobedient. I will include limited portions of scripture, but you should read the entire chapter yourself. Be warned, it will sound very harsh, but stay with it to the end because there is hope!
In Deuteronomy 28, Moses addresses the people. I will only include the verses that pertain to the subject of illnesses.
Deut. 28:15:
“However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:” (NIV)
Deut. 28: 21 – 22:
“The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish.” (NIV)
Deut. 28:27-28:
“The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind.” (NIV)
Deut. 28:59-61:
“The LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed.” (NIV)
Deut. 28:35:
“The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.” (NIV)
OUCH! That’s a lot of sicknesses! In my earlier blog, “Jesus the Second Adam,” I wrote about actions and consequences. Just as God laid out the plan for Adam and Eve, he has laid out the plan for the nation of Israel. God’s outline tells them what to expect regarding their choice. They will either be blessed beyond measure or cursed to the point of destruction. Chapter 28 begins with the blessings of obedience which state that everything will be blessed! But if the people choose otherwise, then all those blessings become curses.
As time goes on, the priesthood becomes more corrupt. The people now live under the rules of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Jesus loves the crowds and has compassion for them, leading to the ability to break the curses.
Jesus: The Curse Breaker & Healer
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One thing Jesus’ death accomplished was the breaking of curses, sickness, and diseases from us. Deuteronomy explains that the punishment of being hung on a tree predated Jesus’ time.
Deut. 21:22-23:
“If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” (NIV)
We likely think that hanging on a tree involves a rope noose put around a person’s neck with the rope slung over a tree branch. However, being hung on a tree can take more than one form. The Romans were the most famous for using crucifixion as capital punishment. The pole and beam that formed the cross were made of wood. Criminals were fastened to the crossbeam using ropes to tie their arms and nails pounded through their hands or wrists – hence, Jesus was hung from a tree, and by doing so, he became the curse.
Galatians 3:13-14:
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” (ESV)
Jesus becoming the curse allows us the opportunity to be free from the curse of sickness and disease. Isaiah 53 foretells the coming of Jesus. It explains who he would be and what he would achieve. Jesus is our innocent, once and for all sin offering who God will use in our place. He’s coming to heal us and take up our affliction.
Isaiah 53:5 (You should read the whole chapter!)
“But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.”
Jesus loves us and gladly steps in to do something that we can’t do for ourselves. He takes our place in eternal death and releases life, peace, and healing.
Until next time under the palm, be blessed!
