Jesus' Healing Ministry in Luke: A Model Approach to Minister with Those Who are Suffering
Keywords:
Messianic prophecy, Kingdom of God, holistic healing, eschatological hopeAbstract
This study determines the healing motif in the Gospel of Luke as performed by Jesus. The significance of Jesus’ healing ministry has been highlighted in the Third Gospel through the prominence and distribution of healing narratives in the general outline of Luke’s Gospel. The emphasis of Luke in presenting the episodes of Jesus’ healing is profound and provides a timeless model on how to deal with human suffering. Using a qualitative approach by looking at various healing narratives within the Gospel, this study found out that Jesus’ healing ministry has four basic characteristics that provide an example on how the church should minister with those who are suffering. First, Jesus’ healing ministry is based on the revelation of Jesus’ identity. It reveals who Jesus is. Through His ministry, Jesus fulfilled the Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 61:1, 2, a passage that uses the terminologies of the Year of Jubilee in the Book of Leviticus. Second, it is a ministry that is founded on genuine compassion. The Gospel of Luke alludes to many Old Testament passages that highlight the mercy and compassion of God. The third perspective of Jesus’ healing ministry is the in-breaking of God’s Kingdom. The coming of God’s Kingdom through Jesus’ healing highlights the themes of creation, forgiveness, holistic restoration, and liberation from the bondage of Satan. Lastly, the healing ministry of Jesus points to the future eschatological hope that nurtures faith, endurance, and anticipation of God’s promise of total restoration in the future. The Church should emulate the model of Jesus’ healing ministry by introducing Jesus to those who are suffering, making them the object of genuine compassion, treating them holistically by ministering to people’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, and pointing them to the future promises of God that will find its fulfillment at the Parousia.
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