Jesus once made this statement in rebuking the teachers of the law and the Pharisees:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”
Matthew 23:23 NKJV
In making this statement Jesus was not condemning the Pharisees for collecting tithes of spices and herbs. In fact, He was affirming their collection of those tithes, while encouraging them to pay closer attention to the most important thing around the administration of the tithes.
Jesus was well aware of the usages of these spices and herbs in the Temple. He knew that they were being used for the healing of the sick (see 2 Kings 20:7; Jeremiah 8:22; 46:11; 51:8).
Some other spices and herbs were also being used for worship in accordance with the Law of Moses. Jesus never came to abolish the law of Moses. He came to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17-20).
The Lord God created the trees and leaves from which spices and herbs are produced (Genesis 1:11-13).
They are created for the benefit of every human being on the earth, as food supplements to nourish the body and to support the healing process, while restoring the body to good health.
The usage of the modern-day prescription medicine needs to be understood in this light as well. The origin is of God. He created every ingredient that are used in making them.
The use of modern-day prescription medicine is in fact another means by which, the Lord brings healing to the physical body, apart from the application of our faith in His word.
We do know that the practice of medical science in the nation of Israel started from inside the Temple.
The role of the Priests and the Levites in preventing the spread of sicknesses and diseases among the people was given to them by God, through the instructions and guidelines that are in the Book of the law of Moses.
The Priests and the Levites do have the power or authority from God to proclaim a sick or diseased person healed.
This is one of the reasons why the Jews today don’t ever underestimate the words of the Rabbis. Their words are respected and their opinions on health issues are still guiding the practice of medical science in Israel.
Under the New Testament Dispensation that we are living in today, the scripture makes it clear that:
“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves.”
Hebrews 10:1a NLT
However, there are some Priests of the New Testament today, who are not exercising their God’s given power and authority in the name of Jesus to heal the sick. They don’t believe in healing the sick. It doesn’t work for them, because they don’t practice it.
It is pathetic to note that there are many New Testament Priests, who do not believe that they do have the power in the name of Jesus to heal the sick.
Whereas the Priests and Rabbis under the Law of Moses have not relegated, their role and authority among the people, with the use of spices and herbs to heal the sick.
The wisdom of medical experts and pharmacists are from God. A medical doctor has the authority to pronounce a person dead or alive, just as a New Testament Priest can pronounce a person healed in the name of Jesus.
The pronouncement of a medical doctor today unfortunately carries more weight than, that of these unbelieving New Testament Priests to heal the sick.
In other words, as Jesus said in the above scripture text, the medical doctors are showing justice, mercy and their faith in healing the sick. While the unbelieving New Testament Priests are not different from the scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites who Jesus was referring to in His statement above.
The unbelieving New Testament Priest has the authority to heal the sick in the name of Jesus, just as much as the Priests and the Rabbis in the Old Testament can do the same thing.
It’s interesting to note that there are still a lot of Priests of the Law of Moses in Israel today, who are still healing the sick.
Whereas at the same time there are certain Priests of the New Testament, who don’t even believe what Jesus taught about healing. Yet people are dying in their congregations every day. Their major function within the Church is to bury the dead, instead of healing the sick in their midst.
That’s why it’s not surprising to see God using medical doctors to manifest His healing power, through the things that He had created on the earth. God is the source of all the wisdom that are evolving through medical science to heal the sick.
That’s why it’s important to be seeking advice from medical practitioners, who are born-again and Holy Spirit filled. The Spirit of God works through them in His wisdom with regards to the healing and health of His children.
Moreover, people all over the world have been abusing the use of prescription medications, that are meant for the healing of the body to their own detriment. Many are dying daily because of the overdose usage or abuse of prescription drugs medication.
Whereas the God who gave the wisdom for their usage to men, do expect us to be using our faith to stay healthy, after the body has completely recovered from sicknesses and diseases. Many don’t even have an ounce of faith or the faith of a mustard seed in applying wisdom to stay healed and healthy.
They have succumbed to the use of prescription drugs to be healed, while the effects of being addicted to those drugs is deteriorating their health. It is so easy to put a pill in the mouth and swallow it, because the mindset has been trained to depend on it, instead of using faith to get healed and stay healthy.
Unfortunately, most of these people are relying on prescription medications to sustain their health, after being completely healed in the body. Whereas God has given us faith in His word, but spices and herbs (as mentioned by Jesus above) are meant in helping us to stay healed and healthy in the physical body.
The devil is using the fear of a recurrence in sickness to cripple their faith. So that instead of having faith in the promises of God to work for them, they are having faith in the prescription medications to prevent them from getting sick again. The enemy is using the fear of getting sick again to cripple their faith for healing and good health.
God created the human body to naturally heal by itself, without being dependent on prescription medications. A diseased body is having difficulty to naturally heal itself.
That’s why prescription medications are important to help the body in getting to the state, where it can begin to naturally heal itself, without being dependent upon them forever.
Jesus is the life Giver and not the prescription medications. Jesus is the Savior and Healer of the body. And your faith in Him and in His promises is the key to plug into His healing virtues.
Jesus in the beginning statement above was drawing a line in between what was going on inside the Temple, and what He was doing in His ministry outside the Synagogues to heal the sick and set the captives free.
His statement is not different from what we are doing today, when we are drawing a line between the roles of the medical scientists and that of the Priests in the healing ministry.
There is a line that connects the two. It will take only those who do have spiritual discernment, as either a Priest or a medical practitioner to be able to walk in that line, so as to save lives and bring healing to our world. And it takes faith in God to be able to do that.
Jesus never disavowed the practice of medical science with the above statement. The Priests during the time of Jesus played a huge role, in declaring people as being either healed or sick and diseased.
That’s why Jesus would often tell those who had been healed by Him, to go and show themselves to the Priests. It’s just like going to a doctor to confirm that the body has been healed.
Jesus acknowledged the expertise of the Priests in this role within the Jewish community (see Luke 17:14; Mark 1:44; Matthew 8:4 and much more).
In other words, a born again, Holy Spirit filled medical doctor also stands as a Priest to minister the healing anointing of Jesus Christ to his patients.
And by not disavowing the practice of the priests to collect the tithes of the herbs and spices, Jesus was acknowledging the office that they were standing in.
But in the statement above He was pointing out an important aspect in the process of healing for the body, which some in the medical profession have been neglecting in our world today.
Jesus was pointing out to them that even though the usage of spices and herbs, were approved by the God who had created them; their application however needs to be guided with justice, mercy and faith in God to heal the sick and set the captives free.
In other words, Jesus in this statement was approving of the works of the pharmacists and pharmacologists in helping the recovery of the sick.
And just as He was appealing to the Pharisees about justice, mercy and faith; He is appealing to the professionals in our world today about the same things.
Greed and the love for money is behind what some of them are seeking after in our world today, just as greed and the love for money was behind what the Scribes and the Pharisees were doing at the time of Jesus.
The practice of modern-day medicine has a lot to learn from this statement by Jesus to the Pharisees.
Are you allowing greed and the love for money, to be the motivation behind the practice of your profession? Or are you being driven by the desire for justice, mercy and faith in God to prevail always in healing the sick?
What Jesus was implying here is that justice, mercy and faith needs to be the primary principle; that guides the practice of medical science even in our world today.
The sick needs to get justice from the doctors against the works of the devil, so as to get healed and to stay healthy in the body.
The body of the sick is pleading for mercy with the use of the prescription medications, so that they won’t get overused or abused with the use of it.
The sick person is seeking and pleading to see the faith of his medical professional in God, at work to minister healing and deliverance to his body.
This mean that doctors and other medical professionals needs to be seeing God working through their hands, to bring healing to the sick.
A good Christian medical practitioner will always pray for the patients daily. He acknowledges that God is the Creator of the human body. And that God alone knows the perfect diagnosis of every patient that he sees daily.
So, he seeks the wisdom that comes from above for the discernment of the spiritual needs of the patient, before even considering the physical diagnosis.
This is because oftentimes sicknesses do have spiritual underlying conditions, which must first be addressed spiritually for the healing to take place.
Oftentimes the physical diagnosis disappears as the spiritual underlying conditions are addressed. By seeking God daily, a medical doctor is able to identify when a spiritual approach is more effective, than a scientific approach to heal the sick.
That’s why a Spirit filled medical doctor needs to be praying in the spirit, before consultations with the patients, or before going into the operating room for surgical procedures. He knows that Jesus is the Greatest Physician of all, so he puts his trust in Him for guidance.
These three things – justice, mercy and faith in God are important. Every medical practitioner needs to be taking these three things to heart daily; so that their practice of medical science does not make them to be, as Jesus referred to the Pharisees in the above statement:
“Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”
Matthew 23:24 NKJV
There was corruption going on in the Temple at the time when Jesus made the above statement to the Pharisees.
The Pharisees thought that they could catch Jesus in their ploy, to get Him to violate the law of Moses. But Jesus caught them in their plot before they could catch Him. He saw the evil and the injustice being carried out by those who were in the position of authority.
Jesus knew the huge responsibility that fell on these scribes and Pharisees. He wanted to help them in their responsibility before God and the people.
That’s why He was quick to point out to them, that they were being negligent of the most important things.
Jesus is referring to you too.
The application of justice, mercy and faith to heal the sick is not only important for those in the medical profession.
They are more important for those who serve as Priests today. Justice, mercy and faith should be the driving force in the ministration of healing to the sick.
The healing of the body is basically the restoration of the physical body from a diseased condition.
A diseased condition in the body points to the deterioration of the body tissues and its system. It’s a condition in the body that calls for these three – justice, mercy and faith, so that we can be effective in ministering healing to the sick.
The body of a sick person is crying out for justice against the devil, who has afflicted him with the sickness or the disease.
Justice is the cry of the Holy Spirit within our hearts whenever we see the sick. And justice can flow effectively through you, if you have the compassion and love to heal the sick with your faith.
We execute justice against the works of the devil in the name of Jesus. If a Priest is not standing firmly in his office as Priest, the use of his spiritual authority against the works of the devil in the administration of justice can’t be effective.
There Is nowhere in the scriptures where you will ever see Jesus ministering healing to the sick out of pity for them. He is always moved with compassion to heal the sick. This is how justice manifests the love of God towards the sick.
Justice with compassion was at the core center of the Ministry of Jesus on the earth.
His core value in the Ministry during His time on the earth, was plain and simple enough for everyone in the Synagogue to understand, as He read it from the book of the Prophet Isaiah concerning Himself:
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
Luke 4:18-19 NKJV
This is the justice that Jesus expects from us as His Priests in the world today.
Justice is in the declaration of the gospel of Jesus Christ to save the lost, to heal the sick and to deliver the captives. The same word of God that saves the lost, has the power in it to heal the sick as it’s being proclaimed.
The manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit comes through the declaration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
If the gospel of Jesus Christ about healing is not being preached the sick will not be healed. Neither will the captives ever be delivered, if the gospel is not being preached in the same way to make them free.
In the same manner the poor can never be delivered from poverty, if prosperity is not being preached to cause them to prosper.
The manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are important for miracles, signs and wonders. But the gifts can never be activated where faith in them is not being applied.
The manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with how much you are fasting and praying. In fact, they have nothing to do with fasting and praying. They however have everything to do with your faith in them.
In other words, if you’re not teaching and preaching about spiritual gifts, they won’t flow or work in the midst of your congregation.
The Holy Spirit will only move with His gifts, wherever the words about the gifts are being declared. People can only give prophesies to the extent by which room is being made available, for the gift of prophecy to manifest with the declaration of the gospel of Jesus Christ from the pulpit.
In other words, justice is rendered in the household of faith from the pulpit, and not from the pews.
It’s from the pulpit that the gifts flow to the individual members of the body of Christ, so that they can be empowered to prosper with them.
And there is no congregation that can ever give, what she does not have to bless her community.
A community that is full of sick people may have only one Church. And this one Church may only be preaching holiness.
Eventually this Church will manifest what is being preached from the pulpit – holiness, because that’s what they have faith for.
The same congregation may however still be full of the sick and people who are dying daily in her midst.
How can a congregation be living in holiness, yet her members are sick and dying all the time?
This is because justice is being denied the people of God from the pulpit. Healing will only flow whenever the word of healing is being preached, even though they are all living holy lives.
It’s important to give justice to the sick at all times with the declaration of the gospel of Jesus Christ about healing.
The message that is being preached from the pulpit should be making room for the lost to be saved.
We have to pray for the sick to be healed, before they can be healed. Whatever we are making room for with the declaration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, is what will manifest upon the people of God.
Jesus can only do whatsoever those who are in authority within the Church are allowing Him to do.
If you will pray for the sick, they will be healed. If you’re praying for the sinners to be saved, Jesus will manifest Himself as the Savior to them.
There was never a community in which Jesus preached and taught, without serving justice on the devil by ministering healing with compassion.
The Scriptures once says:
“And when Jesus went out, He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick.”
Matthew 14:14 NKJV
Jesus was moved with compassion to heal the sick after teaching and preaching the word. That’s the pattern of Jesus Christ. And it ought to be the golden standard for us also, if we are truly following in His examples.
Oftentimes I had personal seen the Preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who are allowing the customs and traditions of their communities, to guide them in ministering with compassion to the sick.
They will not minister justice to the sick because, they are being careful not to become offensive, to the customs and traditions of the self-righteous religious people around them.
That’s the same hypocrisy which the Pharisees exhibited in the time of Jesus. They were denying the people of God justice, until Jesus came into their midst.
Jesus never did that. In fact, He rebuked them for it every time He sees this hypocrisy among them (Matthew 15:3-9).
The Bible says on one occasion as He went into the Synagogue, the Pharisees were trying to see if He would heal on the Sabbath day:
“So, they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.” Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.”
Mark 3:2-5 NKJV
The Pharisees were using their customs and traditions concerning the Sabbath day, to hold people in bondage to the devil.
But Jesus gave justice to the sick, irrespective of what the custom or tradition was all about. Jesus healed the sick in the Synagogue on the Sabbath day, because He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28).
Don’t allow religious traditions to dictate the direction of your healing ministry. Heal the sick whenever and wherever they are found.
Healing was available for the people wherever Jesus went. The healing of the sick is the manifestation of the mercy of God, while the working of miracles, signs and wonders reveals His power.
The mercy of God is needed to minister to those who are sick.
As Jesus once said:
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
Matthew 5:7 NKJV
A minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ who is merciful through the laying on of hands on the sick, will see the sick being healed by the mercy of God. You can’t give what you don’t have.
You can’t give mercy, if you’re not merciful. Jesus can only manifest mercy through you, if you are willing to show mercy.
And mercy should never be confused with pity on the sick. If you are allowing pity, instead of mercy to guide your healing ministry, you will never see the sick healed.
This is because the healing anointing of Jesus does not flow with pity, but mercy.
Being pitiful will cause you to feel sorry for the sick. The devil wants you to be pitiful for the sick, instead of being merciful.
Don’t fall for the trick of the devil. Being sorry for the sick will manifest sorrow in their lives. Instead of helping them, you are indeed making their situation worse.
You can’t be bold when you are being pitiful. That’s what the devil is doing to hinder your faith in healing the sick.
Choose to show the mercy of God with the joy of the Holy Spirit. God has called you into the ministry of mercy. Show it with compassion, love and joy in the Holy Ghost while doing justice with Christ’s righteousness in you.
The Prophet Micah said:
“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Micah 6:8 NKJV
Justice and mercy go together with a heart of humility in healing the sick. But it’s with the preaching of the word of God, that we can cause the devil to tremble in fear and flee away in terror.
Satan can’t stand wherever the gospel of Jesus Christ is being declared to manifest healing.
All demons will tremble and begin to flee away in terror, wherever the gospel is being declared in this manner. But you need justice and mercy to walk humbly before the Lord, so as to heal the sick.
Humility will prevent you from being pompous with miracles, signs and wonders. It will cause you to magnify Jesus for every testimony that will accompany your declaration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Walking in humility is part of your character as a Christian. You don’t ever want God to humble you by Himself. It’s meant to be done willingly, and as your act of obedience to God’ and His word.
If you will have to wait for the Lord to humble you, you will end up not finding it pleasant.
God will humble those who don’t want to be humbled willingly by themselves, because He will never allow a man to take His glory.
Walking in humility will shield you from being in that type of situation with your faith. Walk humbly before the Lord, as you are laying hands on the sick to recover.
And being humbled does not means that you are sad.
In fact, it’s impossible to minister healing without a cheerful heart in declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ. The manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit comes in this way with cheerfulness of heart.
That’s why the Apostle Paul said:
“He who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”
Romans 12:8 NKJV
He who shows mercy (not pity) to the sick, should do it cheerfully. The healing of the sick manifests the mercy of God with cheerfulness of the heart.
The third element that Jesus mentioned in Matthew 23:23 is our faith in God, or our faithfulness to the Lord with the declaration of the gospel itself.
Jesus said:
“But if you keep on being faithful right to the end, you will be saved.”
Matthew 24:13 CEV
Being faithful to the end with the declaration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, will guarantee deliverance to the captives. That’s why it’s important to always finish whatever we’ve started well, and to finish it faithfully.
The same word to be “saved” also includes healing and deliverance. Your faithfulness in teaching and preaching does not only save those who are lost.
The same act of faithfulness should follow the healing ministry to the sick.
Righteousness was imputed to Abraham because of his faith in God. He did justice by walking in the right way before the Lord God. His faithfulness was passed on to his seed (Isaac) after him.
Abraham lived a lifestyle of faith that his son was able to emulate. He lived the lifestyle that he talked about everywhere for people to see. He was authentic. And the people could relate with him.
The Lord God said about him:
“For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
Genesis 18:19 NKJV
Whatsoever you are doing in the ministry today let justice, mercy and faith be your guide into prosperity; with the gifts that God has placed over your life.
You can’t afford to fail God in your calling. Being a medical doctor is a calling of God.
A medical doctor is able to be used of God, as he listens for His wisdom in bringing healing to the sick.
It’s not different from the calling of those in the fivefold ministries, even though it is not as high as theirs. But it’s the same God who has given the gifts of healing to all men as He pleases.
Be wise in using your gifts by always staying connected to the Giver Himself. Be fruitful with it. Increase and multiply with it.
The world needs you and your gift. Glorify Jesus with it by showing justice, mercy and faith in Jesus’ name.
