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AUTHORITY TO TEACH AND HEAL (MARK 1:35-45)

REFLECTION

“Authority to teach and heal” is the theme for our reflection. Authority means the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience. To teach means to impart knowledge or to instruct someone as to how to do something. To heal means to cause someone to become sound and healthy again. Authority to teach and heal means to possess the power or right to impart knowledge or instruct people and also to restore their health. We shall reflect on the fact that we must have faith or trust in Jesus because He has the authority to teach and heal us.

Beloved in the loved, Jesus has the authority to teach and heal because He said to His disciples ““Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” ³⁹ So he travelled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons… A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.” (Mark 1:38-39,40-42). In other words, because some of us are ignorant of God’s will through His Word and have become spiritually weak thereby becoming victims to demons, Jesus came with authority to teach us the will of God and also to liberate us from the power of darkness. He does not only liberate us mentally and spiritually but He also has the authority to restore our health. Jesus’ authority to teach and heal brings us the totality of well-being or Shalom. A person’s well-being must be spiritual and physical. It is, for this reason that Jesus assures us, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10). Having life in fullness means to be spiritually connected with God through the knowledge and obedience of His Word, to overcome demons through the power of the Holy Spirit and to receive healing through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dear friend in Christ, no human being has the authority to teach and heal unless he or she is authorized or given the power by our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus did not only come to demonstrate His authority to teach and heal but also to empower or authorise His disciples or those who will believe in Him to continue the ministry of teaching and healing people who will accept Him as Lord and Saviour. It is for this reason Jesus said to disciples “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:18-20) Again Jesus has given us the authority to teach and heal when He said “As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. (Matthew 10:7-8). Beloved in the Lord, to be authorised by Jesus to teach and heal requires our faith and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. To be authorised or empowered to teach and heal through the gift of the Holy Spirit, Jesus admonishes us to ““Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8) John the Baptist reminds us that no human being has the power to do anything on his or her own rather ““A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. (John 3:27). Instead of asking Jesus to teach and heal us thereby empowering us to do the same, many Christians in the 21st century, especially, some African Christians have ignorantly become victims to charlatans. Thousands of fake prophets and miracle workers are in the business of holding people mentally, spiritually and physically captive for their personal gain. We have Christians roaming from one prayer camp to the other as if God is divided and ought to be physically put together in pieces before He can be discovered. Many have wasted their life savings, time and energy and unfortunately have their family disintegrated or destroyed because of fake prophecies, misleading spiritual directions and enticing but false revelations. Dear friend, Jesus did not come to liberate us to further burden us. He has assured us that “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:12-14). The church we attend and their way of worship may not be our problem, our problem is our lack of understanding of God’s Word and our shallow faith. We are reminded in Hosea 4:6 that “my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:6) This is why Jesus with His authority came to teach and heal us with the knowledge and power of God and has assured us that “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

In summary, we have reflected on the theme “Authority to teach and heal.” We have discovered that we must have faith in Jesus because He is the only one who has the authority to teach and heal us and also the only one who authorises us through the power of the Holy Spirit to teach and heal others through faith and obedience to His Word.

PRAYER

Jesus, we surrender ourselves to Your life-giving teachings and healing authority over our lives. May You empower us through faith and obedience to Your Word to proclaim Your Word and become instruments of transformation and restoration in the lives of those who are willing to repent and accept You as Lord and Saviour. Amen.