Sickness: Causes & Cures

Genesis 2:17 English Standard Version

Miracles: Part Three – Healing

Six Causes & Cures of Sickness

1. The Fall of Humanity (Genesis 2:17; Genesis 3:19)

a. Genesis 2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

b. Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

c. The Atonement (Isaiah 53:4)

i. Isaiah 53:4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

ii. Matthew 8:17This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

iii. Isaiah 53:5 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.

iv. 1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

2. Sin (John 5:5, 14)

a. John 5:5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

b. John 5:14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”

c. Grace (John 5:13-14)

i. John 5:13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.

ii. John 5:14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple…

3. Heredity (John 9:1-2)

a. John 9:1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.

b. John 9:2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

c. Glory (John 9:3)

i. John 9:3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

4. Malfunction (Luke 8:43-44)

a. Luke 8:43 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone.

b. Luke 8:44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased.

c. Faith (Luke 8:48)

i. Luke 8:48 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

ii. Luke 7:48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

iii. Luke 7:49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

iv. Luke 7:50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

5. Satan (Luke 13:10-11)

a. Luke 13:10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

b. Luke 13:11 And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.

c. Authority (Luke 13:12-13, 16)

i. Luke 13:12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.”

ii. Luke 13:13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.

iii. Luke 13:16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

iv. Mark 16:17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

v. Mark 16:18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

6. Abuse or Neglect(Philippians 2:25-26, 30)

a. Philippians 2:25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need,

b. Philippians 2:26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.

c. Philippians 2:30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

d. Mercy (Philippians 2:27)

i. Philippians 2:27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

Conclusion

James 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

James 5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.