Christ has a healing mission. The question with which some of us struggle is how can we join with Christ in his healing mission? 
Posting about Christ\u27s mission in and to the world from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.
http://inallthings.org/joining-christ-in-mission

Stoub, Darren

English

Dordt College

Digital Collections @ Dordt Faculty Work Comprehensive List 3-9-2015 Joining Christ in Mission Darren Stoub Dordt College, darren.stoub@dordt.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_work  Part of the Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Stoub, D. (2015). Joining Christ in Mission. Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_work/351 This Blog Post is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Collections @ Dordt. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Work Comprehensive List by an authorized administrator of Digital Collections @ Dordt. For more information, please contact ingrid.mulder@dordt.edu. Joining Christ in Mission Abstract "Christ has a healing mission. The question with which some of us struggle is how can we join with Christ in his healing mission?" Posting about Christ's mission in and to the world from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world. http://inallthings.org/joining-christ-in-mission/ Keywords In All Things, God, healing, mission of the church, redemption Disciplines Christianity Comments In All Things is a publication of the Andreas Center for Reformed Scholarship and Service at Dordt College. This blog post is available at Digital Collections @ Dordt: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_work/351 Joining Christ in Mission inallthings.org /joining-christ-in-mission/Darren Stoub[Jesus] went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he wentinto the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of theprophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to thepoor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for theblind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled upthe scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in thesynagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture isfulfilled in your hearing.”–Luke 4:16-21Many Christians point to Luke 4 as a place where Christ defines his mission in and to the world. One of theideas that rises out of this passage is that Christ has a mission to heal humankind, whether physically,emotionally or spiritually. One could argue that Christ’s healing mission, while explicitly stated in the“recovery of sight for the blind,” was implicitly stated in the other statements: “good news to the poor,”which could have included the healing of the ten lepers,1 those who are poor and rejected by society; “thefreedom of the prisoners,” which could have been evidenced by the healing of the paralytic near the pool ofBethesda,2 a prisoner of his paralysis; and “the oppressed free,” which could have been seen through thehealing of the bleeding woman,3 oppressed because she was unclean for twelve years. Beyond an implicitreading of this passage, one can consider the fact that more than half of Christ’s thirty seven miracles arehealing miracles. For these and many other reasons, the healing mission was an important part of Christ’sministry on earth.In addition, Christ called His disciples to join with Him in this ministry. In Matthew 10, we read “Jesuscalled his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal everydisease and sickness.”4 After Pentecost, the apostles performed many healing miracles that lead others toaccept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives, including the man who had been lame his entire life,5the people who were brought before Peter, so that his shadow might fall upon them,6 and Paul’sresurrection of Eutychus.7Christ’s desire for healing in the world has not ended. His redemptive work in our physical, emotional andspiritual lives continues. The calling to be part of his healing is not for only the apostles. Rather, accordingto I Corinthians 12, each of us are given spiritual gifts through the Holy Spirit and healing is one that isbestowed on many who are called into Christ’s service.8Christ has a healing mission. The question with which some of us struggle is how can we join with Christin his healing mission? Over the next several months and through this series of reflections, I seek toconsider, address and struggle with the following questions about Christ’s Healing Mission:• What can we learn about Christ’s Healing Mission by investigating His healing miracles?• How are Christ’s miracles different than other religious healings? (a brief look at the history of medicine)• How has the church been involved in the Healing Mission throughout history?• How has our understanding and use of science enhanced Christ’s Healing Mission?• How has our understanding and use of science been counterproductive to Christ’s Healing Mission?• Should our identity as Christians affect how we use modern medicine?• Should our identity as Christians affect how we pay for modern medicine? (responses to the PatientProtection and Affordable Care Act of 2010)• What challenges does the future of medicine pose for us as Christians? (a look at the Christian’sresponsibility in bioethical discussions and decisions)• What is the main goal for Christ’s Healing Mission? (a realignment of medicine with Christ’s mission)My hope is that as we walk through these reflections together, several things will result:• we will engage in a thoughtful discussion about the various answers to these questions• we will identify more questions that need to be addressed• we will grow in community• we will understand Christ’s Healing Mission and our role in it more• and, that in all things, God will be glorified.I am excited to embark on this mission with you.Footnotes1. Luke 17:11-19 ↩2. John 5:1-18 ↩3. Mark 5:21-43 ↩4. Matthew 10:1 ↩5. Acts 4:22 ↩6. Acts 5: 12-16 ↩7. Acts 20:7-12 ↩8. I Corinthians 12:9 ↩

Joining Christ in Mission

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