Preach and Heal the Sick - Luke 9:2

The beloved physician Luke wrote how Jesus, “called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases”, and in chapter nine and verse two of his book Luke shared how Jesus sent His disciples, “to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick” where we read:

And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

The verse reads, “And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, ...” Luke began with the words, “and he sent them” or “and Jesus dispatched, dismissed and appointed His twelve disciples” “to preach” which means “to herald, proclaim and declare openly” “the kingdom of God” or “the royal power, kingship, dominion and rule belonging to the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. Luke shared how Jesus appointed His “twelve students” to go out and “herald” God's Kingdom.

The verse goes on to say, “... and to heal the sick.” Luke continued with the words, “and to heal” which means “and to cure, restore to health and make whole” “the sick” or “the feeble, weak, needy and poor”. Luke shared how Jesus also told His disciples to “restore to health” people who were “ill and in physical need”.

When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we see how Jesus “sent out” His “disciple apostles” to begin to minister the message of God's Kingdom. Jesus was training His “students” for ministry, and for them to reach out to the world after His eventual departure, they needed experience “preaching to” and “healing” people. Jesus desires to “save” every person from “sins” which separate them from a relationship with God, and after they are “saved”, He will use them in His Kingdom. Jesus' “disciples” learned to depend upon the Lord for their ability, and those who are wise will not only yield their lives to Him to be “saved”, but also make themselves available for Him to use.

Next time we see Luke share how Jesus told His disciples, “Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".