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Medicine is a fascinating thing. We learned a great deal over the years and have been able to prolong and stabalize life in new and amazing ways. In addition, for the past few years there's been a push to expand treatment for sickness and disease - some folks call it wholistic. It's a combination of recommendations that treat the mind body and soul:

  • Mind (typically includes nutrition and exercise recommendations)
  • Body (typically includes medication recommendations)
  • Soul (typically includes some kind of coaching, mentorship, or therapy)

Certainly these three areas have a good deal of overlap, and that is precisely the point. For wholistic healing, sometimes we need a variety of balanced approaches.

When we look at the kind of healing that Jesus performs, we recognize that he actually is interested in treating all three, and that in treating all three it will effect the others.

Matthew 4:24 in Young's Literal Translation says, "24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.

The list includes:

  • Lunatics (mind healing)
  • Severe Pain & Paralytics (body healing)
  • Demoniacs (soul healing)

In other words, when it comes to the healing ministry of Jesus - he's interested in the whole man - total, complete, and wholistic healing.

This Epiphany season, we are reminded that as Jesus shows himself forth - he isn't a one dimensional leader, teacher, or healer. On the contrary, whatever ails us, whatever pains us, whatever hinders us - we can anticipate that he has breadth of power to lift it off of us.