Eliot so eager to spread the Gospel to the Auca people even when it cost him his life in 1956; not to mention the thousands of other Christian martyrs so willing to die for their faith. Today, God’ s promise of eternal life remains the same, encouraging believers to faithfully follow unto His calling— whether it be committing to full-time ministry or missionary work, or simply testifying to God’ s love on a college campus. Because in accordance with modern medical anthropology, the healing we believe in has credibility— and the most powerful evidence is that it has indeed worked before.
Grandma stopped treatment two months after her diagnosis.“ It’ s terminal anyways,” she explained. Instead, she laid on her hospital bed in the middle of our living room, praying and listening to“ Amazing Grace” on repeat. Though her body grew weaker and weaker, she was still so full of joy and life, excited for her upcoming baptism. She would often call me to her bedside to whisper,“ I’ m saved now, and I know God’ s waiting for me.”
( 3) The healer must meet the faith and expectations of larger society.
For thousands of years, the Jews had awaited a Messiah foretold by the Old Testament prophets. Between 739- 686 BC, the prophet Isaiah spoke of a Savior with no outward majesty, who would be rejected and crushed for man’ s iniquity— so that in His righteousness sheep that had gone astray would be counted righteous. Seven hundred years later, Jesus fulfilled all twelve verses of Isaiah 53 with remarkable accuracy. The meek and humble Servant, scorned by the ones He came to save, was pierced in His hands, feet, and side. The immeasurable weight of man’ s sin was nailed with Him to the cross, and by His wounds man was healed to“ live for righteousness”( 1 Peter 2:24).
Jesus not only fulfilled Old Testament Scripture, but He also surpassed all expectations. The Jews had been waiting for a Messianic King who would overthrow the Roman Empire and establish a powerful militaristic kingdom for them. Jesus certainly was a king: a descendant of King David whose word established a New Law, with all authority in heaven and earth. 9
9 Hebrews 8:6-13, Matthew 28:18
Yet Jesus also had the eternal divinity of the capital-K King of Kings: He spoke life-giving words and performed life-saving signs and miracles. But unlike the militaristic king expected by the Jews, Jesus was gentle and humble, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. The Gospel of Mark portrays Christ the servant who associated Himself with the lowest in society( prostitutes, tax collectors, widows, and Samaritans). While on earth, He spent most of His ministry among the simple and needy multitude, and today, Jesus cares for us in the same way. He feels compassion for those who are suffering, and He has the tenderness and empathy we seek in a healer. He knows our every struggle; for as a man, He suffered and overcame all the sin and temptation that we wrestle with. Jesus fully understands the plight and need of humankind, and His heart goes out to His people. His mercies are tender and His affections sweet to those who come to Him for healing.
When God finally did take my grandma home, my mom was heartbroken, sobbing in frustration and anguish at the seeming unfairness of it all. But then, she would quiet:“ Mom’ s in a better place now … eternal life in heaven, where there’ s no more pain or death or weeping...” It was a miracle of complete healing for my grandma, and then an overflowing of comfort for my mom. When deep called to deep, the Great Physician certainly answered.
Medical anthropology affirms Jesus’ s healing work. The three levels of belief required for effectual healing have been met—( 1) Jesus believed in the effectiveness of His salvation, for He willingly suffered and died to grant it;( 2) billions of Christians today and throughout history live or have lived testifying of their full belief in Jesus’ s ability to heal; and( 3) Jesus is wholly equipped to be our healer, fulfilling Old Testament Scriptures and even soaring past our expectations. We can be confident that complete healing has already been achieved both in and through Christ. Medical anthropological theory thus attests to the Gospel, illustrating just one of many arguments as to why we find the uttermost redemption from sin and death through Jesus.
“ Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls”— sinners, in the depths of despair, received a perfect healing. Guilty, broken man was unconditionally forgiven, brought into eternal life when Christ hung on the cross. For His cry rings as thunderously now as it did two thousand years ago, the roar of a waterfall proclaiming,“ It is finished!”
Claire Lin is a sophomore at Brown studying Biology.
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