The Healing Jesus: An Advent Devotional to Encourage Anybody and EverybodySample

LUKE: THE ONE WHO HEALED OTHERS

I'm Luke. First and foremost, I am a Jesus follower and, second, a physician. But for me, those two things go hand in hand. Because I am a doctor, I can see the commonality that we all share as human beings. I get to see how, underneath our skin, we all look the same. Disease, infection, and even death don't care about your social status, job, or who you know. People of low social status or outsiders get the same ailments as those with power and influence. Death is the final blow for all humanity. All except Jesus.

Not only did Jesus die and rise from the dead, but he wants to give that victory to everyone. Jesus is our great healer. He has great compassion for the sick and poor specifically. Jesus healed a bedridden ill woman, a man with a skin disease, and a paralyzed man. For all three of these ailments, I know of no cure. But Jesus did, and there are eyewitness accounts of them. This is beyond medicine. It's a miracle.

But Jesus isn't just concerned with the poor in health. He was also concerned about those poor in social status and mental health, or what he calls poor in Spirit. That's why he welcomes tax collectors and prostitutes. Associating with these people was social suicide, but Jesus didn't care. He was committed to showing them love.

This is what I want to do. I want to expand the circle of Jesus's kingdom to include those on the outside. I want to reverse how we have done things: the smartest and strongest get ahead while the others lag. All people are valuable and worthy of medical treatment and salvation from Jesus.

Jesus taught me radical generosity, servant leadership, how to be a peacemaker, what forgiveness looks like, and how to be deeply committed to following Jesus.

Jesus is healing each of your wounds.

Questions for Talk it Over:

1. What was Luke's job?

2. What was a deep "heart wound" you received?

3. How has Jesus healed that wound?