– It was considered among the Jews as God’s punishment for sins, either their own or their parents’. An example of this belief is narrated in John:
Jo 9,1-5 : Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva and with the mud he anointed the eyes of the blind man.
– There are other similar cases in the AT:
2Sm 12,13-15 : The Lord wounded the boy that Uriah’s wife had given to David and he fell seriously ill.
1 Kings 13 : 4-5 : But his hand which he had stretched out against the man withered, so that he could not bring it to him.
Ps 40,5 : As for me, I say to you: “Have mercy on me, Lord; heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
Is 53,3-4 : He was despised, he was the scum of humanity, a man of sorrows, experienced in suffering.
2Ch 16,12 : During his illness, he did not seek the support of the Lord, but that of the doctors.
– It is always God who heals:
Ex 15,26 : During his illness, he did not seek the support of the Lord, but that of the doctors.
Psalm 6:3: Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, for my bones are shaken.
– Therefore one should ask him for prayer:
Num 21,7-8 : We have sinned, murmuring against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord to keep these serpents away from us.
2Kings 20,7 : They took the dough and applied it on the ulcer and the king was healed.
Psalm 37 : Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, do not punish me in your anger.
Eclo 38,1-9 : Honor the doctor because of necessity, for it was the Most High who created him.
– In the NT healings are a sign of the arrival of the Kingdom of God, as prophesied by Isaiah:
Is 35,1-10 : Strengthen the feeble hands, strengthen the wobbly knees.
– Excerpt quoted as Jesus’ response to John the Baptist, who had sent him to ask if he was the one who should come:
Mt 11 :5: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised.
Mk 7:37 : He did all things well. He made the deaf hear and the dumb speak!
Jn 9:3: Jesus replied: “Neither this man sinned nor his parents, but the works of God must be manifested in him”.
– God is glorified in sickness:
Jn 9:3: Jesus replied: “Neither this man sinned nor his parents, but the works of God must be manifested in him”.
Jn 11:4 : This disease will not cause death, but it has the glory of God as its purpose.
2Cor 12,7-8 : I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan to buffet me.
– Jesus identifies with the sick:
Mt 25,35-45 : Naked and you clothed me; sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me.
