WHEN Christ sent out the twelve disciples on their first missionary tour, He bade them, "As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." 1 To the seventy sent forth later He said: "Into whatsoever city ye enter, heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you." 2 The presence and power of Christ was with them, "and the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name." 3 After Christ's ascension, the same work was continued. The scenes of His own ministry were repeated. "Out of the cities round about" there came a multitude "unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits, and they were healed every one." 5 And the disciples "went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them." "Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake. . . . For unclean spirits. . . came out of many that were possessed with them, and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city." Work of the Disciples Luke, the writer of the gospel that bears his name, was a medical missionary. In the Scriptures he is called "the 997 beloved physician." The apostle Paul heard of his skill as a physician, and sought him out as one to whom the Lord had entrusted a special work. He secured his cooperation, and for some time Luke accompanied him in his travels from place to place. After a time, Paul left Luke at Philippi, in Macedonia. Here he continued to labor for several years, both as a physician, and as a teacher of the gospel. In his work as a physician, he ministered to the sick, and then prayed for the healing power of God to rest upon the afflicted ones. Thus the way was opened for the gospel message. Luke's success as a physician gained for him many opportunities for preaching Christ among the heathen. It is the divine plan that we shall work as the disciples worked. Physical healing is bound up with the gospel commission. In the work of the gospel, teaching and healing. are never to be separated. The work of the disciples was to spread a knowledge of the gospel. To them was committed the work of proclaiming to all the world the good news that Christ brought to men. That work they accomplished for the people of their time. To every nation under heaven the gospel was carried in a single generation. "And then prayed for the healing power of God to rest upon the afflicted ones." The giving of the gospel to the world is the work that God has committed to those who bear His name. For earth's sin and misery the gospel is the only antidote. To make known to all mankind the message of the grace of God is the first work of those who know its healing power. |