INL September 17, 2004  

SOUNDING OUT:
Thy Faith Hath Made Thee Whole

  It is never once recorded in the Bible where Jesus ever said, “My faith hath made thee whole.” But it is recorded five times that Jesus said, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” Jesus was always aware of and concerned about people’s faith. He often asked about it. He asked of one blind man, “Believe ye that I am able to do this? (Matthew 9:28) He asked the impotent man, “Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:6) If their faith was not adequate for their healing, he taught them more of the Word of God. Then faith came by hearing, and they believed to receive.

  There are five places where it is recorded that Jesus attributes a healing to someone’s faith. On these occasions we see the perseverance of the people. They did not quit or give up until they got what they needed. This phrase occurs three times in the accounts of the woman with the issue of blood recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Mark: 5:25-34: [See also Matthew 9:20-22 and Luke 8:43-48]
And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, [Leviticus 15:19 and 25 says that this woman would be unclean for the entire time that she had this issue of blood.]
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, [Sometimes when people have lost all hope, they go to God knowing only He can help.]
27 When she had heard of Jesus [She had heard of the healer, and she went to him to get hers.], came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28 For she said [Lego, imperfect noting continous, repetitive, or habitual action in the past over a period of time.], If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt [after having touched him; she took the believing action first] in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue [dunamis, a miracle] had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? [Can you really feel that? He knew it spiritually. The reason he gets on this is because there is more that needs to be done for this lady.]
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. [He was looking for a lady.]
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing [Oida; perfect noting action in the past with its effect in the present] what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. [She told him how it happened.]
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

  That is what she needed to know. She needed to know it was OK; she hadn’t stolen her healing. What she did was all right, she didn’t need to feel bad or guilty about it. She didn’t have to wonder if it was the right thing to do… whether she should she tell people about it or not.

  Matthew and Luke also record this healing and the phrase, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” The next place this phrase shows up is in the healing of blind Bartimaeus.

Mark 10:46-52:
And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.
47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.
50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.
51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.
52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

  Bartimaeus was no longer blind; his faith had healed him.

  That last occurrence of this phrase is in the healing of the ten lepers.

Luke 17:12-17:
And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass [pleonasm], that, as they went [They obeyed a simple command.], they were cleansed.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan [half-breeds].
17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. [Jesus didn’t have that cultural prejudice.]
19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

  Besides the phrase “Thy faith hath made thy whole.” Jesus also spoken many similar truths like: “As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” (Matthew 8:13) and “According to your faith be it unto you.” (Matthew 9:29) In fact the woman who loved much to whom Jesus ministered in Luke 7 was told, “Thy faith hath saved thee.” That phrase in the Greek is exactly the same as “thy faith hath made thee whole.” So in Greek we have another occurrence.

  We saw from these accounts the persistence of the people to speak their healing into being. They did not let anyone stop them; they persisted until they received what they needed. Their faith healed them because they unleashed its power by attaching words and actions to it. We also noted the difference between just being physically healed and being made whole was giving glory to God.

  An important point about this phrase, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” is that the word “whole” is the Greek word sozo. God uses the same word in the Greek to describe being saved from sin (Matthew 1:21; I Timothy 1:15; Mark 16:16; Romans 10:9) and being healed from sickness (James 5:15; Matthew 9:21,22; Mark 5:28; 6:56; 10:52; Luke 8:26; Acts 4:9; 14:9).

  God’s idea of what it means to be saved encompasses much more than most people understand. God not only saves by giving eternal life, but He also saves from trouble or sicknesses we face in this life. Now that we are God’s children, we should expect to see His salvation in all forms and fashions as Romans 5:10 says, “For if, when we were enemies [referring to before we were born again], we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled [now that we are born again sons of God], we shall be saved [sozo] by his life.” This salvation is not from sin, but from sickness and any other difficult situation we may face once we are born again.