A very excellent day.

It's beautiful and sunny and not too hot out today, and I've been getting stuff done at work but there's always a lot more to do - and not enough time each day. We're going to be meeting with some pastors around the new seminary facility in the next couple days, just getting to know them and introducing ourselves and Phoenix Seminary to people who may still not know much about us even though we've been here since 1987. Incidentally, 1987 is the year when the most excellent album of all time was released: U2's Joshua Tree, which (also incidentally), I was listening to this very morning. Coincidence? Yes.

I'm also getting ready for the new semester - only one four credit class this term! So I'll have more time, which will be very nice. Becca and I start our History of Christianity class tomorrow, and I've been reading my textbook and really find it fascinating. The development of the early church is something which I think would be so helpful for Christians to learn about - I wish I could just take a couple of years and spend all my time reading all the primary sources for the period. So much turmoil and schism and confusion as the church tried to understand its position in Christ and every member his position in relation to other members.

Also, here's a little snippet from my paper on Healing & Sickness in Acts through Revelation. Installment #1 of 4 or 5 on the topic. I've shared it with Brian, and I'd appreciate any other feedback.

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In the tradition of Peter, we find the foundation for our present hope of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing in Christ. This hope stands on the same foundation as does the present reality of our forgiveness: the once for all sacrifice of Jesus. Peter writes, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24) Peter is elaborating on an OT passage in light of the healing ministry and atoning work of Jesus: “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) In the Old Testament, the Lord sometimes healed His people in a direct response to their prayers, as in the case of Hezekiah (cf. Isaiah 38:1-22). At other times, He chose to use His prophets to even raise the dead (Elijah in 1 Kings 17:17-24; Elisha in 2 Kings 4:18-37). During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He healed the sick (i.e., Mark 2:1-12; 5:25-34; 6:5), cleansed the lepers (i.e., Mark 1:40-42), gave sight to the blind (i.e., Mark 8:22-25), gave hearing and speech to the deaf and mute (i.e., Mark 7:32-37), delivered the demon-possessed (i.e., Mark 1:23-27; 5:1-20; 7:25-30; 9:16-29), and even raised the dead (i.e., Mark 5:21-24, 35-43).[1] Not only did He do these works Himself, but He also gave those who followed Him the authority and commission to do the same works (cf. the commissioning of the Twelve in Mark 6:7-13 and of the Seventy-two in Luke 10:1-20).
Peter seems to have more in view here than solely physical healing—but physical healing not excluded from view either, particularly in light of the way in which Matthew cites the exact same passage from Isaiah 53:
[16] When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. [17] This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.” (Matthew 8:16-17)

It seems then unnecessary to ‘spiritualize’ this passage such that it refers then only to spiritual healing or forgiveness from sin, so that believers cannot find in this passage the same hope for healing as the New Testament authors found in it. Thus, both through the healings Jesus performed in His earthly ministry, as well as through His death on the cross, He was able to bear our iniquities and our infirmities, our sins and our sicknesses. Though it is not appropriate to put sins and sickness in too strict of a parallelism, it doesn’t seem to go too far to say that God wants us to live lives free of both. In the same way that we have been redeemed from sin and yet nevertheless experience sin’s effects until Christ returns, we also have a foretaste of the healing wrought by Christ which we will not experience in it’s fullest sense until we see Him face to face (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:12).

[1] I restricted these citations only to Mark’s gospel as a full survey of Jesus’ healing ministry lies outside of the scope of this paper. However, even this sampling established the breadth of Jesus’ authority over sickness, demons, and death. The Twelve and the Seventy-two saw no limits on Jesus’ authority and ability to heal, and so would have had no reason to view His authority and ability as inadequate for the works which He sent them out to perform. Mark seemed to be the most suitable gospel to cite in relation to Peter, in light of the early tradition passed on by Papias that Mark collected and recorded Jesus traditions from Peter.