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7. The Ministry of
Jesus was to Destroy
the Works of the
Devil
 Acts 10:38
And you know that God anointed
Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy
Spirit and with power. Then Jesus
went around doing good and
healing all who were oppressed by
the devil, for God was with him.
 1 John 3:8 NLT
But when people keep on sinning, it
shows that they belong to the devil, who
has been sinning since the beginning.
But the Son of God came to
destroy the works of the devil.
Greek: λύσῃ (lysē)
Meaning: Destroy:
"to loose, break,
demolish,"

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The Golden
Lampstand Church in
the city of Linfen in
Shanxi province is now
a pile of rubble.
At one time this
church had more than
50,000 congregants. 
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZE4y4PSjCw
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZE4y4PSjCw
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What are the works
of the devil?
 Anything that
opposes the plan and
work of God!
They affect people in 4 ways:
Morally, the devil makes
evil seem good so people
chose evil over obedience
to God (Jas 1:14).

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Physically, the devil can
inflict disease, and he tries to
use physical trials to cause
people to curse God (Job
2:4–5; Luke 13:11).

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Intellectually, he takes
people into error, (1 Tim
4:1).
He brings doubt and keeps
unbelievers blind to truth
(2 Cor 4:3–4).
He brings distractions and
confusion.
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Spiritually, he tries to
snatch away the Word of
God sown in a person’s
heart (Matthew 13:19).

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7. A. The Healing
Ministry of Jesus
Not once did Jesus
pray to God the
Father for someone
to be healed.
 Jesus didn’t pray for the
sick.
When someone came to him for
healing, he simply put his hands
on them and healed them.
https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/prayer/3-things-jesus-didn-t-pray-for.html
 Often he started with their
hearts—and then moved to the
physical. After forgiving them
of their sins or declaring that
their faith made them whole,
Jesus healed their bodies. 
https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/prayer/3-things-jesus-didn-t-pray-for.html
There are many times
when Jesus heals sick
people—it is clearly very
important to him.
How many different ways
can you think that Jesus
used in healing the sick?
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The most common methods used by
Jesus in healing:
laying on of hands (12x)
commanding the person to act (8x)
healing by the faith of the receiver (7x)
speaking the Word over the person (7x)

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healing by the faith of another (4x)
casting out of devils (4x).
The least common method was
rebuking the sickness (1x).

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healing by the faith of another (4x)
casting out of devils (4x).
The least common method was
rebuking the sickness (1x).

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The most common combination of
methods used by Jesus in healing:
laying on of hands + speaking the
Word over the person (3x)
laying on of hands + healing by the
faith of the receiver (3 x)
commanding the person to act +
healing by the faith of another (3 x).
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Jesus did not use/
mention angels.
 Jesus never set
conditions, saying, ‘If
you do this first, I’ll
heal you.’
7. A. 1 Jesus was
Personal
On most occasions.
Simon Peter’s mother-in-law,
Mk 1:29-32:
And immediately he left the
synagogue and entered the
house of Simon and
Andrew, with James and
John.
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30 Now Simon's mother-in-
law lay ill with a fever, and
immediately they told him
about her. 31 And he came
and took her by the hand
and lifted her up, and the
fever left her, and she began
to serve them.
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Mk 1: 40-42 A man with leprosy came and
knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed.
“If you are willing, you can heal me and make
me clean,” he said.
41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached
out and touched him. “I am willing,” he
said. “Be healed!” 42 Instantly the leprosy
disappeared, and the man was healed.
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Lepers were outcasts.
Touching a leper was
forbidden—it would
have been revolting for
people to think of it.
Jesus touched him!
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A Deaf Man, Mark 7:32-35
A deaf man with a speech impediment was
brought to him, and the people begged
Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal
him. 33 Jesus led him away from the crowd
so they could be alone. He put his fingers
into the man’s ears.
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Then, spitting on his own fingers, he
touched the man’s tongue. 34 Looking up
to heaven, he sighed and
said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be
opened!” 35 Instantly the man could hear
perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he
could speak plainly!
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A Blind Man, Mk 8:22-25
at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to
Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and
heal him. 23 Jesus took the blind man by the hand and
led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the
man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can
you see anything now?”
24 The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see
people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like
trees walking around.”
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25 Then Jesus placed his hands on the
man’s eyes again, and his eyes were
opened. His sight was completely
restored, and he could see everything
clearly.
Why the process?

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Jesus identified with
those he ministered to—
this involved breaking
social and cultural
practices.

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Where should your
identification be in your
society today?
Who are the lepers and
outcasts of your
community?
AIDS patients, prostitutes,
drug addicts…
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Where should your
identification be in your
society today?
Who are the lepers and
outcasts of your
community?
AIDS patients, prostitutes,
drug addicts…
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 Empathy is not just listening to
someone’s story but taking part in
it. The listener not only hears and
believes the facts of another’s
experience, but actually feels the
experience at some level.  
 Hebrews 2:18
Since he himself has gone
through suffering and testing,
he is able to help us when we
are being tested.
 Danger: “Empathy, shifts the focus
from the sufferer’s good to the
sufferer’s feelings, making them the
measure of whether a person is truly
“loved.””
Joe Rigney
Martin Luther showed
incarnational love
when in 1527 in
Wittenberg he was
ordered to leave
because a plague was
hitting the city. His
response:
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“Those who are engaged in spiritual ministry such
as preachers and pastors must likewise remain
steadfast before the peril of death. We have a
plain command from Christ: ‘A good shepherd lays
down his life for the sheep, but the hireling sees
the wolf coming and flees’ (John 10:11). For when
people are dying, they most need a spiritual
ministry which comforts their consciences by word
and sacrament and in faith overcomes death.”
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer was in New
York during Nazi rule in
Germany. He had gone to the
USA for safety because of his
outspokenness against Hitler’s
regime. As soon as he got there,
he wrote to Reinhold Niebuhr
(who had helped him get him to
the USA):
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“It was a mistake for me to come to America. I
have to live through this difficult period in our
nation’s history with Christians in Germany. I will
have no right to participate in the reconstruction
of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not
share the tribulations of this time with my people.”
Bonhoeffer returned to Germany where he was
imprisoned and later executed.
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7. A. 2 Jesus was
Compassionate
On a number of occasions
Jesus ministers to people
out of compassion:
Mk 1:41 NLT Moved with
compassion, Jesus reached
out and touched him. “I am
willing,” he said. “Be healed!”
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Matt 14:14 When he went
ashore he saw a great crowd,
and he had compassion on
them and healed their sick.

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Matt 15:32, Mk 8:2 Jesus called his
disciples to him and said, “I have
compassion on the crowd because they
have been with me now three days and
have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to
send them away hungry, lest they faint on
the way.”
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Matt 20:34 Jesus in
pity touched their
eyes, and
immediately they
recovered their sight
and followed him.

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Luke 7:13 NLT When
the Lord saw her, his
heart overflowed
with
compassion. “Don’t
cry!” he said.

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Greek, splagchnizomai: to
be moved in the inward
parts, i.e. to feel compassion
Vines: "to be moved
with compassion, to yearn
with compassion"

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Frequently recorded of Christ
towards the multitude and
towards individual
sufferers, Matthew
9:36 ; 14:14 ; 15:32 ; 18:27 ; 
20:34 ; Mark
1:41 ; 6:34 ; 8:2 ; 9:22; Luke
7:13; 10:33 ; 15:20.
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This was not done out of
emotion. Jesus was secure
in who he was.
Our actions come out of
our position in Christ as
we embrace the needs of
the world.
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We need to be rooted
in Jesus in order to
move with his
compassion.
If not we might have a
breakdown when
looking at the world.
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The joy of the Lord is
our strength—we
minister from this
starting point.

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The pain we feel at times
can only be embraced in
the joy/strength of God.
Anything else can lead
to lots of activity and
wrong involvement in
peoples needs.
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