Bestow Dignity: Biblical Examples, Part 1

Take a moment to meditate on the probable lifestyle and community acceptance of a person suffering from any of the following conditions in 1st century Israel:

• leprosy: a name applied to any number of skin diseases, many of which are highly contagious, destructive to the whole body, and terribly uncomfortable too look at.
• paralysis: a condition affecting an number of parts of the body and which severely hampers a person's mobility, ability to work, and ability to care for oneself.
• disfigurement: a part of the body has been irreparably damaged in an accident, did not form correctly in the womb, or did not grow normally for any number of reasons.
• blindness
• deafness
• tongue-tied or dumb (as in, unable to speak)
• perpetual internal bleeding
• crippling back pain
• demon-possession: sometimes leading to obvious lunatic behavior (such as living in a graveyard, nude, yelling, cursing at or attacking any passerby); other times allowing the person possessed to prophesy or tell the future; in other cases, causing a person to throw themselves into a fire or body of water; for others, affecting their ability to communicate.

Do you recognize these ailments?

During Jesus' 3-year earthly ministry, He regularly encountered those suffering with these maladies.  In reviewing a list of 40 Miracles of Jesus, I noted that in more than half of the accounts (22), Jesus demonstrated the power of God by healing those who suffered from these crippling physical problems.

Consider what healing would have meant for these men, women, and children.  Many of them were cast-offs of society.  The blind and crippled begged at the temple gates for any scraps or coins they could get.  They were likely very dirty from sitting in the roadways to beg and from being unable to care for themselves properly.  Others were banished to communities outside the city because of their ailments (e.g., the lepers), due to the danger to others from their communicable diseases. Consider the stench.  Consider the probable prevailing negative attitude toward those unable to work for their daily bread, get themselves around, or even keep themselves moderately clean.

Upon healing, these people would be able to re-enter society as productive members of the community.  They would no longer be uncomfortable or dangerous to be near.  They would no longer bear the shame of their maladies, but be able to hold their head high in a society with very little compassion for their needs.  The would be able to return to their families.

In healing these men and women, Jesus bestowed great dignity upon them.  First, in being willing to come near and to touch them.  Second, in restoring them to physical wholeness and giving them back the ability to conduct themselves as productive members of their communities.  Third, in the wake of their healing, many of these people became believers in Jesus, and as such, their spiritual trajectories were forever altered toward heaven, restored communion and fellowship with God Himself.

In addition to these stories of physical healing from maladies, disease, and demon-possession, there are accounts of Jesus restoring the sick: in large groups, as in Capernaum and Gennesart; or one at a time, as in the stories of the royal official's son (John 4), the Centurion's servant (Matthew 8, Luke 7), and Peter's mother-in-law (Matthew 8, Mark 1, Luke 4).  He also restored physical life to at least 3 people: the widow's son (Luke 7), Jairus' daughter (Matthew 9, Mark 5, Luke 8), and Lazarus (John 11).  Consider how meaningful and necessary it was for the widow and for Mary and Martha that their "men" be restored to life.  The widow's only means of support may have been her son.  The same is true for Mary and Martha.  Just think of what these women may all have suffered had their income-earning relatives stayed dead!  Jesus bestowed dignity on these women by providing for their well-being through the restoration of life to their male relatives!

When I've read these accounts of Jesus' miracles in the past, I've thought, "Being sick or disabled is so inconvenient and uncomfortable.  How nice for those people to be healthy again!"  Until my week in the Baja, I had not considered just how profoundly their healing would positively impact the remainder of their lives on earth.  Jesus' work in their lives changed not only their spiritual future, but their physical present.  His healing works restored or bestowed dignity.

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Coming Soon in the series "Bestow Dignity"

~ Biblical Examples, Part 2: More from Jesus' life and ministry

• How Jesus bestowed dignity through life-changing, life-affirming conversations and encounters
• How Jesus bestowed dignity on the "lesser classes" by His treatment of them and teaching about them

~ Biblical Examples, Part 3: Jesus' Death and Resurrection

~ Biblical Examples, Part 4: A smattering of Old Testament examples

~ Dignity and Worldview

~ The Other Side of the Dignity Lesson: A very bitter pill to swallow