Illness - Christians Not Immune.

Within the last few days, I was pouring through Paul's letter to the church at Philippi when I came across a little-known character by the name of Epaphroditus. He was sent by Paul and Timothy from Rome to the coastal city located on the eastern tip of Macedonia. It was while still in Rome itself that he fell ill, "almost to the point of death" according to Paul's own testimony (Phillipians 2:25-30.)

There was a good chance that Luke, the physician, might have been there with them, according to 2 Timothy 4:11, and with prayers and supplications, Luke might have helped the sick believer back into recovery sometime before the apostle sent him on his way to visit the Philippian church. Unfortunately, we are not told of the nature of Epaphroditus' illness, but going by Scripture, it looked to have been a bacterial or viral infection rather than an external injury.

What was the treatment of illnesses like so long before the advancement of modern medicine and the rise of the National Health Service? And with the supposed non-existence of antibiotics? It was on our 12th anniversary trip to the Greek island of Kos, of the Dodecanese, that some light was shed during a trip to the Asklepieion ruins, where around 400 BC, Hippocrates practised his medicine, and it was also the birthplace of the Hippocratic Oath, still taken today by medical students. When we visited, I was surprised at the Roman walls on one side of the site. Apparently, they were the remains of hospital wards where patients were kept in during their course of treatment, which included the taking various herbs reputed to having medicinal properties to hasten recovery.

Bust of Hippocrates.

But the main feature of this ancient hospital were the temples of worship, one on each level of the three-tier edifice. The upper level held the temple where patients with a terminal illness can go to and pray to his specific deity for a heavenly afterlife or even for miraculous healing. The sites on the other two levels were also for patients to pray and offer sacrifices for their healing. What I find remarkable is the parallel between this ancient establishment and the multi-faith chapel featured in all major NHS hospitals of our day. Medicine and religion were bedfellows back then as they still are, to some extent, at present. The head photo of this Blogger page features partially-restored pillars of a Roman temple at the Asklepieion, with my wife standing between them.

Therefore, it comes as no real surprise that Epaphroditus received medical care, most likely, in the form of medicinal herbs prescribed by Luke. And this, coupled by prayer, making his path to recovery with hardly any difference to that of Hippocrates and his form of healing at Kos some four centuries earlier.

Except for whom to pray to.

I am wondering whether Luke, who is the author of both his Gospel and Acts, had received his medical training from the students and followers of Hippocrates. Since he was a Greek, I am even pondering on whether this great man of God had even trained at the Asklepieion. Too bad that I had never attended a theological college or seminary to have learned more about Luke's background. As such, I can only speculate. But on one issue I can be more certain. For Luke to qualify as a physician during his pre-conversion days, he too most likely had to take the Hippocratic Oath, just as today's graduates do. The only difference lies that throughout ancestry, the names of various pagan deities were included in the Oath. Since then, this has been omitted from the rest of the Oath. Those were some of the details we learnt during our visit to the Asklepieion archaeological site.

I can understand why some Old Testament saints fell ill from time to time. The ancient tent-dweller Job was one good example. King Hezekiah was another. He was a godly king of Judah who fell ill, seriously enough to cry out to God when he was told of his imminent death. Back then, the Crucifixion with its atonement for sin had not yet taken place. But even after the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, if Epaphroditus' experience had anything to go by, then having the righteousness of Christ imputed does not make the believer immune to illness, an issue which may be more difficult to understand.

In support of this, I can cite more believers as examples. Timothy is one. According to 1 Timothy 5:23, this lover of God had frequent stomach problems throughout his life, and apparently had never experienced real healing, not as far as I know, anyway. Here I'm beginning to see a similarity between Timothy and my wife Alex, whose sufferings remain ongoing to this day. With the drinking of wine to replace water, Paul was not a medical student, but Luke, who most likely was with them, probably advised them on this matter, who in turn might have learned from the writings of Hippocrates.

Trophimus was another disciple who had suffered some illness, as mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:20. He was one of several believers who accompanied Paul on his missions (Acts 20:4) but the apostle left him behind at Miletus because he fell ill. Apparently, no prayers were offered, at least none were recorded, but Paul instructed Timothy to send greetings nevertheless.

Then there is the Apostle Paul himself, who was thankful to the churches in Galatia for giving him moral support for an illness he was suffering from, as recorded in Galatians 4:12-15. Apparently, it was at his eyes which followed his dramatic conversion in Damascus. Paul saw that his illness was "a trial" to the Galatians. In other words, it was offputting. If these believers were put off by the Apostle's eyes, this may indicate a mucus discharge, suggesting conjunctivitis. If this ailment has impaired his eyesight, then his need to write in large letters of Galatians 6:11 was necessary to see properly what he was writing. With his other letters, they were written by others directly under Paul's dictating.

An example of conjunctivitis.

This "thorn in the flesh" of 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 could be his referral to the same ailment of his eyes. I have a good longstanding friend who once disagreed with me over this during a discussion we had back in the 90s. He believed that "the thorn in Paul's flesh" was a mischievous person who was constantly following the Apostle, persistent in his harassing of him where ever he went. The disadvantage with this argument was that this tormenter would have boarded every ship Paul had sailed, as well as being present at every preach he delivered. All Paul had to do was to ask one of the ship's crew members to order the person to disembark at the first chance. The case of an ailment in his eyes, possibly conjunctivitis caused by either bacteria or virus, is far more plausible.

Experience with my wife's illness over the years, along with this present Coronavirus pandemic, has shown me not to be so independently minded which is part of my natural character, but to rely on God's goodness and mercy, thanking Him for all our provisions and not to worry about the future. Where worry is concerned, that is one of my obvious weakness, and it's tied to my quest for independence. But to be given the responsibility as my wife's carer is what I see is a privilege rather than a burden. Even then, I still panic whenever she suffers intense pain.

I can understand the opinions of some Christians who are into the healing ministry. First of all, let me say that they are my brothers in Christ, and therefore I love them and accept them as they are, sons of God and fellow believers. However, they will quote a command Jesus gave to his disciples when he sent them out during his own ministry, recorded in Matthew 10:8, that we were given authority to heal the sick and to drive out demons, that is to tell them to leave the person in the Name of Jesus, and to be healed in the Name of Jesus. The trouble with that is in the past when Alex was prayed for in this manner, it made things worse. As I see it, this kind of ministry looks to be very dangerous, and as such, I much prefer not to take part in it.

Therefore how can all the healings Jesus had performed, and by his disciples after his Ascension? Here is where those in healing had missed the point. According to the Bible, particularly in the New Testament, whenever a miracle is performed, whether it's to heal the sick and infirm, to drive out demons, even to raise the dead, or to supernaturally feed a large crowd - it's always done to bring glory to God. That is, to persuade people to believe that this Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, their Messiah, who will atone for their sin and rise again from the dead. A conversion of a person from sinner to saint always glorifies God.

And so the miraculous healing of a crippled beggar by Peter, recorded in Acts 3. The rest of the chapter and into chapter four records the explanation for the miracle and disputes over it by the Pharisees. The point of the miracle? To prove that this Jesus of Nazareth crucified is the risen Christ.

Then there a case between Peter and a female believer named Tabitha or Dorcas, depending on the language, Aramaic or Greek (Acts 9:36-42.) A devoted disciple of Christ, she still fell ill and died. Those in the healing ministry would point out that this is a classic example of compassionate healing. And indeed, it was. But the real purpose of the entire episode is found in verse 42, where it says:

This became known in all of Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.

Even Paul's raising of Eutychus, a young man who fell asleep during Paul's long sermon and fell from a ledge and died, was raised to life to glorify God (Acts 20:7-12.) With very long sermons, it's quite tempting to feel bored after a while and being late at night too, to doze off. It just shows how human they really were, and not spiritual super-giants! I know full well that if I was in that situation, I would have dropped off to sleep too. There is no record of new conversions recorded after this incident, but the interruption has kept his audience awake until daybreak and they were able to take Eutychus back home. It looks as though God allowed such an incident to occur for his audience to hear the word he has for them.

During these troubled times, when news of other 800-plus deaths with Coronavirus here in the UK within the last 24 hours, everything looks so hopeless as the NHS seems to be fighting a losing battle against the virus. Where is God in all this?

When adding everything together, I have come to this conclusion. And that is, to the unbeliever, illness and pandemics like our present one is meant for people to call upon God and fall at his mercy and to receive the eternal life for all who believe. How I long to see many, many people saved through the redemption Jesus Christ has already provided.

For believers in Christ, God allows sickness, infirmities and illnesses to infect their lives. But as Paul had already explained, it's to keep us from becoming conceited. It's not necessarily a punishment for sin, as sin has already been dealt with on the Cross, and the imputed righteousness of Christ into our accounts makes us seen by God the Father as one with his Son. Rather, illness ravaging believers are part of the discipline God needs to bring us into maturity in Christ. And the Apostle Paul had quite a lot of suffering, not only from illness but also from persecution, flogging and imprisonment too. Conceit can be pretty difficult to quell!