That it’s the same good stuff that Jesus used

of.  I fell last week in my driveway and, in doing so, I learned two things.  One - concrete is hard, and two - at 77 years of age, I don’t bounce very good.  Needless to say, I’ve been hurting since then, but I’m getting better each day since but, I wish it wish it would improve a little faster.

Then I read something that, “proverbially-speaking,” blew me away.  Now I know that had I done my falling during the time of Jesus’ ministry I could have been healed immediately by any method He chose to use.  He could have touched me, could have made a mud plaster and put it on me, or simply spoken it healed.  However, it’s my fate that I was born a couple of thousand years too late.

BUT, MAYBE NOT!   I just read an advertisement and you may not believe this but, there is now something available purporting to work just as good as if Jesus touched me.  Yes, it’s been discovered the substance by which Christ and the Aostles healed people.  Furthermore, it has been bottled and is sold under the brand name of “JESUS OIL.”

I read about it on the internet so it must be true, isn’t it?  I mean, you can purchase it on Amazon so what more proof do you need?  The ad reads that this is what Jesus and His Apostles used to heal 2000 years ago.  “That it’s the same good stuff that Jesus used.”

The developer claims that it’s healing uses hae been confirmed by “medical institutions” and that it will “kill cancer cells, reverse diabetes and give sight to the blind.”  And, like most “miracle cures,” the ad includes testimonies from some of its takers.  One user said, “I saw God.  I saw the white light.  I woke up and felt the cancer gone.”

Well, you’re probably deducing that I’ve got a few things to opine about regarding this miracle substance and you’re right - I do.  After laughing out loud about this ad my first thought was how sad it is that there’ll no doubt be thousands of gullible people who’ll actually believe what it says and purchase it, desperately hoping for a miracle cure.  In my mind, that’s just a terribly bad situation.  And you know that these “snake oil” salesmen are going to probably make millions from their delusions.

But then came my second thought which centered on things in God’s Word that apply to this lesson.  First, let me say that many, many passages tell us that every miracle of healing in the Scriptures came by the power of God and to you I’ll cite a few of them.  I’ll start with Matt. 28:18 where Jesus said that “all power was given Him in heaven and earth.”  Who gave Him this power?  The same One who raised Him from the dead - God, His Father.

In Matthew the 9th chapter we read where Jesus healed a man with palsy (don’t know why this disease wasn’t in the ad) plus forgave him of his sins.  (Why can’t “Jesus Oil” forgive sin?)  Anyway, in verse 8 He tells the “scribes” present that it was God who gave Him the power to do so.

In Mark 3, Jesus sent out His 12 Apostles on their mission and in verse 15 it tells us that He passed on to them the power to heal.  Let’s look at one more healing example of Jesus where in Luke 9 we read that He healed a child and in verse 43 it tells us that it was the power of God that did it.  Before we leave scripture relating to Jesus, let’s read what He said in His prayer of the Son to the Father in John 17:2, that “Thou hast given Him power over all flesh...”

But, not only Jesus spoke about the power of God, Peter acknowledged that the Apostles were able to heal but “not of themselves” but of God (Acts 3:12)   And Paul says there is “no power but of God” (Rom 13:1) and that the “signs and wonders” he had done were by the power of God (Rom. 15:19).  Paul mentions this in other letters also, that his power was from God.

So, short and sweet, I don’t see anywhere that indicates that there was any special “oil” that provided Jesus with the power that healed anyone.  What healed them was the power of God.  I’ve said all of that to take us to our final passage that I believe most fitting to this situation with “Jesus Oil.”

In the 8th chapter of Acts, verses 14-22, we see the account of Peter and John’s encounter with Simon, the sorcerer who, after witnessing the miracles being performed, wanted to purchase the power to do likewise.  Previous verses show us that he wanted it for its money-making possibilities.  Peter very strongly rebuked him for this attitude in verse 20 by saying: “May your silver perish with you because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money.”

I suppose, using Peter’s example, I can express the same sentiments to the purveyors of “Jesus Oil.”  Not only for taking people’s money by a sham (like Simon did), but especially for attributing the power of God to something created & developed by man.  To them I add what Peter told Simon in verse 22:

    “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness and pray God, if perhaps

     the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.”

In closing I’ll just say this about the purveyors of this substance that they purport to have the same power as that of God: I am not their judge, but I sincerely believe that they are treading on blasphemous grounds.

Respectfully submitted,

Ron Covey