Widow’s Son of Nain
There are almost no examples of Christ healing someone without someone asking him to or otherwise doing something to seek out the healing like the woman with an issue of blood. The only two exceptions coming to mind are the widow’s son of Nain where Christ happened across the funeral procession and was moved to compassion and Lazarus who was a very good friend. Even his own disciples Christ usually didn’t help until they asked, like the storm that came up when they were out on the lake.
Perhaps this is because he has a different perspective than ours about what really matters. Take for instance the man sick with the palsy where Christ’s first reaction was to forgive his sins and at least on the surface only healed him afterwards as a teaching point.
It certainly puts in perspective the message that Christ hammered home over and over again that we need to pray and ask.
My own wild thought is like this. Christ is divine so we think of them as going around Palestine with an unlimited omniscient view of everything that was happening there and elsewhere and all over the Earth. We think that God like he could have waved his hand and healed everybody. But maybe in some way he was embracing the mortal experience we all have of limited capacity and limited information. He couldn’t have waved his hand to heal everybody and still have had a genuine mortal experience.
Whatever the explanation, there were likely hundreds of sick and afflicted people throughout Palestine that Christ could have tracked down and healed but did not. Something to chew on.
E.C.
March 10, 2023
To further your point, Christ’s whole message the entire time he preached – and in fact everywhere in scripture – is a variation on ‘Come unto me, you who are weary and heavy laden,’, or ‘Come follow me’ or ‘the Son of Man will be lifted up, that He might draw all men unto Him’. He’s the locus toward which we should be drawing, not the other way ’round. Which doesn’t mean he doesn’t command us to ask, just that we need to approach him about it, rather than waiting for him to come to us. The effort is the point.
G.
March 10, 2023
Darn good comment. Let’s say it’s now a canonical addition to the post.
Ugly Mahana
March 10, 2023
Also relevant: Jesus famously refused to do any overt miracle in Nazareth (before healing Peter’s mother in Caparanaum). He explained himself to the people of Nazareth by pointing out that there were many widows in Elijah’s day, but there is only record of one spared from famine. To your point, that widow gave a meal to Elijah before the miracle of the endless flour became a reality.
Jacob G.
March 11, 2023
Regarding omniscience in his mortal ministry, I think there might be something in the story of the Rich Young Man. When the young man says the astonishing thing that he has kept all the commandments, it says Jesus looks at him and loves him. I’m imagining that after that statement Jesus exercised faith to know his story and saw that he had kept the commandments, and he treated him differently.
17 ¶ And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
G.
March 11, 2023
Astute observation