Jesus Heals Cancer-Please Take It Down?

Is it wise for a church to put up a sign saying “Jesus heals cancer”? The Napier Equippers Church are all over the media for their controversial sign outside their church. This raises the question, is it a good idea?

Let me first say that I have great respect for my brothers and sisters in Christ in Napier, and do not question their good intentions and sincerity. I hope my words do not offend.

Secondly, let me add that I do believe that God heals and that he can, does and, has healed cancer. I know of acquaintances who have made extraordinary recoveries from seemingly hopeless situations. So, I am a believer in the power of God in the present to heal.

I can sort of sense where they are coming from. If the intention is to say that “Jesus sometimes heals cancer,” or “we believe that Jesus can heal cancer,” or “Jesus has healed some people of cancer,” or “Jesus and oncologists can sometimes heal cancer,” then I can sort of hear where they are coming from. If they are suggesting to people, why not give Jesus a try, he can do amazing things, I get it.

The problem with the sign though is it says none of those things and begs the question—are they saying “Jesus always heals cancer?” Are they saying “Jesus heals cancer if you believe in him?” or “if you come to our church.” The ambiguity is seen in the responses of many people.

I presume the purpose is to reach out to the lost and say something inviting and challenging. The problem is that where a person has lost a loved one to cancer, as so many New Zealanders have, then it potentially hurts and offends. It begs the question, “if Jesus heals cancer, why didn’t heal my loved one?” Take for example my wife Emma’s mum who died from cancer-related illness some years ago, despite our fervent prayers and faith. And then there was Philip, a young 16 year old who was an active young man of God who died of cancer when I was a young Christian—it was a tough lesson for a young zealot charismatic Christian as I was then. Or even sadder, was the death of one of my cricket mates young 8 year old from cancer—the depth of the pain that caused was monumental. So, an ambiguous sign like this is very very risky in that it may well cause great hurt, pain, and even anger toward the church and God. If the desire is provoke comment and interest, it has sure worked—but is that the sort of publicity a church wants. 

I also wonder about how the sign relates to the great work of the oncologists and others who work in the medical profession. Are they saying a person should go to Jesus and not the oncologists? I hope not. Are they saying that Jesus heals, not oncologists and the medical profession? The whole are of the relationship of God and the medical profession can get confusing, so some people refuse medical help relying on faith. Others like myself see God working in the work of the medical profession, as they discover the powers he has placed in the natural order to healing. But all this is way too complex and the sign simply opens up a can of worms in this area.

Paul says in Col 4:5 that believers need to be “wise in the way you act toward outsiders.” Is this being wise toward outsiders? Personally, I seriously question the wisdom of this sign, despite the good intentions and sincerity of those who have put it up. It lacks wisdom because it potentially and unnecessarily alienates people—at a time when many in western countries have already become alienated from the church and Christian faith for a wide range of reasons. The last thing we need is to give them another one. The media waits to pounce on anything we do that is potentially offensive—I suggest this is another one. Why doesn’t the church get someone to write a book with the testimonies of those healed and use it as a means of telling their story to the world? An ambiguous sign seems rather a strange way to do it.

Further, according to John 13:34–35 the greatest sign that should mark us out as followers of Jesus, it is “love”—“by this all people will know that you are my disciples.” Paul prays for the Thessalonians that their love may overflow to each other and “everyone else” in 1 Thess 3:10. Is this the best way to demonstrate the love of Jesus? I suggest not.

I also wonder at the implicit theology that this sign represents. While God does heal in the present, experience tells us often he doesn’t; choosing rather to be with and strengthen the believer in the midst of suffering. This is the mystery of healing—we can never force God’s hand. God is not a Being we can manipulate. We pray with trust in God, and we leave it to him. The best example is Jesus the Lord himself. In the garden on the eve of his death he was not praying for deliverance from cancer, but he was praying for release from the cross and death which he knew was coming. He prayed in a pool of sweat and pain three times, pleading for release, yet with complete trust in God. Each time God responded,  “no.” Why? He had a different plan—indeed he needed his son to go through the torment of crucifixion for his world. He went with his Son to the cross, and he came through the other side, saviour of a world.

Paul in 2 Cor 12 too prayed three times for deliverance from his thorn in the flesh, and God again said “no”, preferring to allow Paul to live in on-going suffering. Why? Paul came to terms with it seeing in it a messenger from God to keep him humble. It takes a mature believer who gets to understand the deeper work of God to understand the mystery of healing and non-healing. Putting a sign up amidst the plethora of understandings of the world that exists in Napier and everywhere will simply lead to confusion.

We need take care not to make excessive claims as Christians. Evidence since Jesus ascended 2000 years ago is that, aside from this living generation, every believer without exception has died since that day, including the greatest people of faith like Paul, Martin Luther and Mother Teresa. Many of them have died of cancer, like the great Anglican leader and evangelist David Watson—and this despite John Wimber and others from all over the world interceding for him. The truth is that unless Jesus returns (and he hasn’t yet!), we will all die of our bodies failing—cancer or otherwise. 

With all that said, it is clear that an ambiguous statement “Jesus heals cancer” is terribly easy to misunderstand. Sadly, the people it will hurt and offend most are those suffering from cancer. What was intended as a good message inadvertently becomes a vehicle of pain! As Christians we should not be offending them with signs open to be read as over-statements or full of ambiguity, but we should be getting alongside them, and loving them, supporting them, praying for them, and where the physical healing doesn’t come, walking with them in their pain and helping them to realise that despite their suffering, God loves them and is with them.

The great news of the gospel is that God does heal, as he wills. Even greater is the truth, that he transforms the human heart. Our hope is the day of ultimate healing, where there is no more pain, no cancer, no suffering. The problem is, is that day is not here yet. We live in a world still under death’s dominion, a world which is groaning for release from its bondage to decay, death is the last enemy to be defeated. But, the miracle of the gospel is that God is with us in our suffering. The greatest thing is that Jesus has entered our humanity and our suffering, in the fullest sense. He has experienced the torment and terror of life ebbing away, through the horrors of crucifixion. That is why he is such a glorious and worthy saviour—he became one of us, he knows our pain. So, when we come to know him and realise his love for us and believe, he sends his Spirit into us. One of the primary works of the Spirit is that Jesus is with us in our pain, he will strengthen us, he will show his glory in us, whether he heals us or not. True faith doesn’t say “Jesus heals cancer” but to say “Jesus is with us through all our struggles and suffering and he will get us through, and a day is coming where our tears will be washed away forever.”

So, I humbly suggest to my beloved brothers and sisters in Napier to think about the message they are giving. There are more important dimensions of the gospel to share to the world, most especially love, not through signs outside a church but through living signs of people who walk with those in pain in the real world.

That said, perhaps it is time to quietly and humbly take it down. Wisdom would suggest that would be the sensible thing. Perhaps a carefully crafted press release explaining that they have realised that it was a sign put up with the best intentions but now realise that it can potentially and inadvertently offend. They could humbly apologise for any offence given, and take it down. They could also invite people to come and experience Jesus’ love, it is for all.

Then, like all churches, they can learn from the experience and get on with the work of the gospel, “with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet 3:15), “with conversation full of grace and seasoned with salt” (Col 4:5-6).