The Healing of the Soul

Key Text: Matthew 13:15 (KJV)

“For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”

Reading through Matthew 13 once again brings one to a place of appreciating God for the gift of salvation. Particularly in verse 15, we see Jesus speak about the healing of the soul in a way that reveals the restorative purpose of His words. Yet, there are conditions of the heart that can hinder the entrance of His Word into a person's life, making it difficult for that soul to experience the healing God intends.

Matthew 13:15 begins by describing a people whose hearts have waxed gross, whose ears are dull of hearing, and whose eyes they have closed. These organs, which ought to perform their respective functions, have become ineffective in their spiritual capacity, leaving the people in a disadvantaged state. They have eyes, yet they cannot truly see; they have ears, yet they cannot truly hear; they have hearts, yet they cannot properly understand.

How can a person receive healing from a truth they cannot perceive? How can someone respond to a voice they cannot hear? How can the soul be transformed by a Word that has not been received in the heart?

Although there are many other truths to be drawn from this loaded verse of Scripture, I would like to dwell on the healing of these organs as part of the work God accomplishes through salvation. The eyes receive sight, the ears receive the ability to hear, and the heart is transformed so that it can receive and respond to the Word of Christ.

This understanding brings me to a place where I no longer look at the unbeliever's way of life merely through the lens of judgment. I begin to understand that, without the transforming work of God, a person may lack the spiritual perception required to respond rightly to His truth. What appears to be an obvious truth to someone who has come to know Christ may remain incomprehensible to someone who has not yet come to that knowledge.

Giving logical advice to such a person, without addressing the deeper spiritual condition, can be like describing a beautiful car to a blind man. The problem is not necessarily that the car has not been described well enough; the man lacks the ability to see what is being described. To keep describing the beauty of the car without considering his blindness does not solve the problem.

In the same way, the intensity of the light makes no difference to the blind, and the loudness of the sound makes no difference to the deaf. The issue is not always the intensity of the message, but the condition of the organs through which the message is received.

Does this mean we should stop speaking the truth to unbelievers? Certainly not. Rather, it means that our witness must be accompanied by prayer, dependence on God, and an understanding that salvation is His gracious work in a person's life. If I must help such a person, I must pray that God will open their eyes, unstop their ears, and transform their hearts, granting them the gift of salvation so that they may truly see and hear.

Further reflection upon this Scripture, however, reveals something more.

The healing of these organs is not the ultimate end in itself. Their restoration serves a greater purpose: that we may see, hear, and understand God, and that through this perception, our souls may be healed.

This places a responsibility upon me, not only to pray for those who have yet to receive the gift of salvation, but also to continually yield myself to the transforming work of God. Having received the ability to perceive spiritual truth does not mean I should become careless with that privilege. I must continually put my spiritual organs to effective use, giving attention to God's Word, responding to His voice, and allowing His truth to work in me.

For the person who has not yet received this gift, I must pray and labor in the place of intercession and faithful witness. For myself, I must continue to walk in the light I have received, so that my soul may experience the healing that comes through an ever-deepening knowledge of God.

The healing of these organs is the beginning of spiritual perception, and the purpose of that perception is that the soul may be healed. We receive sight so that we may see Him; we receive hearing so that we may hear Him; and we receive understanding so that we may know Him and respond to His truth.

Jesus declared in John 14:6 that He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” A person must come to Him to know the truth that brings life. As our eyes are opened to perceive Him, our ears become attentive to His Word, and our hearts respond to His truth, we are brought into the experience of the life that He gives.

Ultimately, the purpose is not merely that we should see, hear, or understand more. It is that, through Christ, we should be transformed and healed in the depths of our souls.

May God continually open our eyes, unstop our ears, and keep our hearts tender toward His Word, that we may know Him more deeply and experience the healing He desires for our souls.