Six unique features of Jesus’ healing ministry that have never been duplicated.

(1)  Jesus healed directly, with a word or a touch, without prayer and sometimes even without being near the afflicted person.

(2)  The healing of Jesus was instantaneous. Restoration did not come in stages.

(3)  His healing was complete, never partial.

(4)  Healing was available to all who came to Him, whether they were brought to Him or asked for it by someone else. There was no discrimination as to who He healed or what affliction they had.

(5)  Jesus healed organic and congenital problems, regardless of their severity or length of time.

(6)  His healing touch brought life back to people. Despite the disease running its course and killing its victim, he was still able to heal.

The apostles’ healing ministry was also characterized by those six characteristics. We are told of many miracles and signs performed by the apostles at the beginning of the book of Acts (2:43).

However, miraculous events cease by the end of the book.

The epistles show the same diminishing trend. In his early ministry, Paul performed numerous miracles of healing, but years later he recommended Timothy take some wine for his stomach ailment (1 Timothy 5:23). Paul reports to Timothy at the end of his next letter that Trophimus is sick at Miletus (2 Tim. 4:20), apparently beyond his capacity to take care of him. No scriptural evidence indicates that miracles continued to be performed (to the same extent) by the end of the apostolic age.

Modern-day faith healers do not come close to the healing ministry of Jesus or His apostles.

The unique characteristics of Christ’s healings—directness, instant results, complete restoration, and the absence of discrimination—are unmatched. The apostles also performed many miracles, but even these began to fade toward the end of the apostolic age, indicating that such signs were meant for a specific time and purpose.

Unlike Jesus and the apostles, who healed with divine authority and unfailing success, modern faith healers often rely on emotional theatrics and unverifiable claims.

This stark contrast reminds us that the miraculous healings of the New Testament served to authenticate the gospel and lay the foundation of the church, not to set a pattern for ongoing practice today.