Would Jesus heal an ISIS fighter?
But maybe just as important is the answer to why this question is so important.
Would Jesus heal an ISIS fighter?
I believe there's no doubt as to how this would be answered.
The Faith of the Centurion
Mt 8:5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”
Mt 8:7 Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”
Mt 8:8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
Mt 8:10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Mt 8:13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.
Since Jesus healed the slave due the the faith of the Roman Centurion, there's no reason to believe He wouldn't have healed the Roman soldier himself. The healing wasn't because of who needed healing - but the faith of the person making the request.
We see evidence of that throughout the Gospels. Here's but one example -
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
Mt 15:29 Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30 Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. (emphasis added)
It never says Jesus healed some of them - or most of them. If people came to Jesus in faith - He healed them. All of them. The only time few miracles (which would include healing) was when the people lacked faith, as in -
A Prophet Without Honor
Mt 13:53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn't this the carpenter’s son? Isn't his mother’s name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”
Mt 13:58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
So let's consider the case of the ISIS fighter. Are they really any different from the Roman soldiers of Jesus' time? As brutal as we consider them today, the Roman soldiers were doing the same things. Minus the videos and social media feeds - but they still used the methods available to them to be sure everyone knew what was happening. And yet - Jesus healed the servant of the Roman soldier - because that soldier came to Him, in faith, and asked Him to heal the servant. This was a Roman soldier who was in charge of maybe 100 other Roman soldiers - who were killing Jews by crucifying them, burning them alive, Etc.
Can there really be any question about what Jesus would do today?
Is it important that Jesus would heal an ISIS fighter?
I believe it is.
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