Autism Is Not a Good Gift From God: Part 2
Just as Jesus only did what He saw the Father do, we are to do only what we see the Father do as well.
Jesus Himself said:
“Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.’”
John 5:19 NKJV
When we go further into Scripture and examine the life of Jesus, we see that Jesus did not go about encountering people and leaving them in the same condition in which He found them.
Jesus did what He saw the Father do.
He restored people to their original intent.
How would Jesus know to restore these people to their original intent?
Because He knew that the condition He encountered them in was not the condition the Father originally intended for them.
Jesus knew that the woman with the issue of blood was not created to bleed continually for twelve years with no relief.
Yes, women are designed by God to bleed as part of the menstrual cycle. But they are not designed to bleed continuously for twelve years.
The issue was not the woman bleeding. The issue was that something God created to function normally within the female body had become prolonged outside the normal time frame that it was designed to flow. Therefore, it was now disordered.
He knew that blindness was not something that needed to remain simply because He encountered someone who could not see.
And when we look throughout Scripture, we find evidence of what God intended for the human body.
Look at Moses.
Scripture tells us:
“Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.”
Deuteronomy 34:7 NKJV
At 120 years old, Moses’ eyesight had not grown dim and his natural strength had not diminished.
We could go on and on examining examples throughout Scripture where Jesus encountered people whose bodies were not functioning as they should and did not leave them in the condition in which He found them.
But let’s go a little deeper.
What Did Jesus Come to Do?
When Jesus entered the synagogue in Nazareth, He opened the book of Isaiah and read what had already been prophesied concerning Him:
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
Luke 4:18–19 NKJV
Jesus didn’t merely tell us what He came to do.
He operated in power by way of demonstration of exactly what the Word said He would do.
And when we examine His ministry, whether He encountered sickness, disease, torment, demonic oppression, blindness, deafness, an inability to speak, or an inability to walk, we repeatedly see Him exercising His authority rather than telling people that they simply had to remain as they were.
This becomes even clearer after Jesus’ resurrection when Peter summarized His earthly ministry:
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
Acts 10:38 NKJV
Notice the language Scripture uses.
Oppressed.
If we are going to understand what Peter is telling us about Jesus’ ministry, let’s actually examine that word.
What Does “Oppressed” Mean?
The Greek word translated “oppressed” in Acts 10:38 is katadynasteuō (καταδυναστεύω), Strong’s G2616.
The word carries the idea of exercising dominion against someone, overpowering them, or oppressing them. BibleHub’s lexical material also describes its force as ruling over someone oppressively and by force.
Even the construction of Acts 10:38 is important. The text says those people were being oppressed “by the devil.” The Greek uses hypo in a construction identifying the devil as the agent doing the oppressing.
Read the entire verse again:
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
Acts 10:38 NKJV
Look at the distinction Scripture itself makes.
God anointed Jesus.
Jesus went about doing good.
Jesus healed.
The devil oppressed.
Pause for a moment.
Did the Scripture say oppressed by God?
Created like this by God?
Told to stay in the condition because of God?
No. The Word is clear.
Oppressed by the devil.
So, Jesus was sent to free the people from that oppression.
And Scripture tells us God was with Jesus while He was doing it.
Why?
Because He did what He saw His Father do.
We don’t need to attempt to rewrite Scripture to make a false narrative appear to be true.
We can’t attribute the oppression of any sickness, disease, or disorder to the Father and the freedom from oppression to Jesus as though the Father and Son were working against one another.
Scripture says:
“Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”
Amos 3:3 NKJV
Jesus was revealing the Father.
And what did that revelation look like?
He went about doing good and healing those who were oppressed.
Remember what Jesus told us:
“Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.’”
John 5:19 NKJV
Jesus was not healing people in opposition to His Father.
He was doing what He saw His Father do.
That is the Father Jesus revealed.