A Theological Assessment of θεραπεία (Healing) of the Woman with the Issue of Blood in Luke 8:43-48 in the Nigerian Setting

Abstract

Health is wellness and wholeness, while illness is imbalance and can result in pain and suffering. Consequently, achieving complete health means being healed of physical illness and being freed from any form of societal limitation such as poverty and psychological pain. Further, those who are healthy must experience physical wholeness and the absence of pain. Nevertheless, it is difficult to define health as there is “no consensus on what constitutes ‘complete health.’” The study focuses on the healing of the woman with the issue of blood in Luke 8:43-48 and its relevance in the Nigerian socio-religious setting and seeks to assess the compatibility of modern healing practices in Nigeria and healing mandate of Jesus Christ to preach and heal the sick. Through the use of hermeneutical and exegetical approaches, this study seeks to explore and assess the compatibility of healing in the Bible and modern healing practices in Nigerian society. Through the use of descriptive surveys and the interview technique, this study concludes that healing is seen as the act of divine intervention. The study concludes that healing results in salvation and recommends that the church must submit itself to the healing model as demonstrated in Luke's Gospel.