LAYING OF HANDS

FOUNDATION SERIES ON THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST (VI)

LAYING OF HANDS

SCRIPTURE:

'He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. Leviticus 1:4

And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them. Mark 10:16

… they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." Mark 16:18

Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:17

For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:6

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. Acts 13:2-3

So the LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; Numbers 27:18

Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. 1 Timothy 5:22

OBSERVATION:

We first see the laying of hands in the Old Testament when the priest would lay his hands on the animal used as the burnt offering, and the guilt and sin of the worshipper would be transferred to the animal. This already gives us a picture of how hands are used as a conduit of transference of something from one place to another.

When Jesus walked the earth, a beautiful scene often in our memories is that of Jesus letting the little children come to him. He would take them in His arms and bless them, laying His hands upon them. Blessings would flow from the Lord to them through His hands.

The Lord also laid hands on people to administer healing. In the same way, healing power would flow through His hands, to heal people. Later, He also asked His disciples to do the same, to lay their hands on the sick that they would recover.

Laying of hands was also important in administering the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as recorded in the book of Acts. Spiritual gifts and anointing were also transferred through the laying of hands, like in Timothy’s case.

Also, the early church practiced laying of hands to commission new elders. Paul warned Timothy not to be hasty in particular to this commissioning, as to appoint an ill-suited elder could bring considerable damage to the church.

APPLICATION

Laying of hands should be a vital part of our Christian lives. Parents should often lay hands on their children and bless them in Jesus name. Whenever anyone in our family or friendship circle is sick, we should lay hands on them and speak healing in Jesus name. We can even lay hands on ourselves to pray for blessing or healing in particular areas.

In church life, we can ask our trusted leaders to lay their hands on us to bless us and administer the Holy Spirit and His gifts upon us. Leaders should lay hands on mission teams going out to minister, and also lay their hands on new members or leaders of ministry.

PRAYER

We bless You and thank You, Heavenly Father, for teaching us to lay hands. Help us remember, Lord, to reach out and bless others and bring Your healing to others, and even to ourselves. Increase our faith that we might believe, and expect Your work to be done  faithfully in our lives. May Your will be done in our lives, and help us grow more and more to know You deeply. In Jesus name, Amen.