The Surprising TRUTH About "Laying on of Hands" and Authority

let's talk about the laying on of hands the oio church says that the laying on of hands is utterly essential Christians don't think laying out of hands is so vital so integrally tied to Authority that without it Authority can't actually be properly expressed I want to cover three essential categories in this video first I want to consider how Jesus exercised Authority that'll probably take the bulk of our time second I want to consider how the book of Acts talks about the laying on of hands especially when it's tied to the giving of the gift of the Holy Ghost and third I want to look very briefly at what the Epistles have to say about this issue let's begin by taking a look at the gospel of Matthew because in Matthew's gospel there's a string of events which really comment on how Jesus exercises his authority I actually think it's a bit of a motif let's start at the very end of Matthew chapter 7 Matthew chapters 5-7 Jesus gives The Sermon on the Mount probably his most well-known famous sermon and at the very end of The Sermon on the Mount this is what the gospel of Matthew says when Jesus finished these things the crowds were astonished astonished at his teaching for he was teaching them as one who had Authority and not as their scribes so even the way in which Jesus taught indicated that he had a degree of authority which is pretty significant and right after that begins this string of events which comment on his authority let's begin the very beginning of chapter 8 with the cleansing of a leper the biblical text says in Matthew 8 8:2 Behold a leper came to him to Jesus and knelt before him saying Lord if you will you can make me clean and Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him saying I will be clean and immediately his leprosy was cleansed okay so Jesus heals a leper by touching him now a lot of Latter-day Saints might expect that would be how it should go down especially with the category of like priesthood blessings with respect to healing and things like that laying of hand is an important part of that but what's really interesting about this story is that Jesus heals a leper by touching him now under the Old Testament law a leper was unclean and if a leper touched someone the person they touched was also made unclean but in this story Jesus touches the leper and makes him clean I think this is significant within the context of the Gospel of Matthew about how Jesus relates to the Old Testament law he fulfills it he's he's bringing about a covenant better than the MOs law and in this instance I think he touches the leper specifically because under the Mosaic law Jesus should have been made unclean but in fact the opposite happened the leper was cleansed of his illness so we do see that the laying on of hands or at least touching is used sometimes by Jesus in the exercise of authority but let's now continue on in chapter 8 at chapter 8 ver 5 uh Matthew writes this when he had entered Capernaum a centurion came forward to him appealing to him Lord my servant is lying paralyzed at home suffering terribly and he said to him I'll come and heal him but the Centurion replied Lord I am not worthy to have you come under my roof but only say the word and my servant will be healed for I too am a man under Authority with soldiers under me and I say to one go and he goes and to another come and he comes and to my servant do this and he does it when Jesus heard this he marveled and said to those who followed him truly I tell you with no one in Israel have I found such faith I tell you many will come from east and west and recline at table with AB Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven while the sons of the Kingdom will be thrown into the OU into the outer darkness in that place there will be weeping and nashing of teeth verse 13 and to the Centurion Jesus said go let it be done for you as you have believed and the servant was healed at that very moment so in this text it's specifically talking about Authority the Centurion is a man under Authority and who has Authority he says I get how this works Jesus you're a man of authority if you say the word it'll happen just like when I exercise Authority I tell my servant go and he goes uh same kind of thing and Jesus says wow what faith the Centurion gets it because Jesus is a man of authority he doesn't even have to physically go there he can say the word and boom the thing is done and that's exactly what happened the Centurion servant is healed continue on verse uh 15 of chapter 8 talking about Peter's mother-in-law who was sick with the fever it says he touched her Jesus touched her hand and the fever left her and she Rose and began to serve him so again we see Jesus touching p uh Peter's mother-in-law's hand she is healed but then verse 16 that evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons and he cast out the spirits with the word and healed all who were sick so with Peter's mother-in-law he touched her but with those who were oppressed by demons he said a word and they were healed jump down to verse 23 of chapter 8 says when Jesus got into a boat and his disciples followed him and behold there was a great storm arose a great storm on the sea the boat was being swamped by the waves and Jesus was asleep the disciples go to Jesus and say save us Lord we're we're going to die on the storm and Jesus said to them why are you afraid oh you of little faith then he rose and he rebuked the winds and the Sea there was a great calm and the men marveled saying what sort of man is this that even winds and sea obey him so winds and sea obeyed Jesus Jesus rebuked them rebuke is something verbal by his word they calmed down I I had a friend who once said that Jesus didn't have to put his hand in the water to cause the the sea to calm down he just said the word and it was so and the disciples marveled at this what kind of man has this degree of authority continue on in verse 28 uh 28 through 33 34 sorry there's a story of two demon possessed men who are coming out of the tombs uh they were so Fierce no one went that way and they cried out in verse 29 what have you to do with us oh son of God have you come here to torment us before the time there were pigs feeding off in the distance and the demons begged Jesus saying if you cast us out send us away into the herd of pigs and he said to them go he said to the demons go and indeed they went they came out and they went into the pigs and the pigs ran into the water so again Jesus is exercising his authority here verbally he says go and they go uh chapter N9 continues the same Motif the story is crazy okay Jesus is teaching in this house and the friends of a paralytic come to Jesus and they want to see their friend healed so they literally tear open the ceiling and if you imagine everyone's sitting around listening to Jesus and dirt starts falling and this man is lowered down through the roof verse 2 of chapter 9 says when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic take take heart my son your sins are forgiven now if I was the paralytic and I was excited about being healed I don't know if that would be exciting for me or let down maybe I'm not righteous and Sanctified enough I probably have been more excited about being healed physically uh Jesus knew what he was doing I think he knew he was going to get there but nonetheless I just wonder what he thought the paralytic thought when he first heard that uh I sin are forgiven great I wanted to walk in any case verse three says behold some of the scribes said to themselves this man is blaspheming Jesus knew their thoughts he he said why do you think evil in your hearts which is easier to say your sins are forgiven or to say rise and walk and here's the kicker chapter 9:6 but that you may know that the son of man has Authority on Earth to forgive sins he then said to the paralytic rise pick up your bed and go home and he rose and he went home so Jesus here is commenting on his authority he has authority to do multiple things he has authority to forgive sins and he has authority to say rise get up and walk he can do both of those in both cases he exercises that Authority verbally if we jump down to uh chapter 9: 18 we have the story of I'm sorry verse 20 we have a story of a woman who has suffered from a discharge of blood for 12 years she came up behind him touched The Fringe of His Garment for she said to herself if I only touch His Garment I will be made well Jesus turned and seeing her he said take heart daughter your faith has made you well and instantly the woman was made well now this is an interesting story in this case Jesus doesn't touch the woman the woman touches Jesus but notice Jesus says take heart daughter your faith has made you well so he doesn't actually locate the efficacy of the healing act in the touching but rather in the woman's Faith uh verse 27 of chapter 9 we have two Blind Men Who say Have Mercy On Us son of David and Jesus touches their eyes and they're healed chapter 10 we have the sending out of the 12 apostles and chapter 10:1 we read and he called to him his 12 disciples to give them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal every disease and every Affliction then it lists the 12 disciples now when you see the artwork of Jesus laying his hands on uh the disciples I think that this is probably what they're referencing but notice it just says he gave them Authority it doesn't say that he laid his hands on them nonetheless if we go down to verse 5 of chapter 10 it says they these 12 Jesus sent out instructing them go nowhere among the Gentiles da da da go rather amongst the lost sheep of the House of Israel Proclaim as you go then he gives them their instructions so we have uh this Motif here of Jesus exercising Authority in a variety of ways sometimes he touches sometimes he is touched sometimes he exercises it verbally my point here is just to say that I don't think at least for Jesus it was the laying on of hands that was essential to the act of exercising authority Jesus was a man of authority and he could exercise it as he saw fit sometimes to prove a point he would touch lepers other times he would speak and the wind and the waves and the Sea would calm down now keep this in mind when we go to the very end of Matthew's gospel uh chapter 28 after Jesus's resurrection from the dead the very end of the Gospel here's what we read uh Jesus came and said said to them all authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to me I have all authority every bit of authority you can have has been given to Jesus verse 19 then says go therefore because he has all authority because of that go that therefore there I actually think is very significant he is the one who possesses all authority and he is authorizing his followers to go what are they to do they're to make disciples of all Nations they're to baptize them in the name of the father and son the Holy Spirit and to teach them to observe all that I commanded you so Jesus is verbally authorizing his people to have authority to do these things that's incredible and I think it's really significant for us we don't we don't need an unbroken line of laying out of hands from the apostles down to us Jesus can exercise his authority verbally and we see that right here John 20:22 says something uh remarkable I turn there in that text after Jesus has resurrected he appears to his disciples in chapter 20: 211 Jesus says to them peace be with you as the father sent me even so I am sending you and when he had said this he breathed on them and said to them receive the Holy Spirit if you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them if you have withhold forgiveness from any it is withheld so he is sending them and he gives them the Holy Spirit by breathing on them let not touching or just verbally authorizing there's something more going on here my point is just to say there's a multifaceted way in which Jesus exercises his authority with that in mind let's turn our attention to acts acts has a number of instances in which people are given the gift of the Holy Ghost uh I want to point out specifically in Chapter 2 beginning here with Pentecost the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit comes upon the apostles and empowers them with all that they'll need to uh to establish the church actually before I get there I just want to point out acts 1 eight is kind of the the thesis if there's a thesis in narrative the thesis of the book of Acts says you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my Witnesses in Jerusalem in all Judea and Samaria to the ends of the Earth so there's like this expansion of the kingdom of God in Acts this expansion of the church starting in Jerusalem broader and broader to the end of the Earth and each time there's a breach in this category Jerusalem Judea Samaria ends of the Earth mean I think meaning Gentiles the Gentile inclusion there's a reference to the coming of the Holy Ghost speaking in tongues and things like this and so anyways with that in the back of your mind consider chapter 2 Acts chapter 2 we have when the day of Pentecost arrived they were all together in one place suddenly there came from Heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind and it filled the entire house where they were sitting and divided tongues as a fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance now in this case the Holy Spirit came upon them them suddenly there's no laying on of hands there wasn't even any event presumably that precipitated this by The Sovereign decree and will of God uh the Holy Spirit came at that moment well now we do have other instances in Acts where the laying on of hands is a significant part of the story in chapter 6 there's this event where the helenistic widows and the hebraic widows are kind of not getting along because of daily distribution of food so the apostles set apart uh I think what are prototypical deacons to manage the Affairs of this so that they don't have to take up their time waiting tables and after they list out who are who are going to be these prototypical deacons these men set aside for this particular task in Acts 6:6 it says these they set before the apostles and they prayed and laid their hands on them so we do have that the apostles appointed men to a particular task by laying hands on them uh let's see what else we have we also have in chapter 8 in Samaria remember you have Jerusalem Judea Samaria is one of the markers in Acts 18 uh we have chapter 8:14 say now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God they sent to them Peter and John who came down and prayed for them for they might re that they might receive the holy spirit for he had not yet fallen on any of them but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit so we have Apostles come down from Jerusalem to Samaria uh the Samaritans had already been baptized but the apostles laid their hands on them to receive the holy spirit so certainly the laying on of hands is used here uh absolutely in chapter n we have uh Saul Paul's conversion and he's blinded on the Damascus Road he when he encounters Jesus and after he goes to ananas who is the one that God spoke to say hey Saul Paul is going to come to you um here's what we see happen acts 9:17 so ananas departed and entered the house and laying his hands on him he said brother Saul the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit and immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight then he rose and was baptized so in this case uh we have ananas laying his hands he he's given his sight then he receives the Holy Spirit I'm sorry that the orders are flipped he receives the Holy Spirit he receives his sight and then he is baptized so the order is just a little bit different there chapter 10 is super significant in Acts because it's where the gospel uh really is passes into the realm of the Gentiles not just the Jews in Acts chapter 10:44 Peter's just been explaining the gospel uh uh to Cornelius and his household he's been explaining The Narrative of Jesus Jesus's death and uh and what uh whatnot in Acts 10:44 4 it says while Peter was still saying these things the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word and the Believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles so in this case it's really interesting Peter is speaking while he's speaking the gospel the Holy Spirit falls on all who heard the word and the Believers received the Holy Spirit after they heard and then they were baptized the order there I think is just really interesting because it's not the order that you would perhaps expect uh the Holy Spirit came when they first heard Acts chapter 13 we have uh Barnabas and Paul after fasting and praying the church in Antioch laid their hands on Paul and Barnabas and sent them off to Ministry have other examples throughout acts uh of just lots of laying on of hands but not always sometimes God does what he wants he gives the Holy Spirit to those even without the laying on of hands and so there's just this this ongoing motif of God can exercise his authority as he Wills the laying on of hands happens it happens often but it's not integral it's not so essential that apart from it Authority can't be exercised now one thing I want to point out about both the narrative stories in the gospels and also in Acts is that these things are descriptive not necessarily prescriptive meaning they're just telling us what happened just because something happened doesn't mean that's how we should act and when it comes to the laying on of hands and how we receive the Holy Ghost and things like that I think it's important to look at what the Epistles say and the reason I say that is because there's a pattern in scripture uh that we're told throughout Redemptive history where God acts he does something in history and then he explains what he did so the Epistles are God's explanation through the apostles about what he did in the work of Christ and the establishment of the church in acts so the Epistles can clarify for us some of the Oddities that we find in the gospels in Acts uh it's just a general rule narrative helps us it's very helpful we see what happened but it doesn't always tell us what we should do it just tells us what was done so when we turn to the Epistles I first want to take a look at the book of Galatians in the book of Galatians Paul is dealing with the era of the judaizers the judaizers are saying hey you need to believe in Christ you just also need to get circumcised he says the very end of the book that there are those who would force you to be circumcised in order that they might not be persecuted for the Cross of Christ so they believed in Christ They just added to that an ordinance and Paul argues that there's no ordinances that are added to U mere belief in the word and Promises of God in order for us to be justified uh in order for us to have peace with him and one of the things that he argues in Galatians chapter 3 is this he starts off by saying oh foolest Galatians who who have who has Bewitched you these judaizers have Bewitched you you're believing in a false gospel he says it was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified let me ask you this did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith wow okay so in this case Paul is arguing that the galatian Christians received the Holy Spirit by hearing with faith that was the means through which they received the spirit now this idea is confirmed in the book of Ephesians the very first chapter we half verses 3-4 which is just a stunning section I love that section I kind of want to take a long time and just to walk through it but maybe that's for another video in Ephesians 1:3 says blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places so he's talking about the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ we have every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ all of them and he goes on to say he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world uh he predestined us for adoption as Sons we weren't once children of God but now we can become children of God by adoption through Jesus Christ all to the praise of his glorious Grace we have been redeemed through his blood uh he lavished his grace upon us he made known to us the mystery of his will um and then in verse 11 he says we've obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will in verse 12 he says so that we who were the first to Hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory we exist to the praise of God's glory verse 13 in him that is in Christ you also when you heard the word of Truth The Gospel of your salvation and believed in him were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the pra Praise of his glory so in this text uh when we heard the word of Truth The Gospel of your salvation so when we heard the gospel and believed we were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance so how did we receive this seal this this promise of the Holy Spirit we received it when we heard with faith it's exactly what we see happen in Galatians and so I think what we find in Acts personally is there's this kind of significance to the establishment of the church where normally it was by the laying on of hands that people received uh the Holy Ghost people receiv received the Holy Spirit But as time went on and there was no longer these establishing steps for the inauguration of the church being laid out the normal way in which people received the Holy Spirit was simply by hearing that's exactly what we find in Acts 10 with Cornelius we have Cornelius hearing the gospel from Peter he he believes it and the Holy Spirit falls upon him and then he's baptized all of that to say laying on of hands is important it's something that's still practiced even in Christian churches but I don't think that we have uh the kind of consistency in the Bible to argue that it is integral integral to the act of the exercising of Authority or the giving of the Holy Ghost important yes not necessarily integral so this is really interesting to me I found it has made its way into their art a number of art pieces that I've seen depict events from the Bible wherein people are laying their hands on other people even though those stories never record any laying on of hands uh no we never see Moses laying his hands on Aaron and Never See Jesus laying his hands on the apostles I mean at least never properly uh it's never stated that doesn't mean it didn't necessarily happen we just have nothing in the Bible that says it did I've heard some latterday saints even argue that the reason the apostasy happened was because the apostles had no quick means of transportation in order to get together and lay their hands on their successors thus the office of apostle fell away now not All latterday Saints think that way but I have heard that expressed to me before the issue of laying out of hands is very much tied to priesthood Authority which is something that Christians don't believe in categorically we actually just released a video on this exact issue so if you're curious to understand why we don't think that priesthood Authority really exists I'll be sure to link that video at the end of this one right here and I'll also put the link below in the description if you're curious about that thanks so much for watching leave any comments or questions Down Below in the comments