In our studies of the six foundational principles of Christianity found in the first two verses of Hebrews six, there is a progression that describes the Christian life. We have already studied repentance, faith, and baptism. And after today's study, we will be looking at resurrection and judgment.
The Bible commands us to turn from our sin, to place our faith in Christ, and then be baptized - repentance, faith, baptism. When we die, we are resurrected and stand before the judgment seat - resurrection and judgment.
That means that the subject before us today must address our walk with Christ - from the time we are baptized until the time we die. Most will probably be thinking, "What does laying on of hands have to do with my Christian walk?" Rest assured, the answer will be found as we open the Scriptures and see what the Bible teaches us about this fourth foundational principle.
The laying on of hands, like baptism, is a physical demonstration of a spiritual work. We see that symbolically, it is an impartation from one to another. This morning, we will look at five of these: the impartation of a) blessing; b) guilt and sin; c) spiritual authority; d) healing; and e) spiritual gifts
The first time that the Bible mentions the laying on of hands is found in the book of Genesis. Joseph had risen to power in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. He sent for his family to be brought. His father Jacob (or Israel, as God had renamed him) lived in Egypt after this for 17 years. When Israel became terminally ill, Joseph came with his two oldest sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
We read that Israel laid hands on their heads and spoke blessings over them, saying,
Gen. 48:16 "...Bless the lads; And may my name live on in them, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."
But then Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on the younger son, Ephraim. This was not the practice, for the right hand was reserved only for the firstborn.
Gen. 48:17-20 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim's head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. And Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the first-born. Place your right hand on his head." But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people and he also shall be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations." And he blessed them that day, saying, By you Israel shall pronounce blessing, saying, May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!'" Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
So, the laying on of hands showed the impartation of blessing. Jesus also practiced this. When He entered into a town, the women would bring their children to Him. You recall that the disciples thought they were doing Him a favor by trying to keep the people from doing this. But Jesus rebuked them and told them to knock that off.
Mark 10:16 ...And He took them in His arms and {began} blessing them, laying His hands upon them.
This is the laying on of hands, with prayer and spoken blessing.
The next laying on of hands we find in Scripture is the impartation of guilt and sin. When the priests were consecrated for the work of the ministry, we find that they were commanded to lay their hands on the heads of sacrificial animals (Exod. 29).
Then, once they began their ministry, those who came to confess their sins and offer sacrifices did the same thing. The man would lay his hand on the head of the offering, symbolically transferring the guilt of his sin to the innocent animal. Then he would slay it.
This was done not only for the priests and individuals, but for the nation as a whole. The instruction that God gave regarding the scapegoat included,
Lev. 16:21-22 "Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send {it} away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who {stands} in readiness. And the goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness."
It was not only animals that bore the guilt of the sins of people. In Leviticus 24, we read the account of a man who got into a fistfight with another man. During the struggle, the man blasphemed the name of God and cursed. They arrested him and sought the Lord for a proper punishment. God commanded,
Lev. 24:13-15 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Bring the one who has cursed outside the camp, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then let all the congregation stone him. And you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If anyone curses his God, then he shall bear his sin.'"
The people were defiled when they heard what the man had said. They spiritually imparted that guilt and sin back to the man, and he bore the responsibility of it all.
And so we see that the laying on of hands also imparts guilt and sin to another.
Thirdly, the laying on of hands can impart spiritual authority.
When Moses was about to enter forced retirement, the Lord told him to lay his hand on Joshua.
Num. 27:18-20 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; and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation; and commission him in their sight. And you shall put some of your authority on him, in order that all the congregation of the sons of Israel may obey him. Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.
That practice continues on into the church age. Church leaders are called to lay hands on those that God calls to ministry. We read in the book of Acts that a group of prophets and teachers were in a prayer meeting at Antioch.
Acts 13:2-3 And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
Of course, we often make mistakes regarding the Lord's will. We make decisions based on what we see and hear, rather than what God instructs in our hearts. We can place people in ministry that have not been called by the Lord. That's why Paul warned Timothy,
1Tim. 5:22 Do not lay hands upon anyone {too} hastily and thus share {responsibility for} the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.
When we commission someone to the work of the ministry by the laying on of hands, we'd better make sure that it is God who has first commissioned them.
To Impart Healing
Next is the laying on of hands to impart healing. As Christians, we usually think of this fourth item when we hear about laying on of hands. We know that Jesus healed many people by laying hands on them (Matt 9:18, Mark 5:23, 7:32, 8:23, Luke 4:40).
The promise in Mark 16 is that one of the signs that accompany those who believe is that they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover (Mark 16:18).
After Saul had been blinded on the road to Damascus, the Lord directed Ananias to go lay his hands on him. When he did, Saul regained his sight (Acts 9:10-19).
There is a fifth application of the laying on of hands. That is the impartation of spiritual gifts. Remember that Peter and John were in Samaria, and met with the new believers there.
Acts 8:17 Then they {began} laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.
Later, when Paul was writing to Timothy, he was continually reminding the young pastor to exercise his spiritual gift.
1Tim. 4:14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed upon you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.
2Tim. 1:6 And for this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
So this is the fifth application of the laying on of hands.
Other than hearing a good survey of a Bible topic, how is this beneficial to us? Remember that the author of Hebrews had placed this after repentance, faith, and baptism, but before resurrection and eternal judgment.
The laying on of hands speaks of our entire Christian life! As we put all these lessons together, we see how essential they are for the Christian's walk.
1) The laying on of hands imparts blessing. We as Christians are called to bless others, to actively look for how we can serve people.
2) The laying on of hands imparts guilt and sin. We as Christians are called to confession.
1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Upon whom are we laying our hands to transfer the guilt of our sin? Jesus Christ, who died in our place as our sin offering, our guilt offering, the scapegoat who bore our sins.
3) The laying on of hands imparts spiritual authority. We are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ; to train them, raise them up, and send them out. Pastors teaching lay leaders, older women teaching the younger women, adults teaching children.
4) The laying on of hands imparts healing. We are called to show compassion and practice practical ministry. But we are also called to the supernatural realm of believing God for miracles. Praying over people, laying hands on them, believing that God will raise them up and heal them.
5) The laying on of hands imparts spiritual gifts. We are called to believe God for more. To empower us with His Spirit and gift us with prophecy, teaching, miracles, service, giving, etc.
Do you see how our Christian lives should be marked with the laying on of hands? How are you fulfilling this desire that God has for your walk with Him?