SNC Home

Hebrews 6:1-2: "Therefore, let us leave the elementary teachings about the Messiah and go on to maturity; not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in Yahweh, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment."

The correct teaching about the laying on of hands is clear from the Scriptures. By close contact, righteous men can transmit some spiritual power to another person. We're going to consider four ways that the laying of hands is used in Scripture:

1) Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh in Genesis 48:14-16. "Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim's head who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said: 'Yahweh, before Whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac walked, the Elohim who has fed me all my life long to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.'"

2) Yeshua blessed the children in Matthew 19:13-15. "Then little children were brought to Yeshua for Him to place His hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Yeshua said, 'Let the children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.' When He had laid His hands on them, He went on from there."

We also see this use of laying on of hands in the custom of blessing our children on the Sabbath day. The father of the family lays his hands on each child and prays for Yahweh's blessing to be upon the child in the way that child needs. He may say, "John, may Yahweh bless you with a good Sabbath and give you wisdom and faith during the coming week. May your understanding of calculus be increased and may you do well on your test. May you walk in Yahweh's ways."

Luke 4:40: "When the sun was setting, the people brought to Yeshua all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying His hands on each one, He healed them."

Luke 13:10-17: "On a Sabbath, Yeshua was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Yeshua saw her, He called her forward and said to her, 'Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.' Then He put His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised Yahweh.

"Indignant because Yeshua healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, 'There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.'

"The Master answered him, 'You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her? When He said this, all His opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things He was doing."

Mark 5:23: "He pleaded earnestly with Him, 'My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live."

Mark 6:5-6: "He could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them. And He was amazed at their lack of faith."

Mark 8:23-25: "He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When He had spit on the man's eyes and put His hands on him, Yeshua asked, 'Do you see anything?' He looked up and said, 'I see people; they look like trees walking around.' Once more Yeshua put His hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.'"

Mark 16:15-20: "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My Name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.' "So then, after the Master had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of Yahweh. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Master working with them and confirming the word through accompanying signs. Amen."

Acts 28:7-9: "There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably. His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Sha'ul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. When this happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured."

James 5:14-18: "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the congregation, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of Yahweh. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and Yahweh will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. EliYah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit."

We should understand that the elders cannot heal anyone. It takes a righteous man to have his prayer answered (vs.. 16), and none of us are righteous apart from Yeshua. It is Yahweh Who is our Healer. All the elder does is to request Yahweh to heal the person in Yeshua's Name.

1 Corinthians 2:9-15: "That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what Yahweh has prepared for those who love Him.' But we know these things because Yahweh has revealed them to us by His Spirit, and His Spirit searches out everything and shows us even Yahweh's deep secrets. No one can know what anyone else is really thinking except that person alone, and no one can know Yahweh's thoughts except Yahweh's own Spirit. And Yahweh has actually given us His Spirit (not the world's spirit) so we can understand the wonderful things Yahweh has freely given us.

"When we tell you this, we do not use words of human wisdom. We speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit's words to explain spiritual truths. But people without the Spirit can't understand these truths from Yahweh's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them because only those who have the Spirit can understand what the Spirit means. We who have the Spirit understand these things, but others can't understand us at all." (NLT)

There are only 5 incidents of people receiving the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) in the Book of Acts. In 3 of the 5 incidents, people received the Spirit through the laying on of hands. The other 2 incidents happened without human action.

Acts 8:14-17: "Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of Yahweh, they sent Peter (Kefa) and John (Yochanan) to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit). For as yet it had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the Name of the Master Yeshua. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Ruach HaKodesh."

Acts 9:17: "And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him, he said, 'Brother Sha'ul, the Master Yeshua, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Ruach HaKodesh."

Cornelius in Acts 10:44-46 and Ephesus, Acts 19:4-6 "Then Sha'ul said John (Yochanan) indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him would come after him, that is, on the Messiah Yeshua.'

"When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Master Yeshua. And when Sha'ul had laid hands on them, the Ruach HaKodesh came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied."

Sha'ul, in Romans 1:11-12 shows us an example of one believer imparting spiritual gifts to another. Sha'ul further shares the reason: "...so that you might be established or built up."

"For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith, both of you and me."

2 Timothy 1:6-7: "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of Yahweh which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For Yahweh has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

1 Timothy 4:14: "Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you." (NIV)

Numbers 27:18-23: "And Yahweh said to Moshe: 'Take Y'hoshua (Joshua), the son of Nun, with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and command him in their sight. And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.'

"So Moshe did as Yahweh commanded him. He took Y'hoshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. And he laid his hands on him and commanded him, just as Yahweh commanded by the hand of Moshe."

Deuteronomy 34:9: "Now Y'hoshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moshe had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as Yahweh had commanded Moshe."

The Congregation at Antioch - Acts 13:1-4 "Now in the congregation that was at Antioch, there were certain prophets and teachers: Bar-Nabba (Barnabas), Shim'on (Simeon) who was called Niger (known as "the Black"), Lucius of Cyrene, Menachem (Manaen) who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Sha'ul. As they ministered to Yahweh and fasted, the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit( said, 'Now separate to Me Bar-Nabba and Sha'ul for the work to which I have called them.' Then having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. So, being sent out by the Ruach HaKodesh, they went down to Seleucia, and from there sailed to Cyprus."

In response to the Ruach HaKodesh' s (Holy Spirit's) call, they laid hands upon them - again after praying and fasting. The laying on of hands by the prophets and teachers in Antioch represented the public acknowledgement by the congregation leaders of the fact that the Ruach HaKodesh had set them aside for a special ministry. Also, by laying hands upon Sha'ul and Bar-Nabba (Barnabas), the other congregation leaders claimed for them the spiritual wisdom, grace and power, which they would need to accomplish the task assigned by Yahweh.

The appointing of deacons:- Acts 6:3-6: "Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Ruach HaKodesh and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word." And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Ruach HaKodesh, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them."

Yahweh wants us to use this method of sharing His power. The patriarchs did it, the prophets did it, Yeshua and the apostles did it. Yahweh has given many blessings today through the laying on of hands. HalleluYAH!!!

This article was reprinted and adapted from The Master Key Vol. 24, No. 3, May/June 2003. The Master Key is published by Yahweh's Assembly in Messiah, 401 N. Roby Farm Road, Rocheport, MO 65279, USA. Used with kind permission from The Master Key.