Christ came to confirm the covenants and promises made to the fathers of Israel; as seen from the references below, it was with the purpose for Israel to be to be a light to the gentiles in God’s Kingdom (Rom.15:8-9; cp.Lk.2:32). The order of events in the prophetic timeline of God purposes are that Israel was to be saved first, and then through them, God would channel His blessing out to the rest of the world (Isa.60; Jn.4:22; Acts 3:25-26).
This is why when Christ came here His ministry was exclusively to the nation (Acts.5:31).He told the disciples not to go into any of the cites of the Samaritans, or the way of the gentiles (Mt.10:5), and when the gentile woman approached Christ he said to her I have not come but for the lost sheep of the House of Israel, it is not right to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs, let the children “first” be filled (Mt.15:26; Mk.7:27;cp. Acts.3:25-26 ); while he did honor her faith, we must understand the reason for His attitude and not minimize it.
When Christ came on the scene in fulfillment of Daniel 70 week prophecy, to redeem the nation from their sin, and from their gentile enemies (Lk.1:71-78), the Kingdom was indeed at hand in the person of the king, the members of the nation were called to a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, in order to prepare themselves for the day of the Lord judgments where the Messiah would establish the Kingdom(Mk.1:4;Mt.3:8-12).
When we look at some of the characteristics of when the Lord commissions the 12 disciples; He tells them to not go into the way of the gentiles, or any city the Samaritans, he tells them preach the Kingdom of heaven is that hand, heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons… (Mt.10:5-10). Now we must understand that these instructions of Christ to the 12, are specifically to Israel, because under the blessings of the old covenant the nation of Israel was to be free from all diseases (Ex.15:26; 23:25-28) but if they broke the law, sickness would come upon them (Jn.5:14-15). Also, when God made the covenant with Israel, He called heaven as a witness to the blessings and cures of the covenant (Deut. 30:19), and we know that when people broke Gods commandments in the O. T. God would allow the evils spirits in the heavens to execute His judgments, this is why sickness is so closely associated with demonic possession in the narrative of the prophetic program in Gods dealings with Israel (1 Kings 22:19-22; cp. Mt.4:24; 8:16).
So, these were the signs to Israel that the Kingdom was indeed a hand, the nation had the responsibility to receive the Christ by faith. Christ was weaking satans kingdom before He would establish God's (Mt.12:25-29). Also note that the resurrection of the dead also relates to the Kingdom, being that in the Kingdom there will be a resurrection, along with the demons and the devil being locked away.
When John the Baptist was in jail he sent his disciples to question if Jesus was the one that they were waiting for, and Jesus quoted from Isaiah telling them that the lame are healed, and the sick are healed, the deaf can hear, and the blind can see, when we look at this quote from Isaiah we see that the context of the chapter is talking about a universal restoration where desert lands will be turned into paradise(Mt.11:4-5;Isa. 35:1-7). This is why in Hebrews it speaks about these powers from on high, as being the powers of the age to come, the signs of the Kingdom (Heb.2:4; 6:5).
Once Israel repented, they were to be missionaries to the gentile world (Zech.8:20-23; Isa. 66 :19) but we know that the nation rejected and crucified the Messiah. But when he was on the cross, he prayed to the father to forgive them for they know not what they do, here he is praying that they be spared of the national judgment of the tribulation. So, during the early acts period, the nation of Israel is then offered the Kingdom, for it was necessary first for Christ to suffer, for the nation to be forgiven of their sin of breaking the old covenant, it is through the death of Christ (Jer.31:31-40). So now once He died and was risen, it was time for them to receive the Kingdom, and this is what Peter tells them, he says if they repent Christ would be sent back to them and would establish the Kingdom (Acts.3:17-21).
Here we are establishing context following it till we come to the call of the body, then we will find our doctrine. But notice when we get to the post-Acts ministry, Paul's gift of healing is no longer (1Tim.5:23; 2 Tim.4:20); as it was during the Acts period (Acts.19:12), this because health, and the longevity of life, is not a characteristic of the current age of Christ's body, as it is with Israels kingdom age (Isa.65:20). And certainly, when we have a cold, or get a sickness does it mean demonic possession, of course not!, for the Spirit of God lives within us, but when we understand Israels place in scripture and the doctrine that pertains to them and His heavenly Kingdom on earth, apart from the doctrine that is for us today, the Church which is Christs body, things will begin to make sense.
