Lexical Summary therapeia: Healing, service, care Original Word: θεραπεία Strong's Exhaustive Concordance healing, household. From therapeuo; attendance (specially, medical, i.e. Cure); figuratively and collectively, domestics -- healing, household. see GREEK therapeuo HELPS Word-studies Cognate: 2322 therapeía – healing, focusing on the reversal of the physical condition (illness, disease) itself carrying the responsibility of fully serving the Lord through it. See 2323 (therapeuō). NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom therapeuó Definition attention, medical service NASB Translation healing (2), servants (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 2322: θεραπείαθεραπεία, θεραπείας, ἡ (θεραπεύω); 1. service, rendered by anyone to another. 2. special medical service, curing, healing: Luke 9:11; Revelation 22:2, ((Hippocrates), Plato, Isocrates, Polybius). 3. by metonymy, household, i. e. body of attendants, servants, domestics: Matthew 24:45 R G; Luke 12:42 (and often so in Greek writings; cf. Lob. ad Phryn., p. 469; for עֲבָדִים, Genesis 45:16). This word gathers together two spheres that biblical theology never separates: healing and service. Whether describing the compassionate cures of Jesus Christ, the orderly care of a master’s household, or the ultimate restoration awaiting the nations in the New Jerusalem, Strong’s Greek 2322 consistently portrays devoted, beneficial ministry rendered under rightful authority. Occurrences and Contexts 1. Luke 9:11 – crowds receive the preaching of the kingdom and “He healed those who needed healing.” Each setting frames therapia in relationship to a ruler (Jesus, a household master, or God enthroned) whose benevolent oversight brings wholeness. Healing in the Ministry of Jesus (Luke 9:11) Luke couples proclamation and healing as inseparable signs of messianic authority (compare Isaiah 35:5-6). The term signals more than medical relief; it embodies the kingdom’s present arrival. Jesus does not merely perform acts of power; He demonstrates the Creator’s original intent for human flourishing. For the church, compassionate care for body and soul remains a credential of gospel authenticity (Acts 4:9-10; James 5:14-16). Faithful Stewardship and Household Service (Luke 12:42) Here the word depicts a service community under a steward answerable to the master. The parable links therapia with wise distribution of provision, highlighting accountability, diligence, and constancy until the master returns. Christian leadership is therefore measured less by prominence than by sustained, life-giving ministry to those in one’s charge (1 Corinthians 4:1-2; 1 Peter 5:2-4). Eschatological Restoration of the Nations (Revelation 22:2) In the climactic vision, therapia shifts from individual cures to cosmic renewal. The tree of life, once guarded from fallen humanity (Genesis 3:22-24), now dispenses perpetual health. The plurals—“twelve kinds of fruit,” “nations”—announce comprehensive redemption. Physical, social, and spiritual fractures are finally mended, fulfilling promises such as Isaiah 52:7 and Zechariah 14:9. Mission today anticipates that consummation, proclaiming the gospel “to every nation and tribe and tongue and people” (Revelation 14:6). Theological Threads 1. Authority and Care – The healer or steward operates under higher lordship; power is exercised as service. Historical Reflection Early Christian writers tied bodily healing to the atonement (e.g., 1 Peter 2:24) and viewed diaconal service as gospel embodiment. Hospitals emerging from monastic communities bore witness to therapia in action, while catechetical instruction framed church members as a “household of God” to be wisely nurtured. Ministry Implications • Cultivate holistic outreach that attends to sickness, poverty, and alienation. Related Vocabulary The verb form often translated “to heal” underscores that therapia is not abstract ideology but concrete, observable care (Matthew 4:24; Acts 4:30). Together they summon believers to active participation in the gracious, orderly, and healing reign of God. Englishman's Concordance Luke 9:11 N-GFSGRK: χρείαν ἔχοντας θεραπείας ἰᾶτο NAS: who had need of healing. KJV: them that had need of healing. INT: need having of healing he cured Luke 12:42 N-GFS Revelation 22:2 N-AFS Strong's Greek 2322 |
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