How does God work through the laying on of hands

Throughout the gospels we are told about numerous occasions when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, touched people with his hands. He practised the laying on of hands on many different occasions. In the book of Acts we soon discover that the disciples continued with the same practice of ministering to people by the laying on of hands. In fact we discover that this is a foundational truth and practice of the body of Christ throughout all ages. Through the examples and explanations we find in the Bible, we discover that the laying on of hands has many functions such as incorporation, identification, impartation and commissioning. However, the main thing to remember is that God himself works through the laying on of hands. Our hands can be the means through which God touches people’s lives and changes them. The laying on of hands is normally combined with words of prayer, prophecy or proclamation. This is a very powerful combination through which we may encounter God.

Incorporation

We find the first incident of the laying on of hands recorded in the Bible in Genesis 48. Here we read about the elderly Jacob blessing the two sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, and through laying his hands on them adopting them or incorporating them among his own sons giving them full inheritance rights. “Now I am adopting as my own sons these two boys of yours, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born here in the land of Egypt before I arrived. They will inherit from me just as Reuben and Simeon will” (Gen. 48:4-5). Then he reached out and laid his hands on the heads of the two sons of Joseph. He crossed his arms and laid the right hand on Ephraim, the younger one, and the left hand on Manasseh, the elder one, signifying that when he incorporated them into his own family, he changed their natural order by giving preference to the younger. When he laid hands on them he pronounced a blessing by prophesying over them. From then on they were incorporated among the sons of Jacob.

A similar thing happened to Saul of Tarsus when he arrived blinded in Damascus. He had an encounter with the risen Lord on the way to Damascus through which he repented and became a believer. But he was totally on his own, praying to the Lord for help. When he met the Lord, he had a revelation of the body of Christ, how Christ identifies himself with those who believe in him. The Lord sent an ordinary disciple called Ananias to lay hands on him to bring healing to him and to prophesy to him. By this laying on of hands he was incorporated into the people of God. He was now viewed as one of the believers, a disciple, and a brother in Christ.

So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you may get your sight back and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. (Acts 9:17-18)

When Ananias laid his hands on Saul, he was healed and filled with the Spirit and received prophetic words that confirmed to him what Christ had already spoken to him:

The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and hear him speak. You are to take his message everywhere, telling the whole world what you have seen and heard. (Acts 22:14-15)

Through this experience Saul was touched by God through human hands. Christ demonstrated to him what he saw in his heavenly vision: When he laid hold of the Christ’s disciples, he touched Christ. When the ordinary disciple laid hands on Saul, he was fully incorporated into the body of Christ!

Identification

When we lay hands on somebody there is a strong sense of identification with that person in the act of touching them this way. We find many examples of the laying on of hands with the meaning and effect of identification in the Bible. In the Old Testament Levitical sacrifices, there was a clear identification taking place of the one making the offering with the sacrificial victim through the laying on of hands. Through this act of physical contact, the one making the offering and the offering became one (Cf. Leviticus 1:4; 3:2; 4:15,24,29,33; 16:21; Numbers 8:10-18.). When the High Priest laid hands on the goat confessing the sins of the people, the goat was identified with their sins, becoming the scapegoat carrying the sins of the people into the wilderness. A similar identification took place during the burnt offering. By laying hands on the oxen, people identified with the innocence of the sacrificial victim. When the people of Israel laid hands on the Levites they identified themselves with them, saying that the Levites would minister on their behalf before God.

We find a similar incident of identification through the laying on of hands in Acts 6. Here seven men were chosen to represent the apostles in the daily ministry to the needs of the people. The apostles laid hands on them and prayed for them as they were presented to the people. From now on the apostles could devote themselves fully to the ministry of prayer and the word. The laying on of hands speaks of identification and the importance of a common life and responsibility.

Exercise:

Have you experienced acceptance through the touch of someone’s hands? How did it happen and what did it do to you?

How important are the hands in incorporation and identification?

Continue to memorise the previous Bible verses and add this one to your list:

These signs will accompany those who believe: They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them. (Mark 16:18)