Are Christians Commissioned to RAISE THE DEAD?

Christ raised three people from the dead during his earthly ministry:

The widow’s son at Nain (Luke 7:11-17)
Jairus’ daughter (Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43 & Luke 8:40-56)
Lazarus (John 11:1-44)

Because the Lord said “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12), some understandably argue that believers should be raising the dead as well. Here are two things to keep in mind on this:

Since one could hardly do greater works than Christ when he ministered on Earth, such as raising the dead, he was possibly referring to volume of works, particularly since he notes that he would be going to the Father and proceeds to emphasize that the Holy Spirit would come down and live inside believers as their Helper (John 14:16). When this occurs it wouldn’t be just one man doing the awesome works of Christ in one location, but rather believers all over the world because the spirit of Christ is in all of them (Romans 8:9).
The “greater things” Jesus was referring to would certainly include evangelizing people wherein they receive spiritual regeneration by the Spirit (Titus 3:5), which was not available during Christ’s earthly ministry until after he died for our sins and was raised to life for our justification (1 Corinthians 15:1-4 & Romans 4:25). This would be raising the dead in a spiritual sense (Ephesians 2:4-5) and would definitely be a greater work than what Christ did during his 3.5 years of earthly ministry. Another “greater work” would be laying hands on converts and their receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit & and benefits thereof.

After Christ’s death & resurrection, there are two cases where believers prayed for dead people and they were brought back; and one instance of a mortally-wounded person being fully healed:

Tabitha, who died after falling ill, but was raised from death after Peter prayed for her (Acts 9:36-42).
The boy, Eutychus (YOO-too-kus), who fell from a window and died while Paul was preaching, but was raised to life via Paul’s Holy Spirit-led service (Acts 20:7-12).
Paul was mortally wounded after being stoned by religious zealots in Lystra and left for dead, but the believers gathered around him in prayer and he was fully healed (Acts 14:19-20).

While these believers were led of the Spirit to pray for the dead or dying and they were miraculously raised up, believers are not technically commissioned to raise the dead, as observed in the two passages that relay the Great Commission and the corresponding signs:

¹⁵He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

¹⁹After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. ²⁰Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

Mark 16:15-20

¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

The Great Commission involves going out and making disciples from all over the world, baptizing them, and teaching them the New Covenant truths of Holy Scripture. In the passage from Mark 16 Christ also lists the signs that will accompany believers carrying out this commission, which includes exorcizing demons and laying hands on people to heal them. Yet notice that nothing is said about raising the dead nor are there any instructions in the epistles concerning believers going out to raise the dead. Instead, this is what is taught:

¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.

James 5:14-15

This corresponds to one of the signs Christ said would accompany believers — they will place their hands on sick people and they will get well. But please note the key element in releasing God’s power to heal the sick in verse 15 — FAITH. This is what the believers did when they gathered around the near-dead Paul in prayer and he miraculously received a full healing (Acts 14:19-20). You can learn more about healing by faith here.

So, believers are not commissioned to run around laying hands on dead people in the hope of raising them to life. Can you imagine the awkwardness and embarrassment of a zealous believer trying to raise someone from the dead at a funeral and nothing happens, not to mention the serious legal ramifications?

That said, if you are led of the Spirit to lay hands on the freshly dead in a tragic situation, like Peter did with Tabitha and Paul with Eutychus, do as you are guided; the same if you’re dealing with someone near-death, like Paul after being stoned and left for dead. Since raising someone from the dead or healing someone who is mortally wounded are great works, you’ll at least have to be a great man/woman of faith to be effective; and you’ll likely need one of the gifts of the Spirit to be flowing in you at the moment, like special faith, healing or working of miracles (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).

I stress being led of the Spirit because God does not automatically want someone brought back from physical death. For instance, when my father passed away at the hospital after suffering a series of strokes for several years and slowly deteriorating, including his leg being amputated on his final visit, I had zero leading to lay hands on him and pray for him to be brought back. Why? Because God was done with him on Earth and it was time for him to go.

Tabitha, by contrast, needed to be brought back so that she could continue her notable ministry to the poor and Eutychus was brought back because he was just a boy with a whole life in front of him. Meanwhile Paul was fully healed after being left for dead because he had years of world-reaching service to conduct, including two more missionary journeys.

This article is available in book form as part of chapter 8 of….