Laying on of Hands
As we explore the Scriptures, we will find that the laying on of hands has multiple uses in the Scriptures. However, it almost always portrays the bestowing of something supernatural from the one who puts their hands on another to the one who has hands laid on them. One of the first incidences of laying on of hands in Scriptures can be found in Genesis when Jacob (i.e. Israel) laid hands on Ephraim and Manasseh in order to bestow a blessing on them.
Genesis 48:12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.…… 20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, Elohim make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
Another example of laying on of hands is found in Leviticus and is tied to the Day of Atonement. On this day, Aaron as high priest, laid his hands on the live goat in order to put the transgressions of the children of Israel onto the head of the live goat.
Leviticus 16:20 And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: 22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
A third example of laying on of hands is found in the book of Numbers where Moses laid hands on Joshua, son of Nun, in order to bestow upon him the authority for leading the children of Israel.
Numbers 27:18 And Yahweh said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; 19 And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. 20 And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. 21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before Yahweh: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation. 22 And Moses did as Yahweh commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation: 23 And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as Yahweh commanded by the hand of Moses.
And not only did the laying on of hands bestow upon Joshua the authority of leading the children of Israel, it also transmitted the Spirit of Wisdom (i.e. Holy Spirit) to Joshua.
Deuteronomy 34:9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as Yahweh commanded Moses.
Jumping to the New Testament, specifically the evangels and the book of Acts, we find Yah’shua and his apostles often laid hands on people to heal them. The laying on of hands bestowed the power of the Holy Spirit to a sick person in order to heal them
Mark 6:4 But Yah’shua said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. 5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them (also Mark 7:31-37).
Luke 4:40 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.
Luke 13:12 And when Yah’shua saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. 13 And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified Yahweh.
Acts 28:8 And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.
This brings us to the most important New Testament use for laying on of hands. What we find over and over in the New Testament is the receiving of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. This bestowing of the Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 8:17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,
Acts 9:17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Sovereign, even YahwehShua, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Sovereign YahwehShua. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
2 Timothy 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of Yahweh, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 7 For Yahweh hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
So, who is responsible for laying on of hands to bestow the Holy Spirit on a new believer? What we find in 1st Timothy is the laying on of hands for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit was done by the elders.
1 Timothy 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery (4244 -presbuterion from a presumed derivative of 4245)
1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders (4245 – presbuteros) that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. 18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. 19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. 20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. 21 I charge thee before Yahweh, and the Sovereign YahwehShua Messiah, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. 22 Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.
And we also see a warning that elders should not lay hands on those who are sinning. It is clear by this warning that only elders in the faith who can distinguish sin should lay their hands on a new convert in order to receive Yahweh’s Holy Spirit.
These are just a few examples of several dozen instances of the laying on of hands in the Scriptures. As we look at all these examples, it is clear that the purpose of this practice is to bestow supernatural blessings, healings, authority, or power from one individual to another. And most importantly, it is a mechanism to bestow the Holy Spirit from an elder to a new convert.
It is interesting to note that laying on of hands was not always necessary to bestow something supernatural from one to another . An example would be healing in the Scriptures. What we find is Yah’shua and His disciples did not always lay hands on those they healed. It is clear that Messiah’s power is not limited by the physical body.
John 4:46 So Yah’shua came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Yah’shua was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. 48 Then said Yah’shua unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. 49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. 50 Yah’shua saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Yah’shua had spoken unto him, and he went his way.
Matthew 8:8 The centurion answered and said, Sovereign, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10 When Yah’shua heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13 And Yah’shua said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
Acts 14:8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: 9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, 10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.
Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. 4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of YahwehShua Messiah of Nazareth rise up and walk. 7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising Yahweh.
And more importantly, the Holy Spirit does not have to wait for the laying on of hands by an elder in order to indwell believers in all cases. Two examples of believers receiving Yahweh’s Holy Spirit without the laying on of hands are the day of Pentecost and the house of Cornelius.
Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 10:44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them which heard the word. 45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify Yahweh.
And the apostle Peter, when responding to what a believer needed to do to be saved, does not mention the laying on of hands. In fact there is a promise that if you repent and are baptized in the name of YahwehShua Messiah, that you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of YahwehShua Messiah for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
It is clear that the laying on of hands is not required for Yahweh to pour out his Spirit (or to do anything else). Although it is not required for Yahweh to act, it is another measure of our obedience to YahwehShua and his Word. In fact, the laying on of hands is one of the most basic and fundamental doctrines of Messiah.
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Messiah, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward Elohim, 2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
The laying on of hands is a foundational truth of Messiah. Right along with repentance, faith, and water baptism! Selah. Based on all that has been discussed, believers who have repented and been baptized in the name of YahwehShua should obey Messiah and have the elders lay hands on them. Or a better way to look at it is why would anyone not want the elders to lay hands on them after they believed, repented and were baptized in the name of YahwehShua?
Acts 5:31 Him hath Yahweh exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Spirit, whom Yahweh hath given to them that obey him.
Hebrews 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
HalleluYah (12/12b)