The controversial healer Tom de Wal was recently arrested in Tilburg, The Netherlands. The founder of Frontrunner Ministries is said to also engage in what critics call “gay conversion healings,” something he strongly denies. At first glance, he appears to be doing something very Christian. Isn’t he simply doing what Jesus did 2,000 years ago in the streets of ancient Palestine? Helping people and healing them? But is he really doing what Jesus did, or is he missing the point entirely? Three points for reflection.
One could easily frame this as persecution of Christians. A Christian prayer healer is arrested and placed in a cell because he wants to heal people of all their ailments (to use the language of an older Bible translation). And this in a country often described as having Judeo-Christian roots. On top of that, LGBTQIA+ organizations protest at these prayer gatherings. It almost feels like a cinematic scene with a clear protagonist and several antagonists: the prayer healer Tom de Wal, the protesting organizations, and the strict law enforcers. How is this different from Jesus, the Pharisees, and the Romans? As believers, shouldn’t we support him? Surely he is allowed to pray for people in the street?
And yet, alongside the similarities, there are also differences between what is happening here and what Jesus did in his own time and place. Three points deserve attention.
1. Jesus Lived in a Different Time
Unlike the time of Jesus, there is now—especially in the Netherlands—a very clear distinction between the private and the public domain, particularly when it comes to expressing one’s worldview. This was not the case in Jesus’ time. In the Netherlands it often seems that no one cares what you do in your own home, as long as you do not bother others with it—especially not in the streets. Healing services may therefore still be somewhat “tolerated,” but once you take them out into public spaces, many people feel it goes too far.
In some ways it is refreshing when the boundaries between the private and public spheres are crossed. That is where things become interesting. That is where ideas and practices are put to the test. That is where people start forming opinions. When you enter a shared public space, you should also expect a response. The question is whether one should deliberately seek out that response.
In the time of Jesus, almost everything that took place in private spheres also had a public dimension. This is what scholars mean when they say that nearly everything people did in that time was political. The boundaries were not as sharply defined as they are for us today. It may surprise us that there were already physicians, doctors, and alternative healers in that period. Alongside Greek physicians (who had the Hippocratic insights from four centuries earlier at their disposal), there were also alternative healers such as Eleazar, Apollonius of Tyana, and Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa. As contemporaries of Jesus (the rabbi even being from the same region), they are said by the historian Josephus to have performed remarkable deeds.
Jesus was somewhat atypical in this respect because he also took to the streets himself. His practice was not confined to a home, but was mobile—on the road, among the people. People did come to him, but he also went out to meet them where they were.
In short, Jesus certainly went out into the streets as well, but he had less to contend with the kind of “public domain” that we experience today. That means one must approach such spaces with greater sensitivity and caution. Jesus did not quickly seek confrontation with the law. And this brings us to the next point: Jesus’ strategy.
2. Jesus Had a Different Strategy
Jesus did not seek confrontation with the law; rather, he challenged religious ideas. His struggle was not with the Roman rulers but with the religious establishment, particularly the priestly elite. If a prayer healer consciously chooses to challenge the laws of the land, then one must carefully justify why.
There are, of course, many different views on how Jesus related to government authority, but there seems to be a general consensus that he called his followers to respect the laws of the land. His famous answer to a trick question is often interpreted in this way:
“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God” (Mark 12:17).
This attitude toward the authorities also explains why he spoke in parables: short, memorable stories that provoke reflection. Or perhaps better said, they invite a change of heart. Parables allowed him to communicate his uncompromising message without directly stepping on the toes of the Roman authorities.
His strategy of entering the land likely moved from local synagogues (public gatherings), to natural speaking places (hillsides and lakes), and eventually to the great temple in Jerusalem. Although his mission clearly had a public character, he was not openly opposing or violating government laws (which were also structured quite differently than today).
Most importantly, his healing activity was never an end in itself but a means to something much greater. And this brings us to the final point: his mission to those on the margins.
3. Jesus Did Not Just Cure People—He Restored Them
In contrast to what prayer meetings today can sometimes become, the healing activities of Jesus were never the ultimate goal. The goal was to restore people to participation in society, however diverse that society was in his time and place. There were major differences in lifestyle, socio-economic class, religious groups, and legal traditions. Jesus offered those on the margins—people who felt they did not belong anywhere—an alternative way of life and a new community.
His vision was that of the kingdom (of God). On the one hand, it is an imaginative reality oriented toward the heart or house of God; on the other hand, it is a concrete experience here and now, lived out together in the practice of what is good. That goodness becomes tangible when people allow themselves to be guided by values that truly matter: humility, modesty, and generosity. In that way one experiences wholeness. There is also a bodily dimension to this, but it is not the whole story. Physical health is not the entire cake—only the cherry on top.
We do not see Jesus healing a particular layer of someone’s identity. Tom de Wal’s prayer meetings are accused—rightly or wrongly—of “gay conversion healing.” He denies this. Yet it is still worth noting that Jesus did not ask the Samaritan woman to become Jewish, nor did he send away the Roman who sought healing for his servant. There is no conversion of ethnicity, just as there was no conversion of sexual orientation or identity. We simply do not read such stories (though we might speculate about reasons).
If one believes that homosexual orientation is merely a choice or “lifestyle” rather than a core layer of someone’s identity, then the previous paragraph may not matter. In that case, healing it might seem more legitimate. But in my view, Jesus today would go precisely to those who are being excluded. Full acceptance of these valuable people in society is still an illusion. I recently spoke with a non-binary teacher who was far from accepted within their school environment. We cannot simply dismiss such people as part of “the world” we must resist. Instead, they may serve as sources of inspiration for how we can live according to God’s character.
"You cannot dismiss these fellow human beings as part of the ‘world’ we must resist, but rather see them as sources of inspiration for how we can live according to God’s character.
It is not necessarily evangelical or Christian to deny LGBTQIA+ people a place in the church—or, for that matter, a role, an office, or even love within the sacred and mysterious institution of marriage. There is nothing more beautiful than two people in a broken world standing before God and the community and pledging faithfulness to one another. In everything, life is lived coram Deo—before the face of God.
In Summary
In summary, there are indeed similarities between modern prayer healers and the ministry of Jesus, but there are also clear differences. Yes, Jesus went out into the streets, approached people, and allowed them to approach him. But he acted carefully toward governing authorities and pursued a larger goal: an alternative community in which people include one another based on God’s heart toward us—love, humility, and generosity.
You do not heal one layer of someone’s identity. You restore the whole person.
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