Why Is the Laying on of Hands So Significant?

Connection is an important part of the human experience, and one that people were designed to experience. Throughout time and across cultures there have been ways that people groups express connection. In the Bible, there is a glimpse of how ancient groups did so.

One of the ways that people physically expressed a spiritual connection that has lasted for centuries is the laying on of hands. It is when a person or people put their hands on another person or group of people as part of a blessing or a prayer. While the Bible does not give rules and regulations for when Christians should do this action, it can be understood through context and statements made in the New Testament. Understanding this important gesture can create closer bonds in the church among believers, and strengthen an individual’s relationship with the Holy Spirit.

What Does Laying on of Hands Mean?

The laying on of hands is a physical act which communicates something of spiritual significance. It falls into the same series of church practices and disciplines as anointing with oil and fasting – outward expressions of a spiritual event or movement. It manifests as a transfer of something invisible, such as sin or a blessing or an affirmation.

Where Do We See This in the Bible?

Laying of hands happens in both the Old and the New Testaments. In the days before the birth of Jesus Christ – before the Son of God came down in flesh to live among us – there were two common moments where there is a laying of hands.

The first situation, where one person lays hands on another, is when blessings or curses are being conferred. When Jacob, by this point in his life called Israel, was dying, he called his children around him to receive blessings. The Bible records the specific blessings given to each son. Joseph did not receive a direct blessing, but his two sons did. Genesis states:

“And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). And he blessed Joseph and said, ‘The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.’ When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. And Joseph said to his father, ‘Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.’ But his father refused and said, ‘I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations’” (Genesis 48:14-19).

Not only did Israel places his hands on the boys, but which hand was on which head indicated the greatness of the blessing.

Sometimes when a hand was laid on someone, it was a curse. When people blasphemed the name of God in the days of the tabernacle and religious law among the Hebrew people, that person was executed, but also experienced a laying of hands where the individual who committed blasphemy had hands laid on him so he would bear the curse he invoked. “Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. And speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin” (Leviticus 24:14-15). Instead of being forgiven, the person had to bear the weight of their own sin.

The other significant moment in the Old Testament when there was a laying of hands was to transfer the sin of the people onto an animal. Every sin offering put forth in the Book of Leviticus commands that hands be laid on the animal to demonstrate how the sins of the individual or the people are being places on the animal, whose blood will atone for those sins.

The three most prominent are:  

Leviticus 1:3-4 “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord.  He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.”

Leviticus 3:1-2 “If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord.  And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons the priests shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar.”

Leviticus 16:20-22 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.”

In the New Testament, the moments where there is a laying of hands is exclusively when Jesus is performing miracles, or when there is a commissioning of a disciple, or when praying for someone for a blessing or healing.

Why Is This Act So Significant?

On the most surface level, a part of the significance of the act of laying on of hands is that it creates human connection. This basic truth is supported by modern science, as studies show that touch increases oxytocin, can facilitate increased well-being, and communication. Jesus used touch to assure the Apostle John when He appeared to Him at Patmos in His full glory, “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last’” (Revelation 1:17). Contact is a part of how some people connect, though not everyone.

In the Bible, the act of laying on hands also serves as the extension of approval and philíos - brotherly love – as well as the blessing of someone being commissioned for a specific purpose or role in the church. Even in the days of instituting the priesthood in the wilderness, the Hebrews laid hands on the members of the Tribes of Levi being commissioned to serve in the Tabernacle.

“When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites…Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine” (Numbers 8:10, 14).

This act distinguished the Levites, separating them for God’s purposes. Centuries later, the early church continued this tradition when they instituted the first deacons, six Greek men set aside to care for the needs of the emerging church. “These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them” (Acts 6:6). Today, most churches still lay hands on missionaries, deacons, pastors, elders, and others whom they are commissioning to go forth and serve.

Finally, the laying of hands - particularly in the New Testament - is often associated with the movement of the Holy Spirit. In the Book of Acts, it is recorded when people believed the Apostles and other disciples of Jesus would lay hands and pray. “Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:17). Part of why Paul encouraged Timothy to be cautious when laying on of hands is because it is a spiritual act affirming another in the Spirit, and if that person is unworthy of that affirmation, the Spirit should not be called upon to move.

The laying of hands did not just invoke the Spirit among Jewish believers, it also happened in Ephesus, where half the believers were Gentile. “On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying” (Acts 19:5-6). When praying for healing, or when Jesus performed miracles, the Bible records there was a laying of hands.

Should We Lay Hands on Other Today?

There is no mandate to lay hands on other believers in the Bible. In fact, the Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy, “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure” (1 Timothy 5:22). It is to be done cautiously, especially for ordination into a position within the church. It is a spiritual affirmation, and one that activates the Holy Spirit, and is a testimony to the entire church body, globally, of this person’s character.

For people who have boundaries and do not feel comfortable being touched or touching people, it is not required, and that caution will prove prudent over the course of their life. In the Bible, Jesus does touch people, and for some people touch is an important part of feeling connection. Ultimately, while it is not required for people to participate in the laying of hands, it is a practice the church should not let fade; it was one of the Savior’s methods of reaching others, and is part of exchanging friendship, blessings, and the affirmation of the church. It is a tradition of the church, not a mandate, but one worth keeping.

The laying of hands can be a powerful moment of love between believers, and should be encouraged among churches, though people who are not comfortable with it are not under obligation to do so. It is the outward expression of greater spiritual truths such as the connection among the church, the power of the Holy Spirit, and anointing.

Sources

Mack, James. Healing by Laying on of Hands. London: Southampton Row, 1879.

Strong, James. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible: Updated and Expanded Edition. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC, 2007.

Walvoord, John F. and Roy B. Zuck. The Bible Knowledge Commentary An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Old Testament and New Testament. United States of America: Victor Books, 1987.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/sgolan20

Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer who uses her passion for God, reading, and writing to glorify God. She and her husband have lived all over the country serving their Lord and Savior in ministry. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com.