The Miracles of Jesus Part 5: Healing Crowds
The Miracles of Jesus Part 5: Healing Crowds
Matthew 8:16-17, Mark 1:32-34, Luke 4:40-41; Matthew 24:35
“When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.””
Matthew 8:16-17 NASB1995
“When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole city had gathered at the door. And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.”
Mark 1:32-34 NASB1995
“While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them. Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ.”
Luke 4:40-41 NASB1995
The Sabbath day ends but the evening (and the start of the new day) continues for Jesus and His disciples. This next set of miracles follows on the heels of the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and is documented in the three Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke with minor variations between the three passages. Matthew references a prophecy in Isaiah, that He takes on our infirmities and carries away our diseases.
After sun sets on the Sabbath, virtually the entire city of Capernaum can now travel freely and they gather at the door of Peter’s house. Jesus gives everyone His attention, one at a time. More demons are cast out, shouting at Him that He is the Son of God. He rebukes them and does not allow them to speak further. He also heals a variety of ailments and diseases, none that are specified, laying hands on each one of the afflicted, according to Luke.
Note that all three passages say that Jesus treated everyone that was brought to Him. He didn’t ask for their baptism or confirmation certificates or require them to confess their sins before seeing Him or even test them in the Old Testament law. He didn’t ask if they were circumcised. He had compassion on the masses and acted using His power through infinite love. Jesus was fully man and fully God; His human side must have been exhausted after this long session with so many that were needy.
How many became believers because of His actions? How many even thanked Him? We don’t know for sure, but we do know that signs and wonders often do nothing to persuade people of God’s power and love. One thing I noted in reading many commentaries is that Jesus rarely ever deliberately sought out the people needing healing, but encountered them when he was preaching and teaching, once again telling us that the Word is more important than the Signs and Wonders. Here is an excerpt (with some minor edits for clarification from me) from Precept Austin on this passage as documented in Luke chapter 4; the links go to the commentaries for those passages (Precept Austin is a remarkably detailed compilation of definitions, commentaries and links for the Bible).
THOUGHT - You may be a skeptic and an unbeliever (or have a friend or relative who is) and you say if you saw Jesus do some miraculous signs, then you would believe. No you would not believe (reference Jesus' declaration to the rich man in Hades - Lk 16:30-31+)! If you do not believe His eternal Word of Truth (Mt 24:35), you are not likely to believe temporal signs. Some of the Jews even said "let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him." (Mt 27:42) Well, He did even better than come down from the Cross. He came up from the grave and they still refused to believe! (Reference again Lk 16:30-31+)
Many were not convinced, even after seeing remarkable events and things. The reference to the rich man in Hades in the quote above is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. This rich man wants someone to come from the dead to warn his brothers; Abraham in heaven says that even if that happened, they would still not believe. Later in these devotionals about the miracles, we will see the disciples who saw miracle after miracle after miracle retreat into their usual doubting and one-dimensional temporal habits when confronted with a huge crowd to feed, although they are right there with Jesus.
The eternal Word of Truth from Jesus in the quote above is Matthew 24:35:
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”
Matthew 24:35 NASB1995
Our suffering and disease and even heaven and earth will pass away, but the Words of God will endure eternally.
Continuing the list from the miracles, let’s add what we can glean from this short series of passages (number 5):
Water to wine: Jesus can overcome time, He creates beauty and abundance, and He shares in our joy.
Healing of the official’s son: Jesus can overcome space (distance), He does not need to see the person He heals, He has infinite power, but He also wants us to believe without signs and wonders.
Casting out of the evil spirit in the synagogue: The authority of Jesus is recognized by the demons and He triumphs over evil and silences it.
Healing of Peter’s Mother-in-Law: Jesus does not need crowds to demonstrate His power and He has compassion about the needs of one person, even if those needs seem smaller and only worthy of a couple of verses of scripture.
Healing and casting out demons of many in Capernaum (at Peter’s house): Jesus has compassion on all who come to Him and has no conditions that He places on giving His mercy. He can heal instantly with a light touch and again demonstrates authority over demons and silences them.
My next devotional examines a miraculous catch of fish on the Lake of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee or Sea of Tiberius), as documented in Luke 5.
Dear Lord Jesus - Thank You for Your infinite mercy and compassion on the many who were suffering. Please help me to move beyond signs and wonders and establishe a firm foundation in your Word. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org