Afflicted Healed Series

-AD 29-

Decapolis

Lesson: Afflicted healed

Matthew 15:29-31, Mark 7:31-37

-Matthew-

29 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there.

30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them.

31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Here in these verses is an account of Christ curing in wholesale. The evidence of His power and goodness is enormous. The place where He did these cures was near the Sea of Galilee, which was an area that Christ was very familiar with. He had come from the region of Tyre and Sidon where he had cast a demon out of the daughter of a Canaanite woman. Now He returned to the land of Israel, and He sits down on a mountain, so that everyone can see Him and have access to Him. He sat down like a person who was tired and needed to rest, and as one wanting to be gracious. He sat, as one expecting patients, as Abraham sat at the door of His tent, ready to entertain strangers; He was ready to do good work. It is reported that multitudes flocked to Him, so that scriptures could be fulfilled; Genesis 49:10 predicted, “Unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.” What would happen today, if Christ’s ministers could cure diseases? There would be more gathering around them, because people are more responsive to their bodily needs than they are to spiritual disease and the needs of their souls. The goodness of Christ was so great that He admitted all sorts of people; the rich as well as the poor were welcomed-there was room enough for everyone. He never complained about the crowds, because the souls of the peasants were as precious to Him as the souls of kings. The awesome power of Christ was apparent, because He healed all types of diseases. Those who came to Him brought their sick friends and relations and placed them down at Jesus feet. It isn’t recorded that they requested anything from Him, just that they placed them in front of Him as objects of pity. This may be a lesson for us. Whatever our need is, the only way to find relief is to lay it at Christ’s feet, to spread it before Him, and to submit it to Him and to pray “thy will be done.”

They brought to Him those who were lame, blind, dumb, maimed and many others. This was the work of sin; it turns the world into a hospital. But observe the work that the Great Physician does. He conquers all those enemies to mankind. They all submit to the commands of Christ. What a great comfort this is to the people of God, because we can see here Christ’s great power over all our weaknesses and the pity which He has for our misery. Also, we can see His influence over the people. First, they were amazed by what they saw. Psalms 123:23 says, “It is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous.” It is the spiritual cures that Christ does that are the most wonderful. When blind souls are made to see in faith, the dumb to speak in prayer and the lame to walk in obedience it is amazing. And after all of this it says that they glorified the God of Israel. Those that were healed glorified God. But if we are kept from blindness, lameness and dumbness, we should praise Him even more. Those who stood by and watched the cures also praised God. God must be praised and thanked for the healing of others as well as our own. They glorified Him as the God of Israel, a God in covenant with His people, who has sent the Messiah as promised, and this is He. The miracles were done by the power of the God of Israel, and no one else could do it.

-Mark-

31 Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee.

32 Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him.

33 And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue.

34 Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”

35 Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.