Jesus Heals Many People in Galilee

Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
^{Wednesday June 26, 2024}

Matthew 12:15-21, Mark 3:7-12

Father, You bring people into my life to whom You have called me to minister. Help me to welcome them. Help me to not resent their interruption or intrusion. Help me to prioritize those who You have brought to me to hear what You’ve prepared for me to say to them or to experience the good works You’ve prepared for me to do for them. Help me to say what You want me to say and to do what You want me to do. Amen.

Father, Jesus heard that the conspirators were meeting to plot His demise. He withdrew with His disciples to a place near the Sea of Galilee. However, large crowds of people, longing to be healed, followed Jesus. They were from Idumea, Judea, and Jerusalem down south, from Tyre and Sidon up north, and from the region across the Jordan to the east. Jesus healed many people. Those who had not yet been healed pushed towards the front of the crowd, no doubt creating a dangerous situation where people might be trampled. As happened in Matthew 4:18-22, Mark 1:16-20, and Luke 5:1-11, Jesus once more had to step into a boat to separate Himself from the encircling crowd, eliminating the threat of people being trampled.

There were people in the crowd who were possessed by demons. These demons were so terrified of seeing the Son of God in their midst that they cried out in worship, “You are the Son of God.” Jesus gave them strict orders to be silent.

1. Jesus wanted people to believe He was the Son of God through the evidence of His miracles, His teaching, and His godly character and not the testimony of demons. If He had wanted the spirit world to declare His deity, He would have had legions of angels appear in the sky over Palestine and announce to every person that the Son of God has arrived on earth.
2. It is essential to the gospel that Jesus, the Son of Man, died as a man on the cross for the sins of humanity. Would those who nailed Him to the cross have done so if they believed He was the Son of God? It was their disbelief that Jesus was Son of God that led to His crucifixion. While a stranger might disbelieve 1,000 humans telling him that Jesus is the Son of God, it would take only one or two angels or demons to convince him that Jesus is the Son of God. If the crowds around the region had listened to the demons, the people would have bowed down and worshipped Jesus as they will one day in heaven. His glory would come on earth right then and no one would dare crucify Him on the cross. We would have been lost forever. Jesus’ insistence that the demons be quiet was an act of love for sinners everywhere.

Amen.