Christ the Miracle Worker is a Healer

We had just left Jesus as He was passing through Samaria, where He publicly declared His Messiahship to the Samaritan woman, who in turn, evangelized that information throughout her city. (See Choosing a Water That Makes a Difference.)

                  John the Baptist had just been thrown in prison by Herod Antipas, the governor of Galilee, because John had the audacity to rebuke him in public for forcing his sister-in-law to divorce her husband so that Herod could have her.

                  One year has elapsed since Jesus was baptized. Along with his 5 disciples, return to Galilee. And as if right on cue, Jesus is preaching the Gospel for real – bringing John’s message to its final fruition.

“The [appointed period of] time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God’s purpose for your life] and believe [with a deep, abiding trust] in the good news [regarding salvation].”  Mk. 1:15 AMP

                  Christ is astonishing his audiences with His teachings in various synagogues.

            He and His retinue returned to Cana, (the city where He performed His first miracle), in Galilee (where Jesus had said a prophet had not honor in his own country[1] indicating that the people were impressed with the miracles, but did not tie it to Christ being the Messiah).

                  And there was a certain royal official whose son was sick in Capernaum. Having heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to meet Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.  Jn. 4:46 AMP

                  It was an official under Herod Antipas. Jesus first responded (including as well to the onlookers):

“Unless you [people] see [miraculous] signs and wonders, you [simply] will not believe.” Jn. 4:48 AMP

                  The official pleads with Jesus to come before his child dies. Jesus answers with complete authority, healing the child without being there. He exclaims:

“Go; your son lives!” Jn. 4:50 AMP

                  The official had faith, went home, and his attendants said his son rose at the very moment Jesus had spoken…

            Christ and His disciples enter a synagogue in Nazareth. Jesus reads aloud from the official Scriptures of the prophet Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me (the Messiah), because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy), to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the favor of God abound greatly].”  Lk. 4:18, 19. AMP

                  Jesus hands the scrolls to the attendant, and sits down to teach, gathering everyone’s attention and says:

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing and in your presence.” Lk. 21: AMP

            This was an obvious admission that He was the Messiah. The people’s response was however one of ‘prove it by performing more miracles.’

                  Christ responded saying that ‘no prophet was welcome in his own town and told them that in the prophets’ Elijah and Elisha time, they were only sent to Gentiles to heal, inferring that the same would happen here. The townsfolk were not happy:

…the people in the synagogue were filled with a great rage; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to hurl Him down the cliff. But passing [miraculously] through the crowd, He went on His way. Lk. 4:28 – 30. AMP

                  The bottom line was that Jesus performed no miracles because the people had no faith.

            Christ and His followers went to Capernaum and entered a synagogue and was teaching with miraculous God-like authority, when a demon-possessed man in the synagogue cried out:

“Let us alone! What business do we have [in common] with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” Lk. 4:34 AMP

                  Jesus responded:

“Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.  Lk. 4:35 NLT

                  This miracle spread far wide in the region.

            Afterward Jesus and crew went to Simon’s mother-in-law’s home and found her to be sick with a high fever. Jesus rebuked it and the sickness left her.

                  While they were there, many people brought their sick to be healed:

…people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed everyone. Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak. Lk. 4:40, 41. NLT

We are going to look at the apostle Mark’s account of the gathering of Jesus’ disciples and compare that with that of the apostle John’s which we’ve previously examined: (See Jesus Gathers Disciples, Performs a Miracle, and Cleans House).

One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 

             Now, He was going to expand upon their grasp of their calling, as He presses in:

“Follow Me [as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk], and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].” Mk. 1:17, 18. AMP

                  These are the same two disciples of John the Baptist, who left him to follow Jesus. This is just an official recognition on Christ’s part to ensconce them as official apostles.

                  A crowd was gathering and Jesus asked Simon Peter to use his boat on the shoreline to have a 180-degree venue to preach to the crowd.

When He finished, He told Simon Peter to cast out his fishing net, (he knowing they had no luck fishing the night before, and the fish were less likely to bite in the day. But it’s Jesus. Peter acquiesces.  

…this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. Simon realized the power of Jesus once more, and his commitment to Him was strengthened.

                  They walk together a little farther and come upon John, (who’s already on board with Jesus), and his brother James, and father Zebedee. Jesus called John and James, and they became conscripted as new disciples, bringing the number to six.

                  Traveling along into a village, they meet a man with leprosy (or similar skin lesions) who bows to the ground begging to be healed, saying:

“Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Lk. 5:12 NLT

            The drama is tense. We don’t know how many years this man has gone without being touched, as ‘lepers’ were cursed as ‘untouchables’ in Jewish society. Secondly however, the ‘leper’ is not doubting Jesus’ ability to heal him at all. Indeed, he is demonstrating his great faith. Jesus sees this and extends His endless compassion:

Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, “Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.” Lk. 5:13, 14. NLT

            Jesus might have been wanting to be a little more discreet at this time, but the knowledge of His healings was spreading like wildfire.

                  Jesus did the healing but is still showing respect for Mosaic Law.

One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus. Lk. 5:17 NLT

                  The place was packed and some people outside wanted to bring a paralyzed friend for healing but couldn’t get through the crowd. So, his friends removed some roof tiles and lowered him on a bed down to Jesus.

Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.” Lk. 5:20 NLT

            Christ’s declaration threw the Pharisees into a tizzy because they believe that only Jehovah can forgive sins. He answers them:

 “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. Lk. 5:22 – 25. NLT

                  Jesus was walking by the house of a tax collector named Matthew, stops, and says to him:

 “Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk].” And Matthew got up and followed Him. Mt. 9:9 AMP

                  Moreover, He and His disciples ate at Matthew’s house with many tax collectors and sinners present. The Pharisees saw this and questioned the disciples as to why Jesus ate with sinners. Christ overhears them as says:

“Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but [only] those who are sick. Go and learn what this [Scripture] means: ‘I desire compassion [for those in distress], and not [animal] sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call [to repentance] the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to change], but sinners [those who recognize their sin and actively seek forgiveness].” Mt. 9:12 – 13. AMP

They went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. They were completely amazed at His teaching; because He was teaching them as one having [God-given] authority, and not as the scribes. Mk. 1:21, 22. AMP

                  Jesus is filled to the gills with the Holy Spirit. He went out in the morning to pray by Himself, but eventually the disciples find Him, telling Him everyone is looking for Him. He replies:

 “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons. Mk. 1:38, 39. NLT

                  We’ve been blessed by a lot of revelation about our Savior today. The Son of God is without prejudice, fervently pursuing the salvation of all peoples. He heals the sick, casts out demons and cures paralytics. Even fish obey Him!

                  His Gospel (of which we are only scratching the surface) is amazing and life changing. He wipes out our sins with His forgiveness.

                  Christ loves you. Look at the lengths He is going to, to prove it to you. He’s building your faith.

                  There can be no doubt. Our Savior is a healer!

Personal addendum: As you know, I’ve alluded to a present health problem. Over the last 9 years, God has delivered me from 3 cancers, and He is about to knock my 4^th and last one out of the park as well – all to His glory. He’s been with me all the way, healing me through His Son and the Holy Spirit as well. In this particular situation, I will require surgery to remove my colon so that colon cancer can’t come back, which will require a colostomy. It’s just a new phase in life where He is granting me the time I need to finish my work for the Kingdom.

So, having said that, I will not be making blog posts until the first of the new year. Happy Thanksgiving! Merry Christmas! And I hope to be back on New Year’s Eve.

Love you guys. Jesus has got this. He will be guiding my surgeon’s hands. Amen!            

[1] Jn. 4:44, 45.