BS4B - MIRACLES FOR ALL
Healing at Sunset – Peter’s home
One day, after they had been at synagogue, Jesus had gone to Peter’s home perhaps to rest and have a meal. When he got there what was He informed of?
Luke 4:38
How did Jesus deal with the situation?
Luke 4:39
This was just a prelude to what would happen next.
Luke 4:40a
Mark tells us a bit more….
Mark 1:32-33
Suddenly Jesus finds what seems like a whole village at Peter’s door with their sick and demon possessed friends and relatives. What did Jesus do? Matthew, Mark, and Luke each add an observation.
Matthew 8:16 / Mark 1:34 / Luke 4:40b-41
You can almost picture them lined up by families hoping Jesus would get to them, restore their loved ones, and in doing so restore their family. For when even one is sick, the entire family is affected.
Notice that Luke says, “he laid hands on each of them and cured them”. The New Living Translation puts it this way. “No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed everyone.”
How many did Matthew record were healed?
Matthew 8:16b
So, even in this most public of healings, Jesus still dealt with each person: one by one. The people weren’t quite sure who Jesus was and how He could heal. Who knew for certain who Jesus was?
Luke 4:41
Finally, Matthew tells us what this whole evening of healing fulfilled.
Matthew 8:17
The Healing of Multitudes – Jews and Gentiles
The evening of healing at Peter’s home in Capernaum was only the beginning of the crowds gathering to have an audience with Jesus. Once when Jesus was planning to depart with his disciples to the sea, who followed him and notice where they were from?
Matthew 12:15 / Mark 3:7-8
What was the crowd intent on doing?
Mark 3:9
Dr. Luke records what happened to Jesus when the sick got to him.
Luke 6:19
The power of God’s Spirit within Jesus was being poured out to heal ALL of them.
And the demons who wreaked havoc in people’s lives also responded.
Mark 3:11-12
Once again Matthew tells us what this expanded healing fulfilled in Old Testament prophecy.
Matthew 12:17-21
While the first healing service around Peter’s home was with the Jewish people, we see that many in this crowd were from Gentile (non-Jewish) nations. Isaiah had predicted that Jesus was going to be for all nations – not just for the Jews. And so, with this healing service, Jesus was giving hope to ALL (Jew and Gentile) and thus fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy.
Isaiah 42:1-4
Healing of a Paralytic
Jesus and his disciples are now back in Capernaum and He is teaching at Peter’s home – no doubt with windows open to the street. Word had gotten out that He was back and the crowds gathered round.
Mark 2:1-2
Now, added to this crowded scene come four people carrying their paralyzed friend on his mat. They had seen Jesus heal others, why not their friend? But what happened when they got to the house?
Mark 2:3-4
That is so often the way it goes. We try to get with Jesus to cure what ails us and we are hindered by others who laugh at us, mock us, and block our way to get what we need. This paralyzed man had probably had his hopes dashed many times for getting healed. We aren’t told anything about him. But his four friends were so full of faith that they figured out an unusual way to get him to Jesus. We can only smile thinking about the dust falling from the ceiling as the tiles are removed and the man lowered right in front of Jesus! Jesus took it all in stride. Whose faith did He respond to?
Mark 2:5a
Based on the faith of these four friends, Jesus speaks directly to the paralyzed man.
Mark 2:5b
But, what a strange thing to say to a man who is paralyzed! Why would Jesus say your sins are forgiven?
Jesus knew that the Jews connected all suffering with wrong-doing. If a person suffered, he must be a sinner. No doubt the paralyzed man agreed with that in his conscience and needed first to be convinced of God’s forgiveness. This would explain the strange technique Jesus used to heal him.
Somewhere down deep this man possessed a very real sense of guilt and shame that Jesus had to deal with before real healing would come. He had to have peace with God first.
There is another incident going on as a side-line that Jesus now deals with. Who was in the crowd and what were they thinking?
Mark 2:6-7
The scandalized scribes and pharisees were now suffering from spiritual high blood pressure! Only God could forgive sins and here was Jesus saying, “Son, your sins are forgiven!” They believed that sin was the root cause of the man’s suffering. So, Jesus joins them on their own ground and tackles the sin issue first.
I think we can all agree that someone can say your sins are forgiven and we don’t really know if that is true or not. Therefore, to back up those words what did Jesus do?
Mark 2:9—11
Notice the words in Mark 2:10: “so that you may know”. This is what all of Christ’s miracles were about. The miracles occurred so that we would know and believe that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus had God’s authority on earth to do what God the Father would have done. How did people watching react?
Mark 2:12
Amazement and praise to God should have been the reaction of the scribes and pharisees as well. But often the more educated have the hardest time believing. This miracle had humiliated them and only hardened their opposition to Jesus.
“The point of this incident, and of all the incidents in the Gospel narrative is not what Jesus DID but what He DOES (today) for men and women paralyzed by the sense of sin. Jesus still removes from the soul that splinter of guilt which deranges the mind, disturbs the emotions, and even diseases the body. Those who came trustfully to God in the name of Christ can still hear the gracious words, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” (Encounters with Christ by Leonard Griffith, p.45)
Blind Bartimaeus
This last public miracle we’ll look at (that had the benefit of being for everyone) was the healing of a blind beggar. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all talk about this event, but only Mark gives him a name: Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus. The scene is Jesus and his disciples leaving Jericho (the oldest city in the world), followed by a large crowd. This whole entourage of people pass by Bartimaeus begging along the roadside.
Mark 10:46
Now blind people having lost their sight are usually keenly aware of what’s going on around them. When Bartimaeus became aware that it was Jesus from Nazareth passing by, what did he do?
Mark 10:47
If you’ve ever been in a crowd where someone started “making a scene” you’ll relate to the crowd’s response.
Mark 10:48a
They were embarrassed by Bartimaeus and wanted to shut him up. But Bartimaeus wasn’t about to be shut up. Even if he couldn’t see, he had heard about Jesus and the wonderful things he had done for people just like him – a blind beggar. He didn’t care what the crowd thought or said and so….
Mark 10:47b-48
The fact that Bartimaeus calls out “Jesus, Son of David” is significant. No doubt he had heard (from the synagogue and roving preachers) that the Messiah would come from David’s line and do great things to liberate them. Then, more recent news had spread about what Jesus of Nazareth was teaching and doing. We can only surmise that he linked these two together and that gave him the faith that Jesus could heal him.
His theology and understanding may have been partial, but Jesus doesn’t require that we understand everything about Him. He only asks that we turn to Him and believe he can help us. Bartimaeus did what he knew to do…he cried out in a determination that embarrassed everyone but Jesus. Here was his chance to escape from his dungeon of darkness and he wasn’t going to let anyone silence him!
Suddenly, the crowd changed their tune and told Bartimaeus to “take heart”. Why?
Mark 10:49
The fact that Jesus stopped, stood still, and called for the man speaks volumes. One of the great obstacles to our prayers is that God may be too busy running his universe to stop for our small, individual needs. But this incident shows us again of a caring Savior that turns from the crowds to focus on one person, and this time a blind beggar. It typifies the intensely personal nature of Christ’s ministry. He turns to us because we count and He is concerned for us. It shows He also hears our prayers which sometimes is only a cry for help.
Once told that Jesus was calling for him, notice his response!
Mark 10:50
And once he had stumbled into Jesus’ presence, what question did Jesus ask him?
Mark 10:51
The man’s need was obvious so why this question? With the crowd hanging on Christ’s every word he had a lesson for Bartimaeus, the crowd, and us too. God does not deal in generalities. He wants us to be precise and to state our case. It’s like Jesus is saying to us: “If you have stomach pains and you believe I can help you, ask precisely for the miracle that you need and don’t stop until you get it!”
We have a reluctance to impose our will upon God. We know He already knows our need, we know He has the power to deal with it, so we wait for Him to take action on our behalf. But the truth is that he won’t!
God has committed himself to act only in cooperation with his children. And that is why Jesus was so adamant in telling us that we are boldly to do 3 things:
Matthew 7:7
And if we are obedient to do what Jesus asks of us, what will happen?
Matthew 7:8
Notice in this verse that everyone is implied three times. The result of our asking, seeking, and knocking will be for you and me, the same as it was for Bartimaeus. All that is required is that we ask, seek, and knock….and then believe that Jesus will answer.
This miracle with Bartimaeus is for all of us – not just him. To the Lord’s question Bartimaeus’s answer was clear and to the point.
Mark 10:51
This dear man was healed instantly. Whose faith did Jesus say was responsible for his healing?
Mark 10:52
It was Bartimaeus’s own faith that made him well. He believed Jesus could heal. He believed he had as much claim to what Jesus was offering as the rest of the crowd. He wasn’t afraid to appear a fool before the crowd. And when asked, he knew exactly what he wanted and said so. This is the basis of all our persistent prayer in times of illness --- or any other problem for that matter.
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). What He did for the sufferers at that time, He still does today if we come to him in faith. It’s up to us to come to Jesus because we believe He can help us. We should state what we want or need, and then cooperate with what He tells us to do.
In the case of healing, it may not appear miraculous but be through normal medical channels. But all healing comes from God and is therefore divine and worthy of our praise and thanksgiving.
Just one more thing from this story of Bartimaeus. What did he do when he received his sight?
Mark 10:52b
God doesn’t just heal us so that we can continue “life as usual”. He has answered our prayer so that we will serve and follow Him. And that’s the picture we are left with as Bartimaeus follows Jesus down the road.
Next Study: BS4C- Miracles for the Disciples