“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.”  Matthew 9:35-36

Teaching, preaching… and healing

The events that lead up to the account described in Matt 9 actually begin a few chapters earlier where we find Jesus teaching and preaching (GotQuestions.org describes “teaching” as targeting the mind, while preaching targets the heart) to the multitudes through “The Sermon on the Mount” (Matt 5-7).  But the very next recorded act that Jesus performs is one of healing (Matt 8:2-4) when he encounters the leper.  Leprosy is a type, or symbol, representing sin.  It’s a condition, like sin, that at first has no outward manifestation, but as the disease progresses, it slowly begins to rot the body – and in the case of sin, the heart – from the inside out.  Eventually, in the more advanced stages, one begins to lose sensitivity in their extremities, essentially becoming numb to feeling or sensation.  It’s an eerily accurate analogy of what sin does to us.

Leprosy is also a disease that can’t be cured – even with all the advances in modern medicine today, while there are ways to slow or arrest the disease’s progress, there is still no known cure – however, it can be cleansed (Matt 8:3) and the individual healed.  There is a provision in the law (Leviticus 14) that describes the ritual to be performed when a leper is declared healed, but given that the disease is essentially incurable through natural means, it would appear that only God Himself has the ability to heal a leper and make he or she clean (e.g., Moses’ hand in Exo 4:6 and Miriam’s case in Numbers 12), so for Jesus to instruct the leper to present himself to the priest in accordance with the outlined ritual, He was declaring the man clean, just as He does with us:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

That it took Jesus’ will for the leper to be cleansed is where the parallel with sin can truly be seen – the only way any of us can ever be cleansed of our sin condition and separation from God is by His shed blood.

Healing again

After His encounter with the leper, the centurion’s plea for his servant finds Him. And whereas the leper (when making his request to be healed) demonstrated his faith in Jesus by acknowledging that it was only in Jesus’ will for the man that he could be made clean, the centurion instead describes the need first before presenting his request to Jesus for his servant to be healed:

“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.” (Matt 8:6)

David Guzik (https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/matthew-8/) writes of Spurgeon’s commentary on the matter: “He seeks a cure, but does not prescribe to the Lord how or where he shall work it; in fact, he does not put his request into words, but pleads the case, and lets the sorrow speak.”

“…and let’s the sorrow speak.”

God wants us to come to Him with our sorrow. He knows our pain. He understands it and He wants to help us with it. The centurion would go on to make the request for healing but it’s his anguish that gets top billing here. When Matthew writes that the centurion was “beseeching him” (v.5), the Greek word used there is parakaleo, “to beg, entreat”. (https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/kjv/parakaleo.html)

The “man under authority” (v.9) was almost certainly not accustomed to asking for anything; on the contrary we would expect someone in his position to command and expect, but he instead came begging, and not for himself, but for his servant. For those of us who serve Christ, the Lord of all, is this a picture of how He also approaches The Father, begging and pleading to Him on our behalf, for our needs, for our cause? The Bible gives us a clue:

“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Heb 7:25

So, back to the centurion – first he demonstrates his faith… and then he demonstrates his love. In sorrow, he turned to Jesus, believing He not only could heal but would heal – a reminder to us all that He will always be there, waiting for us to come to Him and just ask. And His response?

“I will come and heal him.” (Matt 8:7)

He will come and heal us, too.

And healing again

As Jesus continues His ministry “…there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:

For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.

But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.” Matt 9:18-21

What catches my attention here is that the language indicates “the woman was made whole from that hour.” Not instantly. Not within minutes.

“…from that hour.”

The Greek word used for “hour” in this passage is hora, which Strong’s defines (https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/kjv/hora.html) as “any definite time, point of time, moment”. So it could have been instantaneous. It could have occurred within minutes. That would certainly be consistent with the miraculous. But in any case, it made me consider that healing, by and large, at least in the natural, typically occurs over time. You cut your finger. You sprain an ankle, break a bone. Or maybe it’s months of chemotherapy. Or year after year of waiting, hoping, praying that your heartache will finally, truly go away.

Regardless of how quickly healing occurs, regardless of your circumstance, notice how in this particular instance healing occurred after she reached out to Jesus. I’m reminded of the worship song, In Your Presence (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF8Q5xDnsv0):

In Your presence that’s where I belong
In Your presence of the Lord our God
In Your presence that’s where I am strong
Seeking Your face
Touching Your grace

She was seeking His face, and in doing so, was able to touch His grace.

And healing again, and again, and again

I encourage you to listen to Leanna Crawford’s beautiful song, Honest, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdrOURwGa1k) just to hear her sing:

And again and again and again
See your power coming through

Because shortly after meeting (and healing) this woman, Jesus (Matt 9:23-25) would go on to bring a young girl back to life (healing again), restore the sight of two blind men (healing again) not long after (Matt 9:27-29), cast out a demon (9:32-33) so a man could speak (and again), the chapter ending with Him (again and again and again) “…healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”. (Matt 9:35)

Why?

Because “he was moved with compassion”. (Matt 9:36)

That phrase comes from the Greek word splagchnizomai (splangkh-nid’-zom-ahee) which means “to be moved as to one’s bowels, hence to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity)”. (https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/kjv/splagchnizomai.html)

It’s a powerful visualization of the deep, abiding love God has for His children to the point that He aches for us, particularly in our pain and suffering. He felt for them, deep in His heart. It pains Him to see His children suffering. He’s a loving Father who wants nothing but the best for His children. He would do anything for them – and proved it, by giving up His life for ours that we might be saved by His shed blood.

God cares. No matter what horrible, painful, torturous experiences we may have endured or may still be enduring, that fundamental truth does not change. He loves us. In Oh, How He Loves Us (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCunuL58odQ&list=RDTCunuL58odQ&start_radio=1), David Crowder sings:

He is jealous for me
Love’s like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy

I think, on this side of eternity, our hearts can’t fully experience just how much He loves us. But in word (His Holy Bible) and song (our worship to Him), we’re giving glimpses of the joy that awaits us in Him. And on that note (no pun intended), one last song for you (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhS8v3-1IgA), Cry Out To Jesus, by Third Day:

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
Love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing

They go on to sing He’ll meet you wherever you are.

He’ll meet you wherever you are.

“And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.” (John 21:25)