Jesus performed “great deeds” with “great power”!

Jesus performed “great deeds”

with “great power”!

  

 

 

 

 

“As Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place, a large crowd of His disciples was there, and a great number of people from all around Judea, Jerusalem, and the coastal areas of Tyre and Sidon had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. Those who were tormented by unclean spirits were also healed. All the people tried to touch Jesus, because power was coming from Him and healing them all” (Luke 6:17–19).

 

 

As I meditate on these words, I desire to receive the lessons they give us:

 

(1)   Today I would like to meditate on Luke 6:17–19 in connection with Matthew 4:23–24 and Mark 3:7–12, and receive three lessons:

 

(a)    First, after Jesus prayed all night on the mountain and, at daybreak, chose twelve of His disciples and named them apostles (Lk. 6:12–13), He came down the mountain with His disciples and stood on a level place.  There, many disciples and great crowds of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and from the seaside towns of Tyre and Sidon had come to hear His teaching and to be healed (vv. 17–18).

 

(i)               The reason such a vast crowd had already gathered on that level place was that they had heard about the “great deeds” Jesus had done (Mk. 3:8).  These “great deeds” refer to Jesus healing every kind of disease and every kind of weakness among the people.  Because news about Jesus had spread (Mt. 4:23–24), huge crowds had gathered there (Lk. 6:17–18).

 

·        The purpose for which these multitudes came was to hear Jesus’ teaching and to receive healing (v.17).  Matthew 4:23 explains what led them to seek these two things: “Jesus went throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom of heaven, and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.”

 

-        When I meditate on this, I am reminded of the medical mission work of Elder Peter Yoon from our church. I recall joining Elder Yoon on a medical mission trip to the Philippines.  Before the medical work began, I remember Pastor Harry, Elder Yoon’s spiritual son, preaching God’s Word to the people gathered there. Elder Yoon and I both strongly agree that along with the importance and necessity of medical missions, the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Word of God are equally essential.

 

n  When I meditate on how Jesus taught God’s Word, proclaimed the good news of the kingdom, and healed every disease and infirmity (Mt. 4:23), I believe that the ministry of the Word and the ministry of healing (medical missions) ought to be carried out together.

 

(b)   Second, Jesus healed all the people with great power (Lk. 6:18–19).

 

(i)               Among “all the people” Jesus healed were those “tormented by unclean spirits” (v.18), as well as “people suffering from all kinds of diseases and pains,” and “those with epilepsy and paralytics” (Mt. 4:24).

 

·        One interesting point is that crowds came from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, the regions beyond the Jordan, and the areas around Tyre and Sidon because they had heard of Jesus’ “great deeds” (Mk. 3:8).  And Jesus healed them all with “great power” (Lk. 6:19).

 

-        Meaning, Jesus performed “great deeds” with “great power.”  From the perspective of Jesus, the almighty God, healing multitudes with various illnesses was probably not a “great deed,” but from the perspective of “those who were weak and sick” (Mt. 4:23), Jesus’ healing must have been a truly “great deed.”

 

n  Yet the greatest deed Jesus accomplished was coming to this world in sinless human flesh for our salvation (the Incarnation), dying on the cross, and rising again (Ref.: internet).

 

#   And this Jesus speaks these words to us: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do, and even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”

 

(c)    Third and finally, seeing Jesus heal everyone with great power, the sick were pressing in on Him, each trying to touch Him (Lk. 6:19; Mk. 3:10).

 

(i)               When I meditate on this, I recall the story of the woman who had suffered for twelve years from a hemorrhage.  She believed that if she only touched Jesus’ garment, she would be healed, and so she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched the edge of His cloak (Mt. 9:20–21).

 

·        For twelve years she had worked tirelessly, desperately seeking healing from many physicians, spending all her wealth on treatments, but instead of getting better, her condition only grew worse (Mk. 5:26).

 

-        After twelve long years of despair, she heard reports about Jesus.  When Jesus was on His way to the home of Jairus, the synagogue leader, she slipped into the crowd following Him, came up behind Him, and touched His garment.  She believed that even touching His clothing would heal her.  And indeed, the moment she touched the hem of His robe, the flow of blood stopped and she felt in her body that she was healed.

 

n  Jesus said to her: “Daughter, take heart; your faith has made you well. Go in peace; you are freed from your suffering” (Mt. 9:22; Lk. 8:48; Mk. 5:34).  She received salvation at that very moment (Mt. 9:22).  Her hemorrhaging stopped instantly (Lk. 8:44).  Her faith was faith in the healing power of Jesus.  May such faith be in you and in me as well.

 

 

Give glory to the great Lord

 

In the city of our God, on His holy mountain—

a high and beautiful foundation, the joy of the whole earth—

on Mount Zion in the far north stands the city of the great King.

Sing~ Hallelujah! Sing~ Hallelujah!

Sing~ Hallelujah! The city of the great King!