Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them

"Christ the Healer" mosaic

And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

- Matthew 4:18-25

Yesterday we read that when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:  The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."  From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.  My study bible lets us know that these first disciples -- two sets of brothers -- had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and therefore they were prepared to accept Christ immediately.  They are not great scholars of religion nor experts in the Scripture, but they are those faithful who will live the discipleship of Christ.  My study bible calls them "people of the land" who are called by Jesus, and who will be revealed at Pentecost to be the wisest of all. 

 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.  My study bible remarks upon the fact that the crowds do not swarm Jesus when He commands repentance (verse 17, from yesterday's reading, above), but it is when He begins to heal and work miracles that the crowds come.  It shows that the people misunderstand the real nature of His Kingdom.   It also shows, in the words of Theophan, that Christ gives concession "to give credibility to what He teaches" among the multitudes whose fickle attitude will be a hallmark of the Gospels.  Here Matthew compresses the action of Christ's early ministry into a few verses, so that we understand the broad appeal He effects across the territories of the people of Israel, as His fame spreads everywhere from Galilee.

In the healings that Christ does of the crowds who bring the ill to Him, we see literally great affliction.   The language of the text tells us of oppression (literally, in the Greek word for affliction).  Their torments could could also be translated as "torture."   Their diseases usually would considered to be incurable.  Let us also note the lack of control over their own lives that is implied in the several afflictions listed:  to be demon-possessed speaks for itself.  But also the word translated as epileptic could be literally translated as "lunatic" as it means to be controlled by or under the influence of the moon.  (It was considered that the disease waxed and waned with the moon.)  To be paralyzed is also a kind of involuntary binding and control, an oppressive affliction.  Each of these could be understood as a type of imprisonment, the torment the pain of torture in a prison.  The language speaks to us of a need for liberation, or more specifically, for a liberator -- a redeemer.  It tells us about the action of Christ, which is to set free.  Let us note that it also does so in the context of spiritual battle, as the "demon-possessed" are among those brought to Christ.  It is how we understand Christ's ministry overall and how we understand the work of the "prince of this world," the devil by whom Christ was tempted in this reading, just before He began His public ministry.  There is the power that truly liberates, and then there is the power that oppresses and enslaves and tortures.  Hidden  behind and within all things seems to be this choice, between one and the other.  Of course, even the elements of those things which are brought for Christ to healing have a kind of spectrum in today's reading.  Once Christ's fame spreads, the more serious afflictions are brought to Him for help.  But all of it tells us something about healing and the actions of Christ.  As we understand that the very Incarnation itself is meant to heal, by bringing all the elements of the world and our worldly lives into union with Creator, so we should see in this text Christ's actions in conjunction with that reality.  What He is becomes expressed through His work and action in the world.  He has come to heal and to liberate, to save.  Even His preaching comes under the context of healing and freeing, for as He is the truth (John 14:6), so also He will teach, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32).   For every aspect of Christ's being, so His work in the world also reflects that identity.  This is consistent with an important understanding of theology:  that God's mercy (that is, God's work in the world) reflects God's being.  We cannot know God in God's fullness of being.  We are not divine Persons like the Persons of the Holy Trinity.  But we can know God in what are called God's "energies" -- that is, in God's work in the world.  Christ's ministry exemplifies this perfectly.  So it is the same with love as expressed through ourselves and others in the elements of our world.  We can talk about love all we want, but love is more than simply a feeling or emotion.  Love needs expression through action.  Whether that action is prayer or sympathy or particular actions to alleviate suffering or effect healing in other ways, to work at discipleship and to learn to be "pure in heart" is to live from the inside to the outside.  That is, to live a life that reflects a heart that seeks discipleship and to be transformed in that discipleship to be more "like Christ."  If that all seems to complicated, consider this:  what is the purpose of repentance, Christ's first word of ministry?  A repentance is a turn around, a literal "change of mind" in the Greek but which implies a true change of heart and orientation -- and one which is expected to affect how we engage and interact, our actions in the world.  Christ repeatedly emphasizes the heart, and does so, as He says, because it is the heart that creates the action:  "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things" (Matthew 12:35).  This is what Christ's ministry is for, so that we become the disciples who in turn may become more like Him.   This is what it is to be truly healed, redeemed, liberated, saved.   The fickle crowds seek the healing He offers -- but it is discipleship that brings us the freedom He offers.