Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.

Matthew 4:23

As Jesus traveled around Galilee announcing the good news that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, he also healed people of all different kinds of illnesses. The blind could see. The deaf could hear. Those harassed by demons were set free.

Jesus healed people out of compassion for their suffering. But his acts of healing were also a dramatic sign that the kingdom of God had indeed drawn near. Jesus was proclaiming that God's power was present in a new way. His healings proved the point.

They also connected Jesus with prophetic hopes for the coming of God to his people. In Isaiah 35:5-6, for example, it says:

  And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind
     and unplug the ears of the deaf.
  The lame will leap like a deer,
     and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!
  Springs will gush forth in the wilderness,
     and streams will water the wasteland.

By healing people's bodies, Jesus not only showed compassion and drew people to himself, but also demonstrated that God had come to reign over his people.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Have you ever experienced God's healing power in your life? When? Do you need healing right now?

PRAYER: Gracious Lord, how I wish I could have been there as you healed people for so many diseases and conditions. How wonderful it must have been to see people rejoice as they experienced the power of the kingdom in their own bodies and souls.

How grateful I am that your healing power is available today. Though you have blessed us with medical science, we still need healing that exceeds scientific capability. So we cry out to you for ourselves and for others. Even today, Lord, I'm thinking of several people in my life who need your healing. So I pray for . . . .[Pray specifically for people in your life who need healing of body, soul, and relationships.]

Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, our healer! All thanks be to you, my healer! Amen.