“And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all ” (Luke 6:17–19, ESV).
It is an amazing scene, thousands of people from all over Palestine gathered together to touch Jesus. People traveled days to come and touch Christ. Sick people, dying people, possessed people, poor people, and gentiles (heathens) all people who were consider outcast because of their physical and sometimes spiritual condition by the religious leaders of their day. But Jesus saw them differently! Jesus made himself available to those that the religious leaders wanted nothing to do with. What an amazing testimony to the grace of God. But more amazing then the miracles is that before he preached to them all concerning the Kingdom of God it says “power went out from him and healed them all.” The physical healing of thousands of people is miraculous but what God through their healing took away all their excuses. They no longer would be outcasts because of the physical or spiritual (demon possessed) conditions. They no longer had an excuse to be on the outside. Now they were all left with a choice. They must choose for themselves whether or not they will follow Jesus.
I think the church needs to be about removing bearers that keep people from being able to touch Jesus. We must offer physical and spiritual healing that removes excuses. My prayer is that through my actions and words I will help to remove barriers to the cross, so that more people will have the opportunity to make the choice to follow Jesus!
In Christ,
Pastor Steve