Ascension Lutheran Church

A huge crowd of people, many of Jesus’ followers and many others, had come to see Him. They traveled “from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon,” a trip of 60-80 miles, and from “all Judea and Jerusalem,” a trip of 120-160 miles. That is a long way, especially when you consider the fact that most, if not all, of them walked. That says so much about Jesus and how the people felt about Him!
They came to Jesus “to be healed.” We, too, often come to Jesus for healing for ourselves and for others. Jesus healed everyone who came to Him, and cast the demons out of everyone who was demon-possessed. The people had also come “to hear [Jesus],” which is what they needed most of all from Him. Remember when a paralyzed man was brought to Jesus, and the first thing Jesus did for him was to tell him his sins were forgiven? Then Jesus healed him (Mk. 2:1ff.). In a very powerful way, Jesus made the point that as wonderful as healing is for our bodies, what we need far, far more from Him is forgiveness for our sins and eternal salvation! For these people who had come to see Jesus, He taught them not to think only of our needs for this life. Our greatest need is eternal life.