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THE STORY OF JESUS
Mark, Luke, John rearranged by Subject & in Date order
HIS HEALING MIRACLES
Year Three
Last Months
in Jerusalem
1-27 of Part 14 bring together all the relevant verses from
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - in that order.
Key: 1 - The believed order of Jesus' recorded
healing miracles.
Also the numbers in the Contents List above:
One - c AD27-28
14.1 THE OFFICIALS' DYING SON
4:43-54 - After
the two days were over (following his meeting with the
Samaritan woman at the well), Jesus left and went away to Galilee. (For
Jesus himself testified that a prophet enjoys no honour
in his own country.) And on his arrival the people
received him with open arms. For they had seen all that
he had done in Jerusalem during the festival, since they
had themselves been present. So Jesus came again to Cana
in Galilee, the place where he had made the water into
wine. At Capernaum there was an official whose son was
very ill. When he heard that Jesus had left Judea and had
arrived in Galilee, he went off to see him and begged him
to come down and heal his son, who was by this time at
the point of death.
Jesus said to him, &I
suppose you will never believe unless you see signs and
&Sir,& returned
the official, &please come down before my boy
&You can go
home,& returned Jesus, &your son is alive and
And the man believed what
Jesus had said to him and went on his way.
On the journey back his
servants met him with the report, &Your son is alive
and well.& So he asked them at what time he had
begun to recover, and they replied: &The fever left
him yesterday at one o'clock in the afternoon&. Then
the father knew that this must have happened at the very
moment when Jesus had said to him, &Your son is
alive and well.& And he and his whole household
believed in Jesus. This, then, was the second sign that
Jesus gave on his return from Judea to Galilee. (The first was
changing the water into wine, also at Cana, earlier in
John 2:1-11) .
Two - c AD28-29
14.2 THE MADMAN IN THE SYNAGOGUE AT
(Mark 1:21-28; Luke 4:31-37)
1:21-28 - They (Simon Peter, Andrew, James and
John - the newly called disciples) arrived at Capernaum, and on the Sabbath
day Jesus walked straight into the
synagogue and began teaching. They were amazed at his way
of teaching, for he taught with the ring of authority -
quite unlike the scribes. All at once, a man in the grip
of an evil spirit appeared in the synagogue shouting out,
&What have you got to do with us, Jesus from
Nazareth? Have you come to kill us? I know who you are -
you're God's holy one!&
But Jesus cut him short
and spoke sharply, &Hold your tongue and get out of
At this the evil spirit
convulsed the man, let out a loud scream and left him.
Everyone present was so astounded that people kept saying
to each other, &What on earth has happened? This new
teaching has authority behind it. Why he even gives his
orders to evil spirits and they obey him!&
And his reputation spread
like wild-fire through the whole Galilean district.
4:31-37 - So (after preaching in
the synagogue in his home town of Nazareth, and being
rejected by the people there) he came down to Capernaum, a town in
Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath day. They were
astonished at his teaching, for his words had the ring of
authority.
There was a man in the
synagogue under the influence of some evil spirit and he
yelled at the top of his voice, &Hi! What have you
got to do with us, Jesus, you Nazarene - have you come to
kill us? I know who you are all right, you're God's holy
Jesus cut him short and
spoke sharply, &Be quiet! Get out of him!&
And after throwing the man
down in front of them, the devil did come out of him
without hurting him in the slightest. At this everybody
present was amazed and they kept saying to each other,
&What sort of words are these? He speaks to these
evil spirits with authority and power and out they
And his reputation spread
over the whole surrounding district.
14.3 PETER'S MOTHER-IN-LAW'S FEVER: JESUS
ALSO HEALS MANY OTHERS THAT EVENING
(Matthew 8:14-17; Mark 1:29-34; Luke
Then on coming into Peter's house (in Capernaum,
after healing the leper and the centurion's servant in
Matthew's Gospel) Jesus
saw that Peter's mother-in-law had been put to bed with a
high fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her.
And then she got up and began to see to their needs.
When evening came they
brought to him many who were possessed by evil spirits,
which he expelled with a word. Indeed he healed all who
were ill. Thus was fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy - 'He
himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses'.
(after healing the madman according to Mark's Gospel) he got up and went straight from
the synagogue to the house of Simon and Andrew,
accompanied by James and John. Simon's mother-in-law was
in bed with a high fever, and they lost no time in
telling Jesus about her. He went up to her, took her hand
and helped her to her feet. The fever left her, and she
began to see to their needs.
Late that evening, after
sunset, they kept bringing to him all who were sick or
troubled by evil spirits. The whole population of the
Capernaum) gathered
round the doorway. And he healed great numbers of people
who were suffering from various forms of disease. In many
cases he e but he would not allow
them to say a word, for they knew perfectly well who he
4:38-41 - When
Jesus got up and left the synagogue (after healing the
madman) he went into
Simon (Peter)'s house. Simon's mother-in-law was
suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus about
her. He stood over her as she lay in bed, brought the
fever under control and it left her. At once she got up
and began to see to their needs.
Then, as the sun was
setting, all those who had friends suffering from every
kind of disease brought them to Jesus and he laid his
hands on each one of them separately and healed them.
Evil spirits came out of many of these people, shouting,
&You are the Son of God!&
But he spoke sharply to
them and would not allow them to say any more, for they
knew perfectly well that he was Christ.
14.4 JESUS CONTINUES PREACHING AND
(Matthew 4:23-25; Mark 1:35-39; Luke
4:23-25 - Jesus (after calling the
brothers Simon Peter and Andrew, and James and John to be
his disciples, and before the Sermon on the Mount) now moved about through the whole
of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching
the good news about the kingdom, and healing every
disease and disability among the people. His reputation
spread throughout Syria, and people brought to him all
those who were ill, suffering from all kinds of diseases
and pains - including the devil-possessed, the insane and
the paralysed. He healed them, and was followed by
enormous crowds from Galilee, The Ten Towns (Decapolis), Jerusalem, Judea and from beyond
the river Jordan.
1:35-39 - Then (after calling the
first four disciples and healing Simon Peter's
mother-in-law.....),
in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got
up, left the house and went off to a deserted place, and
there he prayed. Simon and his companions went in search
of him, and when they found him, they said,
&Everyone is looking for you.&
&Then we will go
somewhere else, to the neighbouring towns,& he
replied, &so that I may give my message there too -
that is why I have come.&
So he continued preaching
in their synagogues and expelling evil spirits throughout
the whole of Galilee.
4:42-44 - At
daybreak (after healing the madman in the synagogue
and Simon Peter's mother-in-law), he went off to a deserted place, but the
crowds tried to find him and when they did discover him,
tried to prevent him from leaving them. But he told them,
&I must tell the good news of the kingdom of God to
other towns as well - that is my mission.&
And he continued
proclaiming his message in the synagogues of Judea.
14.5 THE LEPER
(Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16)
8:1-4 - Large
crowds followed him when he came down from the hillside (after the Sermon
on the Mount). There
was a leper who came and knelt in front of him.
&Sir,& he said, &if you want to, you can
make me clean.& Jesus stretched out his hand and
placed it on the leper saying, &Of course I want to.
Be clean!& And at once he was clear of the leprosy.
&Mind you say nothing
to anybody,& Jesus told him. &Go straight off
and show yourself to the priest and make the offering for
your recovery that Moses prescribed, as evidence to the
authorities.&
1:40-45 - Then a
leper came to Jesus (as he continued preaching and healing
throughout Galilee),
knelt in front of him and appealed to him, &If you
want to, you can make me clean.&
Jesus was filled with pity
for him, and stretched out his hand and placed it on the
leper, saying, &Of course I want to - be
At once the leprosy left
him and he was quite clean. Jesus sent him away there and
then with the strict injunction, &Mind you say
nothing at all to anybody. Go straight off and show
yourself to the priest, and make the offerings for your
cleansing which Moses prescribed, as public proof of your
recovery.&
But he went off and began
to talk a great deal about it in public, spreading his
story far and wide. Consequently, it became impossible
for Jesus to show his face in the towns and he had to
stay outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came
to him from all quarters.
5:12-16 - While he was in one of the towns (of Galilee after
the calling of Simon Peter, Andrew, John and James), Jesus came upon a man who was a
mass of leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he prostrated himself
before him and begged, &If you want to, Lord, you
can make me clean.&
Jesus stretched out his
hand, placed it on the leper, saying, &Certainly I
want to. Be clean!&
Immediately the leprosy
left him and Jesus warned him not to tell anybody, but to
go and show himself to the priest and to make the
offerings for his recovery that Moses prescribed, as
evidence to the authorities.
Yet the news about him
spread all the more, and enormous crowds collected to
hear Jesus and to be healed of their diseases. But he
slipped quietly away to deserted places for prayer.
14.6 THE PARALYSED MAN
(Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26)
9:1-8 - (After healing the madman - or men
- of Gadarene) ...
Jesus re-embarked on the boat, crossed the lake, and came
to his own town (of Capernaum). Immediately some people arrived bringing
him a paralytic lying flat on his bed. When Jesus saw the
faith of those who brought him he said to the paralytic,
&Cheer up, my son! Your sins are forgiven.&
At once some of the
scribes thought to themselves, &This man is
blaspheming&. But Jesus realised what they were
thinking, and said to them, &Why must you have such
evil thoughts in your minds? Do you think it is easier to
say to this man, 'Your sins are forgiven' or 'Get up and
walk'? But to make it quite plain that the Son of Man has
full authority on earth to forgive sins& - and here
he spoke to the paralytic - &Get up, pick up your
bed and go home.& And the man sprang to his feet and
went home. When the crowds saw what had happened they
were filled with awe and praised God for giving such
power to men.
2:1-12 - When he re-entered Capernaum some
days later (after curing the leper, and staying away
from the towns because of his popularity), a rumour spread that he was in
somebody's house. Such a large crowd collected that while
he was giving them his message it was impossible even to
get near the doorway. Meanwhile, a group of people
arrived to see him, bringing with them a paralytic whom
four of them were carrying. And when they found it was
impossible to get near him because of the crowd, they
removed the tiles from the roof over Jesus' head and let
down the paralytic's bed through the opening. And when
Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man on the bed,
&My son, your sins are forgiven.&
But some of the scribes
were sitting there silently asking themselves, &Why
does this man talk such blasphemy? Who can possibly
forgive sins but God?&
Jesus realised instantly
what they were thinking, and said to them, &why must
you argue like this in your minds? Which do you suppose
is easier - to say to a paralysed man, 'Your sins are
forgiven', or 'Get up, pick up your bed and walk'? But to
prove to you that the Son of Man has full authority to
forgive sins on earth, I say to you,& - and here he
spoke to the paralytic - &Get up, pick up your bed
and go home.&
At once the man sprang to
his feet, picked up his bed and walked off in full view
of them all. Everyone was amazed, praised God, and said,
&We have never seen anything like this before.&
One day while Jesus was teaching (after curing the
leper and going out to lonely places where he could pray), some Pharisees and experts in the
Law were sitting near him. They had come out of every
village in Galilee and Judea as well as from Jerusalem.
God's power to heal people was with him. Soon some men
arrived carrying a paralytic and they kept trying to
carry him in to put him down in front of Jesus. When they
failed to find a way of getting him in because of the
dense crowd, they went up on to the top of the house and
let him down, bed and all, through the tiles, into the
middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw
their faith, he said to the man, &My friend, your
sins are forgiven.&
The scribes and the
Pharisees began to argue about this, saying, &Who is
this man who talks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins? Only
God can do that.&
Jesus realised what was
going on in their minds and spoke straight to them.
&Why must you argue
like this in your minds? Which do you suppose is easier -
to say, 'Your sins are forgiven' or to say, 'Get up and
walk'? But to make you realise that the Son of Man has
full authority on earth to forgive sins - I tell
you,& he said to the man who was paralysed,
&get up, pick up your bed and go home!&
Instantly the man sprang
to his feet before their eyes, picked up the bedding on
which he used to lie, and went off home, praising God.
Sheer amazement gripped every man present, and they
praised God and said in awed voices, &We have seen
incredible things today.&
Jesus now journeys south from Galilee to Jerusalem
for a festival - possibly the second Passover of the
14.7 THE INVALID AT THE POOL OF BETHESDA
Some time later (after Jesus had met the woman at the well
in Samaria, and then, in Cana in Galilee, saved the
official's dying son)
came one of the Jewish feast-days and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem. There is in Jerusalem near the sheep-gate a
pool surrounded by five arches, which has the Hebrew name
of Bethzatha (the Pool of Bethesda). Under these arches a
great many sick people were i some
of them were blind, some lame, and some had withered
limbs. (They used to wait there for the &moving of
the water&, for at certain times an angel used to
come down into the pool and disturb the water, and then
the first person who stepped into the water after the
disturbance would be healed of whatever he was suffering
this explanation in brackets is only in some ancient
manuscripts.) One
particular man had been there ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there on his back - knowing that
he had been like that for a long time, he said to him,
&Do you want to get well again?&
&Sir,& replied
the sick man, &I just haven't got anybody to put me
into the pool when the water is all stirred up. While I'm
trying to get there somebody else gets down into it
&Get up,& said
Jesus, &pick up your bed and walk!&
At once the man recovered,
picked up his bed and walked.
This happened on a Sabbath
day, which made the Jews keep on telling the man who had
been healed, &It's the Sabbath, it's not
right for you to carry your bed.&
&The man who made me
well,& he replied, &was the one who told me,
'Pick up your bed and walk.'&
Then they asked him,
&And who is the man who told you to do that?&
But the one who had been
healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away
in the dense crowd. Later Jesus found him in the Temple
and said to him, &Look: you are a fit man now. Do
not sin again or something worse might happen to
Then the man went off and
informed the Jews that the one who had made him well was
Jesus returns to Galilee:
14.8 THE MAN WITH THE SHRIVELLED HAND
(Matthew 12:9-14; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11)
12:9-14 - Leaving there (the cornfields
where Jesus and his disciples were criticised by
Pharisees for picking corn on the Sabbath) he went into their synagogue (in Galilee,
possibly Capernaum),
where there happened to be a man with a shrivelled hand.
&Is it right to heal
anyone on the Sabbath day?& they asked him - hoping
to bring a charge against him.
&If any of you had a
sheep which fell into a ditch on the Sabbath day, would
he not take hold of it and pull it out?& replied
Jesus. &How much more valuable is a man than a
sheep? You see, it is right to do good on the Sabbath
Then Jesus said to the
man, &Stretch out your hand!& He did stretch it
out, and it was restored as sound as the other.
But the Pharisees went out
and held a meeting against Jesus and discussed how they
could get rid of him altogether.
3:1-6 - On another
occasion (after the cornfield incident) when he went into the synagogue,
there was a man there whose hand was shrivelled, and they
Pharisees) were
watching Jesus closely to see whether he would heal him
on the Sabbath day, so that they might bring a charge
against him. Jesus said to the man with the shrivelled
hand, &Stand up and come out here in front!&
Then he said to them,
&Is it right to do good on the Sabbath day, or to do
harm? Is it right to save life or to kill?&
There was a dead silence.
Then Jesus, deeply hurt as he sensed their inhumanity,
looked round in anger at the faces surrounding him, and said to the man, &Stretch
out your hand!&
And he stretched it out,
and the hand was restored as sound as the other one. The
Pharisees walked straight out and discussed with Herod's
party how they could have Jesus put out of the way.
6:6-11 - On another Sabbath day (again after the
cornfield incident) when
he went into a synagogue to teach, there was a man there
whose right hand was wasted away. The scribes and the
Pharisees were watching Jesus closely to see whether he
would heal on the Sabbath day, which would, of course,
give them grounds for an accusation. But he knew exactly
what was going on in their minds, and said to the man
with the wasted hand, &Stand up and come out in
And he got up and stood
there. Then Jesus said to them, &I am going to ask
you a question. Does the Law command us to do good on
Sabbath days or do harm - to save life or destroy
He looked round, meeting
all their eyes, and said to the man, &Now stretch
out your hand.&
He did so, and his hand
was restored as sound as the other one. But they were
filled with insane fury, and kept discussing with each
other what they could do to Jesus.
14.9 JESUS CONTINUES HEALING MANY
(Matthew 12:15-21; Mark 3:7-12; Luke
12:15-21 - But
Jesus knew of this (the Pharisees desire to get rid of him,
especially after healing the man with the shrivelled
hand) and he left the
place (possibly
Capernaum).
Large crowds followed him
and he healed them all, with the strict injunction that
they should not make him conspicuous by their talk, thus
fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy: 'Behold, my servant whom I
have chosen, my beloved in whom my
I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will declare
justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel nor cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised
reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not
quench, till he sends forth justice to victory. And in
his name Gentiles will trust' .
3:7-12 - Jesus now
retired to the lake-side (of the Sea of Galilee) with his disciples (again after
healing the man with the shrivelled hand). A huge crowd of people followed
him, not only from Galilee, but from Judea, Jerusalem and
Idumea, some from the district beyond the Jordan and from
the neighbourhood of Tyre and Sidon. This vast crowd came
to him because they had heard about the sort of things he
was doing. So Jesus told his disciples to have a small
boat kept in readiness for him, in case the people should
crowd him too closely. For he healed so many people that
all those who were in pain kept pressing forward to touch
him with their hands. Evil spirits, as soon as they saw
him, acknowledged his authority and screamed, &You
are the Son of God!&
But he warned them
repeatedly that they must not make him known.
6:17-19 - Then (again after
healing the man with the shrivelled hand, but here, in
Luke's account, also after Jesus has chosen the twelve
apostles ...) he came
down with them and stood on a level piece of ground,
surrounded by a large crowd of his disciples and a great
number of people from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem
and the coastal district of Tyre and Sidon, who had come
to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. (And even
those who were troubled with evil spirits were cured.)
The whole crowd were trying to touch him with their
hands, for power was going out from him and he was
healing them all.
14.10 THE ROMAN CENTURION'S SERVANT
(Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10)
8:5-13 - Then as
he was coming into Capernaum (after healing the leper) a centurion approached.
&Sir,& he implored him, &my servant is in
bed at home paralysed and in dreadful pain.&
&I will come and heal
him,& said Jesus to him.
&Sir,& replied
the centurion, &I'm not important enough for you to
come under my roof. Just give the order, please, and my
servant will recover. I'm a man under authority myself,
and I have soldiers under me. I can say to one man 'Go'
and I know he'll go, or I can say 'Come here' to another
and I know he'll come - or I can say to my slave 'Do
this' and he'll always do it.&
When Jesus heard this, he
was astonished. &Believe me,& he said to those
who were following him, &I have never found faith
like this, even in Israel! I tell you that many people
will come from east and west and sit at my table with
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of Heaven. But
those who should have belonged to the kingdom will be
banished to the darkness outside, where there will be
tears and bitter regret.&
Then he said to the
centurion, &Go home now, and everything will happen
as you have believed it will.&
And his servant was healed
at that actual moment.
7:1-10 - When
Jesus had finished these talks (the Sermon on the
&Plain& in Luke's Gospel) to the people, he came to Capernaum, where
it happened that there was a man very seriously ill and
in fact at the point of death. He was the slave of a
centurion who thought very highly of him. When the
centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders
to him with the request that he would come and save his
servant's life. When they came to Jesus, they urged him
strongly to grant this request, saying that the centurion
deserved to have this done for him. &He loves our
nation and has built us a synagogue out of his own
pocket,& they said.
So Jesus went with them,
but as he approached the house, the centurion sent some
of his personal friends with the message, &Don't
trouble yourself, sir! I'm not important enough for you
to come into my house - I didn't think I was fit to come
to you in person. Just give the order, please, and my
servant will recover. I am used to working under orders,
and I have soldiers under me. I can say to one, 'Go', and
he goes, or I can say to another, 'Come here', and he
or I can say to my slave, 'Do this job', and he
These words amazed Jesus
and he turned to the crowd who were following behind him,
and said, &I have never found faith like this
anywhere, even in Israel!&
Then those who had been
sent by the centurion returned to the house and found the
slave perfectly well.
14.11 RAISING THE WIDOW OF NAIN'S DEAD
7:11-17 - Not long afterwards (after healing the
centurion's servant),
Jesus went into a town called Nain (in Galilee), accompanied by his disciples and a
large crowd. As they approached the city gate, it
happened that some people were carrying out a dead man,
the only son of his widowed mother. The usual crowd of
fellow-townsmen was with her. When the Lord saw her, his
heart went out to her and he said, &Don't cry.&
Then he walked up and put
his hand on the bier while the bearers stood still. Then
he said, &Young man, wake up!&
And the dead man sat up
and began to talk, and Jesus handed him to his mother.
Everybody present was awe-struck and they praised God,
saying, &A great prophet has arisen among us and God
has turned his face towards his people.&
And this report of him
spread through the whole of Judea and the surrounding
countryside.
14.12 THE DUMB (AND BLIND) MAN
(Matthew 12:22-23; Luke 11:14)
12:22-23 - Then (after healing the
man with the shrivelled hand, and many others) a devil-possessed man who could
neither see nor speak was brought to Jesus. He healed
him, so that the dumb man could both speak and see. At
this the whole crowd went wild with excitement, and
people kept saying, &Can this be the Son of
David?& (.... Jesus is then accused by the Pharisees
of using the power of the devil.)
Another time (in Luke's account, after teaching the
Lord's Prayer and about how God answers prayer), Jesus was expelling an evil spirit
which was preventing a man from speaking, and as soon as
the evil spirit left him, the dumb man found his speech,
to the amazement of the crowds. (Jesus now faces
the same accusations as in Matthew's Gospel about being
in league with the devil.)
14.13 THE MADMAN (OR MEN) AND THE
GADARENE PIGS
(Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39)
different Gospels and various versions of the Bible
place this incident in the region of the Gadarenes,
the Gerasenes, and the Gergesenes:
The town of Gadara was a few miles
southeast of the Sea of Galilee in the Gentile
Decapolis. The region of the Gadarenes may well
have spread beyond the t
Gerasa, also in the Decapolis, but much
further away, some 30 miles (50 km) from the Sea
Only Gergesa was on the actual shoreside
in the territory of Gaulanitis - the modern
the case, it must have been predominantly Gentile to
account for the large numbers of pigs or swine. These
were forbidden to Jews as food -
8:28-34 - When he
arrived on the other side (of the Sea of Galilee after
calming the storm -
which is the Gadarenes' country) he was met by two
devil-possessed men who came out from among the tombs.
They were so violent that nobody dared to use that road.
&What have you got to do with us, Jesus, you Son of
God?& they screamed at him. &Have you come to
torture us before the proper time?&
It happened that in the
distance there was a large herd of pigs feeding. So the
devils implored him, &If you throw us out, send us
into the herd of pigs!&
&Then go!& said
Jesus to them.
And the devils came out of
the two men and went into the pigs. Then quite suddenly
the whole herd rushed madly down a steep cliff into the
lake and were drowned.
The swineherds took to
their heels, and ran to the town. There they poured out
the whole story, not forgetting what had happened to the
two men who had been devil-possessed. Whereupon the whole
town came out to meet Jesus, and as soon as they saw him
implored him to leave their (Gentile) territory.
5:1-20 - So they
arrived on the other side of the lake in the country of
the Gerasenes (again after calming the storm). As Jesus was getting out of the
boat, a man in the grip of an evil spirit rushed to meet
him from among the tombs where he was living. It was no
longer possible for any human being to restrain him even
with a chain. Indeed he had frequently been secured with
fetters and lengths of chain, but he had simply snapped
the chains and broken the fetters in pieces. No one could
do anything with him. All through the night as well as in
the day-time he screamed among the tombs and on the
hill-side, and cut himself with stones. Now, as soon as
he saw Jesus in the distance, he ran and knelt before
him, yelling at the top of his voice, &What have you
got to do with me, Jesus, Son of the most high God? For
God's sake, don't torture me!&
For Jesus had already
said, &Come out of this man, you evil spirit!&
Then he asked him,
&What is your name?&
&My name is
legion,& he replied, &for there are many of
Then he begged and prayed
him not to send &them& out of the country.
A large herd of pigs was
grazing there on the hill-side, and the evil spirits
implored him, &Send us over to the pigs and we'll
get into them!&
So Jesus allowed them to
do this, and they came out of the man, and made off and
went into the pigs. The whole herd of about two thousand
stampeded down the cliff into the lake and was drowned.
The swineherds took to their heels and spread their story
in the city and all over the countryside. Then the people
came to see what had happened. As they approached Jesus,
they saw the man who had been devil-possessed sitting
there properly clothed and perfectly sane - the same man
who had been possessed by &legion& - and they
were really frightened. Those who had seen the incident
told them what had happened to the devil-possessed man
and about the disaster to the pigs. Then they began to
implore Jesus to leave their district. As he was
embarking on the small boat, the man who had been
possessed begged that he might go with him. But Jesus
would not allow this.
&Go home to your own
people,& he told him, &And tell them what the
Lord has done for you, and how kind he has been to
So the man went off and
began to spread throughout the Ten Towns the story of
what Jesus had done for him. And they were all simply
8:26-39 - They
sailed on to the country of the Gerasenes (after calming the
storm) which is on the
opposite side of the lake to Galilee. And as Jesus
disembarked, a man from the town who was possessed by
evil spirits met him. He had worn no clothes for a long
time and did not live inside a house, but among the
tombs. When he saw Jesus, he let out a howl and fell down
in front of him, yelling, &What have you got to do
with me, you Jesus, Son of the most high God? Please,
please, don't torment me.&
For Jesus was commanding
the evil spirit to come out of the man. Again and again
the evil spirit had taken control of him, and though he
was bound with chains and fetters and closely watched, he
would snap his bonds and go off into the desert with the
devil at his heels. Then Jesus asked him, &What is
your name?&
&Legion!& he
replied. For many evil spirits had gone into him, and
were now begging Jesus not to order them off to the
bottomless pit. It happened that there was a large herd
of pigs feeding on the hill-side, so they implored him to
allow them to go into the pigs, and he let them go. And
when the evil spirits came out of the man and went into
the pigs, the whole herd rushed down the cliff into the
lake and were drowned. When the swineherds saw what had
happened, they took to their heels, pouring out the story
to the people in the town and countryside. These people
came out to see what had happened, and approached Jesus.
They found the man, whom the evil spirits had left,
sitting down at Jesus' feet, properly clothed and quite
sane. That frightened them. Those who had seen it told
the others how the man with the evil spirits had been
cured. And the whole crowd of people from the district
surrounding the Gerasenes' country begged Jesus to go
away from them, for they were thoroughly frightened. Then
he re-embarked on the boat and turned back. The man who
had the evil spirits kept begging to go with Jesus, but
he sent him away with the words, &Go back home and
tell them all what wonderful things God has done for
So the man went away and
told the marvellous story of what Jesus had done for him,
all over the town.
14.14 THE WOMAN WITH THE HAEMORRHAGE and
THE RAISING OF JAIRUS' DAUGHTER
(Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43; Luke
9:18-26 - While he was saying these thing
such as the bride and the bridegroom, and the new cloth
also after healing the madman in the
region of the Gadarenes) an official (or synagogue ruler or president) came up to him and, bowing low
before him, said, &My daughter has just this moment
died. Please come and lay your hand on her and she will
come back to life!&
At this Jesus got to his
feet and followed him, accompanied by his disciples. And
on the way a woman who had a haemorrhage for twelve years
approached him from behind and touched the edge of his
&If I can only touch
his cloak,& she kept saying to herself, &I
shall be all right.&
But Jesus turned right
round and saw her.
&Cheer up, my
daughter,& he said, &your faith has made you
well!& And the woman was completely cured from that
Then when Jesus came into
the official's house and noticed the flute-players and
the noisy crowd he said, &You
the little girl is not dead, she is fast asleep.&
This was met with scornful
laughter. But when Jesus had forced the crowd to leave,
he came right into the room, took hold of her hand, and
the girl got up. And this became the talk of the whole
5:21-43 - When
Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side of
the lake (after the incident of the madman and the
Gadarene swine), a
great crowd collected around him as he stood on the
shore. Then came a man called Jairus, one of the
synagogue presidents. And when he saw Jesus, he knelt
before him, pleading desperately for his help.
&My little girl is
dying,& he said. &Will you come and put your
hands on her - then she will get better and live.&
Jesus went off with him,
followed by large crowds jostling at his elbow. Among
them was a woman who had a haemorrhage for twelve years
and who had gone through a great deal at the hands of
many doctors (or physicians), spending all her money in
the process. She had derived no benefit from them but, on
the contrary, was getting worse. This woman had heard
about Jesus and came up behind him under cover of the
crowd, and touched his cloak, &For if I can only
touch his clothes,& she said, &I shall be all
The haemorrhage stopped
immediately, and she knew in herself that she was cured
of her trouble. At once Jesus knew intuitively that power
had gone out of him, and he turned round in the middle of
the crowd and said, &Who touched my clothes?&
His disciples replied,
&You can see this crowd jostling you. How can you
ask, 'Who touched me?'&
But he looked all round at
their faces to see who had done so. Then the woman,
scared and shaking all over because she knew that she was
the one to whom this thing had happened, came and flung
herself before him and told him the whole story. But he
said to her, &Daughter, it is your faith that has
healed you. Go home in peace, and be free from your
While he was still
speaking, messengers arrived from the synagogue
president's house, saying, &Your daughter is dead -
there is no need to bother the master any further.&
But when Jesus heard this,
he said, &Now don't be afraid, just go on
believing!&
Then he allowed no one to
follow him except Peter and James and John, James's
brother. They arrived at the president's house and Jesus
noticed the hubbub and all the weeping and wailing, and
as he went in, he said to the people in the house,
&Why are you making such a noise with your crying?
T she is fast asleep.&
They greeted this with a
scornful laugh. But Jesus turned them all out, and taking
only the father and mother and his own companions with
him, went into the room where the child was. Then he took
the little girl's hand and said to her in Aramaic,
&Little girl, I tell you to get up!&
At once she jumped to her
feet and walked around the room, for she was twelve years
old. This sight sent the others nearly out their minds
with joy. But Jesus gave them strict instructions not to
let anyone know what had happened - and ordered food to
be given to the little girl.
8:40-56 - On
Jesus' return (again after healing the madman), the crowd welcomed him back, for
they had all been looking for him.
Then up came Jairus (who
was president of the synagogue), and fell at Jesus' feet,
begging him to come into his house, for his daughter, an
only child about twelve years old, was dying.
But as he went, the crowds
nearly suffocated him. Among them was a woman, who had a
haemorrhage for twelve years and who had derived no
benefit from anybody's treatment. She came up behind
Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, with the result
that her haemorrhage stopped at once.
&Who was that who
touched me?& said Jesus.
And when everybody denied
it, Peter remonstrated, &Master, the crowds are all
round you and are pressing you on all sides ....&
But Jesus said,
&Somebody touched me, for I felt the power went out
When the woman realised
that she had not escaped notice she came forward
trembling, and fell at his feet and admitted before
everybody why she had to touch him, and how she had been
instantaneously cured.
&Daughter,& said
Jesus, &It is your faith that has healed you - go in
While he was still
speaking, somebody came from the synagogue president's
house to say, &Your daughter is dead - there is no
need to trouble the master any further.&
But when Jesus heard this,
he said to him, &Now don't be afraid, go on
believing and she will be all right.&
Then when he came to the
house, he would not allow anyone to go in with him except
Peter, John and James, and the child's parents. All those
already there were weeping and wailing over her, but he
said, &Stop crying! She is not dead, she is fast
This drew a scornful laugh
from them, for they were quite certain that she had died.
But he turned them all out, took the little girl's hand
and called out to her, &Wake up, my child!&
And her spirit came back
and she got to her feet at once, and Jesus ordered food
to be given to her. Her parents were nearly out of their
minds with joy, but Jesus told them not to tell anyone
what had happened.
14.15 TWO BLIND MEN and THE DUMB MAN
9:27-34 - As Jesus
passed on his way (after bringing the daughter of Jairus back
to life) two blind men
followed him with the cry, &have pity on us, Son of
David!& And when he had gone inside the house these
two came up to him.
&Do you believe I can
do it?& he said to them.
&Yes, Lord,&
they replied.
Then he touched their
eyes, saying, &You have believed and you will not be
disappointed.&
Then their sight returned,
but Jesus sternly warned them, &Don't let anyone
know about his.& Yet they went outside and spread
the story throughout the whole district.
Later, when Jesus and his
party were coming out, they brought to him a dumb man who
was possessed by a devil. As soon as the devil had been
ejected the dumb man began to talk. The crowds were
simply amazed and said, &Nothing like this has ever
been seen in Israel.& But the Pharisees' comment
was, &He throws out these devils because he is in
league with the devil himself.&
Three - c AD29-30
14.16 JESUS HEALS THE SICK AT GENNESARET
(Matthew 14:34-36; Mark 6:53-56)
14:34-36 - When
they had crossed over to the other side of the lake (of Galilee, and
after Jesus had walked on the water), they landed at Gennesaret (a plain on the
north west coast of the Sea of Galilee), and when the men of that place
had recognised him, they sent word to the whole
surrounding country and brought all the diseased to him.
They implored him to let them &touch just the edge
of his cloak&, and all those who did so were cured.
And when (again after Jesus had walked on the water) they had crossed over to the other
side of the lake, they landed at Gennesaret and tied up
there. As soon as they came ashore, the people recognised
Jesus and rushed all over the countryside and began to
carry the sick around on their beds to wherever they
heard that he was. Wherever he went, in villages or towns
or farms, they laid down their sick right in the road-way
and begged him that they might &just touch the edge
of his cloak&. And all those who touched him were
14.17 THE SICK DAUGHTER OF THE
SYROPHOENICIAN WOMAN
(Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30)
woman is a Gentile Canaanite living in the Phoenician
part of Syria - present day Lebanon. This is
another difficult account to understand. First Jesus
says the Gospel is only for the Jews - the &lost
sheep of the house of Israel&. Then, in using
the term &dogs& to refer to Gentiles, he is
being uncharacteristically unkind.
term &dogs& is believed to have been meant
in the more gentle form of domestic &young
puppies&. But whatever the actual incident, or
how it is reported, Jesus did not refuse her request,
and her daughter was healed. And later in the early
Church, it is the Gentiles who become the main
beneficiaries of the Gospel of Jesus:
15:21-28 -
Jesus left that place (the Galilee region after clashing
with the scribes and Pharisees about what really makes a
person clean) and
retired into the Tyre and Sidon district. There a
Canaanite woman from those parts came to him crying at
the top of her voice, &Lord, have pity on me! My
daughter is in a terrible state - a devil has got into
Jesus made no answer, and
the disciples came up to him and said, &Do send her
away - she's still following us and calling out.&
&I was only
sent,& replied Jesus, &to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel.&
Then the woman came and
knelt at his feet. &Lord, help me,& she said.
&It is not right, you
know,& Jesus replied, &to take the children's
food and throw it to the dogs.&
&Yes, Lord, I know,
but even the dogs live on the scraps that fall from their
master's table!&
&You certainly don't
lack faith,& returned Jesus, &it shall be as
you wish.&
And at that moment her
daughter was cured.
in Matthew's account)
he got up and left that place and went off to the
neighbourhood of Tyre. There he went into a house and
wanted no one to know where he was. But it proved
impossible to remain hidden. For no sooner had he got
there, than a woman who had heard about him, and who had
a daughter possessed by an evil spirit, arrived and
prostrated herself before him. She was a Greek, a
Syrophoenician by birth, and she asked him to drive the
evil spirit out of her daughter. Jesus said to her,
&You must let the children have all they want first.
It is not right, you know, to take the children's food
and throw it to the dogs.&
But she replied,
&Yes, Lord, I know, but even the dogs under the
table eat what the children leave.&
&If you can answer
like that,& Jesus said to her, &you can go
home! The evil spirit has left your daughter.&
And she went back home and
found the child lying quietly on her bed, and the evil
spirit gone.
14.18 THE DEAF AND DUMB MAN IN THE
7:31-37 - Once
(after healing the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman) Jesus left the neighbourhood of
Tyre and passed through Sidon towards the Lake of
Galilee, and crossed the Ten Towns territory (the Decapolis). They brought to him a man who was
deaf and unable to speak intelligibly, and they implored
him to put his hand upon him. Jesus took him away from
the crowd by himself. He put his fingers in the man's
ears and touched his tongue with his own saliva. Then,
looking up to Heaven, he gave a deep sigh and said to him
in Aramaic, &Open!&
And his ears were opened
and immediately whatever had tied his tongue came loose
and he spoke quite plainly. Jesus gave instructions that
they should tell no one about this happening, but the
more he told them, the more they broadcast the news.
People were absolutely amazed, and kept saying, &How
wonderful he has done everything! He even makes the deaf
hear and the dumb speak.&
14.19 THE BLIND MAN OF BETHSAIDA
going on to the Dalmanutha/Magadan area, and Jesus has
refused to give the Pharisees a sign from heaven) they arrived at Bethsaida where a
blind man was brought to him, with the earnest request
that he should touch him. Jesus took the blind man's hand
and led him outside the village. Then he moistened his
eyes with saliva and putting his hands on him, asked,
&Can you see at all?&
The man looked up and
said, &I can see people. They look like trees - only
they are walking about.&
Then Jesus put his hands
on his eyes once more and his sight came into focus. And
he recovered and saw everything sharp and clear. And
Jesus sent him off to his own house with the words,
&Don't even go into the village.&
14.20 THE EPILEPTIC BOY
(Matthew 17:14-21; Mark 9:14-29; Luke
9:37-43a; 17:5-6)
the Transfiguration of Jesus was on Mount Hermon in
the north, this healing may have taken place in the
town of Caesarea Philippi. Alternatively, if on the
more southerly Mount Tabor, the healing was in the
Galilee area. Traditions vary:
17:14-21 -
When they (Jesus and the apostles Peter, James and
John) returned to the
crowds again (after the Transfiguration) a man came and knelt in front of
Jesus. &Lord, do have pity on my son,& he said,
&for he is a lunatic and is in a terrible state. He
is always falling into the fire or into the water. I did
bring him to your disciples but they couldn't cure
&You really are an
unbelieving and difficult people,& Jesus returned.
&How long must I be with you, and how long must I
put up with you? Bring him here to me!&
Then Jesus reprimanded the
evil spirit and it went out of the boy, who was cured
from that moment.
Afterwards the disciples
approached Jesus privately and asked, &Why weren't
we able to get rid of it?&
&Because you have so
little faith,& replied Jesus. &I assure you
that if you have as much faith as a grain of mustard-seed
you can say to this hill, 'Up you get and move over
there!' and it will move - you will find nothing is
impossible.&
manuscripts conclude with a verse 21:
&However, this kind
does not go out except by prayer and fasting&
9:14-29 - Then as
they rejoined the other disciples (also after the
Transfiguration), they
saw that they were surrounded by a large crowd, and that
some of the scribes were arguing with them. As soon as
the people saw Jesus, they ran forward excitedly to
welcome him.
&What is the
trouble?& Jesus asked them.
A man from the crowd
answered, &Master, I brought my son to you because
he has a dumb spirit. Wherever he is, it gets hold of
him, throws him down on the ground and there he foams at
the mouth and grinds his teeth. It's simply wearing him
out. I did speak to your disciples to get them to drive
it out, but they hadn't the power to do it.&
Jesus answered them,
&Oh, what a faithless people you are! How long must
I be with you, how long must I put up with you? Bring him
here to me.&
So they brought the boy to
him, and as soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it convulsed
the boy, who fell to the ground and writhed there,
foaming at the mouth.
&How long has he been
like this?& Jesus asked the father.
&Ever since he was a
child,& he replied. &Again and again it has
thrown him into the fire or into water to finish him off.
But if you can do anything, please take pity on us and
&If you can do
anything!& retorted Jesus. &Everything is
possible to the man who believes.&
&I do believe,&
the boy's father burst out. &Help me to believe
When Jesus noticed that a
crowd was rapidly gathering, he spoke sharply to the evil
spirit, with the words, &I command you, deaf and
dumb spirit, come out of this boy, and never go into him
The spirit gave a loud
scream and after a dreadful convulsion left him. The boy
lay there like a corpse, so that most of the bystanders
said, &He is dead.&
But Jesus grasped his
hands and lifted him up, and then he stood on his own
feet. When he had gone home, Jesus' disciples asked him
privately, &Why were we unable to drive it
&Nothing can drive
out this kind of thing except prayer,& replied
9:37-43a -
Then on the following day (again after the Transfiguration of
Jesus ....), as they
came down the hill-side, a great crowd met him. Suddenly
a man from the crowd shouted out, &Master, please
come and look at my son! He's my only child, and without
any warning some spirit gets hold of him and he calls out
suddenly. Then it convulses him until he foams at the
mouth, and only after a fearful struggle does it go away
and leave him bruised all over. I begged your disciples
to get rid of it, but they couldn't.&
&You really are an
unbelieving and difficult people,& replied Jesus.
&How long must I be with you, how long must I put up
with you? Bring him here to me.&
But even while the boy was
on his way, the spirit hurled him to the ground in a
dreadful convulsion. Then Jesus reprimanded the evil
spirit, healed the lad and handed him back to his father.
And everybody present was amazed at this demonstration of
the power of God.
17:5-6 - On a later
occasion in Luke's Gospel, Jesus again speaks about how a
little faith can accomplish great things:
And the apostles said to
the Lord, &Give us more faith.&
And he replied, &If
your faith were as big as a grain of mustard seed, you
could say to this fig-tree, 'Pull yourself up by the
roots and plant yourself in the sea', and it would do
what you said!&
14.21 THE TEN LEPERS
17:11-19 - In the
course of his journey to Jerusalem (the last from
Galilee), Jesus
crossed the boundary between Samaria and Galilee, and as
he was approaching a village, ten lepers met him. They
kept their distance but shouted out, &Jesus, Master,
have pity on us!&
When Jesus saw them, he
said, &Go and show yourselves to the priests.&
And it happened that as
they went on their way they were cured. One of their
number, when he saw that he was cured, turned round and
praised God at the top of his voice, and then fell on his
face before Jesus and thanked him. This man was a
Samaritan. And at this Jesus remarked, &Weren't
there ten men healed? Where are the other nine? Is nobody
going to turn and praise God for what he has done, except
this stranger?&
And he said to the man,
&Stand up now, and go on your way. It is your faith
that has made you well.&
14.22 THE MAN BORN BLIND WHO GOES BEFORE
THE PHARISEES
9:1-41 - Later, as Jesus walked along (in Jerusalem,
after he had forgiven the woman caught in adultery) he saw a man who had been blind
from birth.
&Master, whose sin
caused this man's blindness,& asked the disciples,
&his own or his parents'?&
&He was not born
blind because of his own sin or that of his
parents,& returned Jesus, &but to show the
power of God at work in him. We must carry on the work of
him who sent me while the daylight lasts. Night is
coming, when no one can work. I am the world's light as
long as I am in it.&
Having said this, he spat
on the ground and made a sort of clay with the saliva.
This he applied to the man's eyes and said, &Go and
wash in the pool of Siloam (in the Lower City of Jerusalem).& (Siloam means &one who
has been sent&.) So the man went off and washed and
came home with his sight restored.
His neighbours and the
people who had often seen him before as a beggar
remarked, &Isn't this the man who used to sit and
&Yes, that's the
one,& said some.
Others said, &No, but
he's very like him.&
But he himself said,
&I'm the man all right!&
&Then how was your
blindness cured?& they asked.
&The man called Jesus
made some clay and smeared it on my eyes,& he
replied, &and then he said, 'Go to Siloam and wash.'
So off I went and washed - and that's how I got my
&Where is he
now?& they asked.
&I don't know,&
he returned.
So they brought the man
who had once been blind before the Pharisees. (It should
be noted that Jesus made the clay and restored his sight
on a Sabbath day.) The Pharisees asked the question all
over again as to how he had become able to see.
&He put clay on my
I now I can see - that's all,&
he replied.
Some of the Pharisees
commented, &This man cannot be from God since he
does not observe the Sabbath.&
&But how can a sinner
give such wonderful signs as these?& others
demurred. And they were in two minds about him. Finally,
they asked the blind man again, &And what do you say
about him? You're the one whose sight was restored.&
&I believe he is a
prophet,& he replied.
The Jews did not really
believe that the man had been blind and then had become
able to see, until they had summoned his parents and
asked them, &Is this your son who you say was born
blind? How does it happen that he can now see?&
&We know that this is
our son, and we know that he was born blind,&
returned his parents, &but how he can see now, or
who made him able to see, we have no idea. Why don't you
ask him? He is a grown- he can speak for
His parents said this
because they were afraid of the Jews who had already
agreed that anybody who admitted that Christ had done
this thing should be excommunicated. It was this fear which made his
parents say, &Ask him, he is a grown-up man.&
So, once again they
summoned the man who had been born blind and said to him,
&You should 'give God the glory'.
for what has happened to
you. We know that this man is a sinner.&
&Whether he is a
sinner or not, I couldn't tell, but one thing I am sure
of,& the man replied, &I used to be blind, now
I can see!&
&But what did he do
to you - how did he make you see?& they continued.
&I've told you
before,& he replied. &Weren't you listening?
Why do you want to hear it all over again? Are you
wanting to be his disciples too?&
At this, they turned on
him furiously.
&You're the one who
is his disciple! We are disciples of Moses. We know that
God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we don't even
know where he came from.&
&Now here's the
extraordinary thing,& he retorted, &you don't
know where he came from and yet he gave me the gift of
Everybody knows that God
does not listen to sinners. It is the man who has a
proper respect for God and does what God wants him to do
- he's the one God listens to. Why, since the world
began, nobody's ever heard of a man who was born blind
being given his sight. If this man did not come from God,
he couldn't do such a thing!&
&You misbegotten
wretch!& they flung back at him. &Are you
trying to teach us?& And they threw him out.
Jesus heard that they had
expelled him and when he had found him, he said, &Do
you believe in the Son of Man?&
&And who is he,
sir?& the man replied. &Tell me, so that I can
believe in him.&
&You have seen
him,& replied Jesus. &It is the one who is
talking to you now.&
&Lord, I do
believe,& he said, and worshipped him.
Then Jesus said, “My
coming into this world is itself a judgement - those who
cannot see have their eyes opened and those who think
they can see become blind.&
Some of the Pharisees near
him overheard this and said, &So we're blind, too,
&If you were
blind,& returned Jesus, &nobody could blame
you, but, as you insist 'We can see', your guilt
Last Months - c AD29-30
next two miracles probably took place in Perea, from
where Jesus travelled to Bethany in Judea to raise
Lazarus from the dead:
14.23 THE CRIPPLED WOMAN
13:10-17 - It
happened (sometime after Jesus told the parable of
the unfruitful fig-tree) that he was teaching in one of the
synagogues on the Sabbath day. In the congregation was a
woman who for eighteen years had been ill from some
she was bent double and was quite
unable to straighten herself up. When Jesus noticed her,
he called her and said, &You are set free from your
And he put his hands upon
her, and at once she stood upright and praised God. But
the president of the synagogue, in his annoyance at
Jesus' healing on the Sabbath, announced to the
congregation, &There are six days in which men may
work. Come on one of them and be healed, and not on the
Sabbath day!&
But the Lord answered him,
saying, &You hypocrites, every single one of you
unties his ox or his ass from the stall on the Sabbath
day and leads him away to water! This woman, a daughter
of Abraham, whom you all know Satan has kept bound for
eighteen years - surely she should be released from such
bonds on the Sabbath day!&
These words reduced his
opponents to shame, but the crowd was thrilled at all the
glorious things he did.
14.24 THE MAN WITH DROPSY
One Sabbath day (as Jesus continued to criticise the
scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy) he went into the house of one of
the leading Pharisees for a meal, and they were all
watching him closely. Right in front of him was a man
afflicted with dropsy.
So Jesus spoke to the scribes and Pharisees and said,
&Well, is it right to heal on the Sabbath day or
But there was no reply. So
Jesus took the man and healed him and let him go. Then he
said to them, &If an ass or a cow belonging to one
of you fell into a well, wouldn't you rescue him without
the slightest hesitation even though it were the
And this again left them
quite unable to reply.
14.25 LAZARUS RAISED FROM THE DEAD
11:1-44 - Now there was a man by the name
of Lazarus (not the poor man who went to heaven in
Luke's parable, Luke 16:19-31) who became seriously ill. He lived in
Bethany (outside Jerusalem on the eastern slope of
the Mount of Olives),
the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived.
(Lazarus was the brother of the Mary who poured perfume
upon the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the
sisters sent word to Jesus: &Lord, your friend is
When Jesus (across the River
Jordan in Perea)
received the message, he said, &This illness is not
m it is going to bring glory to God
- for it will show the glory of the Son of God.&
Now Jesus loved Martha and
her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard of Lazarus'
illness he stayed where he was two days longer. Only then
did he say to the disciples, &Let us go back into
returned the disciples, &only a few days ago, the
Jews were trying to stone you to death - are you going
there again?&
&There are twelve
hours of daylight every day, are there not?& replied
Jesus. &If a man walks in the daytime, he does not
stumble, for he has the daylight to see by. But if he
walks at night he stumbles, because he cannot see where
he is going.&
then after a pause he said to them, &Our friend
Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going to wake him
At this, his disciples
said, &Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all
Actually Jesus had spoken
about his death, but they thought that he was speaking
about falling into natural sleep. This made Jesus tell
them quite plainly, &Lazarus has died, and I am glad
that I was not there - for your sakes, that you may learn
to believe. And now, let us go to him.&
Thomas (known as the twin)
then said to his fellow-disciples, &Come on, then,
let us all go and die with him!&
When Jesus arrived, he
found that Lazarus had already been in the grave four
days. Now Bethany is quite near Jerusalem, rather less
than two miles away, and a good many of the Jews had come
out to see Martha and Mary to offer them sympathy over
their brother's death. When Martha heard that Jesus was
on his way, she went out and met him, while Mary stayed
in the house.
&If only you had been
here, Lord,& said Martha, &my brother would
never have died. And I know that, even now, God will give
you whatever you ask from him.&
&Your brother will
rise again,& Jesus replied to her.
&I know,& said
Martha, &that he will rise again in the resurrection
at the last day.&
&I myself am the
resurrection and the life,& Jesus told her.
&The man who believes in me will live even though he
dies, and anyone who is alive and believes in me will
never die at all. Can you believe that?&
&Yes, Lord,&
replied Martha. &I do believe that you are Christ,
the Son of God, the one who was to come into the
world.& Saying this she went away and called Mary
her sister, whispering, &The master's here and is
asking for you.& When Mary heard this she sprang to
her feet and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet arrived
at the village itself, but was still where Martha had met
him. So when the Jews who had been condoling with Mary in
the house saw her get up quickly and go out, they
followed her, imagining that she was going to the grave
to weep there.
When Mary met Jesus, she
looked at him, and then fell down at his feet. &If
only you had been here, Lord,& she said, &my
brother would never have died.&
When Jesus saw Mary weep
and noticed the tears of the Jews who came with her, he
was deeply moved and visibly distressed.
&Where have you put
him?& he asked.
&Lord, come and
see,& they replied, and at this Jesus himself wept.
&Look how much he
loved him!& remarked the Jews, though some of them
asked, &Could he not have kept this man from dying
if he could open that blind man's eyes?& (The man born blind
who went before the Pharisees, John 9:1-41)
Jesus was again deeply
moved at these words, and went on to the grave. It was a
cave, and a stone lay in front of it.
&Take away the
stone,& said Jesus.
&But Lord,& said
Martha, the dead man's sister, &he has been dead
four days. By this time he will be decaying ....&
&Did I not tell
you,& replied Jesus, &that if you believed, you
would see the wonder of what God can do?&
Then they took the stone
away and Jesus raised his eyes and said, &Father, I
thank you that you have heard me. I know that you always
hear me, but I have said this for the sake of these
people standing her so that they may believe that you
have sent me.&
And when he had said this,
he called out in a loud voice, &Lazarus, come
And the dead man came out,
his hands and feet bound with grave-clothes and his face
muffled with a handkerchief.
&Now unbind
him,& Jesus told them, &and let him go
14.26 THE BLIND MAN (OR MEN) NEAR JERICHO
(Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke
20:29-34 -
A great crowd followed them as they were leaving Jericho (on the final stage
of the journey to Jerusalem), and two blind men who were sitting by the
roadside, hearing that it was Jesus who was passing by,
cried out, &Have pity on us, Lord, you Son of
David!& The crowd tried to hush them up, but this
only made them cry out more loudly still, &Have pity
on us, Lord, you Son of David!&
Jesus stood quite still
and called out to them, &What do you want me to do
&Lord, let us see
And Jesus, deeply moved
with pity, touched their eyes. At once their sight was
restored, and they followed him.
10:46-52 - Then (as in Matthew's Gospel) they came to Jericho, and as he was
leaving it accompanied by his disciples and a large
crowd, Bartimeus (that is, the son of Timaeus), a blind
beggar, was sitting in his usual place by the side of the
road. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth he
began to call out, &Jesus, Son of David, have pity
Many of the people told
him sharply to keep quiet, but he shouted all the more,
&Son of David, have pity on me!&
Jesus stood quite still
and said, &Call him here.&
So they called the blind
man, saying, &It's all right now, get up, he's
calling you!&
At this he threw off his
coat, jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
&What do you want me
to do for you?& he asked him.
&Oh, Master, let me
see again!&
&Go on your way
then,& returned Jesus, &your faith has healed
And he recovered his sight
at once and followed Jesus along the road.
18:35-43 - Then,
as he was approaching Jericho, it happened that there was
a blind man sitting by the roadside, begging. He heard
the crowd passing and enquired what it was all about. And
they told him, &Jesus the man from Nazareth is going
past you.& So he shouted out, &Jesus, Son of
David, have pity on me!&
Those who were in front
tried to hush his cries. But that made him call out all
the more, &Son of David, have pity on me!&
So Jesus stood quite still
and ordered the man to be brought to him. And when he was
quite close, he said to him, &What do you want me to
do for you?&
&Lord, make me see
again,& he cried.
&You can see again!
Your faith has cured you,& returned Jesus. And his
sight was restored at once, and he followed Jesus,
praising God. All the people who saw it thanked God too.
Last Week in Jerusalem - Spring c AD30
14.27 HEALING THE SEVERED EAR OF THE HIGH
PRIEST'S SERVANT
22:49-51 - And the disciples, seeing what
was going to happen (... Jesus was about to be arrested in the
Garden of Gethsemane),
cried, &Lord, shall we use our swords?&
And one of them did slash
at the High Priest's servant (Malchus as reported in John 18:10), cutting off his right ear. But
Jesus retorted, &That will do!&
And he touched his ear and
healed him.
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