And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all. (Luke 6:17-19)

Jesus Healed A Multitude

The miracles of Jesus proved He was the Son of God. Each miracle confirmed His authority over time, nature, distance, spirits, and death. The gospels record many individual miracles of the blind receiving sight, the lame healed, the spirit possessed released from their misery, and the dead being raised. All the miracles Jesus performed are not listed in the gospels; as John noted, there is not enough time or space to tell the whole story of Jesus. On a few occasions, the gospels say Jesus healed the multitudes.

On one occasion, Jesus was faced with a great multitude of people. There were a lot of people who came to Jesus, along with a large population of His disciples. When Jesus fed the five thousand (not counting the women and children), they were called the “multitude.” The great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, Tyre, and Sidon could have numbered in the thousands. This is not just a crowd of the local population. Jesus was confronted with thousands of people flocking to Him to be healed of their diseases and find release from unclean spirits. The fervor of activity surrounding Jesus was Him healing those with diseases, and many people sought only to touch the Lord to be healed.

The story of Jesus healing the multitudes is repeated in scripture. There well could have been tens of thousands of people who attributed their healing to Jesus. Great multitudes of people returned to their homes without infirmities. A number of blind people could now see. Lepers rejoiced to be cleansed of their death sentence. Any disease was destroyed by the will of the Father through His Son and the power of the Holy Spirit. In the nearly three years of the ministry of Jesus, untold numbers of people in the Middle East were healed of their infirmities. There is no place on the planet where so many “healthy” people lived as those in the days of Jesus in the regions of Judea, Jerusalem, and other parts of the land.

What is a sad irony to the story of Jesus healing so many people is that the people rose up and had the Great Physician killed on a cross. With the testimony of thousands of people healed by Jesus Christ, no one came forth to defend Jesus. Where were the lepers Jesus healed? Why did not the blind who were healed come to the defense of Jesus? There were those who were dead and were brought from the grave, and yet no one spoke in defense of Jesus. The great Healer stood before the Jewish leaders and Roman authorities and said nothing of His healing power. Jesus did not just heal a few people; He healed thousands, often at the same time.

The miracles of Jesus were done to lead people to the Father. A miracle cannot save one from the wrath of God. It serves as a catalyst to show the power of God. With all the evidence of the power of Jesus healing so many people, how could the world turn against Jesus and kill Him on the cross? They could not see the power of God in the teachings of Jesus. Faith comes from hearing the word of God, and while they enjoyed the benefit of Jesus’ miracles, those healed by Jesus failed to come to the word for salvation. There are no healing miracles today as touted by false preachers who deceive the multitudes. Salvation is found in the word of God. The miracles of Jesus testify that Jesus is God’s Son. Obey the will of the Father to experience the miracle of the new birth.