Jesus is at the height of His popularity. He is going around everywhere doing good and healing everyone. But at the same time, hostile forces rise up against Him to kill Him. Christ then withdraws, because he still had many lessons to teach the disciples and the people. And also because His time to die had not yet come.
Jesus did not withdraw from the needy crowds that followed Him everywhere, but from His enemies. This episode of persecution leads Him to completely break with the Jewish synagogue. After the confrontation in Mark 3:1-6, He withdraws from official Judaism, symbolized by the synagogue. And it turns to people until it reaches the Temple in Jerusalem, from there I conduct His ministry in homes and outdoors.
Although rejected by religious and political leaders, crowds came from all over Palestine and also from Phenicia to be healed by Jesus. Some people came from the South: Judea and Jerusalem. Others came from the North: Tire and Sidonia. Others came from the East: From beyond the Jordan or from the West: Galilee. Dusty roads, deserts, and deep rivers did not keep these people away from Christ. No difficulty, no obstacle prevented those multitudes from coming to Christ.
The people of Jesus’ time were needy and needy and we belong to that family. They threw themselves at the feet of Christ, they wanted to touch Him, because they wanted to be healed, whole, saved people. Imagine if they thought, “No, we will only come to Christ when our lives are right. Let’s give it some more time.” If that were so, they would not need Christ and Christ would not be necessary for them.
Let the blind man come as he is, let the paralytic come even dragging himself, the leper come covered in his leprosy, for people must come to the Lord as they are. Just as doctors came for the sick, Christ came for sinners. Come as you are: in debt, dishonest, drunk, drugged, unclean. It is Jesus who will heal you, forgive you and save you. You cannot do anything for your salvation. Jesus receives you as you are. “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free”.
Of all those who came to Christ, none were sent away. In fact, since the world began, no sinner has come to God, no soul has come to Christ without being received. Jesus said: “Whatever comes to me, I will never cast away.” Jesus Christ never broke His promise. We challenge anyone to provide even one proof of a person who came to Christ with a broken heart and who was rejected by Him. It is He Himself who invites: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened.” “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”
All the people who approached the Lord Jesus were attended to by Him, as the Gospels attest. The sick were healed, the possessed were freed, the lost were found, those in darkness saw the light, those who were afflicted were comforted, and those who were without hope received a new reason to live.
People came to Christ to hear His teachings and also to be healed and freed. They threw themselves at Jesus’ feet, touched Him and poured themselves out before Him. Today, I invite you to come to Jesus. Only He can heal, free, forgive and save you.
In Matthew 12:15-21 – the parallel text – Jesus states that he does not crush the broken reed nor extinguish the flame that is still smoking. He relieves people of the burden that oppresses them. And he does not crush the one who is already fallen. This is what the Lord did with the woman caught in the act of adultery. He did not stone her, but rather forgave her, restoring her the dignity of life.
Each person touched, healed and saved by the Resurrected Jesus was another witness to Him. Imagine that two hundred people who were healed were in that crowd. There were over two hundred witnesses of Jesus talking about his power. The circle of those who were saved grew, the number of those who testified grew. Each new person healed and saved was one more voice calling others to come to the Messiah.
Today, after two thousand years, millions and millions of lives have been touched, healed and transformed by Our Lord Jesus Christ. You can’t apologize. Every new life saved by Jesus is a strong argument to you that He is enough to be your Savior. Oh, friend! There is a cloud of witnesses around you proclaiming to you that Jesus is the only Savior, the only hope for your soul. Go to Him right now!
The very name of the Lord invites you. His name is Jesus Christ, which means “Savior”. You are a sinner, but He is the Savior. You are thirsty, but He is the Water of Life. You are hungry, but He is the Bread of Life. You are lost, but He is the Way. You are dead, but He is the Resurrection and the Life.
Christ cares about you. He loves you and went to the cross for you. His hands were torn, His feet were nailed to the cross and He was pierced on the tree out of love for you. He loves you with an everlasting love. Therefore, come to Him!
The Gospel is an urgent message: tomorrow may be too late. Today is God’s time. The Word you are hearing is the voice of Jesus. Come to Him. Those people didn’t wait for Jesus to go to their cities, they went to Him, because they were in a hurry. They threw themselves at his feet to touch him.
Don’t let any difficulty stop you from coming to Christ: family, friends, pleasures, money, prejudice. Come to Christ without delay. Only He can forgive your sins, fill the emptiness of your soul and satisfy the longings of your heart. He can tear out your hard heart and give you a tender heart. He can open your eyes to see the glory of God. He can pull you out of the deep pit you are in. He can give you a new name, a new heart, a new mind, a new hope, a new life!
Jesus is the same always. His arms are not “curled up” so that they cannot save, nor his deaf ears that cannot hear his cry. Therefore, come to Jesus. Touch Him by faith and you too will be healed.
Father Bantu Mendonça