JESUS CONTINUES HEALING MANY - Year Two - c AD28-29

(Matthew 12:15-21; Mark 3:7-12; Luke 6:17-19) Matthew 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 soul is well pleased; 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' .

Mark 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.

Luke 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.

THE EPILEPTIC BOY -Year Three - c AD29-30

(Matthew 17:14-21; Mark 9:14-29; Luke 9:37-43a; 17:5-6)

- If 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:

Matthew 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 him."
"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."

- Some manuscripts conclude with a verse 21:

"However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting"

Mark 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 help us."
"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 more!"
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 again!"
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 out?"
"Nothing can drive out this kind of thing except prayer," replied Jesus.

Luke 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.

Luke 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!"

THE CRIPPLED WOMAN The Last Months - c AD29-30

The Last Months - c AD29-30

- This miracle probably took place in Perea, from where Jesus travelled to Bethany in Judea to raise Lazarus from the dead:

Luke 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 psychological cause; 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 illness!"

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.