Matthew 14:34-36
When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
This passage says that "the men of that place recognized Jesus..." When a person has needs, he will seek for answers. When a person recognizes the authority of the Lord, he will come close to the Lord and let the Lord touch him. Once they recognized Jesus, these people in need went around and spread the news, and the sick were carried to Jesus. They probably told the people in their neighborhood, "Jesus can heal the sick! Hurry up and come!" Some people had great faith as they come before God; they even believed that as long as they could touch the Lord, their illnesses will be healed. We can then imagine scene of excitement and faith when the sick were indeed healed upon touching Jesus! They had a simple faith, and such faith was pleasing to the Lord. On the contrary, when the disciples were at sea, they were paddling the boat with great effort, so the Lord walked on the sea towards them to help then. The disciples could not recognize Jesus and though He was a ghost, so they panicked. The contrast was startling! The disciples couldn't recognized the Lord and thus they panicked in the storms; the crowd recognized Jesus and they went near the Lord, and their illnesses were healed.
The disciples followed Jesus daily, had gathering after gathering, but they couldn't recognize the Lord; the crowd, on the other hand, recognized Jesus immediately and ran to follow Him, because they had simple faith. The disciples were paddling the boat by their own might, and they never thought that the Lord would help them. They knew that the Lord could use five loaves and two fish to feed five thousand people, but they didn't think He could also walk on the sea. The crowd, however, simply believed that Jesus was the Lord who could save them, so they went and sought Jesus, and the Lord healing came upon them.
Can you recognize the Lord who's with you? Do you long for Him and are you seeking Him? May the Spirit of Lord open our eyes so that we can recognize the love, mercy and omnipotence of the Lord, and also recognize that He is our Lord. He's the savior who can heal us; when we bring our heavy burdens before Him and look upon Him in simple faith, the Spirit of God can come upon us to perform the work of healing. May the Lord give us an eager heart to come before Him!
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