You Healed Their Sick

I awakened this morning with a scripture verse in my heart.

Matthew 14:14 (ESV) When he went ashore, He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Lord, You had withdrawn by boat to a solitary place after hearing of John’s beheading. You had gone off in a boat. But the crowds followed You, and when You went ashore, You saw a large crowd and welled with compassion toward them. Why? What did You see in them? Was it that they were lost? Was it that they were ignorant of the scriptures, or at least of the God of the scriptures? You saw that they were sick. So many were sick. In this massive crowd of humanity, sickness was rampant. The masses were peppered with it. This is why You had compassion on them — they were sick. And what was Your response? You healed their sick.

Lord, You not only had compassion on their sick, but You went further and did something about it. We look at the sickness all around us, and it often becomes part of the visual landscape, part of the conversational landscape. It is what we are accustomed to seeing and hearing. But it is not of You! So You not only have compassion, but You also heal. You do not commiserate with those that are sick, for though You partook of humanity, You did not enter into the common, powerless, empty mutual condolences and advice that humans offer each other as they deal with sicknesses and infirmities. You did not speak of waiting for a new medication. You did not speak of waiting for someone to get approved for surgery. No, You healed them. Right then. On the spot. You healed them. You heal us. You did not accept or accommodate or tolerate sickness, but instead:

Matthew 8:17 (NASB) He himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.

And You don’t say here that You healed THE sick, but You healed THEIR sick, and by this You show us the toll that sickness takes on the larger community, the families and loved ones that sickness affects. Its toll is not on just the individual, but clearly, it ripples out to all those near, taxing them, and slowing them. The family, the caretakers, the friends — all labor beneath the toll of sickness.

You did not accept sickness for Yourself. Yes, You were tempted in all points as we are, yet You did not sin by accepting the sickness offered by the enemy. You instead walked in personal victory over sickness, and went further by healing others, giving them the same victory over sickness. This is the example You provide for us; we can do the same.