# 77 Healing and Glorying - Matthew 15:29-31

Introduction: The United States of America has a new President. Donald Trump was elected by both the electoral college and the popular vote to become the 47th President of the United States of America (November 5, 2024).

The Electoral College Votes:

The Popular Vote of the People:

I stayed up and waited for President Trump to deliver his victory speech. He spoke well and laid out his plan to Make America Great Again. And it appears that he will have both the House and the Senate on his side. This is great news for America!

Now, in his victory speech he made a statement that I believe ties right in with todays message. President Trump said, “They said that many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason. And that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness. And now we are going to fulfill that mission together. We're gonna fulfill that mission. The task before us will not be easy, but I will bring every ounce of energy, spirit, and fight that I have in my soul, to the job that you've entrusted to me.”

Do you and I believe that it was a miracle that spared the life of Donald Trump? I do! Not once, but twice! How are we to respond to miracles? Well, look again at the title of today’s message: Healing and Glorying. We are to respond to miracles by glorying in the God of Israel. This is what we will be looking at in our text this morning.

What does it mean to glorify God? It means to honor Him, magnify Him (make Big), or to make glorious. This is what we find in our text today.

I. Jesus went up on the Mountain – 15:29

29 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there.

Jesus leaves the regions of Tyre and Sidon, and He travels around the Sea of Galilee, and He goes up on a mountain and sat down there. The “there” in our text was a specific place. Jesus sat down on the mountain at a very specific spot. A spot where He could easily be found.

As I studied this passage, I read that it is believed that Jesus traveled to the northeastern shore of the lake, into the region of the Decapolis (Life Application Bible Notes). The Decapolis according to Mark 7:31 included ten cities that were in a league with and were authorized by the Romans to mint their own coins, run their own courts, and have their own armies. This was predominantly Gentile territory.[1]

and went up on the mountain and sat down there.

Jesus went up a Mountain

How many of you know that throughout the Bible good things happened up on a mountain? Mountains often hold significance in Scripture as places of encounters with God. Think of Moses on Mount Sinai, Abraham on Mount Moriah, Elijah on Mount Carmel, or Jesus delivering the Sermon on the Mount. In this instance, the mountain represents a place where Jesus made Himself available to the people. It wasn’t a high, difficult peak but a location where the multitudes could come and meet Him. Jesus' presence on the mountain invites us to draw near to Him, no matter our background or spiritual condition.

Every one of us needs to have a mountain moment with Jesus!

Next, we need to understand that what takes place here in this section of Scripture doesn’t catch Jesus off guard. He was all-knowing, and He knew what was about to take place. He knew before he ascended the mountain the day’s events that were going to transpire.

II. Various people were brought to Jesus – 15:30

30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them.

What do we have in this verse? First, I want us to see that “great multitudes came to Him.” Again, it must have been a place of easy access. What a great thought with that concept alone – easy access. We must always seek to keep people’s approach to Jesus as easy as possible. We want people to come to Jesus. This is what Christianity is all about.

In Bible college one of the professors, I had would say to us inspiring Pastors, ‘When you preach the Gospel keep the cookies on the lowest shelf.” In other words, seek to make Jesus easily assessable for every person.

Second, they came with a lot of other people with various type of illnesses and sicknesses. As I read this, I thought that they had just emptied the local hospital, or the local urgent care facility. Look at the list of people that the multitude brought to Jesus:

· The lame – those that couldn’t walk.

· The blind – those that couldn’t see.

· The mute – those that couldn’t speak.

· The maimed – those that couldn’t use parts of their body.

And don’t miss the words here in our text that read, “and many others”. They brought a lot of other people with perhaps a lot of other health issues other than the ones we have listed here. As I read those words, and I asked myself, “What are the various health problems mentioned in the Bible? So, I did a walk through the Bible, and I came up with the following list:

· Alcoholism – Overdrinking to the determent of one’s own physical health and wellbeing.

· Atrophy - Job speaks of one of his afflictions with the words, “He has shriveled me up” (Job 16:8). Another reference to atrophy is found in Luke 6:6.

· Blindness - Was common in Egypt, Israel and the Arabian countries.

· Boils - It is likely that the word “boil” as used in the Bible covered many types of skin diseases, such as pustules, simple boils, carbuncles, abscesses and infected glands.

· Consumption - This word appears only twice in the Bible (Lev. 26:16 and Deut. 28:22). In both instances it is included in a list of disasters that would befall the people of Israel if they rejected their God.

· Deafness - May be partial or complete.

· Demon possession – The devil taking over a person’s body.

· Dropsy - Abnormal accumulation of serous fluid in the tissues of the body, or in one of the body cavities. If it is locked in the structure of the tissues, it is usually called edema. It is commonly seen due to a faulty heart or diseased kidneys.

· Dwarfism - Dwarfs seem normal at birth, but early in life it is noted that linear growth is abnormally slow, and after the tenth year it may stop entirely.

· Dumbness - May refer to total inability to speak (mutism), or to inability to speak clearly and coherently (aphasia) as was the case with the man mentioned in Mark 7:32, who “was deaf and had an impediment in his speech.”

· Dysentery - Was a very common ailment among the people of the mid-East. It was due primarily to three types of organisms—amebae, bacteria and worms.

· Epilepsy - (ἐπιληψία) is a Gr. word meaning “a seizure.” This seizure may be very light, such as a twitch of the face or hands, or even a recurring sharp, but brief abdominal pain, and is then known as “petit mal.”

· Fever - Refers to bodily temperature distinctly higher than normal.

· Headache – A continuous pain in the head.

· Hemorrhage - In Luke 8:42-48 we have the account of a woman who had a flow (“issue” KJV) of blood for twelve years.

· Impediment of speech - This physical difficulty is mentioned in Mark 7:32, “and they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech.”

· Indigestion - Paul writes to Timothy “no longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” (1 Tim 5:23).

· Infirmity – In John 5:5 (KJV) tells of a man at the pool of Bethesda who “had an infirmity thirty and eight years.” In v. 7 we read that he was an “impotent” man.

· Inflammation - Deadly germs, esp. streptococci and staphylococci are always present on the surface of our bodies.

· Insanity - (σεληνιαζόμενος, lunatic, Matthew 4:24 KJV; שִׁגָּעﯴן, H8714, madness, blindness and confusion of mind, Deut. 28:28).

· Itch - This is another of the curses with which the Lord threatened Israelites who departed from the faith (Deut. 28:27). Itch is a discomfort with which the inhabitants of the sub-tropical mid-East were thoroughly familiar.

· Leprosy - Was greatly feared by the Israelites, not only because of the physical damage done by the disease, but also because of the strict isolation laws applying to leprosy, making the patients feel like feared outcasts of society.

· Lunacy and Madness – Sickness of the mind, irrational behavior.

· Obesity – In Judges 3:17 we read; “Now Eglon was a very fat man”; Judges 3:22: “and the fat closed over the blade.”

· Palsy - Paralysis, especially that which is accompanied by involuntary tremors.

· Scurvy - A disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C. Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs.

· Skin diseases - The Hebrews had a wide variety of skin diseases and many of them are listed in the Bible - Baldness, Boil, Inflammation, Itch, Leprosy and Scabies.

· Tumor - A tumor is abnormal tissue that develops because of excessive cell growth.

· Ulcer - An open sore on an external or internal surface of the body, caused by a break in the skin or mucous membrane that fails to heal.

· Worms - Are perhaps as nearly omnipresent and prolific as any animals on earth.[2]

All that sounds awful, doesn’t it? But here is the good news – Jesus Christ specialized in healing all these types of issues. His earthly ministry was a healing ministry. He healed hundreds if not thousands of people in His three-and-a-half-years.

I believe that it is important for us to understand that God can heal, but not all people will be healed here on earth.

III. The multitude marveled at what they saw – 15:31

31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

A. The multitude marveled at what they saw.

Who wouldn’t be filled with wonder and astonishment if they witnessed with their eyes these miracles – Imagine the scene—people who had never walked were now standing. Those who couldn’t speak were praising God. The blind were seeing for the first time. The crowd was astonished! They had witnessed something beyond human capability. Miracles are a supernatural work of God (Jesus was God in the flesh). When a miracle occurs people ought to glorify God.

The Prophets

Are you aware that the Prophets wrote about the healing ministry of Jesus Christ some 700 years before He was ever born. The Prophet Isaiah penned the following in Isaiah 35:5-6,

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert.

Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled in front of their very eyes (Don’t miss the fact that these people were eyewitnesses of these miracles). It has been said that these miracles were not just physical healing—but that they were a sign that the Kingdom of God was breaking into the world. Jesus’ healings demonstrated His divine authority and compassion for the broken. Thank God that Jesus cares for the broken of this world.

Dr. Harry Ironside wrote, “He met them all in grace, and healed everyone, thus demonstrating again His Messianic authority (Isaiah 35:4-6).

B. And they glorified the God of Israel – 15:31

and they glorified the God of Israel.

What’s even more significant is the crowd’s response. They didn’t just marvel; “they glorified the God of Israel.” Remember these people were Gentiles. They were part of a culture that believed in many gods (Polytheistic). But after seeing what Jesus had done, they recognized the God of Israel as the one true, powerful God. Now, think back to the response of the religious leaders earlier. The ones who should have been prepared for the Messiah weren’t. They didn’t accept Jesus’ miracles, and they concluded that He was in league with the devil (Matthew 12:22-24).

I like what David Platt penned in Exalting Jesus in Matthew, “If we are to nurture a passion for the nations and be a part of God’s global purposes, we must spend ourselves for the glory of God’s name. We work and preach and serve among the nations so that they will give glory to God. Even today, there are many people groups who have never heard the gospel and are not giving God glory. Our churches don’t exist for our immediate neighborhoods only; they exist to go and give and send people to the nations. Our task is to make disciples and multiply churches among the peoples of the world. This mind-set should be in our spiritual DNA, for we want the peoples to praise our God (Ps 67).[3]

Yes, the people “glorified the God of Israel” Pastor Stu Weber writes, “The crowd marveled at Jesus’ healings and praised the God of Israel. These people, like most pagans of that day, believed there were many gods—a worldview held by both Greek and Roman cultures as well as the ancient cultures that inhabited Palestine before Joshua. These people never doubted that the God of Israel existed, but now they had seen such a display that they praised him as superior to all the gods.”[4]

How many of us have witnessed God’s work in our lives, or the lives of family members but forgot to glorify Him? These people marveled and praised God for all they had seen. Listen, when you and I see God’s hand in our lives—whether through healing, provision, or answered prayer— we must pause to give God the glory He deserves!

The hymn writer states well, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”

Conclusion: So, as I bring this message to a close what are the key take aways from this passage of Scripture?

1. Jesus is Accessible: Like the mountain where Jesus sat, we can approach Him without fear or hesitation. He is waiting for us to come to Him with our needs. Therefore, come.

2. Bring Others to Jesus: Just as the multitudes brought the sick and broken to Jesus, we are called to help others find their way to Christ. Our role in ministry and evangelism is to make Jesus accessible to others. Seek to invite others to Jesus.

3. Miracles Lead to Worship: Jesus’ healings pointed people to God and caused them to glorify Him. Whenever we witness God’s power in our lives—whether through healing, answered prayer, or His provision—it should lead us to praise Him and deepen our faith.

God, we praise you for your divine protection on Donald Trump. When we witness a miracle it should cause us to magnify the name of Jesus Christ.

4. Jesus Heals Completely: Jesus’ healing power is not limited to physical ailments; He heals the whole person. This includes emotional, spiritual, and relational healing. His desire is for us to experience wholeness.

The first step to wholeness is allowing Jesus Christ to become your Savior and the Lord of your life. I made this decision for Jesus when I was 17 years old. Have you made this decision for Jesus Christ? Do it today!

The Sinner’s Prayer: Lord, the best way I know how I call upon you. I ask you to forgive me of my sins. To come into my life, and to change me. Help me from this day forward to live for you. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.

And now Lord, thank You for the healing power of Jesus. We marvel at the ways You work in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Help us to always bring our needs to You and to guide others toward Your healing touch. May we always glorify You for the miracles You perform, big and small, and may our faith grow stronger as we witness Your power. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

[1]Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 55). Victor Books. [2] Bibliography White and Geschichter, Diagnosis in Daily Practice, (1943); Reich and Nechtow, Practical Gynecology (1950); W. A. Dorland, The American Illustrated Medical Dictionary (1951); G. M. Lewis, Practical Dermatology (1952); G. C. Sauer, Manual of Skin Diseases (1959); W. A. Sodeman and W. A. Sodeman, Jr., Pathologic Physiology (1961); A. C. Guyton, Textbook of Medical Physiology, (1966); P. B. Beeson & W. McDermott, Textbook of Medicine (1971). [3]Platt, D. (2013). Exalting Jesus in Matthew (D. L. Akin, D. Platt, & T. Merida, Eds.; p. 208). Holman Reference. [4]Weber, S. K. (2000). Matthew(Vol. 1, pp. 232–233). Broadman & Holman Publishers.