Gospel of Matthew Chapter 4 Vs. 24

Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds

 

Matthew 4:24 “And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.”

throughout all Syria... A district of ten cities, of which Damascus was the chief. Syria was the area immediately northeast of Galilee.

with divers diseases... Greek: nosos, translated "disease" 6 times (Mat. 4:24; Mark 1:34; Luke 4:40; 6:17; 9:1; Acts 19:12); "sickness" 5 times (Mat. 4:23; 8:17; 9:35; 10:1; Mark 3:15); and "infirmity" once (Luke 7:21). Not malakia, "disease" as in Mat. 4:23; 9:35; 10:1.

possessed with devils... Would be Demons or Unclean Spirits.

which were lunatick... Greek: seleniazomai, from selene, moon; to be moonstruck, that is, insane. Found only here and in Mat. 17:15.

had the palsy... Greek: paralutikos, to be paralyzed (Mat. 4:24; 8:6; 9:2; Mark 2:3-9; Luke 5:24; 5:18; Acts 8:7; 9:33).

The Bible says that if all the miracles that Jesus did were written in a book, there would not be enough books in the entire world to hold them. You can easily see how this fame would spread.

Literally thousands were healed, freed from demon spirits, restored to sanity, and stopped shaking from the palsy. All these people had to do was to believe, and just one touch from Jesus’ hand restored them. You can easily see that His powers were not limited.

As we will see in verse 25, people from all areas that were in traveling distance, brought their sick to Jesus and then carried the message back of His great powers. He not only healed the body, but the spirit, as well.

The ministry of Jesus — and probably also the ministry of the four men he called (Mat. 4:18-22) — was dramatic for multitudes of people heard of Jesus and began to flock to Him. The news about Him spread all over Syria, the area north of Galilee.