They won't Leave Him Alone

Mark 6:53-56 (ESV) When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. [54] And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him [55] and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. [56] And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. Jesus can’t seem to escape the people. It doesn’t matter at which end of the lake he lands, there are people that want him, they want him to heal them. Perhaps it is the tangibility of not being able to walk, and then seeing someone walk. Maybe this is what excites the people. Every once in a while I hear of some charismatic healing another. I normally don’t see people flocking to them. They are greeted with skepticism. I imagine the people in Jesus day were pretty skeptical too, there were as many charlatans and faith healers in his day as there are now. But they flocked to Jesus, wouldn’t leave him alone. Not today. The fact is Jesus eventually heals us all, all of us who believe in him. We have assurance of this in his own resurrection. It may be hope in something we have yet to see, but we have seen the guarantee of our hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And there is quite a bit of healing that goes on even now with belief in Jesus, and the reception of his forgiveness that is the mark of faith. Being forgiven. It is a better healing. It heals relationships. It can be a bitter pill to swallow, it requires humility, it requires an admission that you have something for which you need to be forgiven. But then you are forgiven, made righteous, and given eternal life. And this is a greater healing than any that these others received, who have undoubtedly died since then, though I doubt any perished.