† 30. Jesus Heals Multitudes by the Sea

The gospels emphasize the genuine popularity of Jesus. He is recognized by the crowd, and everyone wants not only to hear Him, but even to touch Him! For His part, Jesus heals them and ensures that the glory goes to God.

The people thus become witnesses themselves of what He did among them. The apostles are the only inspired witnesses, but they are not the only witnesses.

Acts 2:22
Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know….

The entire nation of Israel at that time saw what was happening when Jesus was among them. At the start of the Law, God had called them a 'kingdom of priests,' indicating they would become the teachers of other nations. Matthew's quotation from Isaiah makes plain that the Lord's Servant will gain fame among all nations, not just Israel. The coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, therefore fulfills Israel's destiny to share the blessings of Abraham with the world.

Exodus 19:6
…you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation….
Acts 26:26
…I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner.

Matthew 12

15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all
16 and ordered them not to make him known.
17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:
18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
20 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory;
21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

aware of this

Matthew 12:14
But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

ordered them not to make him known

Several times in the Gospels Jesus orders those He heals to keep quiet about it. The most succint explanation for this prohibition is offered in Mark: He will no longer be able to teach openly, and people will have difficulty getting to Him.

Mark 1:43–45
And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

This was to fulfill what was spoken

It seems three things constitute the fulfillment of Isaiah:

many followed him
- "he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles"
- "in his name the Gentiles will hope"
he healed them all
- "I will put my Spirit upon him"
he ordered them not to make him known
- "He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets"

in his name the Gentiles will hope

Matthew is quoting the Septuagint directly, which clearly reads, "in his name the Gentiles will hope." When we look at the passage in translation from Hebrew to English (instead of from the Septuagint Greek to English), we see, "the coastlands wait for his law." From these readings, it may appear that the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew, but this is only a problem in English. The apparent difference is a matter of the ancient (and modern) translators' choice of words.

Apparent Discrepancy	Explanation
"the coastlands" vs. "the Gentiles"	Israel has only one seacoast, so other coastlands must be Gentiles.
"wait for" vs. "hope in"	Waiting and hoping are both a matter of expectation, looking to the future.
"his law" vs. "his name"	A name indicates the authority to rule, as in our idiom, "in the name of the law."

Mark 3

7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea
8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him.
9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him,
10 for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him.
11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”
12 And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.

have a boat ready for him because of the crowd

This detail of a safety precaution makes clear just how popular Jesus was. Jesus seems to have healed many by means of touch (Mark 1:40–41). If they were to be touched by Jesus, those present in this account would have come to Him through water.

they fell down before him and cried out

Again, Jesus does not accept the testimony of demons.

1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons….
James 2:19
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
James 3:15
This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

As was first noted in an earlier episode: The Lord does not need or want the testimony of demons. Neither the Lord nor his disciples after him ever appealed to demons as any kind of authority, although Paul warned us about some who would do so (1 Timothy 4:1).

The Lord's identity is instead established by:

the Scriptures about him,
the works he does, and
the teaching he has received and given to us.

John 5:39-41
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people.
John 14:10-11
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

Luke 6

17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon,
18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.
19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.

and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon

Luke's familiarity with Isaiah stirs the mention of Tyre and Sidon not only as Gentiles, but "the seacoast."

Isaiah 42:4
…and the coastlands wait for his law.

§ 8. Jesus' Ministry in Galilee Continued