How Did Jesus' Fame Spread So Fast?

This is our Understanding the Scriptures segment, we are in the gospel of Matthew chapter 4, and we are going to pick up with verse 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 lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them...”Now Dave, in programs past we’ve mentioned people like Pat Robertson who, one of the reasons he came up with his approach based on laws was that he wanted to see more consistent answers to prayer, more consistent healing.But we also have John Wimber, who believed that Jesus, the same yesterday, today and forever, and Jesus healed, there’s no reason why we can’t see all this healing that took place when He was here, why don’t we?

Dave:

Well, Tom, I don’t think the apostle Paul saw it.He says: Trophimus have I left at Miletus sick, so why didn’t Paul heal him?

Tom:

Paul had his own problems, says, “My grace is sufficient--”

Dave:

Right, Christ was special, need I say, He is God in the flesh, and what He did was proving that He is God, proving that He is the Messiah.Jesus is not present on this earth like He was then, healing people here.We pray to Him and I’ve seen a number of healings, instantaneous healings.People think I don’t believe in that, of course I do.But we began talking about Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis:“In the day you eat thereof you shall surely die.”

They ate, they rebelled, death entered.Now why would God cast them out of the garden?Why didn’t He just heal them there, just say, No, it’s okay, you won’t really die because—Well, that’s what the serpent said, this is the lie of the serpent.So there are consequences of sin, and one of those consequences is death.Now if we would believe what these people teach, men and women in this healing movement—

Tom:

Prosperity movement.

Dave:

Right, positive confession, just confess it…that there is healing in the atonement.Well, I believe there is healing in the atonement, that there is healing for sin…We talked a little bit about that last week, I think, in 1 Peter chapter 2, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should henceforth live unto righteousness.”It’s all about healing of the disease of sin in our hearts.

Tom:

Right, and reconciliation to God.

Dave:

Right.It’s not about physical healing.If everybody, I mean, if all you had to do, Tom, was get physically healed and you could get physically healed any time you wanted to, simple common sense would say Christians would never die, or at least, Christians would live longer than other people, wouldn’t they?No evidence that Christians live any longer than other people.

Tom:

And Dave, wouldn’t that be an attraction to become a Christian if I was going to be healed.So, right away the motivation would be dead wrong.We’re not to seek after the gifts of God, we’re to seek after Him, that is as we have said over and over.

Dave:

Right.So, back here in verse 24, where we began in Matthew today, of chapter 4:“His fame went throughout all Syria.”That’s interesting, Syria, what do you mean, Syria?I thought He only came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.What does Syria have to do with this?Well actually, what now is called Syria was part of Israel at that time.And we read, for example, that David, King David, he had the whole kingdom.You go to Genesis 15, where God is promising this land to Abraham… What is the extent of this land?It says, from the river of Egypt unto the great river Euphrates.Well, that takes in Damascus, that takes in Syria.So, the land of Israel was actually much larger than, except under David, than Israel has ever possessed.So, here we are in the days of Jesus— well Syria, wait a minute, that’s part of what Israel was supposed to be, okay.Number one, that’s of some interest here, and why wouldn’t his fame, I mean, you’ve got someone who heals and he doesn’t fail, he doesn’t leave some of them sick, every one who comes to him ishealed.He is raising the dead, his fame is not going to spread abroad?That would be a strange…if that were not there we would really have something missing from this story.

Tom:

Dave, do you know what it means here—you know, we certainly recognize that those who were possessed by devils, we know what that is, what about those which were lunatick?What do you think that means?

Dave:

Well, Tom, I’m what? eighteen years older than you, but I know you grew up in an insane asylum.

Tom:

Well, we have to explain that for our audience.My father was a psychiatrist and we lived on the grounds of a mental institution, a very large one.So I am very familiar with those who were incarcerated in mental institutions, spent my young life on grounds there.So I have a real empathy and a real concern for people that this happens to.So, what does the Scripture say about it?Are there people who are out of their minds, or as it says here, lunaticks, again what does it mean?

Dave:

It doesn’t mean they have a psychological problem, the Bible doesn’t talk about that.This is a real, could be an illness because—

Tom:

Physiological?

Dave:

It could be because you can get some wires crossed up there.You can have a vitamin deficiency.Now, well, we won’t get into a chemical imbalance because—

Tom:

There’s no scales for something like that.

Dave:

Right, there’s no such thing actually.But anyway, these people had a serious mental problem, something wrong in their brain, that could very well be, or it could be they were possessed of devils.

Tom:

Or even oppressed to the point that they are out of their mind.I think about Nebuchadnezzar, for example…who his pride…he exalted himself to the point where he became delusionary, I mean, that can happen. Our thinking can go really whacko and create problems for us.

Dave:

You have the lunatic who was dwelling in the tombs.Now, no question that he was demon possessed.He had not supernatural powers, but paranormal powers because you couldn’t bind him.You would put chains around him and he breaks them.Now you don’t get that from working out in Gold’s Gym.This is a demonic power.So there are two sides of this; one of them it could be a problem with the brains, the brain is not functioning properly, or it could be demonic.But anyway, Jesus heals them.

Tom:

Verse 25:“And there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea and from beyond Jordan.”So, Dave, as it began in verse 24, and His fame really spread, and now He has great multitudes following Him.Is this a good thing?

Dave:

Well, it could be, if they following Him for the right reasons.But I find in the last couple of words there, Tom, in the last verse:…from beyond Jordan.Now, beyond Jordan, we hear about the West Bank today, what about the East Bank?Because we had two and a half who were given, this is part of Israel, Jordan today.So again we see that there were Jews living there, so I don’t know that there would be any Gentiles in this crowd.Because finally, we have a Gentile woman who comes and Christ says, I am only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.So I would rather doubt that there were Gentiles among them.