Jesus was the remedy for real need

JESUS WAS THE REMEDY FOR REAL NEED
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 9:11 11butthe crowds learned aboutit and
followedhim. He welcomed them and spoketo them
about the kingdom of God, and healed those who
needed healing.
Real Grace For Real Need
BY SPURGEON
“He healedthem that had need of healing.”
Luke 9:11
“HE healed them that had need of healing,” that is to say, on this gracious
occasionno single case came before Him which baffled Him. However
rampant might be the disease, howeverextreme the condition of the patient’s
malady, Jesus workedan instantaneous cure. And truly to this very hour no
spiritual sicknesshas defeatedthe great Physician. No sick souls have ever
been carried awayfrom His feetto perish hopelesslybecause their need
outreachedHis power. Satan’s worstis soonundone by Jesus'best. The Son of
God, in no solitary instance, has been foiled. Still in the goings forth of His
mercy He has “healedthem that had need of healing.”
The text also indicates that our Lord continued unweariedly to heal all the
multitudes that came. From morning till night, as fast as the various patients
presentedthemselves, He workedtheir care. There was an eye to be opened
here–hearing to be given there, a lame man to be made to leap–a withered
limb to be outstretched. There was leprosyto be cleansed, dropsyto be dried,
fever, epilepsy, madness and all manner of maladies to be subdued, and Jesus
paused not, virtue continued still to flow to heal “them that had need of
healing.” Though they had been countless as the sands, His love, like the sea,

would have touched them all. His restoring powerwas by no means
exhausted–the oil only ceasedto flow when there was not another vesselto fill!
Had the needy continued still to come even to this day, our Masterwould still
have multiplied His miracles of mercy. In spiritual sicknesses, the great
Healer of our sin-sick nature has by no means declined in power. He is far
from being exhausted by the number of applicants who have come to Him. We
do well to sing–
“Your precious blood
Shall never lose its power,
Till all the ransomedChurch of God
Is savedto sin no more.”
If this present world should continue through a century of thousands of years,
yet no sinner shall apply to Jesus for pardon and find that His cleansing
efficacyhas ceased!So long as sin shall pollute this earth, the Savior shall
remain to purify those who believe in Him.
But the text seemedparticularly, to me, as it flashed upon my mind, to
indicate this further Truth of God–thatas the Redeemerwas neither baffled
by any one disease, nordrained of His healing virtue by the multitude–as the
diseaseswhichHe healedwere intense, the cures which He workedwere
memorable. They were not feigned sicknesseswhichwere brought before
Him, nor counterfeit miseries, else His cures also had been shams and He
Himself had been a mock Savior. Those whom He healed had deep, true,
undoubted, urgent need of healing! They were not pretended patients, with
sores which they had manufactured for the occasion. Theywere not
sentimental sufferers with griefs imagined but not existent.
Our Masterworkedhealth for persons who were well known to be cruelly
diseased–inwhomthe mischief was no dream, the misery no fiction–and
consequentlythe cures which He workedwere no fictions. either. They were
evident, permanent and true. Fanciedills He left to others. He healedthose
that had need of healing. Sentimental grievances may be left to jangling
philosophers and hair-splitting rabbis–Jesusdeals with actual evils whose
cure is urgent. Of all men who ever lived, the Prophet of Nazareth was the
most practical. He did nothing for show, nothing for mere custom, but
everything to work solid goodand erase realevil.
Not a motion of His finger has He for feigned or fancied grievance, but all His
powergoes forth to those who have true need of healing. We shall take this
thought, this morning, and dwell upon it. It seems to us to be full of comfort.

May God grant it may bring into light and liberty some who have long been
bound.
1. Our first head, this morning, shall be that THOSE WHOM CHRIST
HAS SAVED WILL ALL CONFESS THAT THEY HAD NEED OF
SAVING. Out of the whole multitude who have believed in Jesus, there
is not one to whom His salvationhas been a superfluity. I will be
spokesmanforthem, this morning, according to my ability–they will all
confess that what they have receivedwas whatthey greatly needed–that
the salvationwhich Jesus has given them was a salvationwithout which
they would have perished everlastingly.
For first, Beloved, all the savedsaints confess that they had need of healing
through their natural depravity. There is a sad bias in us all towards sin.
Whoevermay dispute concerning original sin as a universal fact, all the saints
confess it as a particular evil in their own case.We are compelled to own that
David’s confessionmust be ours, “Behold, I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin
did my mother conceive me.” Our nature was corrupted at its fountainhead.
When at any time we were put upon right courses by the stress of moral
persuasion, or by the urgency of fear, yet still our heart laboredto follow its
own devices againstwind and tide.
Even as the bowl from the potter’s hand, however straightly it runs for
awhile, before long begins to curve according to the bias, even so under all
circumstances we tend towards evil. To our nature, to do evil is easy–to do
goodis difficult. We loved darkness naturally rather than light. Uphill work it
was to serve God, but as swiftly as a stone hurled down from a crag pursues
its downward course, so readily did we follow the way of rebellion. Our sin
was of the heart, not of the surface, “The leprosywas deep within.” Our
tendency to evil did not spring from imitation–for we had setbefore us, some
of us, the noblest of Christian examples–but the prompting to evil was within–
the taint was in our vital blood.
Now there was need of healing here, since the disease had corrupted our
essentialbeing and rendered us hopelesslyunclean. To our heart’s center
there was urgent need of healing. But, Beloved, many of us have been led to
feel that in addition to ordinary original sin, evil tendencies had in the case of
some of us assumedpeculiar shapes and dreadful forms of besetting and
constitutional sin. I will appeal to certain of my Brothers and Sisters here,
whether they had not a natural tendency to a quick temper, an angersoon
excited and exceedinglymad when once aroused? In others, there was a
strong dispositionto pride. Even now, with the Divine Grace of God in them,
it costs them much to keeptheir heads in their proper places. Alas, in how

many others the animal passions are forceful and eagerlike hungry lions
roaring for their prey and nothing but Divine Grace cankeepthem in check?
Ah, there are some of us who may do well to imagine what we should have
been if Grace had not interposed! We are bold in spirit, eagerin desire, intent
in purpose, stubborn in will, energetic and ardent–and had we been set on
mischief–nothing could have restrained us in our headlong course. Grace
leads us in glad captivity! And apart from this we would have been terrible
sinners before the Lord. All Providences that might have thwarted us would
but have incited us to more vehement endeavors to pursue our wickedand
willful way! Divine Grace has conquered, but what if we had been left alone?
A Scotchgentlemanwas observedto look very intently upon the face of
RowlandHill. The goodold man askedhim, “And why are you looking at my
face?” The observerreplied, “I have been studying the lines of your face.”
“And what do you make of them?” said Rowland. “Why I see,” saidhe, “that
if the Grace ofGod had not changedyour heart, you would have been a great
rascal.” “Ah,” saidRowland, “you understand the Truth of God, indeed.”
Many of us have to confess humbly that in us there was pressing need of
healing, for if healing had not come we should not only have been sinful as
others, but should probably have takenthe leadin iniquity and been carried
awayby the wild sweepof inward passionto the utmost excessofriot.
Brethren, this need of healing will be confessedby the saints in this further
respect–there was notonly in us a tendency to sin, but we had grievously
sinned in actand deed before conversion. I know it is very customary with
those who are seeking Christto imagine that the saints of God whom they
respectand esteemcould never have sinned before conversionas they,
themselves, have done. They cannot imagine that the man who is now
rejoicing in Christ was once as hardened in sin as themselves!Yet in truth we
were even as you. When the Apostle mentioned the greatestofsinners, he
added, “Such were some of us: but we are washed, but we are sanctified.”
O dear Seeker, do not believe, as Satantells you, that those who are washed
were never as black as you! We were just as vile. It were a shame for us to
confess in public all our transgressions andiniquities before we knew
pardoning mercy of the Lord, but it will suffice us to say that the
remembrance of them lays us in the very dust so that we should not dare to
lift up our head were it not that we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the Righteous!There is not a saint in Heaven but what had sinned
enough to damn him to the lowestHell if he had not been savedby One who
knew he had need of saving!

Where had Peter been? As bad as Judas, certainly, if SovereignGrace had not
prevented. Where had John been, even loving John? Cursing and
blaspheming the very Christ upon whose bosomhe laid his head if it had not
been that converting love stepped in and made him, in the fullness of time, to
become a child of God. There would have been no difference betweenthe best
and the worst of men if Divine favor had not workedsome better thing in the
godly. And let this always be treasuredup as a hopeful circumstance to you
who would be saved–thatin the matter of actual sin there was a deep and real
need of healing in the saints who are healed.
No, Sirs, our sins were not mere fiction. Our repentances were not fanatical
sentiment. Southey, when he writes upon the repentance of John Bunyan and
his terrible accusations ofhimself, cannot refrain from thinking him a little
beside himself and morbid in his feelings. The goodman is candid and honest
and wants to make something out of it, but he cannotsee in young Bunyan
any cause forsuch outcries againsthimself. Had Southey been able to look
upon sin in that same vivid but truthful light which had shone upon the young
tinker’s soul, he would have seenthe leastsin to be exceeding sinful and would
have felt that exaggerationin horror againstsin is not possible!To sin against
light, againstconscience, againstthe Holy Spirit is to sin with a vengeance!
No degree of outward moral purity can comfort a heart which is once made
aware of its inward defilement and of the actualsinfulness of what man calls a
trifle. Our actualsins would have been draughts of poisonto our souls if the
Divine antidote had not been given. There was, indeed, greatneed of healing.
Further, let me say there was need of healing in our case because, in addition
to having sinned, we willfully continued in it. In the very teeth of Divine
mercy, in spite of conscience andof the invitations of the Gospel, we
perseveredin our sinful courses. Do I not remember how often I was invited
to come to Christ and even felt the gentle drawings of His cords of love?
But I drew back like a bull unaccustomedto the yoke!Do I not recollecthow
God’s Law plowed me againand again? And yet in those very furrows the
cursed grasses andthistle of my sins dared to spring up! How often have I
stoodand wept and trembled, but have procrastinated, and so have gone my
way to dry those eyes and look againinto the face of sin without alarm! Yes,
there was need of healing in that heart which the Cross of Christ could not
affect, which the terrors of Hell could not subdue, which the loving invitations
of a mother could not persuade to holiness, and that even the warnings of
sicknessand the fear of death could not bend to the will of God!
Some of you were long years before you yielded to the power of Divine Grace.
You will sorrowfully acknowledge, this morning, that in your obstinate will

there was need of healing, for had not that healing come, it is as certain as that
you are here, today, pilgrims on the way to Heaven, that you would have
continued to pursue the road to Hell. There was need of healing, for the
disease was notone that would have died out by itself–it would never have
come to a head and then have lost its power. It was a disease that would have
spread until it defiled you beyond bearing and until the righteous Godwould
have said, “Put it awaywith the unclean forever and ever, for within the
courts of Heaven it cannever dwell.”
O praise your God, this morning, you that are saved, for you had solemn need
of saving! The longerI live the more I feelthe need of daily salvation. I have
need of my greatMaster’s healing hand every hour! If the Lord does not
carry on the work which He has begun, it will surely fail. If He does not
continue to repress and destroy in us our carnalinclinations, they will getthe
better of us even now! If the Holy Spirit does not fan with His living breath
that spark of Grace which lives within us, it will certainly be quenched with
the floods of temptation. If there were no other proof of our need of healing
than our experience since conversion, we should have more than enough! If
ever I getto Heaven, I will praise God more loudly than any of you, for I shall
owe more to the Grace ofGod that will bring me there.
But I suppose the same feeling is in every man that is conscious ofthe sin that
dwells in him and trembles at his own lack of strength. God will carry on His
work. He will not take awayHis hand from you, nor suffer you to perish. But
in the fact that if He did so withdraw, the bestof you would be castawayand
before tomorrow would be apostatesfrom the faith, you have proof that you
have need of healing. You will have need of healing all along until you come to
die. Even when just about to enter into the joy of your Lord, when the lastsin
is under your feetand your sanctificationis all but perfect–whenyou have
almost destroyed, by His Grace, the last indwelling lust–eventhen you will
have need of healing! He must be the Omega who was the Alpha, or you can
never finish. He must carry on even to its close the work which in His
tenderness He has commenced, or else it will be incomplete to your eternal
overthrow.
So, then, it is establishedbeyond a doubt, and I speak as the witness of 10,000
of God’s servants, that those who are savedwere such as had need of saving.
The Son of Man came to seek and to save us when we were lost, emphatically
lost. He has healed us, but it has not been of a finger ache or a flea-bite–He
has healedus of a disease mostdeadly and damnable. Blessedbe His name,
while we are forced to speak depreciatinglyof ourselves, in that very

proportion we can speak gloriouslyof Him! We had need of healing and He
has given us just the healing that our spirits needed.
II. Having, as it were, castup my earthworks round about the soul that I
desire to win for Jesus, I shall now come point blank to the attack. You, dear
Hearers, you unsaved hearers, YOU ALSO HAVE NEED OF SAVING. I am
not going to talk to you, this morning, about your feeling your need of Christ.
I know that you make that quite a favorite question and a fond excuse for
unbelief. So we shall not speak of your sense ofthat need, but what is far more
vast a subject, namely, your need itself.
You unsaved Souls, you have greatneed of saving! You have need of saving,
because you are inclined to evil. You have lately been, in a measure, desirous
to find eternal life. You are not, now, so callous as you once were. Conscience
is awakenedandyou are seeking more or less earnestlyafter Christ. But still,
with all this, your natural inclinations are towards evil. Your goodnesswill
soonpass awaylike the dew of the morning–but your love to sin is engraved as
with a diamond into your heart of stone. The strong self-will within your soul
is still seton mischief. You will not come to Christ that you may have life!
Perhaps you have never thought of your natural corruption and above all
have never been humbled by it. But it is there notwithstanding your
forgetfulness of it. You are a fallen, degenerate creature!
You are not a pure spirit, whose judgment is accuratelybalanced. You judge
unrighteous judgment. You are not a creature with a free will that is equally
inclinable either to goodor evil, according as it may seemmost beneficialto
yourself. Your overpowering tendency, now, is towards that which is evil.
Your mind puts bitter for sweetand sweetfor bitter, darkness for light and
light for darkness. And your nature, like an evil tree, brings forth evil fruit.
You, perhaps, have never perceivedthis, but the very fact that you have not
perceivedit only proves that you have the greaterneed of healing–since the
disease has become so thorough as to have made you insensible of its own
existence!When there is no pain in the limb, then is it certainly in greaterrisk
of mortification. And while your natural depravity causes youno pain
whatever, and you are even inclined to deny it and take no shame to yourself
concerning it, the more urgent is the need that the Holy Spirit should convince
you of sin and that the Lord Jesus Christ should come and deliver you from it.
Ah, poor Sinner, what a ruin you are at best! Alas for human dignity, with its
lofty pinnacles of morality and turrets of excellency. What theatrical
pasteboard!What sand-built rubbish all appears when seenin the blaze of
Divine light! Vain is your bandaging of your deadly sore!Your heart is, in
itself, vile and deceitful above all things and desperatelywicked. You may

washthe platter as you may. You may make the outside of the cup as cleanas
you will, but your inward parts are very wickedness. The imaginations of the
thoughts of your hearts are evil, only evil and that continually. “You must be
born again!” Your nature is too depraved for mending. You must be created
anew in Christ Jesus!You have need of healing, indeed!
In addition to this, dear Hearer, you are, day by day, proving your need of
healing by your actual sin. I cannotpublicly rehearse your particular and
personalsins, but I know this–the charge may be legitimately brought against
every unconverted person here that you are daily living in sin. Take downthe
Ten Commandments and read them through. I will but remind you of one and
beg you to examine yourself upon it, “You shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your
strength.” Are you keeping that? Why, you live as if there were no God–you
know you do! And day after day and even month after month, you never do
anything to manifest love towards God!
You have some love towards your relatives, but no passionlike that is kindled
in your spirit towards your God! You have no love at all and yet the precept
is, “You shall love Him with all your heart.” Why, that one command is
lodging charges againstyouat the bar of God every day! Indeed, the whole 10
you are constantly breaking–there is not one that you keep!These sins of
yours are speeding as messengers up to the record office in Heaven and there
you shall find written down every idle word, every sinful thought and every
guilty action of your whole life! How will you bear to hear of all these in the
latter days, when your body shall have arisen from the grave at the
archangel’s trumpet? How will you bear to hear the book read out that shall
rehearse your sins?
At the very thought of it your bones may be dissolvedwithin you–sins against
a righteous God, sins againstHis people, sins againstHis Day–sins againstHis
Book, sins againstyour bodies, sins againstyour souls!Sins of every kind, sins
unseen of human eye–sins unknownto any but yourself and your God–all
read and all proclaimed with trumpet voice while men and angels hear! You
have need of healing, for you are scarlet, you are crimson, you are double-
dyed with your iniquities! O that you did but know this! O that you did but
feel this! You have need of healing and yet dark as the thought is, it gives me
comfort and it ought to give you comfort to remember the text–“Jesus healed
those that had need of healing”–andif you are such, why should He not heal
you? Your many sins only prove that you have need of healing, and the
desperate depravity of your heart only proves, still more, that you are such as

Jesus came to heal. He healedthose that had need of healing! He healedjust
such as you are!
Further, I think I hear some of you confess thatyou do not feel this as you
ought. Now I was about to bring this to you as a proof that you have need of
healing. When a man does wrong and yet will not confess it, how wrong he
must be! Or when, having confessedit, he feels not the proper shame, or
feeling for awhile the proper shame, he yet returns to the same evil like the
dog to his vomit–how deep must the evil be in his moral nature–how trebly
diseasedmust he be, inasmuch as he does not feel sin to be sin at all! When a
man has done wrong and knows it and stands with bitter repentance to
confess the evil, why, you think hopefully of him–after all, there are good
points about the man–there is a vitality in him that will throw out the disease.
But when the villain, having perpetrated a grave and causelessoffense,does
not for a moment acknowledgethathe has done amiss, but continues calmly
to perpetrate the offense again–ah, then–where is there any goodin him? Is he
not thoroughly bad? Now, suchare you. If you were at all right with God you
would fall at your Father’s feet and never rise until you were forgiven! Your
tears would flow day and night until you had the assurance ofpardon! But
since your heart seems to yourself to be made of Hell-hardened steeland to be
like the nether millstone that feels not at all, why, then, there is more need of
healing! And you seemto me, this morning, the very man I am after–the very
man that Christ came to save–forhe came not to call the righteous but sinners
to repentance, not to save those who had no need of healing, but to heal just
such as you whose needis desperate, indeed.
As if to prove your own need of healing, you are, this morning, according to
your own statement, unable to pray. You have been trying to pray of late and
wished you could. You put yourself upon your knees, but your heart does not
talk with God. A horrible dread comes overyou, or else frivolous and vain
thoughts distract you. “Oh,” you have said, “I would give a thousand pounds
for one tear of repentance!I would be ready to pluck out my eyes if I could
but callupon Godas the poor publican did, with, ‘God be merciful to me a
sinner.’ I thought it the easiestthing in the world once to pray, but now I find
that a true prayer is beyond my power.”
O Soul, you have need of healing, indeed, possessedwith a dumb devil and all
your other devils to boot, and unable to cry out for mercy! Yours is a sad case.
You have need of healing and I cannothelp repeating my text to you, “He
healed them that had need of healing.” Why should He not heal you? Ah, but
you tell me your feelings, your desires after goodthings, are very often
dampened. Perhaps this morning you are sincerelyin earnest, but tomorrow

you may be just as carelessas ever. The other day you went into your
chamber and did wrestle with God, but a temptation came across your path
and you were as thoughtless about Divine things as if you had never been
arousedto a sense of their value.
Ah, this shows whata need you have of healing! You are vile, indeed, when
you dare to trifle with eternity, to sport with death and judgment and to be at
ease while in danger of Hell–your heart, indeed, has need of healing! And
though I grieve that you should be in such a plight, yet I rejoice that I am able
to add, “He healed those that had need of healing.” Though you know your
case to be so bad, yet at times you setup a kind of self-repentance and try to
justify yourselfin the sight of God. You say, “I have repented, or tried to do
so. I have prayed, or tried to pray. I have done all I can to be savedand God
will not save me!” That is to say, you throw the blame of your damnation
upon God and make out yourself to be righteous in His sight. You know this
to be wrong!If you are not saved it is because you will not believe in Jesus.
There is the only hitch and the only difficulty.
Your damnation is not of God, but of yourself! It is necessitatedby your own
willful wickedness in not believing in Christ! And inasmuch as you are so
wickedas to dare to excuse yourself–youhave greatneed of healing–urgent
need of saving. But, then, the minute that you have thus excusedyourself, you
rush to the opposite extreme–youdeclare that you have sinned past hope–that
you deserve to be in Hell now and that God cannever forgive you. You deny
the mercy of God! You deny the powerof Christ to forgive you and cleanse
you! You fly in the face of God’s Word, and you make Him out to be a liar!
When He tells you that if you trust Jesus you shall find peace, you tell Him it
is not possible there can be any peace with you! When He reminds you that He
never rejectedone, you insinuate that He will rejectyou!
You thus insult the Divine Majestyby denying the truthfulness and honesty of
God. You have need of healing when you thus allow wickeddespairto get the
mastery over you–you are far gone, very far gone. But, oh, I rejoice to know
that you are still among such as Jesus came to heal! He came to heal those that
had need of healing and you cannot deny you are one of those! Why, Satan
himself will not have the impudence to tell you that you have no need of
healing! O that you would but castyourself into the Savior’s arms–nottrying
to make yourself out to be good–butacknowledging allthat I have laid to your
charge, and then, trusting as a sinner that dear Lamb of God that takes away
the sins of the world!
Remember, dear Hearer, you have need of healing, for unless you are healed
of these sins and of all these wickedtendencies and thoughts of yours, as sure

as you are living you will be castinto Hell. O my dear Friend, I know of no
Truth of God that ever causes me such pain to preach as this–not that sinners
will be damned, awful Truth as that is–but that awakenedsinners will be
damned unless they believe in Jesus!You must not make a Christ out of your
tears. You must not hope to find safety in your bitter thoughts and cruel
despairs. Unless you believe, you shall never be established. Unless you come
to Christ, you may be convinced of sin, of righteousnessand judgment, too,
but those convictions will only be preludes to your destruction!
My dear Hearer, do you know what you are this morning? You call yourself a
seeker,but until you are a finder you are an enemy to God and God is angry
with you every day! Let but one drop of your blood go wrong this morning, let
but your beating pulse be suspended and where are you? Why, in Hell–in
spite of those tears, in spite of those cries–forif you will not believe in Jesus,
there is no “purgatory” for you, no place where afterwards you may find
space for repentance and seek the Christ whom you today disregard!I have
no alternative for you, howevertender and brokenheartedyou may be, but
this one–believe and live! Refuse to believe and you must perish–for your
broken-heartedness andtears and professedcontrition can never stand in the
place of Christ! You must have faith in Jesus, or you must die eternally!
I shall press on very briefly to the next point, but I pray God to make these
words of use to you before you forget them. I am endeavoring to speak simply,
personally and pointedly. He knows how my soul yearns over those who are
here, that they may, this morning, find life in Jesus!O may He grant the
desire of my soul and bring them to Himself now!
III. Our third point is to you, O needy Sinner. JESUS CAN SAVE YOU. I
need not enter into what your case is. Remember, Jesus has saveda parallel
case to yours. Yours may seem, to yourself, to be exceedinglyodd, but
somewhere orother in the New Testamentyou will find one as singular as
yours. You tell me that you are full of so much wickedness.Did not He cast
sevendevils out of Magdalene? Yes, but your wickednessseems to be greater
than even sevendevils. Did not He drive a whole legionof devils out of the
demoniac of Gadara?
You tell me that you cannotpray, but He healed one possessedofa dumb
devil. You feelhardened and insensible, but He castout a deaf devil. You tell
me you cannot believe–neithercould that man with the withered arm stretch
out his arm–but he did it when Jesus bade him. You tell me you are dead in
sin, but Jesus made even the dead live! Your case cannotbe so bad but it has
been matched, and Christ has conqueredthe likes of it. O poor Soul, if you do

but come to Him, you shall not find yourself one half the singularity that you
suppose, for another has been savedjust like yourself!
Remember again, Christ can save you, for there is not a recordin the world,
nor has there ever been handed down to us by tradition a single case in which
Jesus has failed. If I could meet anywhere in my wanderings a soulthat had
castitself on Christ, alone, and yet had receivedno pardon. If there could be
found in Hell a solitary spirit that relied upon the precious blood and found
no salvation, then the Gospelmight well be laid by in the dark and no longer
gloried in. But as that has not been and never shall be–Sinner–youshall not
make the first exception!If you come to Christ–andto come to Him is but to
trust Him wholly and simply–you cannot perish, for He has said–“Him that
comes to Me I will in no wise castout.”
Will He prove a liar! Will you dare to think so? O come, for He cannot cast
you out! Think for a moment, Sinner, and this may comfort you–He whom I
preach to you as the Healer of your soul is God! What canbe impossible with
God? What sin cannot He, who is God over all, forgive? If your transgressions
were to be dealt with by an angel, they might surpass all Gabriel’s power. But
it is Immanuel, GodWith Us, who is come to save!Though you were between
the jaws of Hell, so long as the Pit had not shut her mouth upon you, He could
save you! Doubt not, where you have to deal with Deity, nothing is impossible,
or even difficult!
Moreover, you cannotdoubt His will. Have you ever heard of Him–He that
was God and became Man? He was gentle as a woman–
“His heart is made of tenderness,
His heart melts with love.”
I t was not in Him to be harsh. When the woman takenin adultery, in the very
fact, was brought to Him, what did He say? “Neitherdo I condemn you: go
and sin no more.” It was said of Him, “This man receives sinners, and eats
with them,” and He is not changednow that He reigns above!He is just as
willing to receive sinners now as when He was here below.
Once more, do you still doubt? Rememberwhat He has done to save sinners.
My time fails me, else would I ask you to go with me to Gethsemane and view
Him coveredwith the sweatof blood. I would ask you to stand with me in
Pilate’s hall when Pilate cries, “EcceHomo.” To see the Savior as His
shoulders are crimsoned with streams of gore for sinners who were His
enemies. I would ask you, then, to stand beneath the Cross and view the hands
and feetand side, all pouring forth His life-blood. These are the drops that
take our sins away! These are the griefs of Him who took our guilt that our

guilt might be forgiven. Can Jesus, the Son of God, suffer like this and yet
there be no powerin His blood to cleanse?What? Was the Atonement a
fiction? Was the death of the eternal Son of God a thing without effect? There
must be power enough there to take awaysin! Come and wash, come and
wash, you vile and black!Come and washand you shall find instant cleansing
the moment that, by faith, you touch His purifying blood.
Lastly, Jesus demands of you, Sinner, this morning, your trust. He deserves it,
let Him have it. You have need of healing. He came to healthose that have
need of healing. He can heal you. What is to be done in order that you may be
healed this morning, that all your sins may be forgiven and yourself saved?
All that is to be done is to leave off your own doing and let Him do for you!
Leave off looking to yourself, or looking to others and just come and cast
yourself on Him. You know Dr. Watts' lines–
“A guilty, weak and helpless worm,
On Christ’s kind arm I fall.
He is my strength and righteousness,
My Jesus and my All.”
“Oh,” you say, “but I cannot believe.” Cannotbelieve? Then do you know
what you are doing? You are makingHim a liar! If you tell a man, “I cannot
believe you,” that is only another way of saying, “You are a liar.” Oh, you will
not dare to saythat of Christ! No, my Friend, I take you by the hand and say
another word–youmust believe Him. He is God, dare you doubt Him? He
died for sinners. Can you doubt the power of His blood? He has promised.
Will you insult Him by mistrusting His Word? “Oh, no,” you say, “I feel I
must believe, I must trust Him, but suppose that trust of mine should not be of
the right kind? Suppose it should be a natural trust?”
Ah, my Friend, a humble trust in Jesus is a thing that never grew in natural
ground. For a poor soul to come and trust in Christ is always the fruit of the
Spirit. You need not raise a question about that. Neverdid the devil–never did
mere Nature empty a man of himself and bring him to Jesus!Do not be
anxious on that point. “But,” says one, “the Spirit must lead me to believe
Him!” Yes, but you cannot see the Spirit–His work is a secretand a mystery.
What you have to do is to believe in Jesus–thereHe stands, God and yet a
suffering Man–making Atonement and He tells you if you trust Him you shall
be saved. You must trust Him. You cannotdoubt Him. Why should you?
What has He done that you should doubt Him?–
“O believe the recordtrue,
God to you His Sonhas given.”

And if you trust Him, you need not raise the question as to where your faith
came from. It must have come from the Holy Spirit who is not seenin His
works, for He works where He wills. You see the fruit of His work, and that is
enough for you. Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ? If so, you are born of
God! If you have castyourself, sink or swim, on Him, then are you saved!We
read in the papers, this week, how a man was savedfrom being shot. He had
been condemned in a Spanish court, but being an American citizen and also of
English birth, the consuls of the two countries interposed and declaredthat
the Spanish authorities had no powerto put him to death and what did they
do to secure his life? They wrapped him up in their flags–theycoveredhim
with the Stars and Stripes and the Union Jack–anddefied the executioners!
“Now fire a shot if you dare, for if you do you defy the nations representedby
those flags and you will bring the powers of those two greatnations upon
you.”
There stood the man and before him the soldiery and though a shot might
soonhave ended his life, yet he was as invulnerable as though in a coatof
triple steel!Even so Jesus Christ has takenmy poor guilty soul ever since I
believed in Him and has wrapped around me the blood-red flag of His atoning
Sacrifice!And before God candestroy me or any other soul that is wrapped in
the Atonement, He must insult His Sonand dishonor this Sacrifice! And that
He will never do, blessedbe His name! May the Lord save eachone of you.
May He do it now and His shall be the Glory. Amen and Amen. PORTION
OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Luke7:1-30.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Healing Hand Of Christ
Luke 9:11
W. Clarkson
And healedthem that had need of healing. And who are they to whom these
words do not apply? In a world as full of sin as ours is, there is nothing of
which we have greaterneed than a Divine Healer. For sin means sickness,
disease, derangement, pain- both spiritual and corporeal. Every human ear
wants to hear those gracious words, "Iam the Lord that healeth thee;" every

human heart has occasionto plead, "Healme, O Lord, and I shall be healed;"
every soul is againand againin need of the greatbeneficentPhysician.
I. As THOSE LIABLE TO DISEASE AND PAIN. Considering the extreme
intricacy of our bodily structure, and considering also the irregularities and
evils of which we are guilty, it is wonderful that there is as much health and as
little sicknessas we find. But he is an exceptionto his fellows who goes for
many years without ailment and, indeed, without illness. And we have all of us
reasonto bless the Lord of our lives that he heals us so readily and so often.
He heals in two ways.
1. By conferring on us a nature which has recuperative powers, so that
without any medical aid the wound is healed, the organ recovers its powerand
fulfils its functions.
2. By giving us medicinal herbs which our science candiscoverand apply, the
nature of which is to healand to restore. In both these cases itis the Lord of
our human body and of nature who "works"(John5:17) for our benefit. Our
art, where it is exercised, only supplies one condition out of many; it alone
would be utterly insufficient. Whenever we are healedof any malady, slight or
serious, we should join in the exclamationof the psalmist (Psalm 103:3), and
feel that we have one reasonmore for gratitude and devotion. Let those who
have been brought back from the gates ofthe grave by Christ's pitiful and
healing kindness considerwhether they are paying him the vows which they
made in the hour of suffering and danger (Psalm 66:14).
II. As THE CHILDREN OF SORROW. Possiblywe may know nothing of
serious sickness - there are those who escape it - but we all know what sorrow
means. Trouble is a visitor that knocks atevery door, that finds its way to
every human heart. It may be some gradually approaching evil, which at
length culminates in disaster;or it may be some sudden blow, which badly
bruises if it does not break the heart. It may be the heavy, entangling loss;or
the grave, oppressive anxiety; or the lamentable failure; or the sore and sad
bereavement. How precious, then, beyond all price, the healing of the Divine
Healer! In these dark hours our Divine Lord comes to us with ministering
hand.
1. He impels all those who are dear to us to grant us their tenderestand most
sustaining love; and human kindness is a very healing thing.
2. He grants us his ownmost gracious sympathy; he is touched with a feeling
of our infirmity; we know and feel that he is with us, watching over us,
"afflictedin our affliction;" and the sympathy of our Saviour is a precious
balm to our wounded spirit.

3. He comes to us in the office and the Personof the Divine Comforter,
directly soothing and healing our torn and troubled hearts. Thus he heals us
according to the greatness ofour need.
III. AS THOSE WHO SUFFER FROM A WOUNDED CHARACTER. A
wounded spirit is worse than a bodily infirmity (Proverbs 18:14); but a
wounded characteris worse than a wounded spirit, for that is a spirit that has
injured itself. There are those who presentto their friends and neighbours the
spectacle ofbodily health and material prosperity; but what their Mastersees
when he regards them is spiritual infirmity. They are weak, sickly, inwardly
deranged. Their hearts are very far from being as he would like to see them;
instead of ardent love is lukewarmness;insteadof reverence is flippancy of
spirit; instead of a holy scrupulousness and a wise restraint is laxity if not
positive disobedience;instead of zeal is coldness and indifference to his cause
and kingdom. Of all men living, these are they who have most "needof
healing." And Christ both can and will heal them. To such as these he says, "I
will heal thy back-sliding; "Wilt thou be made whole?" And if they will but go
to him in a spirit of humility, of faith, of reconsecration, they will receive
powerfrom his gracious touch, they will rise renewed; and as they rise from
the couchof spiritual langour and indifference to walk, to run in the way of
his commandments, to climb the heights of close and holy fellowship with
God, a deepernote of joy will sound from the depth of their hearts than ever
comes from the lips of bodily convalescence, "Iwill extol thee, O Lord; for
thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice overme." - C.
Biblical Illustrator
He received them.
Luke 9:11
Christ welcoming seekers
C. H. Spurgeon.
In the RevisedVersion we read, "He welcomedthem," in place of, "He
receivedthem." An instructive improvement, of which we may make
evangelicaluse.
I. First, may the Holy Spirit help us while we dwell upon THE FACT that
Jesus welcomedthose who soughtHim.

1. We observe, first, that our Lord receivedall comers at all times. The time
mentioned in our text was the most inconvenient possible. He was seeking rest
for His disciples, who were wearyafter their labours. A greatsorrow was on
them also, for John had been beheaded, and it was meet that they should
solace theirgrief by a short retirement. At this time, too, our blessedLord
desired obscurity; for Herod was inquiring for Him. It was most inconvenient,
therefore, to be followedby so greata crowd. Is it not wonderful that under
such circumstances ourblessedLord should welcome the insatiable throng? I
think, too, that the Masterdesiredjust then to hold a conference with His
apostles as to the work they had done, and the future which was opening up
before them.
2. Our Lord receivedall sort of comers. They were a motley throng, and I fear
that few, if any, of them were actuatedby any high or exaltedmotive. He
never rejectedany because they were
(1)poor;
(2)diseased;
(3)too young;
(4)too old.
3. Once more: our Lord receives allwith a hearty welcome. He did not merely
allow the people to come near, tolerating their presence;but "He welcomed
them."
II. Now I come to use this as AN ENCOURAGEMENT. IfJesus Christ when
He was here on earth welcomedall that came at all hours, then He will
welcome you, my friend, if you come to Him now; for the circumstances are
just the same.
1. You are the same sort of personas those whom Jesus used to welcome. They
were good-for-nothing bodies;they were persons that were full of need, and
could not possibly bring a price with which to purchase His favour. Are you
not just like them?
2. And then there is the same Saviour. Jesus Christ is the same gracious
Pardoneras He was in the days of His flesh.
III. Thirdly, we use our text as A LESSON. If Jesus Christ welcomesallthat
come to Him, let all of us who are His followers imitate His example, and give
a warm welcome to those who seek the Lord. Men are brought to Jesus by
cheerfulness far soonerthan by gloom. Jesus welcomedmen. His looks said, "I
am gladto see you." In winning souls use an abundance of smiles. Have you
not seenin one of our magazines an accountof sevenpeople saved by a smile?

It is a pretty story. A clergymanpasses by a window on his way to church. A
baby was being dandled there, and he smiled at the baby, and the baby at
him. Another time he passed;the baby was there again, and once more he
smiled. Soonbaby was taken to the window at the hour when he usually
passed. Theydid not know who the gentleman was;but one day two of the
older children followedto see where he went on a Sunday. They followedhim
to church, and as he preachedin a winning way, they told their father and
mother, who felt interest enoughin their baby's friend to wish to go. Thus in a
short time a godless family that had previously neglectedthe worship of God
was brought to the Saviourbecause the minister smiled at the baby. I never
heard of anybody getting to heaventhrough frowning at the baby, or at any
one else. Certainwonderfully goodpersons go through the world as if they
were commissionedto impress everybody with the awful solemnity of religion:
they resemble a winter's night without a moon; nobody seems attracted, nor
even impressed, by them exceptin the direction of dislike. I saw a life-buoy
the other day coveredwith luminous paint. How bright it seemed, how
suitable to be castupon the dark sea to help a drowning man! An ordinary
life-buoy he would never see, but this is so bright and luminous that a man
must see it. Give me a soul-winner bright with holy joy, for he will be seenby
the sorrowing soul, and his help will be accepted.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Healed them that had need
Realgrace for realneed
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. THOSE WHOM CHRIST HAS SAVED WILL ALL CONFESS THAT
THEY HAD NEED OF SAVING.
1. All the savedsaints confess that they had need of healing through their
natural depravity.
2. Many have been led to feelthat in addition to ordinary original sin, evil
tendencies had in the case ofsome of us assumedpeculiar shapes and dreadful
forms of besetting and constitutionalsin — quick temper; pride; animal
passions, &c. Apart from grace, we had been sinners before the Lord
exceedingly. A Scotchgentlemanwas observedto look very intently upon the
face of RowlandHill: the goodold man askedhim, "And what are you looking
in my face at?" The observer replied, "I have been studying the lines of your
face." "And what do you make out of them?" said Rowland. "Why, I make

out," saidhe, "that if the grace of God had not changedyour heart you would
have been a greatrascal." "Ah!" said Rowland, "you have made out the truth
indeed." Many of us have to confess humbly that in us there was pressing
need of healing, for if healing had not come, we should not only have been
sinful as others, but should probably have taken the lead in iniquity, and been
carried awayby the wild sweepofinward passionto the utmost excess ofriot.
3. Brethren, this need of healing will be confessedby the saints in this further
respect, that there was not only in us a tendency to sin, but we had grievously
sinned in actand deed before conversion.
4. There was need of healing because, in addition to having sinned, we wilfully
continued in it.
II. UNSAVED HEARERS HAVE NEED OF SAVING.
1. Becauseyouare inclined to evil.
2. Becauseofyour actualsins.
3. You do not feelthis as you ought.
4. You are unable to pray.
5. Your feelings, your desires after goodthings, are very often damped.
Perhaps this morning you are sincerelyin earnest, but to-morrow you may be
just as carelessas ever.
III. Our third point is to thee, O needy sinner. JESUS CAN SAVE THEE.
Christ cansave you, for there is not a record.in the world, nor has there ever
been handed down to us by tradition a single case in which Jesus has failed.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Powerto heal
S. Martin, D. D.
A greatwriter of fiction has remarked that "a man might be a great healer, if
he would, without being a greatdoctor." We may add, without being a worker
of miracles. "A man may be a greathealerwithout being a great doctor." The
doctor, so far as his professionis concerned, has to do chiefly, if not entirely,
with diseasesofthe body. He is as an agentand instrument, the saviour and
the healerof the body. As a friend to the patient, he often ministers to the
mind and heart; but these services are distinct from his professionWithout
being a doctor a man may be a greathealer.
"Canstthou not minister to a mind diseased,

Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow?"
Around us all there are sick minds, wounded spirits, broken hearts and
diseasedsouls, to be cured, and healed, and relieved by means which God has
given us. Around us all there are wounds in families, wounds in friendships,
and wounds in communities, to which we may apply a healing power.
"Whole," "sound," "healthy," are words descriptive of but few persons, and
of but few households, and of but few communities. In this world of ours there
is evidently a great work of healing to be wrought. There is a greatneed of
healing, and there are greathealing powers. There is a spiritual disease very
like that malady of body knownas atrophy. It is a condition of weaknessin
the direction of evil. The Apostle Paul refers to it when he observes, "When
we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly." For
this disease there is but one physician, and there is but one remedy. The
woman of Samaria was a greathealer, when she brought the men of her city
to the Messiah. All are "healers"who guide men to Jesus. I desire to awaken
your ambition to be in this world of sorrow and sin — greathealers.
1. You may heal by the tongue. "How forcible are right words." "A
wholesome tongue is a tree of life." "The tongue of the just is as choice silver."
"Pleasantwords are as a honeycomb."
2. You may heal by the light of the countenance. Honestlaughter has a
stirring power. Genuine and kindly smiles have a healing power. A
countenance alive with sympathy and bright with love heals.
3. You may heal by the hand, by what the hand may find to do in the sphere of
ministration and of service. All help has healing power, if delicatelyand wisely
and kindly administered.
4. You may heal by your purse. Solomonsaith, "Moneyis a defence." "Money
answerethall things." In the broad work of healing, money is a mighty agent.
Without doubt, in some casesalmsgiving spreads and confirms moral disease
and spiritual sickness. Butas buying bread for the hungry and clothes for the
nakedand medicine for the sick, as procuring dwellings for the homeless, and
as relieving the fatherless and the widow, as redeeming from debt those who
are under pecuniary obligations to others, money does much in the service of
healing.
5. You may heal by your presence. Presence, eventhough the tongue be silent;
presence, eventhough the hands be tied and bound by inability; presence,
even though there be no silver nor gold, has oftentimes a healing power.
Presence speaks, forit tells of sympathy; presence cheers,it diverts the

thoughts and lessens the burden; presence will sometimes have in it a wealth
of consolation.
6. You may heal by your socialinfluence. The respectand esteemwhich men
cherish towardyou may be used to serve and to comfort others. Thus did
Esther use her influence with the King Ahasuerus, to heal the wound inflicted
on the safetyand honour of the Jews (Esther4:13, 14). Influence with those
who can serve others is as truly a talent as our individual ability.
7. you may heal by making intercessionfor others. This is a power which all
possess. Its effectivenessis not as manifest as that of other agencies, but
without doubt it is as real. There is more of mystery adhering to this agency
than to other means, but our faith in it is not less strong. The achievements of
prayer, as recordedin holy Scripture, are wonderful, as redeeming life from
destruction, as securing the forgiveness ofiniquities, and as healing diseases
alike of body and of spirit.
8. You may heal by teaching Jesus Christ. To the truth of this saying
multitudes in heaven and upon earth bear constantand willing witness.
(S. Martin, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(11) Healedthem that had need of healing.—We cannotwell alter the
translation, but it may be noted that the word for “healing” is not formed
from the same verb as “healed;” and is, as it were, a more technicalword
(used, with the one exceptionof Revelation22:2, by St. Luke only) and
equivalent to our “treatment.”
MacLaren's Expositions
Luke
BREAD FROM HEAVEN
‘THE LORD THAT HEALETH THEE’

Luke 9:11.
Jesus was seeking a little quiet and restfor Himself and His followers. For
that purpose He took one of the fishermen’s boats to cross to the other side of
the sea. But the crowd, inconsiderate and selfish, like all crowds, saw the
course of the boat, and hurried, as they could easilydo, on foot round the
head of the lake, to be ready for Him whereverHe might land. So when He
touched the shore, there they all were, open-mouthed and mostly moved by
mere curiosity, and the prospectof a brief breathing-space vanished.
But not a word of rebuke or disappointment came from His lips, and no shade
of annoyance crossedHis spirit. Perhaps with a sigh, but yet cheerfully, He
braced Himself to work where He had hoped for leisure. It was a little thing,
but it was the same in kind, though infinitely smaller in magnitude, as that
which led Him to lay aside ‘the glory that He had with the Father before the
world was,’and come to toil and die amongstmen.
But what I especiallywould note are Luke’s remarkable words here. Why
does he use that periphrasis, ‘Them that had need of healing,’instead of
contenting himself with straightforwardly saying, ‘Them that were sick,’as do
the other Evangelists?Well, I suppose he wished to hint to us the Lord’s
discernment of men’s necessities,the swift compassionwhichmoved to supply
a need as soonas it was observed, and the inexhaustible power by which,
whatsoeverthe varieties of infirmity, He was able to cure and to bring
strength. ‘He healed them that had need of healing,’ because His love could
not look upon a necessitywithout being moved to supply it, and because that
love wielded the resources ofan infinite power.
Now, all our Lord’s miracles are parables, illustrating upon a lowerplatform
spiritual facts;and that is especiallytrue about the miracles of healing. So I
wish to deal with the words before us as having a direct application to
ourselves, and to draw from them two or three very old, threadbare, neglected
lessons, whichI pray God may leadsome of us to recognise anew ourneed of
healing, and Christ’s infinite powerto bestow it. There are three things that I
want to say, and I name them here that you may know where I am going.
First, we all need healing; second, Christcan heal us all; third, we are not all
healed.

I. We all need healing.
The people in that crowd were not all diseased. Some ofthem He taught; some
of them He cured; but that crowdwhere healthy men mingled with cripples is
no type of the condition of humanity. Rather we are to find it in that Poolof
Bethesda, with its five porches, wherein lay a multitude of impotent folk,
tortured with varieties of sickness,and none of them sound. Blessedbe God!
we are in Bethesda, which means ‘house of mercy,’ and the fountain that can
heal is perpetually springing up beside us all. There is a disease, dear
brethren, which affects and infects all mankind, and it is of that that I wish to
speak to you two or three plain, earnestwords now. Sin is universal.
What does the Bible mean by sin? Everything that goes against, orneglects
God’s law. And if you will recognise in all the acts of every life the reference,
which really is there, to God and His will, you will not need anything more to
establishthe factthat ‘all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.’
Whateverother differences there are betweenmen, there is this fundamental
similarity. Neglect-whichis a breach-ofthe law of God pertains to all
mankind. Everything that we do ought to have reference to Him. Does
everything that we do have such reference? If not, there is a quality of evil in
it. Forthe very definition of sin is living to myself and neglecting Him. He is
the centre, and if I might use a violent figure, every planet that wrenches itself
awayfrom gravitation towards, and revolution round, that centre, and prefers
to whirl on its own axis, has broken the law of the celestialspheres, and
brought discord into the heavenly harmony. All men stand condemned in this
respect.
Now, there is no need to exaggerate.I am not saying that all men are on the
same level. I know that there are greatdifferences in the nobleness, purity,
and goodnessoflives, and Christianity has never been more unfairly
representedthan when goodmen have called, as they have done with St.
Augustine, the virtues of godless men, ‘splendid vices.’But though the
differences are not unimportant, the similarity is far more important. The
pure, clean-living man, and the loving, gentle woman, though they stand high
above the sensualityof the profligate, the criminal, stand in this respecton the
same footing that they, too, have to put their hands on their mouths, and their
mouths in the dust, and cry ‘Unclean!’ I do not want to exaggerate,and sure I

am that if men will be honest with themselves there is a voice that responds to
the indictment when I say sadly, in the solemnlanguage of Scripture, ‘we all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God.’ Forthere is no difference. If
you do not believe in a God, you can laugh at the old wife’s notion of ‘sin.’ If
you do believe in a God, you are shut up to believe this other thing, ‘Against
Thee, Thee only, have I sinned.’
And, brethren, if this universal factis indeed a fact, it is the gravestelement in
human nature. It matters very little, in comparison, whether you and I are
wise or foolish, educated or illiterate, rich or poor, happy or miserable. All the
superficial distinctions which separate men from one another, and are all
right in their own places, dwindle away into nothing before this solemn truth
that in every frame there is a plague spot, and that the leprosy has smitten us
all.
But, brethren, do not let us lose ourselves in generalities. All means each, and
eachmeans me. We all know how hard it is to bring generaltruths to bear,
with all their weight, upon ourselves. Thatis an old commonplace:‘All men
think all men mortal but themselves’;and we are quite comfortable when this
indictment is kept in the generalterms of universality-’All have sinned.’
Suppose I sharpen the point a little. God grant that the point may get to some
indurated conscience here. Suppose, insteadof reading ‘All have sinned,’ I
beseecheachone of my hearers to strike out the generalword, and put in the
individual one, and to say ‘I have sinned.’ You have to do with this indictment
just as you have to do with the promises and offers of the Gospel-wherever
there is a ‘whosoever’put your pen through it, and write your ownname over
it. The blank cheque is given to us in regardto these promises and offers, and
we have to fill in our own names. The charge is handed to us, in regard to this
indictment, and if we are wise we shall write our ownnames there, too.
Dearbrethren, I leave this on your consciences, and I will venture to ask that,
if not here, at any rate when you get quietly home to-night, and lie down on
your beds, you would put to yourselves the question, ‘Is it I?’ And sure I am
that, if you do, you will see a finger pointing out of the darkness, and hear a
voice sterner than that of Nathan, saying ‘Thou art the man.’
II. Christ can heal us all.

I was going to use an inappropriate word, and say, the superb ease with which
He grappled with, and overcame, all types of disease is a revelationon a lower
level of the inexhaustible and all-sufficient fullness of His healing power. He
can cope with all sin-the world’s sin, and the individual’s. And, as I believe,
He alone cando it.
Just look at the problem that lies before any one who attempts to stanch these
wounds of humanity. What is neededin order to deliver men from the
sicknessofsin? Well! that evil thing, like the fabled dog that sits at the gate of
the infernal regions, is three-headed. And you have to do something with each
of these heads if you are to deliver men from that power.
There is first the awful power that evil once done has over us of repeating
itself on and on. There is nothing more dreadful to a reflective mind than the
damning influence of habit. The man that has done some wrong thing once is
a rara avis indeed. If once, then twice;if twice, then onward and onward
through all the numbers. And the intervals betweenwill grow less, and what
were isolatedpoints will coalesceinto a line; and impulses wax as motives
wane, and the less delight a man has in his habitual form of evil the more is its
dominion over him, and he does it at last not because the doing of it is any
delight, but because the not doing of it is a misery. If you are to getrid of sin,
and to ejectthe disease froma man, you have to deal with that awful
degradationof character, and the tremendous chains of custom. That is one of
the heads of the monster.
But, as I said, sin has reference to God, and there is another of the heads, for
with sin comes guilt. The relation to God is perverted, and the man that has
transgressedstands before Him as guilty, with all the dolefulness that that
solemn word means; and that is another of the heads.
The third is this-the consequencesthatfollow in the nature of penalty.
‘Whatsoevera man soweth, that shall he also reap.’So long as there is a
universal rule by God, in which all things are concatenatedby cause and
effect, it is impossible but that ‘Evil shall slay the wicked.’And that is the
third head. These three, habit, guilt, and penalty, have all to be dealt with if
you are going to make a thorough job of the surgery.

And here, brethren, I want not to argue but to preach. Jesus Christ died on
the Cross foryou, and your sin was in His heart and mind when He died, and
His atoning sacrifice cancels the guilt, and suspends all that is dreadful in the
penalty of the sin. Nothing else-nothing else will do that. Who can deal with
guilt but the offended Ruler and Judge? Who can trammel up consequences
but the Lord of the Universe? The blood of Jesus Christ is the sole and
sufficient oblation and satisfactionfor the sins of the whole world.
That disposes oftwo of the monster’s heads. What about the third? Who will
take the venom out of my nature? What will express the black drop from my
heart? How shall the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? How
can the man that has become habituated to evil ‘learn to do well’?
Superficially there may be much reformation. God forbid that I should forget
that, or seemto minimise it. But for the thorough ejectionfrom your nature of
the corruption that you have yourselves brought into it, I believe-and that is
why I am here, for I should have nothing to say if I did not believe it-I believe
that there is only one remedy, and that is that into the sinful heart there
should come, rejoicing and flashing, and bearing on its broad bosombefore it
all the rubbish and filth of that dunghill, the greatstream of the new life that
is given by Jesus Christ. He was crucified for our offences, andHe lives to
bestow upon us the fullness of His own holiness. So the monster’s heads are
smitten off. Our disease andthe tendency to it, and the weaknessconsequent
upon it, are all castout from us, and He reveals Himself as ‘the Lord who
healeth thee.’
Now, dear brethren, you may say ‘That is all very fine talking.’ Yes! but it is
something a greatdeal more than fine talking. For nineteen centuries have
establishedthe fact that it is so; and with all their imperfections there have
been millions, and there are millions to-day, who are ready to say, ‘Behold! it
is not a delusion; it is not rhetoric, I have trusted in Him and He has made me
whole.’
Now, if these things that I have been saying do fairly represent the gravity of
the problem which has to be dealt with in order to heal the sicknessesofthe
world, then there is no need to dwell upon the thought of how absolutely
confined to Jesus Christ is the powerof thus dealing. God forbid that I should
not give full weight to all other methods for partial reformation and bettering

of humanity. I would wish them all God-speed. But, brethren, there is nothing
else that will deal either with my sin in its relation to God, or in its relation to
my character, orin its relationto my future, except the message ofthe Gospel.
There are plenty of other things, very helpful and goodin their places, but I
do want to say, in one word, that there is nothing else that goes deepenough.
Education? Yes! it will do a greatdeal, but it will do nothing in regardto sin.
It will alter the type of the disease, because the cultured man’s transgressions
will be very different from those of the illiterate boor. But wise or foolish,
professor, student, thinker, or savage with narrow foreheadand all but dead
brain, are alike in this, that they are sinners in God’s sight. I would that I
could get through the fence that some of you have reared round you, on the
ground of your superior enlightenment and educationand refinement, and
make you feel that there is something deeper than all that, and that you may
be a very clever, and a very well educated, a very highly cultured, an
extremely thoughtful and philosophical sinner, but you are a sinner all the
same.
And again, we hear a greatdeal at present, and I do not desire that we should
hear less, about socialand economic and political changes, whichsome eager
enthusiasts suppose will bring the millennium. Well, if the land were
nationalised, and all ‘the means of production and distribution’ were
nationalised, and everybody got his share, and we were all brought to the
communistic condition, what then? That would not make men better, in the
deepestsense ofthe word. The fact is, these people are beginning at the wrong
end. You cannot better humanity merely by altering its environment for the
better. Christianity reverses the process. Itbegins with the inmost man, and it
works outwards to the circumference, and that is the thorough way. Why!
suppose you took a company of people out of the slums, for instance, and put
them into a model lodging-house, how long will it continue a model? They will
take their dirty habits with them, and pull down the woodwork forfiring, and
in a very short time make the place where they are as like as possible to the
hovel whence they came. You must change the men, and then you can change
their circumstances, orrather they will change them for themselves. Now, all
this is not to be takenas casting coldwateron any such efforts to improve
matters, but only as a protest againstits being supposed that these alone are
sufficient to rectify the ills and cure the sorrows of humanity. ‘Ye have healed
the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly.’ The patient is dying of cancer,

and you are treating him for a skin disease. It is Jesus Christ alone who can
cure the sins, and therein the sorrows, ofhumanity.
III. Lastly, we are not all healed.
That is only too plain. All the sick in the crowd round Christ were sentaway
well, but the gifts He bestowedso broadcasthad no relation to their spiritual
natures, and gifts that have relation to our spiritual nature cannotbe thus
given in entire disregardof our actions in the matter.
Christ cannotheal you unless you take His healing power. He did on earth
sometimes, though not often, cure physical disease without the requirement of
faith on the part of the healedperson or his friends, but He cannot {He would
if He could} do so in regard to the disease ofsin. There, unless a man goes to
Him, and trusts Him, and submits his spirit to the operationof Christ’s
pardoning and hallowing grace, there cannot be any remedy applied, nor any
cure effected. That is no limitation of the universal powerof the Gospel. It is
only saying that if you do not take the medicine you cannotexpect that it will
do you any good, and surely that is plain common-sense. There are plenty of
people who fancy that Christ’s healing and saving powerwill, somehow or
other, reachevery man, apart from the man’s act. It is all a delusion,
brethren. If it could it would. But if salvation could be thus given, independent
of the man, it would come down to a mere mechanicalthing, and would not be
worth the having. So I say, first, if you will not take the medicine you cannot
get the cure.
I say, second, if you do not feel that you are ill you will not take the medicine.
A man crippled with lameness, ortortured with fever, or groping in the
daylight and blind, or deaf to all the sounds of this sweetworld, could not but
know that he was a subject for the healing. But the awful thing about our
disease is that the worse you are the less you know it; and that when
conscienceoughtto be speaking loudestit is quieted altogether, and leaves a
man often perfectly at peace, so that after he has done evil things he wipes his
mouth and says, ‘I have done no harm.’

So, dear brethren, let me plead with you not to put awaythese poor words
that I have been saying to you, and not to be contenteduntil you have
recognisedwhatis true, that you-you, stand a sinful man before God.
There is surely no madness comparable to the madness of the man that
prefers to keephis sin and die, rather than go to Christ and live. We all
neglectto take up many goodthings that we might have if we would, but no
other neglectis a thousandth part so insane as that of the man who clings to
his evil and spurns the Lord. Will you look into your own hearts? Will you
recognise thatawful solemn law of God which ought to regulate all our
doings, and, alas!has been so often neglected, and so often transgressedby
eachof us? Oh! if once you saw yourselves as you are, you would turn to Him
and say, ‘Heal me’; and you would be healed, and He would lay His hand
upon you. If only you will go, sick and broken, to Him, and trust in His great
sacrifice, andopen your hearts to the influx of His healing power, He will give
you ‘perfect soundness’;and your song will be, ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul. . ..
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth thy diseases.’
May it be so with eachof us!
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
9:10-17 The people followedJesus, and though they came unseasonably, yethe
gave them what they came for. He spake unto them of the kingdom of God. He
healed those who had need of healing. And with five loaves ofbread and two
fishes, Christ fed five thousand men. He will not see those that fear him, and
serve him faithfully, want any goodthing. When we receive creature-
comforts, we must acknowledgethat we receive them from God, and that we
are unworthy to receive them; that we owe them all, and all the comfort we
have in them, to the mediation of Christ, by whom the curse is takenaway.
The blessing of Christ will make a little go a greatway. He fills every hungry
soul, abundantly satisfies it with the goodness ofhis house. Here were
fragments takenup: in our Father's house there is bread enough, and to
spare. We are not straitened, nor stinted in Christ.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
See the Matthew 14:13-21 notes, and Mark 6:30-44 notes.
Luke 9:10

Bethsaida - A city on the eastbank of the river Jordan, near where the river
enters into the Sea of Tiberias. In the neighborhood of that city were extensive
wastes ordeserts.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
Lu 9:10-17. On the Return of the Twelve Jesus Retires withThem to
Bethsaida, and There Miraculously Feeds Five Thousand.
(See on [1608]Mr6:31-44).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on"Luke 9:10"
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And the people, when they knew it,.... Having heard of his departure from
others, and seeing him go off themselves:
followedhim; not by ship, but on foot, going over the bridge at Chainmath of
Gadara, and got thither before Christ and his disciples did:
and he receivedthem; very kindly, and in a very affectionate manner, and
with greatrespect, though they had prevented the private interview between
him and his apostles;
and he spake unto them of the kingdom of God; of the Gospeldispensation,
now setting up, and of the doctrines and ordinances of it, of the governing
principle of grace in the hearts of his people, and of the glory of the world to
come:
and healedthem that had need of healing; for their bodies; as well as
preachedthe doctrines of grace for the good of their souls;he both taught
doctrine and wrought miracles.
Geneva Study Bible
And the people, when they knew it, followedhim: and he receivedthem, and
spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of
healing.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 9:11. οἱ ὄχλοι:no particular multitude is meant, but just the crowds that
were wont to gather around Jesus. In Mt. and Mk. Jesus appears as
endeavouring (in vain) to escape from the people. In Lk. this feature is not
prominent. Even the expressionτόπονἔρημον in Luke 9:10 is probably not
genuine. What Lk. appears to have written is that Jesus withdrew privately

into a city calledBethsaida.—ἀποδεξάμενος,the more probable reading,
implies a willing reception or the multitude. Vide Luke 8:40.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
11. the people, when they knew it, followedhim] The ensuing miracle is one of
the few narrated by all four Evangelists, Matthew 14:13-33;Mark 6:30-52;
John 6:1-21, and is most important from the power displayed, the doctrines
symbolized (Christ the bread of life), and the results to which it led (John 6).
Combining the narratives, we see that the embarkation of Jesus to sail from
Capernaum to the northern Bethsaida had been noticed by the people, and as
it is only a sail of six miles they went on foot round the head of the lake to find
Him. He had barely time to retire with His disciples to one of the hills when a
crowdassembledon the little plain which was momentarily swelledby the
throngs of pilgrims who paused to see the GreatProphet on their way to the
approaching PassoveratJerusalem(John 6:5), which Jesus Himself could not
attend without danger, owing to the outburst causedby the Sabbath healing of
the cripple (John 5:1-16). Towards afternoonHe came down the hill to the
multitude to teachthem and heal their sick.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 9:11. Δεξάμενος αὐτοὺς, having receivedthem) Adhere closelyto Jesus,
and give in your name to Him as His follower, if indeed such be your desire:
and you will be at once receivedby Him.—V. g.]
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Luke 9:11 But the crowds were aware of this and followedHim; and
welcoming them, He beganspeaking to them about the kingdom of God and
curing those who had need of healing
KJV And the people, when they knew it, followedhim: and he receivedthem,
and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healedthem that had need
of healing.
when Matthew 14:14; Mark 6:33,34;Romans 10:14,17
and he Isaiah 61:1; John 4:34; 6:37; Romans 15:3; 2 Timothy 4:2

the kingdom Lk 8:1,10;Matthew 21:31,43;Acts 28:31
healed Lk 1:53; 5:31; Hebrews 4:16
Luke 9 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 9:10-17 - StevenCole
Luke 9:10-11 The Range of Jesus'Compassion - John MacArthur
The crowds were aware ofthis and followedHim - Mark adds that
The people saw them going, and many recognized(epiginosko)them and ran
there togetheron footfrom all the cities, and got there aheadof them. (Mark
6:33)
John adds
A large crowd followedHim, because they saw the signs which He was
performing on those who were sick. (John 6:2)
So the crowdwas following Him but clearly more so because they wanted to
see the signs and miracles, not the Man and His message!Things have not
changedmuch over the past 2000 years!
John adds
So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force
to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone. (Jn
6:15)
John MacArthur comments that this crowd was composedof"thrill seekers,
who eagerlyfollowedJesus as their king (Mk 6:15) who could provide healing
and free food. Their superficial, shallow-soilmentality drew a rebuke from
Jesus (John 6:26-27)."
Followed(190)(akoloutheofrom a = expresses union with, likeness + keleuthos
= a road, way) means to walk the same road (Ponder that simple definition
dear believer - Am I willing to walk the same road as Jesus?)Literally to
follow (like the crowds followedJesus)and in a figurative sense to follow Jesus
as a disciple.
Welcoming (588)(apodechomaifrom apo = from or intensifier + dechomai =
to take from another for oneself, to receive, to welcome)means to receive
kindly or hospitably (Luke 8:40; Acts 15:4; 18:27); of God's Word, to receive
or embrace heartily, put out the "welcome mat" for it (Acts 2:41); of benefits,
to receive or acceptgratefully (Acts 24:3).
Speaking of the Kingdom of God - He would speaking to them of how one
would enter the Kingdom. See kingdom of God.

Kingdom (932)(basileia from basileus = a sovereign, king, monarch) denotes
sovereignty, royal power, dominion. Basileia canalso referto the territory or
people overwhom a king rules.
It has been well said that the only kingdom that will prevail in this world is
the kingdom that is not of this world! Amen!
RelatedResources:
What is the kingdom of God?
What is the difference between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of
Heaven?
What is the gospelof the kingdom?
What is kingdom theology?
What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God?
What did Jesus meanwhen He said, “The kingdom of God is within you”
(Luke 17:21, KJV)?
STEVEN COLE
Our Inadequacy, Christ’s Adequacy (Luke 9:10-17)
Do you ever feel overwhelmedwith all that needs to be done in serving the
Lord? We are needy people serving Christ in a needy world. Justthis week
we’ve heard of thousands killed and thousands more left homeless as a result
of the hurricane in CentralAmerica. I often think of the billions who have yet
to hear about the Savior. I feel overwhelmedwith the immensity of the task
and with my own inadequacy. How can I possibly meet the needs of this
church, let alone the massive needs of this hurting world? Even the apostle
Paul exclaimed, “Who is adequate for these things?” (2 Cor. 2:16).
No passage ofScripture has had a more profound impact on my service for
Christ than the gospelaccounts ofthe feeding of the 5,000. It could be argued
that it is the most significantmiracle Jesus performed, since it’s the only one
God saw fit to record in all four gospels. I find myself coming back to its
lessons againand again. Eachtime I come awayrefreshedas I recallhow the
Lord wants to give me His sufficiencyfor my insufficiency to meet the needs
of this hurting world.

The Lord used this incident for the training of the twelve. We see this in His
pointed challenge, “Yougive them something to eat!” John’s account(6:6)
tells us that Jesus was testing them (especiallyPhilip), knowing what He was
about to do. The miracle itself is almost passedover. We are never told exactly
how Jesus did it. The focus is not on the spectacularnature of the miracle, but
on what it teaches those who serve Jesus abouthow He meets the needs of
others through them.
Christ will give us His adequacyto meet the needs of people if we yield our
inadequacy to Him.
Three things stand out in this story: the needy multitudes; the inadequate
disciples;and the adequate Savior.
1. People are needy.
The apostles returned from their first preaching tour and gave an accountto
Jesus ofall that they had done (9:10). Jesus withdrew with them to the vicinity
of Bethsaida, on the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee. Mark’s account(6:31)
tells us that the purpose of the getawaywas rest. He also explains that there
were so many people coming and going that Jesus and the disciples didn’t
even have time to eat. So they gotin the boat and startedoff across the lake, a
distance of four to five miles.
But the trip across the lake was the only vacationthey got, since the people
saw them going and ran there from all the cities and arrived ahead of them.
When the disciples saw that crowdof needy people standing on the shore, they
must have thought, “Oh, no! Lord, canwe turn the boat around?”
The fact that this many people would go to this effort to be with Jesus shows
how needy they were. If you had takena survey of the crowd, many would
have said that their greatestneedwas for physical healing. There were blind,
deaf, lame, diseasedand dying people there. By the end of the day, others
would have said that their greatestneedwas for food. There was nothing to
eat in that desolate place. Butwhether anyone recognizedit or not, each
person’s greatestneedwas spiritual. Jesus couldheal their bodies and fill
their stomachs, but that was only a stopgapmeasure if they perished in their
sins. So Jesus taught them about the kingdom of God, how they could rightly
be related to Him (9:11).
Have you ever seenthe bumper sticker, “Life is tough; then you die”? If a
person does not know God and have the hope of eternal life, that bumper
stickeris pretty close to the truth! Sin has takena terrible toll on the human
race. Often the problems people encounter can be the entry point for us to

minister to them, not only physically or emotionally, but also spiritually,
which is their greatestneed. But that’s where we encounter our own problem:
2. We are inadequate to meet the overwhelming needs of people.
Did you notice the contrastbetweenJesus’attitude toward the multitude and
that of the disciples? Jesus welcomedthem (9:11), but the disciples said to
Jesus, “Sendthe multitude away” (9:12). It may be that the disciples were just
being practicalabout how to meet the needs of the crowd, but given the
situation, I think we are warranted to read some exhaustion into their voices.
They were spent. They wanted a break.
Then Jesus saidsomething utterly ridiculous: “You give them something to
eat” (9:13). “Sayagain, Lord?” “You give them something to eat.” There were
5,000 men, plus women and children. If there were 2.5 children for eachman
and woman, we’re talking about providing dinner for a crowd half the
population of Flagstaff!That’s enough people to fill the NAU Skydome to
capacity, with some standing in the aisles!All the food the disciples could
come up with was five loaves and two fish, which came from a little boy (John
6:9). The entire incident underscores the utter inadequacy of the disciples to
meet this overwhelming need.
The manner in which Jesus performed this miracle is significant. He could
have calleddown manna from heaven. Commentators point out that this
miracle took place in the wilderness and that the 5,000,seatedin companies,
recalls Israelcamped by tribes in the wilderness under Moses. Calling down
manna would have fit the situation. It would have been easieronthe twelve. It
would have been more efficient. But He didn’t do it that way.
Or, the Lord could have spokenthe word and a loaf of bread would have
miraculously appeared in eachperson’s hand. Everyone would have been
more awedat Jesus’powerthan they were with the quiet way this miracle was
done. It would have been much more efficient and impressive than having the
disciples distribute the bread and fish to this large crowd, which must have
takena long time.
Or Jesus could have calledangels who could have takenthe bread from His
hand and flown directly to eachgroup and given them the food. People would
have been amazed. They would have talked about it for the rest of their lives.
It would have been stupendous!
But how did Jesus do it? He used the disciples to distribute the bread and fish
to the people. I’m convincedthat the Lord did the miracle that wayto teach
the disciples that His method for meeting the needs of a lostworld is through

people. Christ meets the needs of people through people. But note carefully
the kind of people He uses:Inadequate people!
Jesus uses tired, emotionally drained people. The disciples had just returned
from their first preaching tour. Jesus knew they were tired and needed a rest.
But their only resthad been the short trip across the lake. True, Jesus let
them rest all day as He taught and healed the multitude. But, still, their
tiredness and emotional condition comes through in their request, “Send them
away.”
Jesus uses busy people. They didn’t even have time to eat because ofall the
people coming and going. I thought that our hectic schedules were unique to
our culture, but apparently not! I have workedas a banquet waiter, so I know
that once they startedhanding out the food to this huge crowd, they were busy
men! But invariably the Lord doesn’t use people with extra time on their
hands. He uses those who are busy and He keeps them busy. I’m sure that
they didn’t have time to eatuntil that entire crowd had been served.
Jesus uses people who lack resources. The disciples’comment about buying
enough food for all these people was no doubt said with some sarcasm. They
didn’t have nearly enough money to do that. The other gospels report that
they did a quick calculationand told Jesus that 200 denarii (sevento eight
months’ wages)wouldnot be enough to give eachperson just a little bread.
Obviously, the disciples didn’t have anywhere near that much cashin hand.
Besides, theywere in a desolate place. Evenif they went to Bethsaida to buy
bread, there wouldn’t be that much bread available. They were ridiculously
lacking in the resourcesto meet Jesus’demand to feed the multitude.
Some people say, “I’ll serve Jesus someday, but I’m too busy and stressedout
to get involved right now.” Or, they think, “I plan to give generouslyto the
Lord’s work after I getmy finances in better shape. But right now I can’t
afford to give much.” But they’re making the mistake of thinking that serving
Christ is something we volunteer to do when we have adequate time, energy,
and financial resources.Thenthey’ll choose to serve Him.
But Jesus doesn’twork through people who choose to serve. He works
through His servants. Servants don’t volunteer to serve. They don’t tell their
masters, “I’ll clean your house and fix dinner tomorrow, but I’m too stressed
out or busy today!” Servants serve when they’re tired, emotionally drained,
busy, and lacking in adequate resources.Servants serve becausethey’re under
obligation to their master.
How do we do it? By yielding our inadequacy to the Masterto use as He
pleases. Five smallloaves and two fish, a boy’s lunch—not much to feed such

a crowd. Matthew records Jesus as saying, “Bring them here to Me!” That’s
the key!Give your inadequate resources and abilities to Jesus. The
insufficient becomes more than sufficient when surrendered to Christ! That
points us to the third prominent feature of this story, the adequate Savior:
3. Christ will give us His adequacywhen we yield our inadequacy to Him to
use as He pleases.
Two thoughts:
A. We must yield what we have, not what we don’t have.
That sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But so often we make up excuses aboutwhat
we don’t have and we fail to offer to Jesus whatwe do have. “If I just had
more money, I’d give regularly to the church!” “If I just had the gift of
evangelism, I’d witness more!” “If I just had the ability that others have, I’d
serve the Lord.” “If I just ...”!But Jesus didn’t use all the bread in Bethsaida,
which the disciples didn’t have. He used the five loaves and two fish that they
did have. Jesus doesn’task you to give Him what you don’t have. He asks you
to give Him what you do have.
A country preacherwent to a farmer in his church and asked, “If you had two
farms, would you be willing to give one farm to God?” “Yes,” replied the
farmer. “I only wish I were in a position to do it.” The preacherpersisted, “If
you had $20,000, wouldyou give $10,000to the Lord’s work?” The farmer
replied, “Yes, I’d love to have that kind of money! I’d gladly give $10,000to
the Lord’s work.” Then the preachersprung his trap: “If you had two pigs,
would you give one to the Lord’s work?” The farmer blurted out, “That’s not
fair! You know I’ve gottwo pigs!”
The Lord doesn’t use what you don’t have. He uses the inadequate things you
have when you yield them to Him.
B. We must yield our inadequacy to Him to use as He pleases.
The disciples weren’t giving the orders here. They were following Jesus’
orders: “Have them recline to eat in groups of about fifty each.” “Eatwhat,
Lord?” “It won’t work, Lord!” “I’ve got a better idea, Lord.” No, they did
what Jesus commanded. We need to yield ourselves to Him and let Him do as
He sees fit. What Jesus did with this boy’s lunch is what He does with us when
we give Him our inadequate abilities and resources:
 Jesus blesses.
Without His blessing, we’re wasting our time. “Unless the Lord builds the
house, they labor in vain who build it” (Ps. 127:1). Do you covet God’s
blessing in your life and labors for Him? A messageby Watchman Nee,

“Expecting the Lord’s Blessing” (in Twelve Baskets Full[Hong Kong Church
Book Room], vol. 2, pp. 48-64)has had a profound influence on me. Nee
argues that everything in God’s work depends upon His blessing. If it is there,
even an insufficient amount is sufficient; if it is lacking, the greatestresources
and efforts in the world will not be enough.
By God’s blessing, Nee means a working of God that is far in excessofhuman
calculations. If you scrape together200 denarii and buy enough bread to give
everybody a little bit, that is not God’s blessing. But if there is no human way
to explain the results in proportion to the gifts or working of those involved,
that is God’s blessing. It’s not that we’re sloppy about our work and expect
God to coverfor our laziness and incompetence. We ought to work hard and
be skilled in what we do for the Lord. But to have God’s blessing is not to
expectresults in proportion to my talents and labor, but in proportion to
God’s abundance.
So often we’re just like the disciples. We see the need and start calculating
with what we don’t have. Pastors think, “If I just had Bill Gates in my
congregationas a tither!” But as Nee points out, “If we have to accumulate
sufficient wages to buy bread for the needy multitudes, years and years will
elapse before their need is met. We must expect God to work beyond all that
man can conceive”(ibid., p. 63). Without the Lord’s blessing, five loaves and
two fish were woefully inadequate. With His blessing, it was more than
enough. May we covetGod’s blessing and examine ourselves to make sure
that nothing in our lives hinders it!
 Jesus breaks.
Blessing and brokenness go together. You won’t find God’s blessing apart
from God’s breaking. You can see it in the lives of every personGod has used.
Abraham and Sarah had to be past their ability to produce a child before God
gave them Isaac. Jacobhad to be crippled in his hip before he prevailed with
God. Moseshad to fail in his own strength and spend 40 years tending sheep
in the wilderness before God used him to deliver Israel.
Vance Havner observed, “Goduses broken things. It takes brokensoil to
produce a crop, brokenclouds to give rain, brokengrain to give bread,
broken bread to give strength. It is the brokenalabasterbox that gives forth
perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greaterpowerthan
ever.” (Source unknown.)
Mostof us aren’t too weak to serve the Lord. We’re too strong, or at leastwe
think we are. The Lord does not want our adequacy; He wants our
inadequacy so that He cansupply the adequacy. He puts His treasure in our

weak, earthenvessels,so that the surpassing greatnessofthe poweris clearly
from Him, not from us (2 Cor. 4:7). His strength is made perfect in our
weakness whenwe yield ourselves to Him and allow Him to bless, break,
multiply and distribute our few loaves and fishes to meet the needs of others.
Jesus blesses;He breaks. Then,
 Jesus satisfies.
Jesus “keptgiving them to the disciples to set before the multitude. And they
all ate and were satisfied” (9:16b-17a). The “all” included the boy who gave
up his lunch! Everyone had enough. They even had leftovers!No one went
hungry.
Don’t miss the end of verse 17:The leftovers added up to twelve baskets full.
How many disciples? Twelve!How many baskets full? Twelve!A basketfull
for eachdisciple! But the disciples had to serve the hungry multitude first;
only after that did they eachcollecttheir basketfull. Sometimes we think, “If
I give my time and energy and money to serve the Lord, what’s in it for me?”
As Jesus goes onto explain (9:24), “Whoeverwishes to save his life shall lose
it, but whoeverloses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” Lose
yourself in service for Jesus and He will make sure you get a basketfull after
you’re done!
The bread in this miracle is symbolic of Christ. He said, “I am the bread of
life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall
never thirst” (John 6:35). The Lord is teaching us that if we will surrender
ourselves to Him to use as He pleases in meeting the needs of others, then He
will satisfyus with a full measure of Himself.
We hear a lot about “burnout” in our day. While we need adequate restand
time off, we can test our labors for the Lord by this: If we’re burned out,
there’s a goodchance we’ve been trying to meet human needs with our
inadequate abilities and resources. Butif we come awaytired, yes, but with
the satisfactionof the fulness of Christ left over in our souls, then the Lord’s
blessing was on us.
Conclusion
D. L. Moodywas a man whom God greatly used. Thousands of people both in
America and in England met the Saviorthrough his tireless labors. But
humanly speaking, Moodywas a very inadequate man. One of nine children,
his father died when he was four. He had little formal education. All his life
his grammar was atrocious. Whatlittle religious education he receivedas a
child was in a Unitarian church. At 17, he left home to work in a Bostonshoe

store. There, a Sunday Schoolteachercalledon him and presented the claims
of Christ. In the back of that store, Moody trusted the Savior.
He applied to join a church, but they turned him down and kept him waiting
ten months because he was so ignorant of the Bible. He moved to Chicago
where, after work, he began to go out into the slums and gather the poor
children to bring to Sunday School. A businessmanwho knew Moodybefore
he became famous told of the first time that he saw him. Moodyhad gotten
permission to hold a meeting in a little shanty that a saloonkeeperhad
abandoned. The businessman came in a little late and saw this heavysetman
holding a small black boy in his arms. By the light of a few candles he was
trying to read to him the story of the prodigal son. He couldn’t make out
many of the words and had to skip them. The businessmanthought, “If the
Lord can use such an instrument as that for His honor and glory, it will
certainly astonishme!”
After the meeting was over, Moody told the man, “I have only one talent; I
have no education, but I love the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to do something
for Him. Pray for me.” Henry Varley, a goodfriend of Moody’s in the early
days of his work, once saidto Moody, “It remains to be seenwhat God will do
with a man who gives himself up wholly to Him.” Moody thought about that
and said, “By God’s grace, I will be that man.”
God may not call you to preach to thousands, as Moodydid. But if you’ve
tastedHis mercy, He does callyou to serve Him in some way. He wants to use
you to give the Bread of Life to those who are hungry. The requirement is that
you see how inadequate you are to do anything for Him. Then, yield your
inadequacy to Him to use as He pleases.He will use you to help meet the needs
of a hurting world. And He will give you a basketfull of leftovers for yourself
besides!
DiscussionQuestions
Since there are so many needs in the world, how do we know where to devote
our time, effort, and money?
When is it right to say “no” to the needs and demands of people?
Are there areas ofservice you should refuse because youknow that you are
not so gifted? How do you know if God wants you to use you in a threatening
area of service?
How can we truly experience God’s blessing? Are there conditions we must
meet? What are they?
Copyright StevenJ. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.

JOHN MACARTHUR
The Range of Jesus'Compassion
Sermons Luke 9:10–11 42-116 Oct6, 2002
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We're going to return to the gospelof Luke. I want to stay with Luke as much
as possible. I'd like to finish it, and as the years go by, time gets shorter and
this is such a profound and wonderful history of our Lord. Luke 9. And in
this story that we're looking at today we have the famous event of the feeding
of the 5,000,as it is called, really an astonishing event, quantitatively the
largestmiracle Jesus ever did.
And yet, as massive as it was, involving 5,000 men...andthe text uses the word
andrizo, which is a term for male, and it's not generic men. When it says 5,000
men it doesn't mean 5,000 people, it means 5,000 males. We would be safe to
assume an equal amount of womenand perhaps twice that number of
children. There could have been 20,000people there and He fed them all,
creating food. No miracle that He did was as large, as massive, as vastas that.
Reallystaggering, absolutelystaggering, and yet the world has such little
regard for this miracle.
If you were to travel to the land of Israel, as I have many times, you would be
privileged to go into the Galilee and wander around the Sea of Galilee. If you
lookedvery, very carefully, if there wasn't someone to guide you there, it
would be unlikely that you'd find it, you might locate a little tiny building
north of the Sea of Galilee up on one of the slopes and you would walk in and
you would notice there was a floor that had been preserved for really over a
thousand years. If you lookeddown on that floor you'd see there was a little
mosaic there in this rather small little place, and that mosaic is a picture of
five loaves and two fish. And it is intended, was intended and still is intended,
as old as it is, to mark the event of Jesus feeding the 5,000 men plus women

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