“Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all.” Matthew 12:15
As I have been reading the Gospels over the last couple of days, the Holy Spirit has revealed to me something interesting that I haven’t noticed before: again and again, when Jesus is faced with religious people who continually want to nitpick with him over what was lawful on the Sabbath, he withdraws from the fighting. It would seem as if Jesus’ disdain for the unloving legalism of the religious elite were so strong, he chose not to be around them.
What a beautiful picture Matthew gives us of our Savior here. Jesus has removed himself from the Pharisees’ barbs. Jesus stepped away from the overzealous legalists who sought to somehow protect the God of the Bible from unlawful behavior (which apparently included healing the sick and broken on the Sabbath), “and many followed him.” He left when he was facing foolish controversies and allowed those who sought him to follow.
And what did he do for those who followed him? “He healed them all.” The youngest to the oldest, from the worst disease to the slightest infirmity, he healed them all. He healed those who followed him. These weren’t the people who were hoping to call him out or to make sure he was keeping the law, but those with the desire to be healed. Those who followed him knew they were sick; they knew Jesus could heal them. By faith they followed him, and he healed them all.
Do you come to Jesus with the same heart?
