Our paragraph topic today is: (Other miracles) Part 1.
Christ remained at Peter's house through the evening and Matthew tells us that many who were possessed and sick were brought to him. He cast out all those who were possessed with a word. He cured all who were sick. We do not know how many there were who came to Christ that day. Matthew does not tell us this information. But the word spread by the mouth of those who carried the word. The word was taken in the homes of those with loved ones that were sick. The word was carried by mouth to those who had loved ones that were possessed. They heard of Jesus Christ who performed miracles. They heard of the great things that he did. They heard of the wonders that he performed and all who heard were amazed. All who heard wanted to learn about this Jesus. All who heard wanted to meet this Jesus. All who heard wanted to touch him so that they too could be cured.
Christ's ministry is just beginning according to Matthew. He has not done much up to this point. He gave a sermon on the mountain where he taught things that were new. He spoke of principles and ideas that people had not heard before. He told of existing laws that were expanded so that people would have a better understanding of their purpose and meaning. He finished his sermon and he rested at Peter's home that day. And the word spread.
If a great leader came to your town today, what would he have to do to get your attention? A completely unknown person who was not popular in the news, who was not popular in the media, who no one knew in the government, comes to your town and begins to stir up the people. This person would not get very far today because we do not rely on word of mouth for our news. Our news comes from the TV. Our news comes through the newspaper. Our news comes via the Internet. Our news comes via the radio. We can hear about earthquakes. We can hear about tornadoes. We can watch volcano eruptions. We can see the destruction of tidal waves. We can read about the devastation and destruction of bombings and war. All this information comes to us via our media. And those who control that media determine what we see, what we hear, and what we know about our world.
In that day and time word of mouth was the medium of providing information. The information about Christ spread like wild fire. Knowledge of him spread through the village. It spread through the neighboring villages. It spread through the region. And finally it spread to far off places where it would take days for that information to travel to reach a curious ear.
Christ became popular because of his miracles. You could compare his news today to the news of a bombing. You could compare his news today to the news of a devastating tornado. You could compare his news today to the news of a international plane crash. You could compare his news today to the news of any event that captures the interest of the people.
He would get millions of hits on Youtube. His news would be the trending news on Yahoo and Twitter. His news would be explosive because everyone would want to hear of it, everyone would want to see it, everyone would want to talk about him. The news media would want to publish it because they will make a fortune in selling it. Ratings would rise to levels not seen before. Advertisers would want to have their ads placed during the time slot when his news is broadcast. All would hear of the miracles that he was performing and want to know where he was, where he was going, where he will be next. Promoters would want to have him under contract. Event planners would want to plan events for him to speak before. Heads of state would want to meet him and to know of his work. This would be our way of following Christ today. This would be our response and how we would hear of him.
He cast out demons. He cured the sick. He cured them all .
Christ remained at Peter's house through the evening and Matthew tells us that many who were possessed and sick were brought to him. He cast out all those who were possessed with a word. He cured all who were sick. We do not know how many there were who came to Christ that day. Matthew does not tell us this information. But the word spread by the mouth of those who carried the word. The word was taken in the homes of those with loved ones that were sick. The word was carried by mouth to those who had loved ones that were possessed. They heard of Jesus Christ who performed miracles. They heard of the great things that he did. They heard of the wonders that he performed and all who heard were amazed. All who heard wanted to learn about this Jesus. All who heard wanted to meet this Jesus. All who heard wanted to touch him so that they too could be cured.
Christ's ministry is just beginning according to Matthew. He has not done much up to this point. He gave a sermon on the mountain where he taught things that were new. He spoke of principles and ideas that people had not heard before. He told of existing laws that were expanded so that people would have a better understanding of their purpose and meaning. He finished his sermon and he rested at Peter's home that day. And the word spread.
If a great leader came to your town today, what would he have to do to get your attention? A completely unknown person who was not popular in the news, who was not popular in the media, who no one knew in the government, comes to your town and begins to stir up the people. This person would not get very far today because we do not rely on word of mouth for our news. Our news comes from the TV. Our news comes through the newspaper. Our news comes via the Internet. Our news comes via the radio. We can hear about earthquakes. We can hear about tornadoes. We can watch volcano eruptions. We can see the destruction of tidal waves. We can read about the devastation and destruction of bombings and war. All this information comes to us via our media. And those who control that media determine what we see, what we hear, and what we know about our world.
In that day and time word of mouth was the medium of providing information. The information about Christ spread like wild fire. Knowledge of him spread through the village. It spread through the neighboring villages. It spread through the region. And finally it spread to far off places where it would take days for that information to travel to reach a curious ear.
Christ became popular because of his miracles. You could compare his news today to the news of a bombing. You could compare his news today to the news of a devastating tornado. You could compare his news today to the news of a international plane crash. You could compare his news today to the news of any event that captures the interest of the people.
He would get millions of hits on Youtube. His news would be the trending news on Yahoo and Twitter. His news would be explosive because everyone would want to hear of it, everyone would want to see it, everyone would want to talk about him. The news media would want to publish it because they will make a fortune in selling it. Ratings would rise to levels not seen before. Advertisers would want to have their ads placed during the time slot when his news is broadcast. All would hear of the miracles that he was performing and want to know where he was, where he was going, where he will be next. Promoters would want to have him under contract. Event planners would want to plan events for him to speak before. Heads of state would want to meet him and to know of his work. This would be our way of following Christ today. This would be our response and how we would hear of him.
He cast out demons. He cured the sick. He cured them all .
