365 Days in the Gospels and Spirit of Prophecy
May 9
Bible discovery
Matthew 15:29-31 365DGSP 130.1
29 And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. 365DGSP 130.2
30 And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them: 365DGSP 130.3
31 Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel. 365DGSP 130.4
31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 365DGSP 130.6
32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 365DGSP 130.7
33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 365DGSP 130.8
34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 365DGSP 130.9
35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 365DGSP 130.10
36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 365DGSP 130.11
37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. 365DGSP 130.12
Spirit of Prophecy Reading
The Desire of Ages p.404: 365DGSP 130.13
This chapter is based on Matthew 15:29-39; Matthew 16:1-12; Mark 7:31-37; Mark 8:1-21. 365DGSP 130.14
“Again He went out from the borders of Tyre, and came through Sidon unto the Sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis.” Mark 7:31, R. V. 365DGSP 130.15
It was in the region of Decapolis that the demoniacs of Gergesa had been healed. Here the people, alarmed at the destruction of the swine, had constrained Jesus to depart from among them. But they had listened to the messengers He left behind, and a desire was aroused to see Him. As He came again into that region, a crowd gathered about Him, and a deaf, stammering man was brought to Him. Jesus did not, according to His custom, restore the man by a word only. Taking him apart from the multitude, He put His fingers in his ears, and touched his tongue; looking up to heaven, He sighed at thought of the ears that would not be open to the truth, the tongues that refused to acknowledge the Redeemer. At the word, “Be opened,” the man's speech was restored, and, disregarding the command to tell no man, he published abroad the story of his cure. 365DGSP 130.16
Jesus went up into a mountain, and there the multitude flocked to Him, bringing their sick and lame, and laying them at His feet. He healed them all; and the people, heathen as they were, glorified the God of Israel. For three days they continued to throng about the Saviour, sleeping at night in the open air, and through the day pressing eagerly to hear the words of Christ, and to see His works. At the end of three days their food was spent. Jesus would not send them away hungry, and He called upon His disciples to give them food. Again the disciples revealed their unbelief. At Bethsaida they had seen how, with Christ's blessing, their little store availed for the feeding of the multitude; yet they did not now bring forward their all, trusting His power to multiply it for the hungry crowds. Moreover, those whom He fed at Bethsaida were Jews; these were Gentiles and heathen. Jewish prejudice was still strong in the hearts of the disciples, and they answered Jesus, “Whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?” But obedient to His word they brought Him what they had,—seven loaves and two fishes. The multitude were fed, seven large baskets of fragments remaining. Four thousand men, besides women and children, were thus refreshed, and Jesus sent them away with glad and grateful hearts. 365DGSP 130.17