365 Days in the Gospels and Spirit of Prophecy
Arriving Broken, Leaving Healed — May 8 [Description]
Bible discovery
Matthew 15:29-31 365D 128.1
29 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. 365D 128.2
30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, [d] maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. 365D 128.3
31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the [e] maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. 365D 128.4
31 Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. 365D 128.6
32 Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. 365D 128.7
33 And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. 365D 128.8
34 Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 365D 128.9
35 Immediately his ears were opened, and the [l] impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. 365D 128.10
36 Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. 365D 128.11
37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” 365D 128.12
Spirit of Prophecy Reading
The Desire of Ages p.404: 365D 128.13
This chapter is based on Matthew 15:29-39; Matthew 16:1-12; Mark 7:31-37; Mark 8:1-21. 365D 128.14
“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. 365D 128.15
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. 365D 128.16
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. 365D 128.17