Matthew 4:23

Matthew 4:23

I. Christ was dispensing, then, the gift of healing, marvellously, for an example to all who should believe on Him thereafter, for ever, as long as the world should stand. Healer of the diseases of the body, as he was Healer of the diseases of the soul, Jesus Christ, anointed Saviour, this was His mission to heal, to save. He was Himself the Good Samaritan, who went out of His way to help the wounded traveller who lay half dead by the wayside, and who provided everything that was needful for him lodging, attendance, provision until he should be quite recovered. What was this but to teach us that the poor and needy in anywise are committed to the care and charge of every one who sees their hard case and has power to relieve it? Given the opportunity, the duty follows; cannot be neglected without sin the sin, at least, of leaving undone what we ought to have done.

II. The duty of giving is one of the simplest duties of all life, and because it is so simple the Apostle has fenced it with the warning, "Be not deceived in this thing; God is not mocked." Our own day of sickness and trial is not far off. To have considered the poor and needy, to have been, as it were, eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, strength to the weak in body, will be a thought of comfort when we shall feel in our own bodies the need of every consolation which God vouchsafes to His servants in the day of their calamity.

Bishop Claughton, Penny Pulpit,new series, No. 738.

References: Matthew 4:23; Matthew 4:24. H. Wonnacott, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xiv., p. 75; Clergyman's Magazine,vol. iii., p. 164.Matthew 4:23. Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. vi., No. 333.Matthew 4:24. J. Oswald Dykes, Manifesto of the King,p. 3.Matthew 4 Homiletic Quarterly,vol. ii., p. 219.