Matthew 4:24

Berean Standard Bible

News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and He healed them.

King James Bible

And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

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This verse serves as both a continuation and amplification of the previous summary of Jesus' ministry in Galilee. It provides a compelling portrait of the immediate and widespread impact of Jesus’ words and deeds, emphasizing how the kingdom of God did not simply remain an abstract theological truth or a localized event. Instead, it broke outward and upward, stirring the attention and desperation of entire regions. The verse encapsulates the magnetism of Jesus' ministry, not only in terms of its geographical reach but also in its comprehensive healing power over human suffering in all its forms—physical, spiritual, psychological, and social.

We begin with the observation that “his fame spread throughout all Syria.” This detail is significant for several reasons. First, it highlights that the reputation of Jesus transcended Galilee. Syria, in the biblical context, refers to a broader Roman province to the north and northeast of Galilee, a largely Gentile region. The fame of Jesus was not contained within Jewish territory; His renown spread into the broader Gentile world. This prefigures the later expansion of the gospel beyond Israel, and it echoes Isaiah’s prophetic vision that the light has dawned on those who sat in darkness, including those beyond the covenantal borders of Israel. Jesus' healing ministry, while initiated among the Jewish people, had a reach and relevance that already hinted at the universal scope of the gospel.

The spreading of His fame, then, is not merely celebrity or popularity. It is the natural result of divine authority breaking into human need. When the sick are healed, when the tormented are set free, when those previously without hope are restored, word spreads—not through marketing, but through lives transformed. Jesus did not seek fame as men do; His fame was the consequence of heaven’s power becoming visible and tangible on earth. The miracles served as visible signs that the kingdom of God was not a future speculation but a present reality.

The verse goes on to say that “they brought him all the sick.” The wording implies a massive and urgent response. People did not simply come on their own; others brought them. This paints a picture of communal response and solidarity. The burden-bearers of society—family members, friends, perhaps even strangers—carried the afflicted to the one whom they had heard could do what no physician could. This act of bringing the sick to Jesus is itself a beautiful portrayal of faith in action. It suggests hope kindled by hearing, love expressed through effort, and desperation reaching out in trust. In their affliction, people turned not to temples or priests or healers of superstition—but to this wandering teacher from Nazareth who had begun to undo the effects of the fall one body at a time.

Then we see a description of those brought to Him: “those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics.” This list is not exhaustive, but it is intentionally comprehensive. It spans physical suffering, spiritual oppression, and neurological affliction. The phrase “various diseases and pains” captures the general spectrum of human frailty and chronic suffering—illnesses of the body and agonies that medical science could neither understand nor relieve. Jesus did not discriminate in healing. No disease was too obscure, no pain too ordinary, no condition too complex for His attention or compassion.

The mention of demonic oppression is a key detail in the Synoptic Gospels. Jesus’ authority over demons reveals that His kingdom is not merely healing the visible world but also asserting dominance over the unseen realm. The deliverance of the demon-oppressed is not merely therapeutic—it is eschatological. It declares the beginning of the end of Satan’s dominion. Every act of deliverance from demonic power is a proclamation that the stronger man has come to plunder the house of the strongman. Jesus' power was not only restorative but confrontational—it directly challenged the powers of darkness, reclaiming ground for the kingdom of light.

The inclusion of epileptics and paralytics adds another layer to this picture. These individuals were among the most helpless in ancient society. Often misunderstood, frequently feared or shunned, they had little access to healing, dignity, or community. Epileptics (sometimes translated as those with seizures or convulsions) were often thought to be possessed or cursed. Paralytics, immobilized and dependent on others, would have had no means of livelihood or societal contribution. By healing such individuals, Jesus not only restored physical function but conferred back dignity, identity, and inclusion. He reversed not only the biological effects of disease but the social alienation that came with it.

Then comes the climactic phrase: “and he healed them.” This phrase is striking in its simplicity. There is no mention of difficulty or exception, no caveats or failures. He healed them. All who were brought, regardless of the condition, regardless of origin, regardless of spiritual or physical ailment—He healed them. This reveals both the compassion of Christ and the completeness of His authority. His healing was not occasional or selective. It was comprehensive. It was not performative but purposeful. Jesus did not heal to impress, but to reveal. His healing acts were windows into the heart of the Father, who is not indifferent to suffering but is deeply moved by it and powerful to address it.

Moreover, the healing ministry of Jesus must be understood as signs pointing to a deeper reality. While the physical healings were real and transformative, they were also symbols of the greater healing that Jesus came to bring—the healing of the soul, the reconciliation between God and man, and the promise of full restoration in the age to come. Every healed body was a preview of the resurrection. Every deliverance was a foretaste of the final triumph of the Lamb. Every act of mercy was a whisper of the coming glory when there will be no more pain, no more tears, and no more curse.

In this way, Matthew 4:24 is not simply a record of miracles—it is a declaration of the breaking dawn of redemption. It shows us that the kingdom has come in power and that no form of suffering—whether physical, spiritual, or mental—is outside the reach of Christ’s mercy. It reminds the Church of every generation that the mission of Jesus includes proclaiming the truth, demonstrating compassion, and engaging in spiritual warfare. His ministry sets the pattern for our own, not in the replication of miracles as performance, but in the continuation of His compassionate presence through the body of Christ.

This verse also challenges us to consider whether we truly believe in the power and nearness of Christ. Do we bring the sick, the hurting, the tormented, and the forgotten to Him in prayer, in service, in expectation? Do we believe He still heals, still delivers, still restores? And if we do, are we willing to be the ones who carry others to Him—through intercession, through witness, through sacrificial love?

Ultimately, Matthew 4:24 shows us that Jesus is not only the Teacher or the Preacher but the Healer. He is not only the revealer of truth but the restorer of lives. His fame spread not because He sought it, but because He embodied the kingdom. And wherever the kingdom is embodied—in truth, in love, in power—the fame of Jesus will continue to spread, not for human glory, but for the exaltation of the King whose reign brings healing to all who come.

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To all the saints in Christ Jesus throughout every nation, tribe, and tongue—

those sanctified by the Spirit, made alive by grace, and sealed for the day of redemption,

Grace and peace be multiplied to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, whose name is exalted above every name, whose mercy endures forever, and whose power is now at work in those who believe.

I write to you as a fellow laborer in the vineyard, a servant of the Word, and a witness to the transforming glory of the gospel. As I reflect upon the words of the Evangelist Matthew, I am compelled to draw your attention to the living testimony recorded in the fourth chapter, verse twenty-four: “So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.” May the Lord open our eyes to the depth and beauty of this verse, that we may not merely read it, but be shaped by it.

We live in a world still marked by sickness, still oppressed by affliction, still tormented by unseen powers, and still paralyzed—if not in body, then in soul. We are surrounded by pain in its many forms, both hidden and visible. But what hope we find in this single sentence, that when the fame of Jesus spread, the afflicted came—and He healed them. Here, in the early days of His ministry, the Son of God reveals Himself not only as Teacher and King but as the Compassionate Healer. He did not come with cold philosophy or distant rhetoric. He came near. He received the broken, the outcast, the demon-tormented, the incurably sick, the misunderstood, and the helpless—and He made them whole.

Let us not pass over the significance of this moment in redemptive history. When the fame of Jesus spread into Syria—a region beyond Israel’s religious center—it signaled the first ripples of a gospel that would not be confined to one people but would ultimately reach the nations. Even before the Cross, before the Resurrection, and before Pentecost, Jesus was already drawing near to Gentiles. His mercy was not bound by ethnicity or geography. His compassion overflowed every man-made boundary. So it is today. There is no region too distant, no culture too foreign, no language too strange, and no soul too far gone for the reach of His mercy. The spread of His fame is not the promotion of celebrity, but the spreading flame of divine compassion made visible.

But see also the beauty of the people’s response—they brought the sick to Him. This was not passive hope but active faith. They did not only speak of His power or admire His miracles from afar; they carried their afflicted neighbors and family to His feet. What an image of the Church’s calling. Are we, too, bringing the broken to Christ? Or have we grown content to merely speak of Him while leaving the wounded outside our doors? True belief in Christ's power demands action. It compels us to intercede, to serve, to carry burdens, and to bring others into the presence of the One who heals.

Notice also the breadth of suffering listed—various diseases, pains, demonic oppression, seizures, and paralysis. This is not a poetic flourish but a theological statement: there is no form of human misery that Jesus does not touch with power and compassion. His healing was not only physical; it was comprehensive. He healed the disordered body, the tormented mind, the enslaved soul, and the socially outcast. He is the One who came to destroy the works of the devil and to reverse the curse of sin in every form. And every healing, every exorcism, every act of mercy was a declaration that the kingdom of heaven had drawn near in Him.

Do we still believe in this Christ? Or have we replaced His power with mere platitudes, His compassion with theological abstraction, His healing presence with polite distance? Brothers and sisters, the Church must reclaim her confidence in the living Christ. He is not only the Savior of souls but the Restorer of life. Though we rightly affirm that miracles serve as signs, let us not reduce them to symbols without substance. Our Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever. While we cannot dictate His will, we must never doubt His power. While we do not worship miracles, we worship a miracle-working God. He may not heal every body now, but He has promised to make all things new—and in the meantime, we are to pray, serve, and hope as those who know His hand is mighty to save.

This verse also summons us to acknowledge the spiritual war that continues around us. Demonic oppression is not a myth of the past but a reality that persists wherever darkness rules unchecked. Christ’s authority over demons was not a display for spectacle but a sign of the inbreaking reign of God over the kingdom of darkness. When He cast out unclean spirits, He was declaring to every principality and power that their time was short and their defeat was certain. And now He has entrusted that authority to His Church, not for personal gain or abuse, but for the deliverance of the captives and the proclamation of the gospel with power. Let us not be ashamed of this reality. Let us not domesticate the gospel into mere moral advice. We are servants of a kingdom that confronts darkness and liberates the oppressed.

Furthermore, do not miss the simplicity and certainty of the last phrase: “and he healed them.” No condition was too complicated. No suffering too deep. No person too unclean. He healed them. This is the glorious simplicity of the gospel—we come broken, and He makes us whole. We come bound, and He sets us free. We come lost, and He brings us home. He does not send away the desperate. He does not screen for worthiness. He does not measure the faith of the ones being carried. He receives them—and heals them. Let this assurance fuel our prayers, our ministry, and our daily walk. Let it compel us to come boldly to the throne of grace, and to bring others with us.

Finally, beloved, let us not forget that we now bear His name. His fame spreads not through rumor alone, but through the witness of the Church. We are His body. We are His hands and feet. We are the ones through whom His fame continues to be known. So let us be bold in compassion. Let us be urgent in witness. Let us be eager to serve, quick to pray, and tireless in love. Let us go to the afflicted, the outcast, the tormented, the weary, and the lost—and let us bring them to Jesus. For He alone heals.

May the fame of Jesus spread again—through our lives, our love, and our lips. May the world see, not a Church content with routine, but a people alive with hope, aflame with holiness, and active in mercy. And may the sick be brought, the broken be welcomed, the oppressed be freed, and the name of Christ be magnified.

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O Lord our God, Father of mercies and God of all comfort, we come before You in the name of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who is the radiance of Your glory and the exact imprint of Your nature. You have spoken through Him not only in words but in deeds of power, compassion, and truth. We bless Your holy name, for in Him the fullness of divinity dwells bodily, and in Him we have seen what our eyes could never imagine—Your heart unveiled in the healing of the sick, the deliverance of the oppressed, and the welcome of the broken.

We lift our voices with reverence and gratitude as we meditate upon the mighty work of Your Son, whose fame spread throughout all Syria, drawing the wounded, the afflicted, and the forgotten to the only One who could restore what sin and suffering had stolen. O Lord, what a mystery it is that the Word became flesh and walked among the diseased and the demon-tormented—not from afar, but up close. You did not remain at a distance in Your holiness, but You descended in humility and moved toward those the world had cast aside. Your Son did not shield Himself from human pain, but He bore it in His body, not only on the cross but in every encounter where He healed, touched, lifted, and freed.

We behold with awe the multitudes who brought their sick, the helpless who were carried by others, the desperate who could find no cure—yet in Your Son, they found both power and welcome. You did not require pedigree, status, or ritual cleanliness to receive mercy. The only condition was need, and the only requirement was to come. O God, give us such hearts—hearts that run to You in our need, hearts that carry others in their weakness, hearts that trust that Your Son is sufficient for every affliction.

We praise You that Jesus did not turn away from epilepsy, paralysis, chronic pain, or demonic torment. Where others recoiled in fear or indifference, He reached with authority and love. Where the systems of man failed to heal, He spoke a word, and it was done. Where shame had silenced the voices of the broken, He gave them dignity by seeing them, touching them, and calling them whole. He did not send them away with theories; He healed them. He did not lecture them about their past; He delivered them from their present bondage. O Christ, what mercy flows from Your hands! What power radiates from Your presence! What grace meets the soul whose only hope is You!

We confess, Lord, that we have grown dull in faith and slow to trust. We often speak of Your power, yet hesitate to pray boldly. We talk of healing, yet walk past the hurting. We proclaim deliverance, yet fear to confront darkness. Forgive us, Lord, for living as though You no longer move among us. Forgive us for reducing Your fame to doctrine alone, while ignoring the testimony of changed lives that should accompany Your name. Stir within us a holy urgency to be carriers of hope. Let us be those who bring the sick to Jesus—through intercession, through presence, through proclamation of the gospel, and through works of mercy.

And Lord, we ask You now with trembling reverence: let Your healing work be known in our midst again. Not for spectacle, not for pride, but for the glory of Your name and the good of the afflicted. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. You still see the epileptic child, the paralyzed beggar, the tormented mind, the body wracked with disease. You still draw near to the mother who grieves, the addict who struggles, the man crushed by depression, the woman silenced by shame. You have not grown weary, and Your arm has not grown short.

Let Your Church, O Lord, be known not only for its doctrine but for its compassion. Let our houses of worship be places where the sick are welcomed, the burdened are carried, and the oppressed find freedom. Let us not be content to speak of the Christ who healed in Galilee, but let us live as if He walks among us still. And indeed, He does—by His Spirit, in His Body, through His people. So awaken us, O God, to be vessels of that same power, not in arrogance, but in humility; not for control, but for service; not to draw attention to ourselves, but to lift high the name of Jesus.

We cry out on behalf of those tormented today—those held in bondage by spiritual oppression, those forgotten by medicine, those trapped in invisible prisons of fear, anxiety, trauma, and chronic pain. Lord Jesus, stretch forth Your hand to heal, to rebuke the darkness, to restore what is withered, to strengthen what is weak. Let those who are far off be brought near. Let the fame of Your name spread again—not through marketing or influence, but through the undeniable power of lives made whole by You.

And Lord, we remember that every healing in Galilee pointed beyond itself—to the greater healing of the soul, to the reconciliation of sinners to their God, to the breaking of sin’s curse, and to the promise of resurrection. So even as we pray for healing here and now, we look forward to the day when disease will be no more, when pain will be forgotten, when demons will be cast into the lake of fire, and when every tear will be wiped away by Your hand. Keep us faithful until that day. Let us carry the afflicted and be carried when we ourselves are weak, trusting always that the One who healed them all will make all things new.

We give You all praise, Father, through the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit. You alone are worthy. May the fame of Jesus never be reduced to words only, but may it spread through acts of power, truth, mercy, and love. May it spread through us.

In the matchless name of Jesus Christ,

our Healer, Deliverer, and King,

Amen.