Sometimes when Jesus preformed miracles, he tried to keep them a secret, but it’s hard to keep those kinds of things quiet. People tend to talk. Imagine if they’d had the internet back then! We would have known every detail of every miracle the second they happened and there would have been video proof.
While there wasn’t a video of the miracles in today’s passage, it does end by saying “News of this spread through all that region (v. 26).” The days of Jesus trying to quietly go about his business were long over. Once news had spread, everyone was looking to get close to him.
The woman who had been bleeding for twelve years said to herself, “if I only touch his cloak, I will be healed” (v. 21) and she was. How amazing it must have been to be there and witness Jesus healing the sick, raising the dead and driving out demons. I’m guessing it would have been pretty easy to become a follower once you’d seen something like that.
So, I’m wondering if that’s one of the reasons why Jesus wanted to keep things quiet? Was it because he knew how easy it would be to gain followers with miraculous acts and he didn’t want it to turn into a chaotic show? Was it because he knew faith is rooted in never seeing yet still believing?
Most of us will go our whole lives never witnessing miracles like the ones Jesus performed, but our lives are still filled with them. We just have to know what to look for. It may be an addict entering treatment for the third time or a job coming through after months of unemployment. God is at work and like the synagogue leader’s daughter we want Him to take us by the hand and raise us from death to a new life with Him.
