STORY 96

Jesus Heals the Sick

Jesus Heals the Sick

AS JESUS travels throughout the land, he heals the sick. The news of these miracles is told about in the villages and towns all around. So people bring to him those who are crippled and blind and deaf, and many others who are sick. And Jesus heals them all.

Over three years have now passed since John baptized Jesus. And Jesus tells his apostles that soon he will go up to Jerusalem, where he will be killed, and then rise from the dead. In the meantime, Jesus keeps on healing the sick.

One day Jesus is teaching on a Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of rest for the Jews. The woman you see here has been very sick. For 18 years she was bent over, and couldn’t stand up straight. So Jesus puts his hands on her, and she begins to stand up. She is healed!

This makes the religious leaders angry. ‘There are six days in which we should work,’ one of them shouts to the crowd. ‘Those are the days to come for healing, not on the Sabbath!’

But Jesus answers: ‘You bad men. Any one of you would untie your donkey and take it out for a drink on the Sabbath. So shouldn’t this poor woman, who has been sick for 18 years, be healed on the Sabbath?’ Jesus’ answer makes these bad men ashamed.

Later Jesus and his apostles travel on toward Jerusalem. When they are just outside the town of Jerʹi·cho, two blind beggars hear that Jesus is passing by. So they shout: ‘Jesus, help us!’

Jesus calls the blind men over, and asks: ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ They say: ‘Lord, let our eyes be opened.’ Jesus touches their eyes, and right away they can see! Do you know why Jesus does all these wonderful miracles? Because he loves people and wants them to have faith in him. And so we can be sure that when he rules as King nobody on earth will be sick again.