Description
Because we have heard the Gospel stories so often, the immediacy and wonder of them is often missed without a more deep reflection about what it was like to have met Jesus and see Him do such amazing miracles day after day to a multitude of those ill both physically and spiritually. There is always some spiritual dimension to all illness, so a spiritual outlook is needed for complete recovery in order to learn the lessons that illness brings.
Here we see in this modern Greek icon Christ blessing and healing those who came out to meet Him with faith and love. Those who came out of Syria, Judea, Galilee, and even beyond the Jordan were dumb, palsied, demon-possessed, blind, epileptic, paralytic, and afflicted with every other manner of illness, seeking His healing touch that soothes the heart and quickens the mind. Right behind Jesus are His three closest Disciples, Peter, James, and John, while in the background are walled cities where many people have come from. Christ was not ashamed of their illnesses, but had come to earth to heal whatever ailed them. All He required was that they came close to Him and sincerely believed He could do this.