Bird's-eye view
In these few verses, Luke sets the stage for what is commonly called the Sermon on the Plain. But before the foundational teaching of the kingdom is laid out, we are shown the King in action. This is not a detached philosopher descending from an ivory tower to dispense abstract platitudes. This is the incarnate Son of God, fresh from appointing His twelve apostles, descending to a level place, a place swarming with desperate and broken humanity. What we see here is the magnetic power of Christ's authority. A great multitude, a chaotic mix of disciples and raw pagans from as far as Tyre and Sidon, are drawn to Him. They come for two reasons that are really two sides of the same coin: to hear Him and to be healed. The Word and the power are inseparable. This passage is a potent demonstration of the gospel's advance. It is a power that cleanses, restores, and drives out the demonic, and it all flows from the person of Jesus Christ.
The scene is electric. It is a picture of the world's great need converging on its only hope. The people are not passive; they are pressing in, trying to touch Him. This is not superstition, but a recognition, however dim, that true power, true life, radiates from this man. Luke makes it explicit: "power was coming from Him and healing them all." This is a microcosm of salvation. The world, afflicted with the diseases of sin and harassed by unclean spirits, finds its only cure in the person and work of Jesus. He does not offer a program or a technique, but Himself. And in His presence, the forces of darkness are routed and the effects of the fall are reversed.
Outline
- 1. The King Descends to His People (v. 17)
- a. From the Mountain to the Plain (v. 17a)
- b. A Great Multitude Gathers (v. 17b)
- 2. The Reason for the Gathering (v. 18)
- a. To Hear the Word (v. 18a)
- b. To Be Healed of Diseases (v. 18b)
- c. To Be Freed from Unclean Spirits (v. 18c)
- 3. The Source of All Healing (v. 19)
- a. The Press of the Crowd (v. 19a)
- b. Power Emanating from Christ (v. 19b)
- c. A Universal Cure (v. 19c)
Context In Luke
This passage serves as a crucial bridge in Luke's narrative. Jesus has just spent the night in prayer and has chosen the twelve apostles (Luke 6:12-16), establishing the foundational leadership of His new covenant community. Now, He comes down from the mountain, a place of divine communion and appointment, to the "level place." This descent is significant. It mirrors the incarnation itself, God coming down to dwell among men. The Sermon on the Plain that immediately follows (Luke 6:20-49) is the manifesto of His kingdom, and this scene of healing and deliverance is the living demonstration of that kingdom's power. It shows that Christ's words are not empty rhetoric; they are backed by divine authority that tangibly alters reality. The gathering of people from Judea, Jerusalem, and even the pagan coastal regions of Tyre and Sidon prefigures the fulfillment of the Great Commission, showing that the gospel is for all nations, not just for the Jews.
Verse by Verse Commentary
v. 17 And Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon,
Jesus came down. This is the motion of the gospel. God does not shout instructions from heaven; He comes down. He came down in the incarnation, and here He comes down from the mountain of choosing His apostles to the plain of human need. He stood on a level place. This is where the gospel meets us, not in some esoteric, hard to reach spiritual high ground, but on the flat plain of our ordinary, broken lives. He meets us where we are. And who is there? A large crowd of His disciples, those who are already committed to learning from Him, and a great multitude of people. Luke emphasizes the sheer scale and diversity of the crowd. They come from the heart of Jewish territory, Judea and Jerusalem, but also from the pagan coastlands of Tyre and Sidon. This is a crucial detail. The gospel is already spilling over the banks of ethnic Israel. The fame of this Jewish rabbi has reached the Gentiles, and they are coming. Why? Because their gods are dumb idols, and their diseases are real. They have heard there is a man in Israel who has real power.
v. 18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.
They came for a twofold purpose: to hear and to be healed. We must never separate these two. Christ's teaching and His healing are part of the same redemptive work. The Word of God brings order and life, and so does His touch. To want a gospel of just words is to be a gnostic. To want a gospel of just healing is to be a charlatan. The true gospel is the Word made flesh, and so it addresses both our spiritual ignorance and our physical brokenness. Luke then adds a specific category: those troubled with unclean spirits. In our sophisticated age, we are tempted to psychologize this, to explain it away as pre-scientific descriptions of mental illness. But the Bible is clear. There is a personal devil, and he has minions. These unclean spirits are real spiritual entities that harass and torment human beings, who are made in God's image. And notice the verb: they were being cured. This is not a struggle. It is a rout. Where Christ is present, the demons cannot remain. Their power is broken. This is a direct assault on the kingdom of darkness, and Jesus is winning decisively.
v. 19 And all the crowd was trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.
The crowd was trying to touch Him. There is a desperate, raw energy in this scene. People are pressing in, reaching out, convinced that mere physical contact with this man is enough. Is this a magical view of Jesus? No, it is a recognition of the reality of the incarnation. God has taken on a physical body, and divine power is now flowing through that body into the fallen world. The text is explicit about the mechanism: power was coming from Him. The Greek word is dunamis, from which we get our word dynamite. This is not a gentle, ethereal force. It is potent, world-altering power. And it originates in Him. He is not a conduit for some distant power source; He is the source. And the scope of this power is absolute: it was healing them all. There were no hard cases. No one came to Jesus with a disease so stubborn or a demon so entrenched that He was baffled. He healed them all. This is a glorious preview of the final restoration, when every tear will be wiped away and every effect of the curse will be undone by the limitless power of Jesus Christ.
Application
First, we must see that Jesus is the center of everything. The crowds did not gather for a committee meeting or a social program. They gathered for a person. Our churches must be places where people come to encounter the living Christ through the preaching of the Word and the administration of the sacraments. All our activities must point to Him, the one from whom all healing power flows.
Second, we must take the spiritual realm seriously. We live in a world that is afflicted not just by physical disease but by demonic oppression. We are in a war. We must not be naive about the reality of unclean spirits, but we must also not be terrified. The power that flows from Christ is infinitely greater than any power of the enemy. In Christ, we have authority and victory over the forces of darkness.
Finally, we must understand the nature of true healing. The world seeks healing in a thousand different places, from pharmaceuticals to self-help gurus. But ultimate healing, healing for the whole person, body and soul, is found only in Jesus Christ. He is the one who can forgive our sins, cleanse our hearts, heal our bodies, and restore our broken world. The crowd was right to press in to touch Him. We must do the same, through faith, prayer, and devotion. We must come to Him, hear Him, and receive the life that flows from Him alone.