Matthew 4:24

All Syria] i.e. the Roman province of Syria. Possessed with devils] See special note below. Lunatick] (lit. 'moonstruck') RV 'epileptic.' Such sufferers were supposed to be influenced by changes of the moon.

He healed them] Great prominence is given in the Gospels to miracles of healing, and our Lord plainly regarded practical work of this kind as an integral part of His work of salvation. Briefly expressed, the teaching of the miracles of healing is as follows: (1) That the preservation of life and health by all the means in our power is a Christian duty. The Christian will seek 'a sound mind in a sound body' for himself and for others. In practice this leads to the establishment of hospitals, efficient sanitation, and factory legislation calculated to protect life and limb and health. (2) That the soul can often be reached through the body. Christ touched the souls of those whom He healed, and the early Church made as many converts by its works of mercy as by its preaching. Missionary societies are well aware of this, and send out many medical missionaries. (3) That pain, disease, and death are no part of God's will for man. Like sin they came into the world against His will, and they are part of those 'works of the devil,' which the Son of God was manifested to destroy. God permits disease, as He permits moral evil, He even overrules it for good, so that sickness may become a visitation from God full of spiritual blessings; nevertheless, disease is no part of His original plan of creation, it is not natural but against nature, and it can have no part in the perfected kingdom of God.