How high a mountain?

How high a mountain would you climb, carrying a sick friend?

Everywhere Jesus went, people followed him. Lots of people. Even up a mountain.

In this case, over four thousand, and that was just the men! (There were women and children in that crowd, too.)

And they weren’t just casually strolling along. No doubt some of them were really struggling, carrying friends or relatives who were sick, injured and disabled, including some who were blind — physically carrying them up that mountain, to Jesus.

How much planning, how much effort did that take? And on the part of the healthy and the sick, how much faith?

Jesus and the disciples had been visiting the area of Tyre and Sidon where they’d had an encounter with the Syrophoenician woman (Matthew 15:21-28).

Leaving there they headed east, skirting the northern coast of the Sea of Galilee before stopping at an unnamed mountain, probably in the Decapolis region across the Jordan River.

Matthew 15:29-38 describes those events:

After going up on the mountain, He was sitting there.  Large crowds came to Him bringing with them those who were limping, had impaired limbs, were blind, or were unable to speak, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them.

The crowd was astonished as they saw those who were unable to speak talking, those with impaired limbs restored, those who were limping walking around, and those who were blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

(Can you imagine the joy-filled praise and worship that was going on? The excitement? Do you suppose anybody in that crowd wanted to go home? I don’t. And eventually they got hungry.)

Now Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”

The disciples said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and He took the seven loaves and the fish and after giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full. And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.  [Matthew 15:29-38 NASB20]

I can’t help but wonder — how much longer did they all stay there, up on that mountain with Jesus?

Now that they were all healed, healthy, whole and well fed, spiritually and physically, nobody needed to be carried back down, unless maybe some sleepy, tired children.

So — how high a mountain would you climb, carrying a sick friend to Jesus?