Jesus exorcising at sunset

{{Short description|Miracle carried out by Jesus according to the Bible}} [[File:Sant Apollinare Nuovo - Healing of the demon-possessed.jpg|thumb|270px|Fifth century [[mosaic]] of ''Christ exorcising demons'', [[Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo]], [[Ravenna]], Italy]] The [[synoptic gospels]] portray '''Jesus exorcising at sunset''' just after he had [[Healing the mother of Peter's wife|healed the mother of Peter's wife]], in {{bibleverse||Matthew|8:16-17|NKJV}}, {{bibleverse||Mark|1:32-34|NKJV}} and {{bibleverse||Luke|4:40-41|NKJV}}.<ref>''Matthew'' by Robert Horton Gundry (Oct 1, 1995) {{ISBN|0802807356}} page 149; [[John Clowes (priest)|Clowes, John]], 1817, ''The Miracles of Jesus Christ'' published by J. Gleave, Manchester, UK page 36</ref>

According to the Gospels, after Jesus had healed the mother of Peter's wife, when evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. According to the [[Gospel of Matthew]], this was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet [[Isaiah]]:

:"He took up our infirmities :and bore our diseases.<ref>{{bibleverse||Isaiah|53:4|NKJV}}</ref>

According to the [[Gospel of Luke]], as the demons came out of many people, they shouted, "You are the Son of God!" But Jesus rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the [[Christ]].

The accounts in the Gospels of [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] and Luke report events taking place on the [[Sabbath]]. [[Sunset|Sundown]] signified the end of the Jewish Sabbath. Many people came out or were brought out to Jesus to be healed of their infirmities and delivered from evil spirits. As described in the biblical account of the event, every single person that came out was healed or delivered. Jesus had compassion on the mass of people in his presence because he identified with the pain and suffering they were going through even though he was not subject to the afflictions himself. The supernatural power flowing out of Jesus provided evidence of him being the foretold Messiah of Israel as prophesied by the Isaiah the prophet.<ref>{{cite book|last1=McArthur|first1=Dr. John|title=Matthew 8-15 MacArthur New Testament Commentary|date=1987|publisher=The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago|isbn=0-8024-0763-3|pages=17–19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HEKIxlzX2acC&q=Matthew+8%3A16}}</ref>

Matthew's gospel makes no reference in this narrative its timing on the evening of Sabbath day: the first mention of the Sabbath day and [[sabbath controversy|controversies]] around Jesus acting on the Sabbath comes in [[Matthew 12]]. The [[Pulpit Commentary]] suggests that the events did take place on the evening of the Sabbath, the "original connexion [being] preserved, as it seems, in Mark and Luke" and lost in Matthew. When the sabbath was over ({{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:32|NKJV}}), people were free to carry out their sick. Alternatively, "should the day not have been a sabbath, we may presume that the evening was chosen as cooler for the sick to be moved, and as more convenient to those who carried them, the day's work being done".<ref>[http://biblehub.com/commentaries/pulpit/matthew/8.htm Pulpit Commentary] on Matthew 8, accessed 24 December 2016</ref>

==See also== * [[Life of Jesus in the New Testament]]

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

[[Category:Exorcisms of Jesus]] [[Category:Gospel of Matthew]] [[Category:Gospel of Mark]] [[Category:Gospel of Luke]]