Jesus and his time...

So I've just read thru the book of Matthew (I won't tell you how long it took me....)
And I've found alot of interesting stuff in it.

The first was out of Matthew 15 where Jesus went up to a mountain and a bunch of people followed bringing all their sick family and friends.

And it says "they put them at his feet and he healed them"

Then it goes on to say that Jesus "has compassion" on the crowd because they had been with him 3 DAYS and were hungry.  Then of course he feeds them with "7 loaves and a few small fish" which is yet another miracle but it's not what caught my attention.

The part that caught my attention was "Those who ate were 4000 men, besides women and children."

And the question's that came to mind were...

1. How many got healed and how long did it take to heal them all?

2. Why didn't he just wave his hands over them all "mass healing" or even a better use of his time organize them into like groups... the deaf over here, the demon possesed at the back, the lame over there. And then they'd have healing within their own groups.

So what came to mind was that Jesus was known for his compassion.  And I totally can't imagine him separating them into groups because he wouldn't have had a personal interaction with them.  And I doubt they would have felt cared for.   HOWEVER he totally could have done the mass healing thing because he was known to heal people in other cities or who weren't in his presence.

But he didn't.

I assume the disciples asked themselves the same questions.  Because they were known for asking questions that frustrated Jesus.  It seems to be in the best use of his time to get these healings over and done with.  There are more than 4000 people.  Why not "fast food" healing.  Oh even better, drive thru healing.  You could just push the wheelchair past him, you wouldn't even have to stop.  (is that sacreligious?)

So I did the math

If he took 5 minutes with each person
And if 20% of the male crowd were seeking healing
Then that would be 800 people
12 people an hour
Over 10 hours - 120 people
It would take 66 hours to heal 800 people.

There are only 72 hours in 3 days.
It didn't state he stopped for coffee breaks, meals or sleep
It says that "Jesus healed them" not Jesus and his disciples

And it also says "many others" were brought to him (meaning not fitting into the lame, blind, crippled or lame categories)

So it made me think again, were there any people who came to Jesus with insignificant things?  Like an ingrown toenail or a broken arm?  Sore throat? Diarrhea?
Was there a limit on what he would heal?  Would he turn anyone away?
Did he say "put a little aloe vera on it, it'll be better in a couple days"

Was he serious when he was healing?  Did he make jokes? Did he get tired?  Did he look at his watch?  Could he even see the end of the line?

And then I wonder, exactly how many people did he heal in total thru his 3 year ministry on earth?  Alot more than 800 I know.  And how is it that people still would not believe he was the savior the prophets spoke of?  When everyone's brother had been healed of something.  It must have been something to be on that mountain for 3 days.

I wonder if that could ever happen again? 

I hope if it ever does that I'm there.

Rhonda