‘And when evening was come, they brought to him many possessed with demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick.'
Having given three remarkable examples of healing; of a leper, a Gentile and a fevered woman, Matthew now goes on to emphasise how Jesus also healed many. It was a special time of healing because of the reason for His coming. He was demonstrating the presence of the Coming One and of the Kingly Rule of Heaven. Notice first that His power over the spirit world was revealed. He had come to destroy the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8). As a result of His coming the powers of evil were in turmoil and revealing themselves as never before. And His own authority was revealed in that He cast them out with a word. And He also healed all who were sick. For He wanted to make clear that He had come to introduce a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15).
‘The spirits.' These were also called ‘evil spirits', ‘demons' and ‘devils'. They were powers of evil which often possessed men's lives when they indulged in idol worship or the occult.