Mark 6:53  And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore.
54  And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him,
55  And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was.
56  And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.

The Sea of Galilee was an important travel corridor for Jesus and His disciples. He often travelled across that sea during His short time of public ministry. In this text we find Him back in the land of Gennesaret, where He had cast out the devils into the swine. We read that before He even reached the shore, the people were already coming to Him from around the region.
The people were obviously hungry for something. They were not concerned about physical food at this point. They were not concerned about spiritual food either. They were interested in healing.
We read that people ran throughout the region and began to carry those who were sick. They brought them in their beds. They were not going to wait for Jesus to travel to various places. They were coming to Him in droves.
Even though they did not have the internet or even phones, the news of where Jesus was travelled rather quickly. People will talk about things they have an interest in.
We see that Jesus was not locked down to a particular place either. He travelled from village to village and to different cities as well. The people were quite sure of His ability to heal their sick. They brought the sick out into the streets and placed them where He would be coming. They believed that if the sick could just touch the border of His garment, they would be healed. We know this was the belief of the woman with the issue in an earlier text. She found out that Jesus could indeed heal her.
We read here that as many as touched Him were made whole. Jesus came to set the captive free. He came to deliver man from the spiritual bondage he is born in. He allowed people to be healed from a simple touch here, to again prove His ability to deal with the spiritual disease of sin we are all born with.
That is of far greater significance than physical healing. Healthy people die all the time. There is a day for each person to be born and there is a day when each person will die. Some die in their youth and others live to be quite old. The reality is that:

Hebrews 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

The writer of the book of Hebrews makes much of Jesus Christ. He is better than the angels and better than the prophets. He is also better than the Old Testament priesthood. He is the great high priest. He did not make an atonement for sin with the use of animal blood; but He laid down His own life and shed His own blood to take away our sins. That is what we truly need.
The book of Hebrews does not speak of Jesus’ ability to heal the body. It talks of His ability to forgive sin. The Gospels speak of His healing often. The Gospels prove that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah. The prophets declared that the Messiah would heal many. John the Baptist never healed anyone. Elijah had the power to heal a few people in his lifetime. However, no one had the power to heal as Jesus did. No one since that time has been given that power either.
Physical healing was not the main thing with the apostles either. The preaching of the Gospel of Christ was the main thing. The apostle Paul did some healing, but his main purpose was to preach Christ crucified. That message was not popular then and it still is not popular today. Paul did not hold healing sessions and then try to sneak some Gospel in there. He preached the Gospel and occasionally healed a person. The need of man is spiritual healing.
The people in our text were not aware of this great need. They assumed that if they could see their loved ones healed physically, then all would be well.
In our text we do not read of Jesus speaking to the people along the way. We know that even with His healing, His message would be going out. He was the only One Who could heal so many people in this manner. No one else had ever done this and no one else has done so since that time.
There have been many fraudulent people claiming to have the power to heal people, but they are just that, they are frauds. There are many people who are quite desperate for healing, and they will try all kinds of things to resolve their health issues.
There is a young woman in Canada who was involved in a car crash a couple of years ago. She has lost the ability to walk and has been waiting to see a specialist for two years. None will see her to even assess what the next steps should be. She has become so desperate that she is willing to go to the U.S. and spend forty thousand dollars to have an assessment made and hopefully some remedial action taken. I am sure she is just one of many who are seeking help, but not finding it.
The sad reality is that most of those who are seeking help with physical and mental issues, are not even remotely concerned about their spiritual needs. They are asleep when it comes to this greatest need of all.
There was a time when there were more open air services where true, godly men would preach the Word to the people. There seems to have been a greater interest in spiritual matters in prior times. These days we seem to be more concerned with shutting down free speech, rather than appreciating that.
We have legislation being debated in our province that would make it illegal to misname a person. The sodomites have been very vocal and are being funded by God-haters. They want to get more money and will bring people up on charges for not “honouring” their desire to be called something other than a he or a she. They are is wicked individuals who will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, Who loves them. When they stand before Him, He will not ask them for their preferred pronouns. He will address them by their name and He will open the books and show them why they will be cast into the lake of fire. They will have all of eternity to regret their foolishness, but it will be too late.
Today is the day of salvation. Be sure you know the true God and the true Jesus. He can still heal the physical needs of man, but His purpose is to see souls saved. Those who are saved, will have new bodies in heaven. That is where physical and spiritual wholeness will take place. We live in a sin-cursed world and one of the realities of that world is physical sickness. We can find some relief for this, but the greatest need of man is to know the forgiveness of sins which is through repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastor Bartel