<p>15:30&nbsp;<em>And there came to him great crowds</em>- The use of the Greek word&nbsp;<em>ochlos</em>&nbsp;is perhaps intended to be associated with the very similar word&nbsp;<em>oichos</em>, family. The Lord was seeking to turn those multitudes of variously motivated people into a family- His ecclesia.</p>
<p><em>Having with them the lame, blind, dumb, maimed and many others</em>- This is an intentional echo of the Kingdom prophecy of Is. 35:5,6, where we read of the healing of &quot;the blind... the deaf... the lame... the dumb&quot;. The Lord purposefully healed multitudes of lame and blind, and allowed them to come to Him in the temple (Mt. 21:14). His acted out message was clearly that those who were despised as unfit for God&rsquo;s service were now being welcomed by Him into that service. The lame and blind were despised because they couldn&rsquo;t work. They had to rely on the grace of others. Here again is a crucial teaching: those called are those who can&rsquo;t do the works, but depend upon grace.</p>
<p><em>And they put them down</em>- Another touch of the eye witness account. For they had just carried handicapped people up a mountainside.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>At his feet, and he healed them</em>- This is not merely an incidental description. To be&nbsp;<em>para pous</em>&nbsp;(&ldquo;at the feet of&rdquo;) a person was significant- it was a declaration of their seniority as a leader and teacher (Lk. 7:38; 8:35,41; 10:39; 17:16; Acts 4:35,37; 5:2; 7:58; 22:3). The term would surely not have been used here unless it has that sense. The point is perhaps that people were brought to Jesus, with all the healing and teaching that implies, because of the effort of third parties for them.&nbsp;</p>