As Jesus walked the dusty streets and roads of the towns, villages, and countryside of Palestine, He was accompanied by His disciples, but also by large crowds of people who marvelled at His miracles of healing. As He walked along, He seemed to be selective as to those He healed by picking out only certain individuals; He even knew some of their names. He was following the plan outlined for Him on a daily basis in His morning meditations, and in the vision that He had received during the forty days in the wilderness. During those forty days He was in vision, and "He saw himself healing the sick, comforting the hopeless,. cheering the desponding, and preaching the gospel to the poor" (SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, p 1080). No doubt He saw the faces of those He would heal, and perhaps He even saw Zacchaeus in the sycamore tree. It seems strange that His disciples never questioned Him about how He performed these miracles. Evidently, they just assumed that this power was a part of His divine attributes. However, when He told them that they would be doing the same and even greater miracles, they were amazed as they must have doubted their power to do so. The reason they were amazed is because they did not understand how Jesus healed.
There was only one person on record in the New Testament that really understood how Jesus healed. The story is told in the Gospel of Matthew about a certain centurion who came to Christ requesting that He heal his paralyzed servant. When Jesus offered to come to his house he surprised Jesus with the reply, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed" (Matt. 8:5-10). He proceeded to explain that he had soldiers under his command, and whatever he told them to do, they did it. Similarly, he recognized that Jesus had authority over heavenly agents who did His bidding. Jesus was amazed at the man's insight. This centurion exhibited more faith and understanding than anyone in Israel.
Here in this story we have the curtain drawn back to reveal the vital part angels played in the performance of Christ's miracles. When Jesus was here on earth, He retained His position as Captain of the Lord's host, and He stated on one occasion that if necessary He had legions of these heavenly soldiers at His beck and call (Matt. 26:53). These same miracle-working angels enabled the disciples to duplicate the works of Jesus, and they are available today to heal the sick and afflicted under the direction of the Holy Spirit who has been sent down to earth as Christ's representative as Captain of the Lord's host (DA. p 352). Empowered by His authority, and under His direction, they are ready and eager to continue their work on behalf of God's children as "the miracle workers."
