Among the People
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“Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.” The beginning of Matthew 4:23-5:2 records that Jesus’ ministry
was among the people. Big crowds followed Him; how did they get there? First, Jesus went to the people—“[He] went about all Galilee.” (v.23) Literally, that means He kept moving; day after day; week after week. All Galilee is no small task: 70 miles by 40 miles; approximately 200+ cities and villages; about 3 million people there. It was an exhausting mission, from town to town, synagogue to synagogue: “teaching” or explaining truth; “preaching” the good news; “healing” all kinds of sickness, all kinds of disease. Jesus was out there in the streets. Second, Jesus became known everywhere—“His fame went throughout all Syria.” (v. 24) How did Jesus’ ministry spread? It was by word-of-mouth; no mass advertising. Personal invitation is effective, and the other is useful in the process. Third, Jesus was sought by everyone—“They brought to Him all sick people.” (v. 24) Jesus didn’t make it easy for them. If the people wanted to hear Him or experience His ministry, they had to follow Him, and keep up—He kept on moving. Hmm, that’s interesting! We work so hard to make a comfortable setting to attract people to hear the gospel. Jesus attracted the multitudes while moving among them. Jesus attended to the multitudes while moving among them. Jesus’ motivation when He saw the people was their confusion: check out Matthew 9:35-38. As a result, Jesus was motivated to teach them; and He proceeded to explain what it meant to be a disciple, not just to receive some physical blessing. In order to be effective ministers for the Lord, it is necessary to learn to see properly and respond properly to what we see.
Sin cera, Erik
Erik O. Garthe is Associate Pastor at Canton Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland.
