Matthew 4:21 “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.”
He came teaching, preaching, and healing. That’s the Jesus of Matthew 4. He called fishermen to follow him and they went about teaching, preaching, and healing.
He came teaching like a Jewish Rabbi, because there was a lot for those Jewish followers to learn, and there was a lot for them to unlearn….oh, we’ll get to that in the coming weeks..…
He came preaching, a man on a mission, with good news to proclaim and zero time to waste! All that the prophets had prophesied, all that the patriarchs had promised, passing down God’s covenantal promises generation after generation….the time had finally come.
Flip over to the gospel of Luke chapter 4; we find Jesus preaching and teaching. He reads from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”…..he takes a seat and simply says,
“Today….. this scripture….. is fulfilled….. in your hearing.”
And you could have heard a pin drop.
The “Good News” Jesus came to preach…..“I’m here. I’m it. I’m the one you were promised, I’m prophecy fulfilled, the one you’ve waited for. The Kingdom of God is staring right at you.…. I am Messiah.”
And Jesus came healing. Full of God’s Spirit, Jesus miraculously healed people physically to point to their needs and his ability to heal spiritually. He healed because he was compassionate certainly, but he healed pains, diseases, and seizures to prove he had the power to heal permanently. Jesus restored sight to the blind for them to see the way, the truth, and the life. He made the lame walk, so they might know the thrill of walking in obedience with their Redeemer. He healed EVERY disease, EVERY sickness to prove there was nothing that could keep them from living life fully loved by the Father. For the paralyzed, the possessed, those in pain…Jesus said, “No. Not today. It’s the year of Jubilee, the year of the Lord’s favor, and you’re gonna experience the joy of freedom like never before because I am with you, I am the Good news.”
Donielle Winter EFCC Member