Matthew 4:23 – 5:1

Matthew 4:23 – 5:1

And He was wandering about in the whole of Galilee while teaching in their synagogues and while proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom and while healing every disease and every sickness in the people.  And news of Him went out into the whole of Syria, and they brought to Him all the ones who were in a bad state: while having various diseases and while being controlled by severe suffering and while being possessed by a demon and while suffering from epilepsy, and the paralyzed.  And He healed them.  And great crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and the other side of the Jordan.  And after seeing the crowds, He ascended up into the mountain.  And after He sat down His disciples drew near to Him. 

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus goes on a tear here.  He goes everywhere in Galilee.  He preaches in all the synagogues.  But let me bring up two points here. 

• First of all, remember how the typical Jewish perspective of Galilee was that it was a place for trouble-makers and Jews who liked to keep the company of Gentiles?  This is why Nathaniel asks Philip in John 1:46 in anything good can come out of Nazareth.  But Jesus doesn’t seem to have much trouble whatsoever with doing ministry among the people that the religious elite would so easily write off. 
• Second, notice how little is said here of Jesus’ works?  If Jesus was healing of every disease and malady I have got to believe that there were some pretty awesome stories.  But we don’t have any of them.  Instead, this comment is merely a footnote intended to set up the context for Jesus’ teaching.  We tend to focus on the miraculous and find importance in that.  But the truth is that the Gospel writers focused on Jesus teaching and discipleship and found greater truth in this than in the miraculous events.

Are you ever guilty of judging others and believing that no ministry can happen in a certain place?  Why might we be quick to judge in certain contexts?  What are you inherently more interested: Jesus’ truth or Jesus’ miraculous power?

Second Thought:

Let’s take a look at the list of places that people follow Jesus.  Galille – the place where rebels and Jews who didn’t mind Gentile contact lived.  Decapolis – Gentile controlled land that was formerly occupied by the Jews.  Jerusalem – the religious center of the Jews.  Judea – the region where the regular Jewish society was focused.  The people across the Jordan – those who were formerly in places like Ammon and Moab.  The point is that all kinds of people followed Him.  Yes, there were Jews who followed Him and clearly the Jews made up His core group of disciples.  But Jesus’ ministry was intended for the whole world – Jew and Gentile alike.  God’s plan of salvation was not just for the Jew, it was for everyone.

Why is it important to see that even in the early stages of Jesus’ ministry He was ministering to Jew and Gentile alike?  Why do you think we have such difficulty seeing that God’s salvation is for all?

Third Thought:

Take a look at how Matthew describes this teaching.  Traditionally we get a sense that Jesus was teaching the huge crowd all at once.  If you skim ahead to Matthew 7:28-29 you can understand why we get that picture.  The crowds are astonished at His teaching.  However, Matthew sets a different picture at the beginning.  Matthew tells us that seeing the crowds, Jesus draws himself up the mountain and pulls His disciples around Him.  What this feels like is a more intimate teaching setting where the teachings of Jesus would trickle through the crowds.  This would make a whole lot more sense.  How could Jesus teach an incredible gathering of people?  Jesus would teach His disciples and those who were gathered around Him.  Then the word would pass along through the crowd.  I don’t mean to imply that Jesus did not teach the crowd.  But take a moment and consider the great care that Matthew gives to telling us that Jesus draws up the mountain and teaches the Twelve.  There is an intention sense of intimacy around and through this teaching.

Why is it important to remember that there is a time and a place for intimacy among teaching?  Do you learn best in a large crowd or in a more intimate setting?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 5:2-5