Anchor My Faith

From Town to Town

Scripture: Mt 4:23-24; Mk 4:38; Lk 4:42-43

We ended the previous lesson with Simon, and those with him, finding Jesus praying to his Father and he tells Jesus that everyone was looking for him. ^{“Lk 4:42} The people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them.” Having Jesus among them made life more comfortable for them. They were not so interested in what Jesus was teaching, but in his ability to heal them and maybe, as time goes by, provide other things for them. They wanted to keep Jesus there for selfish reasons.

But Jesus had other plans: ^{“Mk 4:38} He said to [his disciples], “Let us go on to the next towns.” Jesus was sent by his Father with a message for all to hear and if that were to happen, he must move on to the next town. He said: ^{“Lk 4:43} I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” Jesus didn’t come, primarily, to heal people of their physical sicknesses or to cast out demons. Those activities were to demonstrate his authority in his teaching. His teaching was to be the main focus, not the signs and wonders that demonstrated his authority and power.

^{“Mt 4:23} And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.” At that time, it was estimated that Galilee had a population of about 300,000 located in 200 or more villages, but the area contained no major cities. Again, we see from this verse that the ministry of Jesus had two parts to it. He taught, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and he healed people of their diseases and afflictions. Meeting these physical needs not only gave authority to his teaching, but also pointed to the future when there would be no suffering. This is implied in 1 Corinthians 15:42-43 (ESV): “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.”

As Jesus goes from town to town, teaching and healing more and more people connected with him. ^{“Mt 4:24} So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.” In Matthew 4:23, Jesus went throughout all Galilee, but it seems he continued on north into Syria where his fame also spread. (Link to maps of ancient Israel.)

Prayer

Father, you sent Jesus to proclaim the gospel and in this lesson we see Jesus doing that throughout Galilee and into Syria. In Mark 16:15 Jesus commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel and in Matthew 28:19, we are commanded to make disciples from those we preach to. It appears to me that Jesus set the example we are to follow. However, I remember Jesus saying, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves” (Matthew 10:16). Father, I pray for believers who obey in countries of persecution and I also pray for people living in freedom who are living in disobedience.