Matthew 4:23-25

²³ And 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. ²⁴ Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. ²⁵ Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. 

Commentary

Now Jesus’ ministry begins! And what a ministry, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the gospel (i.e. the Good News) of the Kingdom, healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Jesus is the Living Word of God come in the flesh and His Words, Works and Ways prove and approve Him alone, for the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Messiah, King, Savior, High Priest, Redeemer and our Friend has come in the flesh to save people! And so it is Jesus both taught in the Jews synagogues, (where the Word of God was known), just as He preached too and healed people on the streets (where the Word of God was often unknown, but was becoming known!), leaving then no place where the Word of God and the glory of God could be heard and seen by one and by all! Therefore Jesus’ fame spread well beyond the regions of Galilee and right up into Syria, and thus well beyond borders of Israel, and so people started coming to Jesus from all over, bringing to Him all kinds of sick people, who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, as well as those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; (basically people suffering from every kind of seemingly incurable physical and spiritual aliment) came to Jesus and He healed them all (vs. 24)! No small sign that God was here and was working mightily not only amongst His own people Israel, but more importantly He was reaching well beyond their borders and boundaries of them and reaching into the hearts and lives of the Gentiles, and healing all those who were historically their enemies! It was an awesome beginning to an awesome Ministry that was bringing Great multitudes of people from the north, the south, the east and west, for they came from Galilee, from Decapolis (a league of ten cities that included Damascus Syria’s capital), Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, Judea (the southern region of Israel), they even came from beyond the Jordan to Jesus to follow Him, for such was the fame of Jesus amongst the nations that people began flooding to Him in hope. And so the Scripture says Great multitudes followed Jesus; Jews and Gentiles, the clean and the unclean all followed Jesus, for all where received by Jesus who received Him. The only question then is will you? Will you also become a partaker of the Hope of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and likewise become a disciple of His? For the love and grace of God is being freely offered to you, begin then by receiving Christ for yourself and He will likewise receive and transform you (John 1:12; Rev. 3:20).

Scripture Quotations

The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.