Yes, we are jumping back into Matthew's gospel and we previously ended on Matthew 4:22. Next, Jesus preaches to great crowds.

 This next section of Matthew's gospel is entitled

“Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds.”

Yes, we are jumping back into Matthew's gospel, and we previously ended on Matthew 4:22, where four of the new disciples have left their jobs fishing and are now following Jesus.

I now throw in a bonus question.

Where was the Apostle Paul's first stop in virtually every city he entered?

If you said the synagogue, you would have been right. But that opens a line of sarcastic questioning; I thought the focus, here in the Gospels, was on Jesus? Well, it is, but guess what? We frequently found Jesus in the synagogues.

What was the logic of a move like that?

Some will say, what an odd question, seeing as the message Paul delivered almost got him killed on several occasions and was his final end.

One of the answers to such an obvious question is that Paul was a changed man and thoroughly committed to the message of Jesus and God's grace because of what he encountered on the road to Damascus. Paul was prepared to die for this message of grace.

Isn't that what we saw in Jesus?

Jesus did not change His ways, for He was sin-free (this state of being sin-free had everything to do with NOT being born with damaged human DNA. Yes, I believe that the fruit they ate, much like current vaccines that change your DNA, changed theirs, and every human being born of man was born with a propensity to sin. God bypassed all that by having the virgin Mary carry a fertilized ovum that He made.) In spite of valid temptations from Satan, Jesus stayed committed to the painful path that would bring those of us who accept God's love back into the arms of the Father.

How do I apply what Paul did to Christ?

Jesus, too, was painfully aware that His death would come, and it is not difficult to watch something like The Chosen, which portrayed Him frequently praying all night, and imagine Him speaking freely with the Father and asking, is there any other way? He knew what was coming for Him would be brutal and painful, and yet He continued to stay committed to the cross.

When you read the Gospels, you see Jesus frequently saying things like, tell no one, and my time has not yet come. No, He did not want to die prematurely – as though that could happen but was more than willing to take our place on the cross and pour out His blood on our behalf.

So, what did Paul preach to these Jews in their synagogues?

The message that Paul preached was based on the Torah – the Old Testament and there were always a few who listened, heard the truth, absorbed what he said, and believed.

So, too, was the message that Jesus preached. He preached from the Torah, just as Paul did. Now, picture the disciples. Did they understand, absorb, and believe? Strangely, many indicated that they did. The reality of that understanding was wrapped up in their longing for Jesus to be the warring Messiah that they longed for. Instead of war, his message was one of love and the hope of peace obtained by a relationship with the Father. 

In either case, these new Jewish “believers” were the beginnings of new churches, which we are familiar with because Paul wrote letters back to those communities.

So much for an introduction.

“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.” Matthew 4:23 MKJV)

Let that sink in.

• Jesus went about all Galilee.

  This sounds like purposeful intent to me. The crowds were not in the Jewish synagogues but were the result of the times when they fed the thousands that came, and they came because of the miracles.

• Doing what?

  Teaching in their synagogues.

  That means, in Galilee, Jesus had a reputation as a respected Rabbi, and they gave Him, initially, an open door to teach.

  Preaching the gospel of the kingdom.

  The Jews had an understanding of what the kingdom represented, and it had everything to do with the time when God was back in full control of the earth, and Jesus ruled as the warring Messiah. While that imagery must have carried some weight in Jesus' mind, the kingdom was, at this point, love and gentleness.

  What did He tell James and John when they wanted to call fire down on the small crowd that disrespected them?

  Effectively, He said that is NOT why they were here and that they were to act as gentle as doves and wise as serpents.

And healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

Matthew 4:23 ESV  “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.”

If you are doing a more intense study, read from multiple translations because that one word that the translators used has multiple meanings.

“The news G189 about Him spread G565 R1 throughout G1519 all G3650 Syria G4947; and they brought G4374 to Him all G3956 who were ill G2192 G2560, those suffering G4912 with various G4164 diseases G3554 and pains G931, R2 demoniacs G1139, N1 R3 epileptics G4583, R4 paralytics G3885; and He healed G2323 them.”
Matthew 4:24 NASB+)

• who were ill

  G2192 echō - to be held in possession.

  G2560 kakōs - to be grievously ill, wrongly held by evil.

• suffering

  G4912 sunechō - suffering, perplexed, or afflicted.

• various

  G4164 poikilos - various, diverse, manifold.

• diseases

  G3554 nosos - Disease, sickness. Metaphorically, pain, sorrow, evil.

• pains

  G931 basanos - (by analogy) torture: - just generally tormented.

• Those who were thought to be demoniacs

  G1139 daimonizomai - to be used by a demon: - to be vexed with, or possessed by demons.

• Epileptics

  G4583 selēniazomai – these people often shake uncontrollably and fall: -many are thought to be lunatics.

• Paralytics

  G3885 paralutikos - “paralytic”: one who is deprived of the power of muscular motion; there are sometimes thought of as weak, trembling, and subject to  involuntary shaking;

After doing all this for the people, His fame spread throughout Syria and a few other places.

“And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy, and he healed them.
Matthew 4:24 KJV)

In the book of Acts, we see a statement that seems to be a retelling of Matthew 4:24.

“But in every nation he that fears him, and works righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
Acts 10:35-38 KJV)

This last statement, more than all the others, says that there is no disease among humans that does not have its origins in Satanic oppression. I also had a strong sense that this was Peter talking because Peter did not mention Syria, the land of Gentiles. It is.

Why wouldn't Peter, in Acts 10, bring the Syrians into the conversation?

Because he, more than Matthew (an apostate Jew when Jesus found him,) was a devout Jew and Syrians were unclean; to touch them would have made him unclean (according to Jewish - add-on laws – the Tenach), and Peter struggled to maintain his Jewish identity.

Some will try to come back at me on this last statement because Peter was the Apostle to the Gentiles. Yeah, that didn't last long; we know this because we eventually find Peter seated among the “Christian” Jewish council in Jerusalem.

Acts chapter ten seems to be the major marker that we assume makes him the Apostle to the Gentiles. The scriptures tell us.

“There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius!" And when he observed him, he was afraid and said, "What is it, lord?" So he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa and send for Simon, whose surname is Peter.” Acts 10:1-5 NKJV)

It is possible this is the same centurion who, upon seeing all that happened to Jesus, said, surely this is the Son of God. If not, it is a peculiar coincidence that the scriptures give us multiple instances that refer to “the centurion.”

“And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.” Matthew 27:53-54 KJV)

We are not told what Cornelius' prayer was, but if I were to guess, he wanted as much of God as God was willing to give. With that in mind, the angel in the vision tells him that his prayers and acts of kindness have come up before God, so go get Peter.

I am always stunned at how well God coordinates these appointments. So, while Cornelius has sent men to ask if Peter would come to the house, in the meantime, God begins to show Peter a vision that, in a few minutes, breaks down Peter's barriers in a manner that would convince Peter to enter the house of a Gentile. (Note, at this point, for the most part, salvation - life in Christ, has only come to the Jews.)

“...Peter went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat, but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And a voice came to him, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." But Peter said, "Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean." And a voice spoke to him again the second time, "What God has cleansed you must not call common." Acts 10:9-15 NKJV)

In case you are lost, we have been working on Matthew 4:24, where Jesus' fame went throughout all of Syria. By the time Peter has his interaction with Cornelius and his family, Jesus has been dead for several years now.

If Jesus went into Syria, we are not told about it in any other place.

It becomes obvious and quickly that Jesus has been to many places.

Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. Matthew 4:25 NKJV)

People were now following Jesus, not just from Galilee but from Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea.

So this travelog begins with John the baptizer baptizing Jesus somewhere around Bethany. Jesus traveled North to Nazareth and then to Capernaum and eventually moved South once again toward Jerusalem.