“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.”
In this text, Matthew gave us a view of the ministry of Jesus in a nutshell. Everywhere He went during His earthly ministry, Jesus taught, preached and healed. This threefold ministry shows us His major concerns for people that are still His concerns today. These three aspects of Jesus’ ministry touch our lives, and enable us to touch the lives of others. Always remember that what we learn in the Bible is not just for our knowledge but for our benefit and for the benefit of those with whom we live and work. The footnote in The Life Application Bible gave me some insight on this that I will share with you: “Teaching shows Jesus’ concern for understanding; preaching shows Jesus’concern for commitment and healing shows His concern for wholeness.” All of these aspects of Jesus’ ministry touch our lives and the lives of others with whom we associate. Jesus taught so that people could come to an understanding of what He was all about. This surely means that Jesus taught such Old Testament passages as Isaiah 53 in which it is said about Jesus that: “Surely He hath borne our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” He wanted people to know who He was, based on Old Testament prophecy. That is why it is so important for us to be involved in a daily study of scripture. We cannot share with others what we do not understand ourselves. Just as Jesus taught people in His earthly ministry, He has given us the Holy Spirit to teach us and to help us understand what Christ and the life that He promises is all about. Of course, that understanding is not given to us as a secret, but is given to us in order for us to tell others. Our understanding of Jesus does enrich our lives beyond measure, but He wants this understanding to enrich the lives of the people around us. Jesus preached because of His concern for commitment. His teaching gives understanding, but His preaching calls upon us to go beyond understanding what Jesus is about to actually letting it make a difference in our lives. For example, when Jesus called Peter and Andrew in Matthew 4:18-19 He called them to commitment: “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishermen. 19. And He said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” The essence of the preaching of Jesus was and is that people will commit their lives to doing what He commands according to His purpose for their lives. We need to take this to heart. It is not important that we just understand what Jesus is about, but that we commit our lives to Him and witness and minister to other people. Jesus healed people out of concern for their wholeness. He was not just about healing bodies, but He was concerned that His healing make a difference in the way people lived. Physical healing is certainly possible in Jesus, but physical healing does not make one whole. Wholeness comes when the physical healing results in those who have been touched by His healing hand make a commitment to serve Him. It is certainly appropriate for us to pray for Jesus to heal people. I do it all of the time. But we must pray that in this healing, the people will find wholeness. In other words it is important that their healing would go beyond the physical aspects and make a difference in the way that they live. Jesus wants to touch our lives through what He taught, preached and did. He also wants us to touch other people’s lives with what we have learned and personally know about Him. Let this threefold ministry touch your life today, and let it touch the lives of those about you. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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