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"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, and His
fame went throughout Syria, and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken
with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with demons, and
those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy;
AND HE HEALED THEM."
The result of these mighty works was that:--
"there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and
from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan."
A glance at the map shows that thus early in the Lord's ministry His mighty works
were known throughout the length and breadth of the land. It is important to observe the
setting in which these miracles were wrought. The miracles were not mere exhibitions of
power, neither were they performed to strike terror into the observers, for they were all of
one character, viz., miracles of healing, and attracted followers from all parts of the
country. The miracles formed a supplement to TEACHING and PREACHING. The last
reference to miracles in the Gospel narratives says the same thing, "and they went forth
and PREACHED everywhere, the Lord WORKING with them, and confirming the
WORD with signs following" (Mark 16: 20). Again, in Matt. 10:, we find the same
connection, "As ye go, PREACH, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand, heal the
sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons". Yet again the necessary
association of preaching and miracles is implied in Matt. 11:, "He departed thence to
TEACH and to PREACH in their cities. Now when John had heard in prison the
WORKS of Christ". The object (or at least a prominent object) with which the miracles
were wrought is given in Matt. 11: 20, "then began He to upbraid the cities wherein most
of His mighty works were done, because they repented not". The close connection
between the miracles and the testimony is also indicated in Matt. 13: 58, "He did not
many mighty works there because of their unbelief". Matt. 9: 35 presents a practical
repetition of Matt. 4: 23, as the reader can observe, and should be read in connection
with the commission of Matt. 10:
One of the characteristic accompaniments of the preaching of the gospel of the
kingdom was the presence of miracles. One of the characteristic features of the
preaching of the mystery is the absence of miracles. We might notice the extent of the
miraculous healing given in Matt. 4: 23, 24, "healing all manner of sickness and all
manner of disease"; "all sick people that were taken with divers diseases, and torments,
and those which were possessed with demons, and those who were lunatick, and those
who had the palsy, and He healed them ALL". The details are given more fully as the
narrative advances, and when we see the complete list of the mighty works that are
recorded in the Gospels we shall begin to realize what a confirmation is given to His
ministry; and when we add to that the testimony of John 21: 25, "there are also many
other things which Jesus DID, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose
that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written", the
confirmation of His Messiahship must have been overwhelming. Yet they crucified Him!
Yet they repented not! What a testimony then to the nature of the human heart.