Matthew 5:1-2 Luke 6:17-19
The appointment of the apostles was followed very closely by
a time of instruction about the kingdom and what it means to be a follower of
Jesus. The message that we will be
looking at over the next several days gives us keen insight into the will of
God as well as God’s view of the way the people who claimed to follow Him
believed. These people thought they knew
God and were living a life in way that was pleasing to Him. Jesus reveals the truth about God to His
disciples and the throng of people who gathered around Him. We all have been influenced by the traditions
of our families and churches to understand God and His will in a certain way. It is easy for us to become comfortable in
these traditions and not really live according to the Word of God. It is important for us to be reminded about
how God looks at the world and then adjust all our traditions accordingly.
A VARIETY OF PEOPLE CAME TO HEAR JESUS: Many different
people from many different walks of life came out to the region of Galilee in
order to hear Jesus. First, we see that
His disciples were present. These were
men who had been chosen by Jesus to follow Him and now He wants to instruct them
as to what it truly means to follow Him.
There is also a group that has come from Jerusalem and Judea. This is a significant distance from His
current location. Jesus had been in this
region and was meeting with significant opposition so He left and came to
Galilee. These would have been mostly
Jews who were striving to practice the Law and live according to the traditions
of their faith. The people followed Him
because they wanted to hear Him and because they were desperate to be healed by
Him. Next, we see a group of people from
the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. A
certain percentage of these people would have been Jews as well, but they were
not likely as devote as the group from Jerusalem. However, there would have been a significant
number of Gentiles in this group as well.
The ministry of Jesus resonated with people from all different places
and backgrounds. God’s heart has always
been for the nations of the world. We
all tend to be more comfortable when we are with people that are similar to
us. Following Jesus means breaking out
of that comfort zone and loving people from all different races and places.
A VARIETY OF PROBLEMS WERE HELPED BY JESUS: These people
came to Jesus in order to hear Him but they were also desperate to be
healed. They had significant needs and
believed that Jesus had the ability to meet those needs. Some were in need of healing while others
were possessed by daemons and needed to be set free. The text says Jesus was healing all of
them. It was rare for Jesus to perform “mass
healings” like this. However, on this
occasion it seems Jesus wanted to get the physical and daemonic problems taken
care of so He could teach the people the truths of God without
distraction. Sick people are usually clearly
focused on being healed. There does not
seem to be a particular formula for healing.
Jesus responded to the pleas of the people for help while others came
and touched Him because His power was coming from Him to heal all who were in
the vicinity. The power of Jesus was
clearly on display and made His teaching that much more impactful. Jesus is able to heal all diseases and
command all daemons. He does not always
heal all of these problems like He did in this passage, but we can trust in His
power and follow His commandments because we understand His authority over us
and all the people and circumstances that surround us.
APPLICATION: Share in God’s passion for the nations. Don’t allow traditions or any kind of
prejudice keep us from hearing and following the Word of God. Strive to meet the needs of people so they
might be able to hear the message of the Gospel without distraction. Don’t allow meeting physical needs to become
a distraction from the proclamation of the Gospel.
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