Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Matthew 4:23-25 (NIV)
Jesus Heals the Sick
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
Jesus has just called his disciples to follow, and they did. Now, as they begin their ministry with Jesus, perhaps they wondered where all of this was going. It didn’t take long to see that Jesus wasn’t like the other rabbis and teachers. His manner of teaching, his desire to educate his followers, and preach to any gathered crowd, his ability to heal and cast out demons… Jesus was not like the other rabbis. As we continue to study the life of Jesus, keep watch. Notice that Jesus is not simply gathering followers for the sake of having people around him. Jesus’ disciples are gathered close, trained up and sent out! They do not exist for their own sake, or even to raise Jesus’ status. The disciples are an extension of Christ, called to proclaim the Kingdom of God. And in that, nothing has changed. Our role, as disciples, is the same. We are gathered close, trained up and sent out to impact the world for Christ. Let’s Go!