Jesus’ What, How, and Why // Matthew 4:23

Today’s verse shows us how Jesus kicked off His public ministry. Matthew’s telling gives us the what, how, and why of Jesus’ public ministry. He went through the Galilean region which consisted of some 200 villages with upwards of 300,000 people. Jesus went into the synagogues which were kind of like local churches to give people a place to worship apart from the main temple in Jerusalem. In most cases, synagogues did not have a dedicated ministry leader; rather, various rabbis would share the teaching responsibilities. So, what was it Jesus taught? It was good news of thew Kingdom of God! Boiling it down to a simple, yet BIG idea, the Gospel means salvation comes to us through the forgiveness of sin, which Jesus ultimately accomplished on the cross with his declaration, “It is finished” (John 19:30)!

We can see a model in Jesus’ ministry for how we can live our lives with — and for — the Lord. God wants us to see our community as our mission field, beginning in our very own homes. We are also to connect with a local faith community for spiritual instruction, support and accountability because we cannot go through life alone. Finally, the best news we can share is our past and present failures do not disqualify us from God’s saving power. Jesus died on the cross to free us from the deadly grip of sin and death. Jesus was also resurrected as the first born from the dead (Colossians 1:18) so we can all live eternally for Him right here and right now.

May we follow Jesus’ model to help Christ in His ongoing rescue mission for humanity (Luke 19:10). Let’s do this in our hearts, our homes, and the places where we learn, play, work, shop, etc. Jesus’ what, how, and why brought salvation to the world. It comes with an invitation to join Him. Let’s do it. How about it? Let’s goooooo!