Title: Ministry of Judea/Matthew 19:1-2
Contents
I. Judea across the Jordan River
(Matthew 19:1) When Jesus had finished these words, he departed from Galilee and came across the Jordan to the border of Judea.
A. Jesus leaving Galilee
Jesus began his ministry in Galilee, where he had grown up since childhood. So Jesus, who was more acquainted with the various circumstances of the region than anyone else, did not delay, preaching the gospel of God from town to town. You have worked hard with all your strength and passion to accomplish the will of Heavenly Father who sent you into this world. He has given people the powerful message of the kingdom of heaven that gives love and hope to a world full of division and pain.
Miracles of God's power overflowed wherever Jesus went. Miracles of love were constantly happening in the villages, in the houses where Jesus lived in the hearts of people.
The words of Jesus acted as the driving force for a new life for those who were living a life of suffering and suffering. All Galilee was attracted to Jesus. But Jesus was not confined to Galilee. He left Galilee to expand the scope of his ministry and spread the gospel of the kingdom of God to Judea across the Jordan River.
B. Preaching the Gospel in Judea
Judea was a place where more adversity and difficulties awaited than Galilee. It was the area where the Jews who had already heard about Jesus were waiting for Jesus with envy.
But Jesus, the Son of God, cried out to Judea with a more determined attitude. As such, the road to preaching the gospel is arduous and difficult.
It is very difficult to preach the word of God and live according to the word in a devastated and barren society like the modern society. This is the way of the evangelist. Just like Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son who boldly left Galilee and went to Judea, today we must boldly preach the gospel of the kingdom of God. Even if we face hardships that threaten and make us suffer, we, descendants of faith, must resolutely run the path of preaching the gospel.
II. big crowds chasing
(Matthew 19:2) A great crowd followed them.
A. Reasons to follow Jesus
Why? Did the people of that time follow Jesus? What did they expect to follow Jesus?
It was because of the power of the gospel to renew those who were afflicted by the Roman colony and the wrong religious system. This is because the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, sometimes quietly and sometimes fervently, had more life, power, and warmth than any other leaders’ words. The power of those words that penetrated into our hearts made people follow Jesus.
B. Jesus Gathering People
The teachings and precepts of Jesus were unique. The other rabbis sat still and gave one-sided teaching, but Jesus went around looking for people. And from where there were people, he called them together, saying, “I will give you rest, you who labor and are heavy laden.”
Jesus' teaching was not a passive teaching of waiting for people, but an active teaching of gathering people by visiting them. In today's complex society, where there are many conflicts and contradictions, passive evangelism is meaningless. As our Lord Jesus did, when we become an active church that gathers people from street to street, there will be a strong work of God there.
C. Jesus with pain
The greatest core of Jesus' ministry was to share people's pain. It was not simply a moral teaching of the truth of life, but it was a powerful ministry of the Word because it is a living person who suffers from the agony and pain of people in concrete life situations.
This indeed suggests a great lesson for the crowd. As witnesses of Jesus living in history, we live as God's workers who work miracles of love only when we actually participate in the pain and suffering of our neighbors just like Jesus did.
III. Jesus' healing ministry
(Matthew 19:2) There Jesus healed them.
A. Jesus Healing Pain
Jesus did not just let it go as he shared the pain of others. He took their pain as his own and healed it himself. He healed those who were physically afflicted with physical ailments, and gave new life and new strength to those who were ill and frustrated with the hope of the kingdom of heaven.
Through the healing of Jesus, people finally realized the meaning of their existence and came to know the true life. In other words, we learned to live in the kingdom of God by obeying and obeying God's will.
Today, the church is a witness community that bears witness to the gospel, and it must lead people to live a just and proper life in the very place where the church exists. Today's society is waiting for the church's active love and God's deep affection. In this sense, the healing ministry of Jesus is the model of our Christian life today and the type of the church.
B. Meaning of Healing
It was truly an endowment from God that only Jesus, the Son of God, could do. If our members who believe in Jesus live as precious sons and daughters of Jesus in this society, our society will be able to change more fundamentally.
That could be the way for the kingdom of God to come more quickly.
Therefore, the healing of Christ is temporary and is not a partial healing, but a 'holistic healing'.