Day 99: Matthew 4:23

Jesus was going all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people (v. 23).

Luke’s recap of this same event in chapter 4 concludes with a definitive statement: “He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea” (v. 44). He kept on—no matter how many directions He felt pulled. No matter how many needs remained in each town. No matter what others prioritized for Him—“He kept on.” Why? Because every other need humanity possessed was secondary to the need to hear and receive the gospel. Not unimportant, mind you. Just secondary. Physical healing affects this life alone, but the kingdom is forever.

Then why did Christ spend time and energy performing miracles of healing on such temporal bodies? Probably for three primary reasons:

1. Because He could. He can do whatever He wants. Before that fact makes you nervous, remember: what He wants is always consistent with who He is. Among many other wonderful things, He is the healer. In one way or another, He heals every single person who comes to Him by faith.

2. Because He is compassionate—beyond anything we can imagine.

3. Because the miracles helped authenticate the messenger.

Preaching the good news of the kingdom of God was Christ’s absolute priority. One of the biggest temptations even mature believers face is being sidetracked by the urgent. Many situations need our attention. They tempt us to let them steal our focus. Christ may have faced the same temptation when the people came to Him and tried to “keep him from leaving them” (Luke 4:42). The people’s attempts to hold onto Christ may not have been limited to just the vocal and emotional. They may have hung onto Him physically too. How His heart must have broken for them. Yet He knew the best thing He could do for them was to stay true to His mission.

Can you imagine how Jesus longed for the time when His work would be accomplished and He could dwell within the hearts of all who would receive Him, never to leave them? Until then, He had a job to do. Christ ignored neither the urgent need nor the ultimate goal—but He never allowed the former to hinder the latter.