Matthew 9:35

Sunday, 4 May 2025

 

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Matthew 9:35

 

“And Jesus, He traverses all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every malady in the people” (CG).

 

In the previous verse, Jesus was accused by the Pharisees that He was ejecting demons by the ruler of demons. Now, a new paragraph with a new direction commences, which is very similar to Matthew 4:23. For most of the verse, it is word-for-word identical – 

 

4:23 - And Jesus, He traverses all the Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every malady in the people.

 

9:35 - And Jesus, He traverses all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every malady in the people.

 

As can be seen, the major difference is found in the opening words, which state, “And Jesus, He traverses all the cities and the villages.” Instead of saying “the Galilee,” it says, “all the cities and the villages.”

 

As for the word translated as “villages,” it is a new word, kómé. Strong’s says it is derived from keimai, to lie, be laid, be set, or be appointed. In other words, it indicates a hamlet as if laid down in the countryside.

 

This is the same general area that was identified as the Galilee in Matthew 4. It seems likely that Jesus is revisiting the places He had already gone to. There were only so many cities and villages in the area. Wherever He went, though, the people continued to receive Him, as is noted in the next words. He was “teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom.”

 

What is interesting is that after Matthew 4, Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. In Chapter 10, Jesus will commission the apostles to go forth to speak to the people.

 

Therefore, in each instance after speaking throughout the Galilee, a great time of instruction that was intended to mark out His ministry results, first directly from Him and then through His appointed apostles. For the time being, while traversing the region to teach, it also says, “and curing every disease and every malady in the people.”

 

Just as in His earlier time going throughout the area, He continued to heal the people. The ministry must have been very tiring for Him and the apostles, but there was only so much time set for the Lord to complete His ministry. And so, He went about His business according to that sobering thought.

 

Life application: A cliché occasionally passed among some missionaries and which is then spoken in churches as they seek funding essentially says, “Nobody should be given the gospel twice until everybody has heard it once.”

 

At first, that sounds like a reasonable proposition. “Yeah, we need to get the word out to the whole world.” However, the thought is entirely wrong. It is a ploy by missionaries to increase their funding, but it ignores the fundamental truth that innumerable people had to hear the gospel many times before coming to saving faith.

 

In fact, many of the people who are being asked to give were probably included in that thought. This is the purpose of local churches. The gospel should be given to the congregation each week in hopes that some family member may finally get it and yield himself to the Lord.

 

Each time you go to the restaurant or bank, do you say to yourself, “Well, I already told this person about Jesus seven years ago. I don’t need to tell her again.” Of course not! Be careful not to get caught up in nice-sounding clichés that have no basis in reality, but which are actually unbiblical.

Jesus traversed all the Galilee “teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every malady in the people.” He did this again sometime later, surely anticipating that some who heard and rejected His word before would yield to it on a second visit.

 

Is it reasonable to think that a Christian physician would go into a village once a year to cure every disease and every malady in the people, but then not give them the gospel when he did because he had already done it three years earlier?

 

Which is more important, the gospel for spiritual healing or going forth to cure physical maladies? Be sure to think when you are given a nice-sounding proposition. Does it match what Scripture says? If not, ignore what you have heard.

 

Glorious God, may we do what is right and proper in regard to sharing the good news about Jesus. May we never withhold the word that tells of Him and what He has done for the world, even if we have to repeat it over and over again. Help us to be faithful in our witnessing. To Your glory we pray. Amen.