Matthew 4:23

Sunday, 3 November 2024

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Matthew 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’” (CG).

The previous verse included the note that James and John left the boat and their father and began following Jesus. Now, with the four disciples having been called, it next says, “And Jesus, He traverses all the Galilee.”

The word translated as “traverses” is periagó. It is derived from peri which gives the sense of all-around (meaning on every side) or encompassing and agó, to lead, but with a variety of applications. Thus, “went about” captures the sense. But for a single word that meets the intent, “traverse” fits.

Jesus went here and there throughout the Galilee, the circular area which is found around the Sea of the Galilee. As He went, it next says He was “teaching.”

It is another new word, didaskó, meaning to teach, direct, admonish, etc. A literal explanation would be “to cause to learn.” The word will be used almost one hundred times, and it will be found in most books of the New Testament, thus indicating the great importance of the process of teaching within the faith. As for where Jesus was teaching, it was “in their synagogues.”

The synagogue (Greek: sunagógé) comes from the verb sunagó, signifying to gather together or assemble. Albert Barnes gives a description of the synagogue, saying –

“Synagogues were built in any place where ten men were found who were willing to associate for the purpose, and were the regular customary places of worship. ... The synagogues were built in imitation of the temple, with a center building, supported by pillars, and a court surrounding it. ... In the center building, or chapel, was a place prepared for the reading of the law. The law was kept in a chest, or ark, near to the pulpit. The uppermost seats were those nearest to the pulpit. The people sat around, facing the pulpit. When the law was read, the officiating person rose; when it was expounded, he was seated. Our Saviour imitated their example, and was commonly seated in addressing the people.”

To this day, synagogues are found throughout the world. They were an integral part of keeping the Jewish people united and distinct in their culture and heritage. Not only was Jesus teaching, but Matthew adds in, “and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom.”

And yet another new word is seen, euaggelion, gospel. It is derived from the verb euaggelizó, meaning to announce the good news. That in turn comes from eu, good or well, and aggelos, a messenger. Thus, it literally means “good news.” However, there is a single English word that carries this exact meaning, gospel. That is from the Old English gōd, good and spel. news or story, thus gōdspel. That has evolved into our modern word gospel.

The word is found a total of seventy-six times: four in Matthew, eight in Luke, twice in Acts, many times by Paul, once in 1 Peter, and once in Revelation. 

This good news, being of the kingdom, means the fulfillment of the many messianic promises made in the Jewish Scriptures. The people were waiting for freedom from oppression and a leader who would come to bring that about. By saying that Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom, the implication is that He is the One who would usher in this freedom.

Remembering the meaning of “Galilee,” one can see the intent behind preaching the gospel in this area. Galilee is ultimately derived from galal, to roll or roll away. As such, it signifies liberty, as if a burden is rolled away from someone.

Thus, the Galilee means “The Liberty.” Jesus is proclaiming His good news of liberty in the area which describes the very thing He is doing. As a demonstration of His authority and ability to perform and lead in the proclamation He was making, it next says, “and curing every disease and every malady in the people.”

The word translated as “curing” or some translations “healing” is therapeuó. One can see the etymological root of our modern word “therapy.”  It gives the idea of restoring a person having a disease. We think of diseases as needing a cure while afflictions (such as a broken bone) need healing. Hence, the context will derive the best choice of wording.

The nosos, disease or sickness, describes a chronic disease, often one considered an incurable ailment. The malakia is a disease or condition that weakens the victim, coming from malakos, meaning soft, delicate, etc. Thus, a person is softened in his being and stamina through such a malady.

Jesus demonstrated His authority over such ailments through His curing hand, thus confirming His ability to provide liberty from affliction – good news indeed.

Life application: In this one verse, seven new words are introduced into Scripture. The words combine to form a beautiful picture of the work of the Messiah in and among the people of Israel. Beyond that, the greater context of the passage fits marvelously with what He is doing here.

The area He is in, the disciples that have followed Him (including the meaning of their names), the places He chose to conduct His teaching, etc., all have come together to paint a picture for us of the work of the Messiah.

The more we look into the details, the more we will get out of the word the treasures that God has placed in it. But don’t hesitate to look at the macro structures as well. There are many types of literary devices used in Scripture that will reveal even more.

Make yourself aware of the vast number of such devices and then pay attention to what is going on, both from a wider view and from a detailed view. In this approach, you will continue to discover wonder in the word. God has filled it with an immense amount of information. Keep studying it all the days of your lives!

Lord God Almighty, there seems to be no end to the amount of wonder to be found in Your word. How blessed we are to be able to study in the finest detail because of the hour in which we live. Everything is there on the internet, things that have been compiled for thousands of years, allowing us to access aspects of Your word in a way never previously imagined. Thank You for this wondrous time in which we live. Amen.