SPREAD THE WEALTH

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and He healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed Him.

Matthew 4:23-25

 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for Him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for You!”

Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So He traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Mark 1:35-39

At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for Him and when they came to where He was, they tried to keep Him from leaving them. But He said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”

And He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Luke 4:42-44

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Teaching in the synagogues, driving out demons, and healing the diseased.

Jesus was doing all these things in Capernaum and making quite a name for Himself in the process. In fact, He could have probably just established the city as His permanent home and left it at that. The news was spreading all over the surrounding area and people could just come to the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee to receive His transformative, life-altering powers. Jesus could have set up a nice waterfront property and enjoyed life on the sea.

But He didn’t. For as we’ll see in today’s devotion, Jesus knew that He needed to be on the move so the good news of salvation He carried could find the most people. He knew He needed to spread the wealth in regard to the blessed healing He brought. Look again at today’s verses from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke:

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and He healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed Him.  Matthew 4:23-25

 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for Him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for You!”

Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So He traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.  Mark 1:35-39

At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for Him and when they came to where He was, they tried to keep Him from leaving them. But He said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”

And He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.  Luke 4:42-44

The scriptures tell us that Jesus got up early in the morning one day, at daybreak when it was still somewhat still dark out, “left the house”, and “went to a solitary place” to pray. As we see throughout the story of Jesus’ life and ministry, this was something He would do often, a component of His spiritual discipline.

Well, it didn’t take long for Jesus’ disciples to realize He was missing, perhaps because crowds were already gathering in Capernaum, wanting an audience with the one they had heard about, the one who had driven out demons and miraculously healed people from their afflictions. Mark’s account tells us that “Simon and his companions” went to look for Jesus, proclaiming when they located Him:

“Everyone is looking for You!”

The common assumption was that Jesus would simply return to Capernaum and carry on business as usual. This is why His words had to stun His disciples:

“Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”

In Luke’s account, He says similar words:

“I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”

In other words, Jesus was essentially telling His followers that God had sent Him to proclaim the good news to everyone, no matter what town they hailed from. That’s why He had come.

And so Jesus left Capernaum and traveled “throughout Galilee”, “driving out demons”, preaching and “teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” The end result of these efforts was predictable.

Jesus’ renown grew more and more and more. In fact, God’s word tells us that “news about Him spread all over Syria” and as a result, “people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed”. He healed them all and the scope of His work expanded again as a result. The scriptures tell us that “large crowds” showed up from “Galilee, the Decapolis (ten cities in Jordan, Syria, and Israel), Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan” with the intent of following Him.

In the end translation, the expansion of Jesus’ ministry happened because of His desire to spread the wealth with other places. It would go that way for the rest of His ministry and beyond, especially after He was ready to ascend to sit at God’s right hand when He gave His disciples the following task:

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

And that’s exactly what happened. The good news of the gospel was never intended to remain within Israel but rather to expand to all parts of the world and so it did. Today, willing Christian servants are still carrying on the call of Jesus to:

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20

In other words, Jesus expects every Christian believer to join the cause of spreading the wealth of the gospel and bringing the news of eternal life through Him to others. The result will be a rich harvest of saved souls and an expansion of the kingdom of heaven here on earth.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com