Matthew 4:23-25
News Spreads through Galilee
Read the passage
23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
24News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and He healed them.
25Large crowds followed Him, having come from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Jesus travels throughout Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. News about him spreads through Syria, and people bring him those suffering from many kinds of illness, pain, demon oppression, seizures, and paralysis. Matthew says that Jesus heals them, and large crowds follow him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
The list names real people with real needs. Every word about illness represents a person whose life has been narrowed by pain, fear, exclusion, or dependence. Matthew does not present Jesus' ministry as an abstract campaign. Teaching and healing meet bodies and communities.
Notice the order of Jesus' work: he teaches, proclaims, and heals. His authority is not merely a power to impress crowds, and his compassion is not detached from truth. The kingdom he announces is good news that reaches people where they are while calling them into a new allegiance.
Matthew distinguishes illnesses, severe pain, demon possession, seizures and paralysis. He does not treat every condition as the same problem. All these people are brought to Jesus, and none of the needs named here exceeds His authority to heal.
The crowds come from both nearby and distant regions. News of Jesus has spread into Syria, and people follow from the Decapolis and beyond the Jordan as well as Jerusalem and Judea. The kingdom’s announcement is drawing hearers well beyond a single village.
How We Know
Mark 1:32–39 records Jesus healing the sick and casting out demons, then continuing to preach throughout Galilee. Luke 4:40–44 also joins healing with Jesus’ insistence that He must preach the kingdom in other towns; its final verse names Judea. These accounts support the close connection between His proclamation and His works of mercy without requiring every summary to name the same route.
Questions
1 What does Jesus' kingdom ministry include?
AnswerJesus teaches in the synagogues, proclaims the gospel of the kingdom, and heals disease and sickness. His ministry brings both His word and His mercy to the people.
2 Why does Matthew name both the regions and the kinds of suffering?
AnswerMatthew names people coming from many regions and lists different forms of suffering before saying Jesus healed them. The geography and the illnesses show both the breadth of Jesus' reach and the variety of needs brought to him.
3 How should Jesus' wide compassion affect the way we respond to suffering?
AnswerWe are invited to bring suffering honestly to Jesus and to become people who respond to suffering with compassion, practical help, and respect for the person's dignity.
4 Whom can our household help with specific, respectful care?
AnswerThink of someone who is ill, isolated, or caring for another person. Offer one specific form of help, ask what is wanted, and keep the person's privacy and agency at the center.
What This Means for Us
Jesus' ministry shows that the kingdom of God is not embarrassed by human weakness. He teaches in public and touches the needs people carry into public, but he does not turn them into props. We should ask whether our own religious talk makes room for people who are sick, disabled, grieving, or unable to contribute in familiar ways.
The scale of the crowds can tempt us to think that only dramatic ministry matters. Most household care is quieter: a ride to an appointment, a meal, a careful medication reminder, a listening ear, or respect for a boundary. These acts do not compete with Jesus' healing ministry; they are ways of loving people in the circumstances we actually share.
Choose one person whose suffering has become easy for others to overlook. Offer help that is specific and sustainable, and do not make acceptance of the help a test of faith.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for teaching, proclaiming, and healing with compassion. Make our household attentive to suffering, respectful toward every person, and ready to offer practical care while trusting you with what we cannot repair. Amen.