Matthew 9:35 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.

NIV: Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

NASB: Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

CSB: Jesus continued going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

NLT: Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.

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

NKJV: 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 sums up the content of Jesus' ministry in Galilee to this point. Jesus did three things as He travelled from town to town around the region: He taught in the synagogues. He proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom. He healed every disease and affliction.

Nearly every town in Israel of any size had a synagogue. Jesus often taught in the synagogues, likely from the Old Testament Scriptures. He did this in the town of Nazareth, where He had grown up, teaching those gathered after reading a scroll from the prophet Isaiah (Luke 4:16–30).

Matthew's report on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5—7 includes several proclamations from Jesus about the gospel of the kingdom. In chapters 8—9, Matthew has presented a series of stories about Jesus healing every disease and affliction, as well as casting out demons, controlling the weather, and raising a dead girl to life.

Both Jesus' teaching and His miracles have drawn huge crowds wherever He has gone. In fact, they are following Him from place to place. Watching those crowds, Jesus will express compassion for the people in the following verses.

Matthew 9:35–38 gives a wide-ranging overview of Jesus' earthly teaching and preaching ministry. It describes Jesus' great compassion while looking out over crowds of people who have come to see Him. He recognizes they are harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Christ tells His followers the harvest is plentiful, but there are too few workers. He commands those followers to pray earnestly that the Lord of the harvest will send out workers to gather it in.

Matthew 9 continues to show how Jesus authenticated His claims to be the Messiah by powerful miracles of healing and casting out demons. He heals a paralyzed man after telling the man his sins are forgiven. He calls Matthew to follow Him and eats dinner with Matthew and other tax collectors. He answers questions from Pharisees and others. A woman who touches His cloak is healed from a 12–year illness, and Jesus raises a dead girl back to life. He restores sight to blind men and speech to one who is demon oppressed. He is filled with compassion for the crowds.

Matthew 9 follows the same pattern of Matthew 8, showing through miraculous works of healing that Jesus is truly the Messiah. Christ forgives the sins of a paralyzed man and heals him. He calls Matthew to follow Him and eats with tax collectors and sinners. A woman is healed by touching His garment and a dead girl is given life by the touch of His hand. Two blind men see, and Jesus casts out a demon, restoring speech to its victim. Finally, Jesus declares that the harvest is plentiful and tells His followers to pray for workers. Chapter 10 builds on this compassion as Jesus commissions the Twelve to go and deliver His gospel to the people.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.