Jesus' Fame Spreading Matthew 4:25

Matthew shared how Jesus was “baptized” and “tempted” by the “devil”, and he wrote, “Then the devil left him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them”, and in chapter four and verse twenty-five of his book, Matthew shared how, “there followed him great multitudes of people” where we read:

And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.

The verse reads, “And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, ...” Matthew began with the words, “and there followed him” which means “and there joined and accompanied Jesus as attendants” “great multitudes of people” which refers to “massive and large crowds, collections of people, throngs and common people gathered together” “from Galilee” which means “from the name of a region of northern Palestine, bounded on the north by Syria, on the west by Sidon, Tyre, Ptolemais and their territories and the promontory of Carmel, on the south by Samaria and on the east by the Jordan whose name means circuit”, “and from Decapolis” or “and from ten cities which were Damascus, Opoton, Philadelphia, Raphana, Scythopolis, Gadara, Hippondion, Pella, Galasa, and Canatha”. Matthew shared how great numbers of people from the surrounding areas of “Galilee and Decapolis” began to “accompany” Jesus.

The verse continues, “... and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.” Matthew added the words, “and from Jerusalem” which means “and from the city whose name means set you double peace and was the capital of Palestine”,“and from Judea” or “and from the southern portion of Palestine lying on this side of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, to distinguish it from Samaria, Galilee, Peraea, and Idumaea whose name means he shall be praised”, “and from beyond” which means “on the other and farther side of” “Jordan” which refers to “the one river of Palestine, has its course of little more than 200 miles (300 km), from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the head of the Dead Sea which means the descender”. Matthew shared how even more people came from “Jerusalem, Judea and beyond the Jordan river”.

When we meditate Matthew's words in this verse, we see how people were gathered to Jesus from all around. Jesus was proclaiming the “gospel” of the “Kingdom of Heaven”, and he demonstrated the power of it by “healing” people of their infirmities. God sent His Son Jesus to be the Messiah and “Savior” of the world, and all who “repent” of their sins and “follow” Him shall receive “everlasting life”. The best position for anyone reading these words is to “follow” Him. Come from afar and “follow” Him, and allow Him to be the personal “Savior, Lord and Messiah” of your life today.

Next time we begin a new chapter and see Jesus begin the “sermon on the mount”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.