The People Jesus Affected

The Point of the Gospel

Following Jesus {Matthew and Luke}

A teacher of the law went to Jesus and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus said, “Foxes have their dens and birds, their nests. The Son of Man has no place of his own.” He said to another man, “Follow me.”

The man replied, “Lord, first let me bury my father.”

“Let the dead bury the dead…” {Luke} “and you publicly declare the kingdom of God.”

Another man said, “Let me take leave of my family before I follow.”

Jesus said, “You cannot serve well in the kingdom of God if you begin work but long for what you had before.”

Personal Thought: those dead doing the burials might be the people who wouldn’t listen to Jesus and were spiritually dead. His mission to bring light and life to the world and have his disciples help him took precedence over earthly concerns.

The People Jesus Healed {Matthew and Mark}

(This section is not in chronological order.)

Jesus visited Peter’s house and saw his mother-in-law in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, was healed, and rose to serve him. In the evening, people brought many demon-possessed to him. He drove them out ({Mark} but wouldn’t allow them to speak because they knew who he was) and healed the ill as Isaiah said: (Isaiah 53:4) “He dealt with our infirmities and carried our sorrows.”

Personal Thought: Jesus rebuking demons who tried to name him is a recurring theme. Jesus preferred his teachings and actions to speak for themselves and for people to come to him out of conviction for his message rather than because they were what could have equated to being star struck for those times—the Messiah was much prayed for. But he sometimes said himself that he was sent from heaven by the Father to do his bidding.