Matthew 9:35 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.
Matthew sums up the content of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee to this point. Jesus did three things as He traveled 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.
The key to this verse for us is that Jesus proclaimed the good news of the kingdom. This is something we must be doing today. When we proclaim the good news of the kingdom we are teaching and we are bringing healing, spiritual healing, for those who accept the good news. One way Jesus proclaimed the good news of the kingdom was by reaching out to those who many wanted nothing to do with. In Matthew 9:9-13 we read about the calling of Matthew, a despised tax collector, and Jesus’ association with other sinners of the time. This infuriated the Judean religious leaders. This Sunday we will take a closer look at Matthew 9:9-13 and what we can learn about proclaiming the good news of the kingdom.