The Physical Implications of Jesus’ Gospel

Like the evangelists of the last three centuries, we must be careful to retain the gospel as presented by Jesus Christ. In Matthew 4, Jesus is facing hordes of people, all trying to get this new miracle worker’s attention. He calls upon them to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (4:17). Clearly, this is Jesus appealing for all to turn from their sins and follow Him. Repentance, as Jesus defined it and the likes of Whitefield and Finney understood it, was the need to surrender your heart to God and live a radically different life.

Jesus aids the oppressed and afflicted.

But notice what happens next:

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread through-out all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. (4:23–25, emphasis added)

Later on in chapter 9, Matthew would note the same thing about the ministry of Jesus:

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. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (35–36, emphasis added)

Both passages intentionally say the same thing. No communicator repeats without wanting to drive home a point. In these two passages, Matthew is grabbing our collars, wanting us to understand something very important about the ministry of Jesus.

That is: Jesus aids the oppressed and afflicted as well. In other words, the gospel according to Jesus is spiritual with physical implications; it attends to both the needs of the soul and the needs of the body.