“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’. . . 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.” (Matthew 4:17, 23)
Matthew proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah by linking His ministry to the prophecy of Isaiah. Jesus has come to bring light to people living in darkness. The darkness to which Matthew referred was the darkness of sin, fear, and the legalism of the Jewish religious leaders. These powerful men had the Word of God but failed to see the light of its truth. They focused on man-made laws and rituals that kept the both Gentiles and Jews in darkness. They ignored God’s grace and lovingkindness.
Jesus came to restore the light and and truth of God’s love. He called for repentance from sin as well as for people to follow Him. He demonstrated the power, love and compassion of God by backing up His words with miraculous deeds of healing and deliverance. His actions serve as as examples for all Christians to follow. Not only must we repent of our sins, not only must we preach the truth of the gospel, we must also spread the light of God by dispelling the works of darkness with deeds of love and compassion for all. We may not perform miraculous healings as Jesus did, but we can help to release people from the bondage of sin.