14 Jesus Saturates Galilee with His Message

Dr. Doug Bookman

Note: Jesus’s claim concerning Himself was two-fold: a) Messiah/Christ (i.e., the promised Deliverer); and b) the Son of the Living God (i.e., God come in the flesh). As difficult as these were, Jesus was persistent and strategic in setting them before the Jewish people of His day. Furthermore, as He made these claims, He performed miracles to validate the truth of His claim as a divine messenger, and, thus, the truth of those terribly incredible claims.

A. The First Recorded Tour Through Galilee

Scripture: Matthew 4:23-25; Mark 1:35-39; and Luke 4:41-44

Notes: These passages were read earlier in another connection. The point here is that these are the narrative of Jesus’s first tour through the villages and synagogues of Galilee. This tour came early in the Galilean campaign.

B. The Second Recorded Tour Through Galilee

Scripture: Luke 8:1-3

Notes: Only Luke narrates the second tour, and that only briefly.

Questions/Observations: Notice that although some of these men will be later called as apostles, at this point that has not happened; they are traveling with Jesus as His disciples.

C. The Third Recorded Tour Through Galilee

Scripture: Matthew 9:35; Mark 6:6-13; and Luke 9:1-6

Notes: This tour occurs late in the 18-month Galilean ministry, after the nation had determined to disbelieve and after it had become clear that, because of the anger of Jesus’s Pharisaic enemies, He did not have much more time before they would find a way to silence Him.

Questions/Observations:

1. This sending out of the 12 was a clever strategy devised by Jesus in light of the shortness of time. It enabled Him to more speedily saturate the land one more time with His claims – and with miraculous evidence of the validity of those claims.
2. Notice especially the remarkable commission given by Jesus as he sent out the 12 before Him as part of this third and final tour of Galilee (Matthew 10:5). This commission must be understood against the backdrop of those exigencies (what was required in that situation) and Jesus’s strategy to accomplish His purpose in spite of those pressures.

Adapted from the Life of Christ study notes of Dr. Doug Bookman, professor of New Testament Exposition at Shepherds Theological Seminary (used by permission).