(Luke 19:10) The Ministry of Jesus, while very broad, can be summed up into three main areas: preaching, teaching, and healing. Matthew 4:23 says, “Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sicknesses and all kinds of disease among the people.” Jesus’ preaching was a very large aspect of His ministry. In Mark 1:38 Jesus says this, “Let us go unto the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.” He taught about repentance and about the kingdom of God. He says in Matthew 3:2, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!” Jesus’ purpose in preaching was to bring sinners into the kingdom of God. While preaching is the beginning of a new life, it must be complimented with teaching. What is the difference between preaching and teaching? Preaching brings you to Christ; teaching helps you grow. After the sinner has realized his sinfulness and repented, he must be led and nurtured in the ways of God. This is where Jesus’ teaching ministry comes into play. He did much of His teaching through parables. Chapter thirteen of Matthew contains parables such as the parable of the sower, the parable of the wheat and tares, and the parable of the mustard seed. Jesus’ parables were designed to take a concept that the sinners might not understand and put it into terms that they would. Many valuable lessons can be learned from these simple stories. Jesus also teaches through His actions. Take for example, the fig tree incident. Mark 11:12 tells the story of how Christ was walking with His disciples one morning and was hungry. He came upon a fig tree, but found that it had no figs on it. Jesus cursed the tree and said that no one would ever eat from it again. The next morning, they passed by the same tree and found it to be dried up and dead. The disciples were...
