19  The Scope of Jesus’ Ministry  (Luke 8:1–3)

Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means. (8:1–3)

The plan of God that unfolded in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ is counterintuitive to conventional human wisdom. Modern so-called experts on ministry methodology would not have devised such a narrow strategy to bring salvation to the world by limiting the exposure of the Son of God to the small, weak, embattled, and oft-conquered nation of Israel. Nor would their plan have called for Him to live the first thirty years of His life in obscurity in a tiny hamlet (Nazareth) in a backwater region (Galilee), and then spend the overwhelming majority of His three years of ministry within the borders of Israel. They would have been puzzled by His rejection of all religiously trained and influential leaders, and in their place His choice of twelve common, ordinary mento be His closest associates in ministry and preachers. And scorning the influential and powerful, He spent His time with common people, especially the poor and outcasts of society Jesus’ welcoming of sinners and withering criticism of the religious elite could only be viewed as counterproductive to the impact of His message. Modern marketers would hardly have been surprised that Jesus wound up being rejected by the nation and being executed as a result of the hatred of the leaders.

But worldly experts who think like that would be dead wrong in their evaluation of God’s strategy. With a breathtaking economy of effort, the Lord Jesus Christ perfectly and precisely carried out the ministry given Him by the Father (John 17:4).Working within the limits set by the Father allowed Jesus’ brief three years of ministry to set in motion the most powerful force for truth the world has ever known. Over the generations the gospel has spread to every corner of the globe and the church has continued to expand worldwide.

Jesus’ simple, fixed, and precisely focused ministry stands in sharp contrast to modern concepts of the ministry. Mimicking worldly management theories, ministries today are often designed to have the widest possible impact, and with that goal in mind to be diverse, eclectic, synergistic, tolerant, and culturally connected. Enormous amounts of time, money, and manpower are poured into strategies, plans, and activities designed to influence as many people as possible. The goal is to create a matrix of perceptions, cultural expectations, and felt needs that can be met at the broadest level by the ministry The divine model of ministry by the Lord Jesus Christ in the plan and power of heaven needed none of those devices.

This brief summary passage (cf. 4:14–15, 31–32, 40–41; 6:17–19) marks the transition into the final phase of the Lord’s Galilean ministry. It provides a remarkable insight into the divinely-imposed limitations that made Jesus’ ministry so effective. Six insights into the scope of His ministry may be discerned. Jesus’ ministry was limited sovereignly, geographically, theologically, humanly, socially, and materially

THE SCOPE OF JESUS’ MINISTRY WAS LIMITED SOVEREIGNLY

Soon afterwards, He began going around (8:1 a)

The phrase soon afterwards refers back to the incident involving the sinful woman and the self-righteous Pharisee recorded in 7:36–50. Shortly after that incident, in keeping with the Father’s design, Jesus began going around Galilee for the final phase of His ministrythere (8:4–9:50). Though the statement is general, the divine design was specific.

The Lord always acted in accord with the Father’s will. In John 5:30 He said, “I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” Earlier He had told His disciples, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work”(John 4:34). It was to do the Father’s will that He came into the world, as He explained in John 6:38: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

Jesus did the tasks the Father gave Him to do in the Father’s timing. He made certain that the most important of those tasks, His sacrificial death, did not take place until the precise time determined by the Father. Before that time, “no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come” (John 7:30; cf. v. 1; 8:20; Luke 13:33).

Finally, Jesus ministered to the people to whom the Father sent Him. He told a Syro-Phoenician woman, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles,” He commanded the Twelve when He sent them out to preach, “and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 10:5–6). Narrowing His focus even more, Jesus said that He did “not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32; cf. 4:18–19). He judicially abandoned the proud, self-righteous scribes and Pharisees, telling His disciples, “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (Matt. 15:14). When “some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You’“ (Matt. 12:38) Jesus “answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet’“ (v. 39; cf. Luke 11:29). The Lord’s example illustrates the principle that concentration is the key to multiplication. The way to multiply a ministry is by intensely teaching people the life-changing truths of Scripture, not by manipulation and clever marketing gimmicks.

THE SCOPE OF JESUS’ MINISTRY WAS LIMITED GEOGRAPHICALLY

from one city and village to another (8:16)

That Jesus would restrict the scope of His ministry by spending so much of it traveling from one city and village to another in Galilee is inexplicable from the perspective of modern philosophy of ministry Jerusalem, the cultural and intellectual center of Israel, should havebeen His target. Galilee, on the other hand, was a largely rural area, whose plebian residents were scorned by the sophisticated Judeans. When some said of Jesus, “This is the Christ” others scoffed at them, saying” Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He?” (John 7:41).When Nicodemus protested the Pharisees’ judging of Christ without investigating Him they mocked him. “You are not also from Galilee, are you?” they said scornfully “Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee” (v. 52). Later the Sanhedrin was astonished that simple Galileans like Peter and John could speak so confidently, boldly, and intelligently (Acts 4:13).

Everywhere Jesus went became His pulpit, the hillsides, valleys, and public squares of Galilee were filled with huge crowds that flocked to hear Him (cf.vv.4, 19, 40, 45). Some argue that the rising animosity of the Jewish religious leaders had caused Jesus to be banned from preaching in the synagogues. As evidence, they point to the lack of any reference to synagogues in this summary statement. But a summary need not go into exhaustive detail, so the argument from silence is unconvincing. Further, Matthew 9:35, 13:54, and John 6:59 record Jesus preaching in Galilean synagogues after the events of this passage, while Luke 13:10 records His preaching in a Judean synagogue, which also came later chronologically. After His arrest, Jesus told the high priest Annas, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret” (John 18:20), implying that He continued preaching in the synagogues throughout His ministry

Despite the limited geographic extent of His ministry, Jesus has influenced the entire world through the Spirit-inspired record of His life and ministry recorded in the Gospels and the power of His church.

THE SCOPE OF JESUS’ MINISTRY
WAS LIMITED THEOLOGICALLY

proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God (8:1c)

Jesus did not cover a broad spectrum of subjects in His preaching. He did not emphasize social or political issues, engage in speculative philosophical discussions, or offer self-help lessons based on success and prosperity. The sole focus of the Lord’s ministry was limited to proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God (cf. 4:43; 9:11; 16:16; Matt. 4:17; Acts 1:3). The terms proclaiming and preaching define the methodology of Christ’s ministry, while the kingdom of God defines its content. Kērussō (proclaiming) means to publicly and authoritatively herald an official message that must be listened to and obeyed. Euangelizō (preaching), the source of the English words “evangelize” and “evangelism,” refers to announcing the good news of the gospel.

Despite the claims of some, the terms kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven are synonymous. The latter term appears only in Matthew’s gospel, which was addressed to the Jewish people, in deference to their prohibition against speaking the name of God. In Matthew 19:23–24, Jesus used the two terms interchangeably. Both refer to the sphere of salvation, where God reigns over the redeemed (Matt. 19:26; cf. 21:31; Mark 1:15; John 3:3–5; Acts 8:12).

To preach the kingdom of God is to proclaim the good news that sinners can be delivered from Satan’s kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Col. 1:13). Sinners respond to the call to enter the kingdom first of all by repentance. Both John the Baptist (Matt. 3:2–8) and Jesus (Matt. 4:17; Luke 5:32; 13:3, 5) called for sinners to repent and condemned those who refused to repent (Matt. 11:20–21; 12:41). Jesus also instructed His disciples to preach that same message (Mark 6:12; Luke 24:47). Entrance to God’s kingdom also requires faith. Jesus not only called for repentance, but also taught that sinners need to believe the gospel in order to be saved (Mark 1:15; cf. Luke 7:50; John 6:29;8:24; 12:36).

Those who enter the kingdom of God through repentance and faith will manifest love for God. Jesus declared that the greatest commandment is to love God with all one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:28–30). They are also marked by a complete and final commitment to obeying God. When one would-be follower said to Him “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home” (Luke 9:61) Jesus replied, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (v. 62). The Lord illustrated that total commitment in the parables He told in Matthew 13:44–46:

Reflecting the absolute commitment that marks those in the kingdom of God Paul wrote,

The Lord also taught that those in the kingdom must live in obedience to the King; the Sermon on the Mount in particular describes in detail the characteristics of those who have entered the kingdom of God. Even after our Lord’s resurrection this was the theme of His teaching for the forty days before His return to heaven, expanding His apostles’ knowledge of the features of the kingdom (Acts 1:3).

THE SCOPE OF JESUS’ MINISTRY WAS LIMITED HUMANLY

The twelve were with Him, (8:1d)

As noted earlier in this chapter, concentration of effort is the key to multiplication of ministry. Jesus ministered constantly to the huge crowds that followed Him everywhere. Yet the Lord focused most of His attention on the Twelve who (apart from the betrayer Judas) would continue His ministry after His ascension. As noted in their biographies given in chapters 2 through 8 of this volume, they were remarkably ordinary men. None of the Twelve were among the elite or influential of Jewish society; their ranks included no scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, rabbis, or synagogue rulers. They did not come from wealthy or influential families, and had no friends in high places. The Twelve frequently disappointed Him with their weak faith (e.g., Matt. 8:26; 14:31) and lack of insight (Matt. 15:15–16; 16:8–11; Mark 4:10–13; 9:32; John 12:16; 20:9). All of them abandoned Him in His hour of need (Matt. 26:56). But He poured His life into them, and turned them into men who would turn the world upside down.

The apostle Paul also understood the importance of pouring his life into a limited group of people. Writing shortly before his execution to Timothy, one of those who would carry on his ministry after his death, Paul charged him, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). The four generations evident here—Paul, Timothy, the faithful men, and the others—mark the ongoing process of multiplication that has continued down through the centuries to this day

At this stage of their training, the Twelve had not yet been empowered and sent out to preach, teach, heal, and cast out demons. They were observing, listening, and learning. Only later would Jesussend them out on a preaching tour by themselves (9:1–6).

THE SCOPE OF JESUS’ MINISTRY WAS LIMITED SOCIALLY

and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, (8:2–3a)

Not only were the twelve men traveling with Jesus, but, surprisingly also some women. For a rabbi to have women accompanying Him was virtually unprecedented. Like many others in the ancient world, the rabbis had a low view of women and refused to teach them. Jesus’ action was politically incorrect; it flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Given the lowly status of women in Jewish society, they had little influence they could use to help Him. But despite that these women traveled with Jesus, though not necessarily all the time, or all at once. They had been healed spiritually of evil spirits and physically of sicknesses. How many there were is not stated, but Luke names three of the many others who followed the Lord. This entourage made Jesus socially unacceptable when measured by rabbinic standards.

Mary who was called Magdalene (after her hometown of Magdala, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee about three miles north of Tiberias) figures prominently in the accounts of the Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection (Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:47; John 20:1–18). This is her only other appearance in the Gospels. (As noted in the previous chapter of this volume, she was not the sinful woman who anointed Jesus at the house of Simon the Pharisee [Luke 7:36–50]). Nor does the fact that seven demons had gone out of her prove that she had lived an immoral life, since there is no necessary connection between demon possession and immorality.

Joanna was the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward (a high ranking official, possibly the manager of Antipas’ estate). Like Mary Magdalene, she was a witness to Jesus’ burial and resurrection (Luke 23:55; 24:10), and probably the crucifixion as well. Christ’s influence reached into Herod Antipas’ household, as well as the tiny village of Magdala. Another person close to Herod Antipas, Manaen, would later become one of the leaders of the church at Antioch (Acts 13:1).

Nothing is known of Susanna, since Luke gives no information about her, and her name appears nowhere else in Scripture.

Jesus brought into the kingdom all whom the Father gave Him (John 6:37), men and women from every strata of life. There were no limits on the scope of His ministry in that regard. Women, including Elizabeth (Luke 1:5–25, 39–45, 57–60), Mary (Luke 1–2), Anna (Luke 2:36–38),

Peter’s mother-in-law (Matt. 8:14–15), the widow at Nain (Luke 7:12–15), Mary and Martha (Luke 10:39–42; John 11:1–45; 12:1–8), the woman in the parable of the lost coin (Luke 15:8–10), the widow in the parable of the unjust judge (Luke 18:3–5), and the widow who offered her last two coins (Luke 21:1–4), played a role in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ that far exceeded their significance in contemporary Jewish society

THE SCOPE OF JESUS’ MINISTRY WAS LIMITED MATERIALLY

and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means. (8:36)

In addition to the women mentioned above, many others, both men and women, supported Christ’s ministry by contributing to their [Jesus and the Twelve] support out of their private means. Jesus’ ministry depended on the small contributions of others whose lives He had changed. The disciples had left everything to follow Him (Matt. 19:27), including their professions (Mark 1:20; Luke 5:28) and their homes (Luke 18:28). Jesus Himself had “nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58), and at the time of His death owned nothing but the clothes He wore (Luke 23:34). The meager contributions they received were generous enough that Jesus and the Twelve were able to contribute to the poor (John 13:29). None of them personally prospered, as the frustration of Judas evidences (John 12:1–6).

The Lord’s ministry demonstrates the biblical principle that “those who proclaim the gospel [are] to get their living from the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:14; cf. Luke 10:7; 1 Tim. 5:17–18).Therefore “the one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him” (Gal. 6:6). That does not repay believers’ debt to God. The debt of sin they could never pay has been paid in full by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ (Col. 2:13–14) and they no longer owe it. But transformed by God’s grace Christians, out of love and gratitude, seek to imitate the sacrificial, loving grace He bestowed on them.

The Lord Jesus Christ carried out God’s sovereign will, ministered where God placed Him, proclaimed God’s message, poured Himself into discipling a few faithful men, embraced both men and women from all walks of life, and depended on the contributions of those who had benefited from His ministry He is the perfect model for all those who serve Him in gratitude and love.