In this daily Bible reading is the account of Jesus leaving his home in Nazareth to reside in the town of Capernaum by the sea of Galilee. Jesus began His ministry preaching to the people, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
Jesus, who had miraculous powers, was also healing people of their various diseases and sicknesses. As he healed people, his reputation grew, and many people came to Jesus from far and wide. Jesus’ powers to heal gave His words much credibility with the people.
I believe that Jesus’ teaching was also very effective. Jesus was giving them insight and knowledge of God’s Heavenly Kingdom. This was knowledge that they never heard from the religious organizations of the day.
Because of their ignorance, the people were willing to believe what the religious leaders of the day told them. The people were held in bondage to the religion. Jesus had the effect of breaking people free of this bondage.
Jesus said that He came to set people free, free from sin, and free from bondage to religion. In so doing, Jesus became a threat to religion. The religious leaders were opposed to Jesus and His teachings. Eventually, the religious leaders had Jesus killed. However, by that time, Jesus had gained a following who believed in Him. This following still exists today. The Bible calls them ‘The body of believers.’
