While in seminary, my Bible Study Methods professor (Dr. Howard Hendricks) used to instruct us to observe, then interpret, and then apply what we were reading in the Bible. The end goal of Bible study is always a changed mind or changed behavior. But the process that ends with change begins with observing what is there in the biblical text. While reading through the Gospels recently, I observed something that has captured my imagination and that has helped give direction to how I want to invest my life.

Here goes…

It is common and it is right for us to make much of Jesus’ major speeches to large crowds. He spoke to “crowds” when He gave His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), “large crowds” when He gave parables like the one about the sower and the seed (Matthew 13), and to “crowds” of people in the Jerusalem temple when He spoke against the sins of the Pharisees (Matthew 23). We observe that all these addresses were given to thoroughly Jewish audiences, and all were given within the confines of the Jewish state of Palestine. And we understand that these very public addresses – along with others – were certainly important, and they each served as a milestone in His ministry. But we would do well to observe these speeches within the context of His larger ministry.

Restricting myself to the Gospel of Matthew, I find repeated reference to Jesus’ interaction with individuals and small groups, and to His ministry to non-Jews living in non-Jewish lands:

• The Gentile magi from the east traveled hundreds of miles to see the recently born king of the Jews. (Mt. 2:1-2)
• Jesus was taken to the land of Egypt as a young child for protection against Herod’s attempts to kill Him. (Mt. 2:13-15)
• Early in His ministry, news spread about Jesus as far away as Syria, to the north of Israel (Mt. 4:24)
• Jesus had a one-on-one encounter with a leper, cleansing him of his disease (Mt. 8:1-4)
• He dealt singly with a Roman centurion (a non-Jew), healing the centurion’s servant from a distance! (Mt. 8:5-13)
• In a private residence, He healed Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. (Mt. 8:14-15)
• In the non-Jewish land of the Gadarenes (or “Gerasenes”), Jesus cast demons out of two men. (Mt. 8:28-34)
• Jesus called one man, Matthew, a notorious sinner who collected taxes for Rome, to follow Him. (Mt. 9:9)
• In a home, He healed two blind men, sternly warning them to not tell anyone what He had done for them – a command which they promptly disobeyed! (Mt. 9:27-31)
• He healed the daughter of a Canaanite woman who lived in the region of Tyre (Mt. 15:21-28)
• He performed the miracle of the feeding of the 4,000 in the non-Jewish region of the Decapolis. (Mt. 15:32-38)

Matthew lets us know that Jesus’ interactions with individuals and small groups were the norm. His dealings with non-Jews in non-Jewish lands were common. And if we were to  expand our search to include the Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John, we would find more examples of Jesus’ reach to the individual and of His reach to the non-Jew. It would all be enough to convince us that while He did, on occasion, speak to large groups, heal large numbers at a time, and pay a lot of attention to the Jews, the bulk of Jesus’ time was spent in low-profile settings, and often in non-Jewish settings.

So, the disciples weren’t at all surprised when the resurrected Jesus told them, “make disciples of all the nations.” (Mt. 28) They were expecting it when He told them to be His witnesses “both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) They had seen Him doing exactly this for the three years He was with them, very often one person at a time.

We observe Jesus regularly pursuing individuals with the personal touch. We observe His reach extending beyond the normal range of contact, including everyone in His target audience.

I take away two applicational marching orders from these Gospel observations.

One, I am to keep my eyes peeled for the one person upon whom I can lavish attention and value and with whom I can share the love and the message of Jesus.

Two, I am to keep my eyes peeled for the one who is not a part of my “tribe” and who may live outside of the normal pathways of hearing about Jesus, pursue connection with that person, and let him know the best news he could ever hear.

Would you join me in reflecting on these marks of Jesus’ life and ministry? What application will you take from His ways?

Yours…His,

Dave