Faith First Media

The Ministry of Jesus Christ

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2010 Matthew Elton

matt@faithfirstmedia.com

Jesus came to declare God:

No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

--John 1:18

Jesus came to preach the gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, preach deliverance to captives, preach recovery of sight to the blind, and give liberty to the bruised:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

--Luke 4:18

Jesus preached the gospel not only to those poor in riches, but to those poor in spirit. Jesus equated “poor” with being “poor in spirit” and he ministered to these people, calling them “blessed” and preaching to them the gospel of the kingdom of God:

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

--Luke 6:20

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

--Matthew 5:3

Jesus healed people who were blind (Matthew 21:14) but even more importantly, he has healed millions of people of spiritual blindness (John 9:39) by helping them to see and understand the gospel of the kingdom of God.

And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.

--Luke 4:43

And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

--Mark 1:38

Jesus showed compassion to all and valued every human soul.

When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.

--Matthew 14:14

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

--Matthew 4:23

When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.

--Matthew 8:16

Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

--Matthew 9:35

You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

--Acts 10:38 NASB

Jesus ascended into heaven to be an advocate and intercessor to God for us:

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

--1 John 2:1

For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us

--Hebrews 9:24

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

--1 Timothy 2:5

And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

--Romans 8:27

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

--Hebrews 7:25

Jesus commands us to preach the gospel message just as he did, with the same kind of love that he demonstrated:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

--Matthew 28:19

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

--Mark 16:15

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

--Acts 1:8

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

--John 13:34

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

--John 15:12

These things I command you, that ye love one another.

--John 15:17

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

--Ephesians 4:15