And Jesus went about all Galilee
Having called four of his disciples, he took a tour throughout
Galilee; a country mean and despicable, inhabited by persons
poor, illiterate, vile, and wicked: such had the first fruits of
Christ's ministry, and messages of his grace; which shows the
freeness, sovereignty, and riches, of his abounding goodness. He
went about "all" this country, both upper and nether Galilee,
which was very populous: Josephus says F12, there
were two hundred and four cities and towns in it; he means, which
were places of note, besides villages. He went about, not like
Satan, seeking the destruction of men; but as one that went along
with him says, "doing good", ( Acts 10:38 ) , both to
the bodies and souls of men; for he was
teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of
the
kingdom.
The places where he taught were "their synagogues": he did not
creep into private houses, as the Pharisees then, and false
apostles afterwards did; but he appeared openly, and declared his
doctrine in places of public worship; where the Jews met together
for divine service, to pray, read the Scriptures, and give a word
of exhortation to the people; for though they had but one temple,
which was at Jerusalem, they had many synagogues, or meeting
places, all over the land: here Christ not only prayed and read,
but "preached"; and the subject matter of his ministry was, "the
Gospel of the kingdom": that is, the good news of the kingdom of
the Messiah being come, and which now took place; wherefore he
exhorted them to repent of, and relinquish their former
principles; to receive the doctrines, and submit to the
ordinances of the Gospel dispensation: he also preached to them
the things concerning the kingdom of heaven; as that except a man
be born again, he cannot see it; and unless he has a better
righteousness than his own, he cannot enter into it: he was also
healing all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease
among the
people.
It is in the Greek text, "every sickness and every disease"; that
is, all sorts of maladies, disorders and distempers, which attend
the bodies of men; and is another instance, besides ( Matthew 3:5 ) in which
the word "all", or "every", is to be taken in a limited and
restrained sense, for "some", or "some of all sorts"; which
teaches us how to understand those phrases, when used in the
doctrine of redemption by Christ.