Matthew wasted no time in giving an overview of the Gospel ministry of Jesus.  He travelled throughout the province of Galilee (a large area north of Samaria and West of the Jordan rift valley).  He explained the Old Testament Scriptures in the synagogues, showing how His kingdom was also prophesied (Luke 4:16-21).  He explained God's Good News – the gospel which we know.  He demonstrated the power of the gospel by healing every kind of illness.  Jesus included the Gentiles: when they heard what He was doing, they came from Syria and the Greek towns of the Decapolis and were healed.  He even attracted religious Jews from Jerusalem although they came with closed minds and angry hearts.  Jesus dealt with pain and sickness, paralysis and sin as demons were cast out and people wanted to be part of Christ's kingdom (Matthew 11:4-6).

All this was witnessed by the new disciples.  Jesus asked them to help – not so much because He did not have enough power to handle it all by Himself – but to train them to be His apostles in a few years' time (Mark 6:39-44).  They saw the love of Jesus in His gentle dealings with those who were vulnerable (Matthew 11:28-30).  They saw the power of Jesus in restoring sight, banishing paralysis, healing lepers and confronting demons. They saw that Jesus did not discriminate between Jews and Gentiles, between good and bad people, or between the highly religious Jews from Jerusalem and the needy pagans from Syria.

The disciples were trainee apostles, even though they did not realise it, or what it would involve, at the time.  The Lord Jesus deliberately plunged them into a daily personal encounter with His divine character.  It was unforgettable to John (1 John 1:1) and Peter (2 Peter 1:16).  The first part of the training was to get to know their Lord - to be amazed, to wonder and worship and learn to obey whatever He said to them.  Gospel ministry is only possible today because they were willing to follow Jesus, be involved in His ministry and write down what they had learned.  They heard and saw; then they learned to do what Jesus did; and passed it on.

There is no substitute for being with Jesus. Unless we get to know our Lord, we can never work with Him or for Him. That is why we need to learn what the Bible says about Jesus.  Whatever wonderful things He does today, they will all be validated by the words of the Bible writers as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit.  And do not be surprised when God takes you through experiences which are out of your control: He wants you to see what great things He does.  And don't stop at being amazed: explain to others how much God loves them and has done to save them.  If you are following Jesus, you are already in gospel training!  Get to know Him, be ready to help Him and see how He will use you!