Introduction
Jesus and His disciples stepped into a revival that was already underway, having been ignited by John the Baptist. You can read about that revival with our account titled: 26 A.D. Revival Under John the Baptist.

John the Baptist was well aware that his ministry was to be the spark for the revival Jesus was going to spread. John specifically stated that Jesus would “become greater,” and that he himself would “become less” (John 3:30). That is the main thing we want to show in this post.

The Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry
After John baptized Jesus (Mark 1:9), and later introduced Him as the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29), Jesus then experienced a series of temptations by Satan in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13). Following His triumph over those temptations, Jesus immediately began gathering disciples (John 1:29-51). This was the initial stages of Jesus’ ministry and it soon eclipsed everything that John had done.

Surprised at the rapid expansion of Jesus’ ministry, the disciples of John the Baptist said:

…Everybody is going to him instead of coming to us (John 3:26).

We also read in John 4:1-2 that:

Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did).

Wedding Feast at Cana – Paolo Veronese (1563)

First Miracle – At Cana of Galilee
The first recorded miracle Jesus performed occurred at a wedding in Cana, which involved turning water into wine. It was this miracle that solidified in his disciples’ minds that their spiritual leader was not just another rabbi, and it was here that they placed their faith in Him (John 2:11).

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s Well (John 4:1-42)

Revival in the Village of Sychar
While in the Samaritan village of Sychar, where Jesus encountered a woman at the well, a significant revival occurred and many from that village placed their faith in Jesus as “the Savior of the world” (John 4:42). More information about that revival can be read with our account titled: 27 A.D. Revival in the Samaritan Village of Sychar.

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount – Jan Brueghel the Elder (1598)

The Fame of Jesus
Here are some highlights of Jesus’ ministry:

► His fame spread due to Him speaking with authority, unlike other religious leaders (Mark 1:22, 27-28; Luke 4:32):

The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region (Luke 4:37).

► “The whole town gathered to watch” Jesus cast out demons and heal the sick (Matthew 8:16-17; Mark 1:32-34; Luke 4:40-41).
► Large crowds followed Jesus wherever He went. “News about him spread as far as Syria.” He healed every sickness cast out all demons (Matthew 4:23-25).
► As Jesus traveled throughout Galilee and Judea, He would preach in their synagogues and cast out demons (Mark 1:35-39; Luke 4:42-44).
► People would come “from all over Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, from the east of the Jordan River, and even as far north as Tyre and Sidon. The news about his miracles had spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see him” (Mark 3:7-12).
► Wealthy people, and influential religious leaders were even desiring to be in the presence of Jesus (Luke 7:36; 19:1-6).
► Herod also desired to witness miracles performed by Jesus (Mark 6:14; Luke 23:8).
► Jesus’ own family found it hard to get close to Him because of the crowd that was constantly following Him (Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21).
► The never-ending crowd following Jesus made it hard for people to get close to Him. When a woman who suffered with constant bleeding for 12 years was finally able to touch His robe, Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” The disciples in response said, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?” (Mark 5:24-31; Luke 8:43-45).
► “The entire town came out to meet Jesus” after He had cast the demons out of the man who was living in the tombs (Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20). Luke 8:37 records that it was “all the people in the region of the Gerasenes” that came out to see Jesus (Luke 8:26-39).
► With every miracle, like the healing of the blind, “they went out and spread his fame all over the region” (Matthew 9:27-31).
► During Jesus’ “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem, the entire city was in an uproar (Matthew 21:10; Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-19).
► Jesus’ fame was so widespread that the Pharisees said, “Look how the whole world has gone after Him” (John 12:19 NIV).

Jesus Healing the Demonized – Gustave Doré

Revival Spread by Jesus’ 42 Teams of Preachers, Healers, and Exorcists
► Jesus sent out His 12 disciples, two by two. Their assignment, given to them by Jesus, was to preach, heal, and cast out demons (Matthew 10:1-42, Mark 6:6-13; Luke 9:1-6).
► Jesus also sent out 72 other disciples (some translations say 70), two by two, to go into the towns and places He was planning to visit, to prepare for His arrival. These 72 were also given power to preach, heal, and cast out demons (Luke 10:1-24).
► In addition to the 42 teams Jesus supervised, he also endorsed other teams of exorcists, but how many we don’t know (Mark 9:38-40).

The Revival Continued
This revival account was but a snapshot of the life of Jesus. The revival that began with John the Baptist was carried on by Jesus, and even after Jesus’ death and resurrection the revival continued through His disciples, beginning on the Day of Pentecost. That revival, which carried the Church into the next century, can be read with our revival account titled: 30 A.D. Revival on the Day of Pentecost.

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Chet & Phyllis Swearingen:
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