These few verses would be quite easy to skip over, and just jump right in to Jesus’ Sermon. But, the placement of these verses is vital and strategic. The Sermon will lay out what is demanded of one who claims to be a true follower of Jesus. But, the Sermon can be easily misunderstood, if we fail to see that Jesus must first save us – we must be set free from sin, Satan, and death, before we can begin to live the kind of life He calls us to in the Sermon. His first priority of ministry is to bring healing grace, to broken people. We are first recipients of His compassion, then we are called on to show that same compassion to others. Jesus lovingly heals ALL who come, then He teaches ALL who will listen. It is grace and salvation first, hearing and obedience second. It is Only when we have been set free by His healing power, that we are truly free to love others as He has loved us. And, His healing comes through contact with Him – it is in the person of Christ from which the power of salvation flows. We all must touch Him by faith and be healed, before we can ever do what He asks in the Sermon.
