‘And Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the good news of the Kingly Rule, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness among the people.'
In the chiasmus above this parallels His proclamation concerning the need to repent because of the presence of the Kingly Rule of Heaven. The Kingly Rule of Heaven is now being manifested in His teaching, in His preaching of the Good News of the Kingly Rule of Heaven, and in His works of heavenly power which revealed that Kingly Rule as now present among them (compare also Matthew 9:35 and Matthew 11:4). He has come among them as the Spirit-filled Prophet promised by Isaiah 61:1-2, proclaiming the Good News to the poor, and releasing those who were captives and bound. By this means He is now building up a following of many disciples.
‘Their synagogues.' That is, the synagogues of the people of Galilee (compare ‘their Scribes' in Matthew 7:29). His ministry is at this stage concentrated on the Jews. Matthew is looking at the synagogues (and the Scribes) from the point of view of the people. They saw them as ‘ours'. Each synagogue was locally owned (and therefore would be very much seen by the people as ‘theirs') and was watched over by a group of elders who would have appointed a ‘ruler of the synagogue' to manage its affairs. It was a place where the people met on the Sabbath to pray and hear the Scriptures read. They could also meet there for prayer during the week. Any prominent visitor could be called on to preach on the Sabbath once the Law had been read, and at this stage Jesus was regularly offered the opportunity of doing so. The synagogue was also available for daily prayer and reading of the Scriptures, and Jewish children would be taught to read the Scriptures in the synagogue schools.
‘Preaching the Good News of the Kingly Rule.' The reference to ‘Good News' primarily has Isaiah 61:1-2 in mind (compare Luke 4:18). But see also Isaiah 41:27; Isaiah 52:7. The Good News of the Kingly Rule was that God was now at work among them by His Holy Spirit through the One Whom He had sent (Matthew 3:11), calling to repentance and forgiveness, and to a new way of life (Matthew 4:17; Isaiah 45:23). Forgiveness was an essential aspect of the expected Kingly Rule (Isaiah 1:16-18; Isaiah 43:25; Isaiah 44:22, compare Mark 1:4), and it had to lead on to forgiving others (Matthew 6:12). They were therefore to respond with the faith typical of little children (Matthew 18:3-4), submitting to the authority of the One Whom God had sent, the One Who was their Lord and Who required their full obedience to His words (Matthew 7:21-27).
‘And healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness among the people.' This was a further evidence that the Kingly Rule of Heaven was now here and that the Coming One had arrived, the One Who would ‘take their infirmities and carry their sicknesses' (Matthew 8:17; Matthew 11:4-6). He was present among them restoring those who were sick and diseased. As Matthew will point out later this was very much the activity of the Servant of the Lord (Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:4) and of the Coming One (Matthew 11:4-5; Isaiah 35:5-6) as Jesus went among men taking their afflictions and diseases on Himself.