Going Viral Galilee Style
The other day I was reading through the Gospel of Matthew, and something kept jumping off the page at me—the word all. Not some, not many, not a handful. Over and over Matthew says Jesus healed “all” who were sick.
And if you pause long enough to picture the scenes Matthew is describing, you realize these weren’t tiny groups. They were massive crowds… entire towns… sometimes small cities. Which led me to a question:
How many people was Jesus actually healing?
And then the bigger question:
How did Jesus grow His ministry so quickly without the internet, social media, email lists, marketing funnels, or TV broadcasts?
How did tens of thousands of people come to hear about Him when it took days—sometimes weeks—to travel across the region?
Well… when you begin to look at the numbers, it suddenly makes sense.
Below are some staggering estimates that help reveal just how “viral” Jesus’ ministry truly was—Galilee style.
Occurrences in Matthew Where Jesus Heals “All”
Matthew repeatedly emphasizes crowds, villages, towns, and whole regions being healed. Here are the references:
4:23 — Healed every disease and sickness among the people
4:24 — They brought the sick, and He healed them all
8:16 — He healed all who were sick
8:17 — Summary of His healing ministry
9:6 — Heals the paralytic
9:12 — “The sick need a physician”
9:21–22 — Woman with the issue of blood
9:25 — Raises a dead girl
9:35 — Healed every disease and sickness
10:1 — Disciples given authority to heal
12:13 — Man with withered hand
12:15 — Large crowds; He healed all
12:22 — Blind, mute, demon-possessed man
14:14 — He healed their sick
14:35–36 — All who touched Him were healed
15:28 — Canaanite woman’s daughter
15:30–31 — Great crowds; He healed the lame, blind, crippled, mute
17:18 — Demon-possessed boy
19:2 — He healed them there
20:34 — Two blind men healed
Matthew doesn’t just record miracles—he records repeated waves of them.
Historical Estimates: Crowds, Populations & Numbers Healed
These are reasonable historical approximations based on:
Typical population sizes in 1st-century Galilee
Sickness rates (8–12%)
Likely crowds and travel patterns
Matthew’s language of “all,” “every,” “great multitudes,” etc.
Estimated Total Healed in the Book of Matthew
≈ 11,000 – 29,000 people
And that’s just one Gospel writer, and only the events he chose to record.
Think about that.
Thousands—possibly tens of thousands—of people healed.
In a world with:
no phones
no cars
no news outlets
no viral videos
Yet somehow, the entire region exploded with the news of Jesus.
This is what “going viral” looked like before the internet.
Eyes suddenly seeing.
Legs suddenly walking.
Mute voices suddenly shouting.
Demonic oppression suddenly broken.
Dead children suddenly alive again.
You don’t need Wi-Fi when the miracles walk home and knock on doors.
When Jesus heals a whole village, news doesn’t spread—it erupts.
Why This Matters Today
After looking at the numbers, it’s easy to understand how Jesus’ ministry spread with such unstoppable force.
But here’s the part we can’t miss:
Jesus is still healing today.
Miracle after miracle is happening around the world.
God’s hand is moving in ways that should leave us in awe—yet if we’re not careful, the miraculous becomes “normal.” We scroll past it. We shrug at it. We forget that God is still showing His love in ways that defy explanation.
Tonight, pause long enough to notice.
Let the wonder return.
Let gratitude rise.
Let Jesus take up residence in your heart again.
Be amazed at what He’s done…
Be amazed at what He’s doing…
And don’t keep it to yourself.
Just like the travelers who spread the news all across Galilee, someone around you needs to hear what God has done.
He’s still healing.
He’s still working.
And He’s still going viral—one life, one testimony at a time.
