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Why is it important to learn about the geography where Christ ministered at different times in His public ministry?
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Geography is the “stage” for Jesus’ ministry and helps us to have a deeper understanding of why he was doing what he was doing. This also fulfilled Old Testament prophecy.
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It is important to understand that Jesus ministered in different locations throughout his public ministry. He taught in Jewish and Gentile areas. He set the example and showed that He had come for all people by doing this. He shared freely to the ends of the earth and a person’s social class or profession did not steer Him away. He reached out to everyone regardless of their religious views and was not well received by anyone during his public ministry. So, he could not stay in any one region for very long. He truly, “had no place to lay his head (Luke 9:58)”. Therefore, understanding the geography helps us to better understand the overall scope of Jesus’ ministry.
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It helps to give the message more context
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Understanding the locations of where situations occurred gives a more clear picture of what was happening, how quickly or slowly it could happen, or possibly the challenges individuals faced.
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Every one of the four messages that the writers wrote in the Gospel had a different audience, there were the Jewish people, Greeks, Romans, and Gentiles. Each of these groups lived in different geographical areas, because their culture and language were different the way they interpreted the Gospel would also be different. All of the messages were written with style of language which spoke clearly and efficiently to its particular group. For instance, when reading the Gospel addressed to the Romans you must learn to read as the Romans do.