Luke 8:1-3
And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

This wasn’t drudgery or just a job for Jesus.  He wasn’t going around preaching only out of duty.  But this was His passion and His joy.  He loved people.  He loved His Father.  He desired to heal, to help, to expose people to the truth and see their lives changed.  He was bringing good news about the kingdom of God.  He had come to be the Savior of mankind, to redeem souls, to bring new life to a cursed and troubled world.  He had come to make a difference in the lives of those who would trust in Him.

The difference Jesus made was evident in those who followed Him.  With Him were His disciples, who had forsaken all they had to follow Him, to serve Him and go on this incredible journey.  With Him were women whose lives He had impacted who were willing to give of their substance to His work and ministry.  It was their great joy to be with Jesus, to see Him work, to be a part of what He was doing, and to be ministers themselves.

Jesus came to Earth to die for our sins.  He preached truth and taught important lessons.  He performed miracles.  He was a witness for the Father.  But before He went to the cross, He spent some time getting to know people.  He spent time talking to people.  He built relationships and impacted people with His heart of love and compassion.  It would have been so amazing to walk with Jesus in the flesh, but we can still have a personal relationship with Him now.  He will walk beside us on our journey.  He will teach us His truth.  He will give us opportunities to serve Him along the way.

One of the most obvious things about Jesus is that people mattered to Him.  Individuals mattered.  Their struggles mattered to Him.  To see the wonder and amazement of the people He ministered to must have thrilled His soul.  To see truth dawn in people’s minds, to see them set free from their sin, to see them relieved of physical suffering must have brought Him great joy.  And those who followed Jesus got to participate in all of that.  They got to share in the wonder of it all.  And so can we.  We have an amazing opportunity to know Jesus so personally, to follow Him as a disciple, to serve Him as our Lord, and to learn from our Master.