These verses summarise the ministry of Jesus, and therefore what the ministry of the church should be. This is teaching, proclaiming, healing. We need all three.
Jesus could teach in the synagogues on the Sabbath, and during the rest of the week He taught in public places and the open air.
As well as teaching He proclaimed the good news of the kingdom, ie the good news that the rule of God could come into people's lives. We need to have both teaching and proclamation. In the West we are so prone to thinking that it is only by intellectual argument that we can win people for the kingdom, but this is not true. We need to both teach, and declare the truth. For it is not just us who testify, it is the Holy Spirit as well, and He can take our proclamations and speak to peoples' spirits.
Equally we must not go to the other extreme and think proclamation is enough. It isn't. It needs to go together with teaching.
This was all bundled together with healing, a demonstration of the reality of the kingdom rule. The people recognised some special happening, and so brought all sorts of sick people and demon possessed people. And Jesus healed them.
There can be much controversy over healing. Some of this is richly deserved, especially when people claim too much, claiming miracles are happening when they are not. Yet it is quite clear from the New Testament, both in the ministry of Jesus and of the early church, that healings and setting people free formed a key part of the mission. It is all part of the package. So we should humble ourselves before God, trust in Him and do what He commands us to do.
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