17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. 23 Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. 24 The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan. Matthew 4:17-25

Old movies would depict the passage of time and growing notoriety with spinning newspaper headlines. You can visualize the bold letters in Jesus’ case: Teacher Heals Paralyzed Man. Hundreds Make Trek to Galilee. The Message Behind the Miracles.

With a ragtag entourage of unlikely associates–not advance men, mind you–Jesus drew the sick from Syria to the north, Judea to the south, from ten cities comprising Decapolis around Galilee, and from beyond the Jordan River to the east. He was a virtual sensation. And he was stumped by no sickness or disease.

Undoubtedly, he shared the good news of the earthy presence of Kingdom of God–himself, if you read between the lines–to all who came, punctuated by authenticating miracles.

But did they get it, there being a big, big catch, namely, repentance (v. 17)?

Seeing the end of the movie, not exactly.