The Galilean ministry had been a period rich in spiritual experience and success for the Master and his followers. A firm foundation had been laid, upon which his teaching could continue. Of the multitude whose lives he had touched, he had chosen twelve men to be his close friends, apostles, delegates, entrusted with the extension of his mission. Seventy others had also been sent out to spread the gospel, "the good news" of salvation.
There had been evidence of deep loyalty and devotion, but there had also been skepticism, enmity, threat of danger. In the midst of these conflicting currents of thought, undaunted by the arguments of his enemies, he maintained a mastery and poise revealing not only his complete familiarity with the Hebrew Scriptures but his deep understanding of their inner meaning and practical application.
Much of Jesus' activity is recorded without geographical background, but his teaching and healing work at this period appears to be centered in and around Jerusalem in Judea. Occasionally it reaches eastward across the Jordan River, into an area known as Perea. Writing in the same century, Josephus referred to the province "beyond Jordan" by this name, though it does not appear in the King James Bible.
