Matthew 4: 12 – 25 (NLT)
“12 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. 13 He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah:
15 “In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali,
beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River,
in Galilee where so many Gentiles live,
16 the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light.
And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow,
a light has shined.” (Isaiah 9: 1 – 2)
17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
John the Baptist was a forerunner (someone who prepared the way) for Jesus. As Jesus begins his ministry, John is imprisoned, and later will be killed by King Herod. Jesus moved from Judea to a larger populated area in Galilee. This also fulfilled the prophecy in Isaiah 9. It’s interesting to note that many Gentiles lived there. Jesus’ ministry was primarily to the Jews, but as we know, the Gentiles would not be left out. Jesus based his work in an area where many Gentiles lived, so they would definitely be aware of who he was.
The First Disciples
“18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.
21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.”
Intervarsity Press online commentary says this about Jesus’ choice of disciples:
“Jesus did not call professionally trained rabbis (who might have had a lot to unlearn first) to be his disciples. He called artisans and encouraged them that the skills they already had were serviceable in the kingdom. If God called shepherds like Moses and David to shepherd his people Israel, Jesus could call fishermen to be gatherers of people. Some great men and women of God in the Bible never even became public expositors of Scripture; aside from his prophetic gifts, Joseph’s witness involved especially public administration, learned in Potiphar’s house and a prison and then applied to all Egypt. Social workers, teachers and many others have skills and backgrounds on which we must draw to be an effective church today. It is to our loss that congregations disregard the insights of the various professions among us.”
It is amazing that those four disciples followed Jesus right away. They were all involved in a family fishing business. James and John’s father was mentioned, and later in Matthew 8, we hear about Peter’s mother-in-law. So, these were not single men who could do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. The fact that they left their business tells us how impacted they were by Jesus. Again, this idea of placing ‘stuff’ low on our agenda of importance strikes me. I really have to ask myself how much I am willing to give up to bring the Good News to our world.
Crowds Follow Jesus
“23 Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 24 News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all. 25 Large crowds followed him wherever he went—people from Galilee, the Ten Towns (the Decapolis), Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east of the Jordan River.”
These miracles that Jesus did at the start of his ministry definitely gathered a lot of attention. Today we’d say Jesus ‘started out big’. I don’t think these verses say that Jesus healed absolutely everyone, but he did heal those who were brought to him. This attention would soon be diverted to teaching as we begin accounts of what Jesus said to the crowds starting in the next chapter of Matthew.
I wonder if we might learn something from the way Jesus began his public life. He caught people’s attention by doing something they really cared about – healing someone in their family. It’s one of the reasons I like Samaritan’s Purse. The gift boxes are handed out to children who wouldn’t have access to those things, and the kids are delighted. They are now more likely to pay attention to what the people who brought them the gifts say to them. We see that through Compassion International and World Vision as children are educated and provided with meals. The children and their families pay attention because someone has helped them graciously.
We see that in Windsor as Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative works with people in our downtown area to make sure they have homes, food, counselling and fun programs for neighbourhoods. We see that in Matthew House, a place that helps new immigrants find a place in Canada.
Are there ways we can help any of those organizations? How can we show people that Jesus is someone to follow?
Our song for today is Love God Love People by Danny Gokey