Matthew Chapter 4:12-25 Getting to Work

Transcription

1 Matthew Chapter 4:12-25 Getting to Work O ne of the frustrating things about contemporary society is that the concept of purpose seems to have been lost. Well maybe I should refine this statement a bit. The concept of a higher purpose has been lost. To a great extent, survival has become the purpose. Surviving global warming, the collapse of Social Security, old age, relationships are often the only purposes people have time for. Or maybe some purposes are more positive, making the first million, or a name, or maybe just making sure the kids accomplish what the parents couldn t so they can feel good about themselves. I guess this all sounds a bit cynical, but I think this is often the case. One of the blessings of being a believer is we have access to a great purpose, one that lasts on into eternity. And what is that purpose? Doing the will of the Father. your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). What is that will? To advance the kingdom, loving God and loving others. Remembering we have a higher purpose allows us to survive, or at least not be overwhelmed by, all of those things that we listed previously. And Christ lived His whole life with a focus on His ultimate purpose. Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. (Matthew 26:39). With the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus begins to make His purpose known to others. As we consider His purpose, we need also to examine our own in light of our calling. Introduction IV The Proclamation of the Kingdom 3:1-7:29 C. The Beginning of Jesus Galilean Ministry 4: Surrounding Events Various 2. Jesus and John Verses Jesus and Disciples Verses Jesus and Galileans Verses Conclusion Introduction: Over the last weeks we have seen the introduction of the adult Jesus to the stage of history, to Israel, and to the world at large. We discussed His baptism and the temptation in the wilderness. In this section we see the beginning of His public ministry, head-

2 quartered in Capernaum. But first a quick accounting of events which occurred between His temptation and the move from Judea. 1. Surrounding Events: Quite a bit occurs between the temptation and the next appearance of Jesus in Matthew where He hears of John s imprisonment. I ll break the events and actions into sections and give you the related scriptural references. Again, I m using Pentecost s Harmony. 1 I am also using Willmington s Guide to the Bible. 2 a. John and Jerusalem s Envoys (John 1:19-28): Here John tells the priests and Levites in Jerusalem that he is herald to the Messiah, not the Messiah, not Elijah, nor the prophet, probably referring to Moses. The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him (Deuteronomy 18:15). b. John s Announcement (John 1:29-34): John again sees Jesus and announces to all present Jesus is the Messiah, describing the events that occurred at Jesus baptism. c. The First Disciples (John 1:35-51): This is important because it occurs prior to the calling of disciples we see in Matthew. The process starts with disciples of John accepting that Jesus was the one of whom John foretold. So they left John to follow Jesus. One of them was Andrew who brought his brother Simon to Jesus. So at the end of this section the following had become disciples. Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip, and Nathanael. d. Jesus First Miracle (John 2:1-11): Matthew doesn t talk about Jesus turning water into wine at the marriage at Cana. But John records it here. e. Jesus in the Temple (John 2:12-22): After staying with His family in Capernaum, Jesus goes up to Jerusalem prior to Passover. Here, for the first time, He casts the tradesmen out of the Temple courtyard. And here is the first public statement regarding His resurrection. f. Jesus in Judea (John 2:23-3:21): Once again it was Passover. Miracles were performed, but what is important in this section is Jesus interaction with Nicodemus, a member of both the Pharisees and the ruling council. Between f and g is Jesus return to Galilee recorded here in verse 12, after receiving news of John s imprisonment. But more on that in a moment. g. Jesus in Samaria (John 4:5-42): On the way back to Galilee, Jesus passes through Samaria and interacts with the woman at the well. h. From Samaria to Nazareth (John 4:43-54; Luke 4:16-30): The last group of events proceeding the section we are considering this morning. Included here are the healing 1 Pentecost, J. Dwight, A Harmony of the Words and Works of Jesus Christ, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1981, p Willmington, Dr. H. L., Willmington s Guide to the Bible, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL, 1981 ) 70 (

3 of the nobleman s son, the reading of the scripture in Jesus hometown synagogue (Isaiah 61:1-2) and the first recorded sermon. If you read these passages on your own, you will have a better sense of the chronological flow. Which brings us to this section. 2. Jesus and John: While in Judea Jesus hears of his cousin s imprisonment. Matthew does record, further on in the book, the reason behind this turn of events. Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip s wife, for John had been saying to him: It is not lawful for you to have her. (Matthew 14:3-4). It is probably worth taking a moment to discuss this event because with it John s ministry of herald to the Messiah has ended. He has completed the ministry set before him. Now, let me quote Carson s comments on the events surrounding John s imprisonment and later death. Both Mark (6:16-29; cf. Luke 3:19-20) and Matthew insert this story as an excursus, a bit of explanatory background. Typically Matthew is more condensed than Mark, yet does add one detail ; but in this case it is doubtful whether Matthew is a condensation of Mark. More likely Matthew follows independent information (cf. Hoehner, Herod Antipas, pp ). Many scholars have insisted the Gospel reports of John s death and the report of Josephus (Ant. XVIII, [v.2]) cannot be reconciled, especially because Josephus assigns a political motive to the execution of the Baptist and the synoptists a moral and religious one. Hoehner (Herod Antipas, pp ) has exhaustively treated these problems and points out that the two motives are not as far apart as some have thought. Herod s first wife was the daughter of Aretas (cf. 2Cor 11:32), Arabian king of the Nabateans, whose land adjoined Perea on the south. To divorce her in favor of Herodias was politically explosive. Indeed, some years later border fighting broke out, and Antipas was defeated, but saved by Roman intervention. John s rebuke would be like a spark on tinder; and his powerful preaching about the nearness of the messianic kingdom fueled the expectations of the populace, not least for the reestablishment of the law lay which John was rebuking Herod. Religious fanaticism with messianic overtones is more politically dangerous than mere political extremism. This Herod well knew. Josephus and the Gospel writers blend together. Herodias was married to Herod Philip (not Philip the tetrarch, Luke 3:1), son of Herod the Great and Mariamne II (for this identification of Hoehner, Herod Antipas, pp ), and therefore halfbrother to Herod Antipas. John probably did not denounce Antipas for divorcing his former wife, an action probably judged allowable (cf. b Ketuboth 57b; Jeremiah Jerusalem, p. 371, n. 60), but for incestuously marrying his half-brother s wife (Lev 18:16; 20:21); and John probably kept on repeating his rebuke (imperfect elegen means he used to say [repeatedly] ; so McNeile). John s courage in denouncing Herod distinguishes him from the Essenes (with whom many scholars associate him), for they tended to refuse to meddle in political life, no matter how evil it became (Bonnard). Herodias was not only Antipas s sister-in-law but also his niece, the daughter of his half-brother Aristobulus; but for most Jews there was no bar to marrying a niece (cf. Hoehner, Herod Antipas, pp , n. 4, for the literature). Some think Matthew s statement that Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people (v.5) conflicts with Mark s picture of a Herod who wants to spare John but is pushed into killing him by Herodias (cf. esp. Mark 6:19-21). The total situation is psychologically convincing. Like Ahab, Antipas was wicked but weak; and Herodias, like Jezebel, wicked and ruthless. Herod s grief (not mere distress) in v.9 shows his ambivalence. Moreover if he was afraid of the people because they held John to be a prophet (cf. 21:26, 46), then Matthew confirms Josephus s view that Herod s actions were largely motivated by politics. 3 3 Carson, D. A., The Expositor s Bible Commentary, Matthew, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI, ) 71 (

4 With John s imprisonment, his work ends and now Jesus ministry truly begins. It is at this point He left the Judean area and sets up residence in Capernaum. Keener says of Nazareth: Nazareth was a small agricultural village and suburb of the old Galilean capital, Sepphoris; Capernaum was a larger fishing town on the northwest edge of the Sea of Galilee. The trade routes brought Gentiles through those parts. Capernaum lay in the borders of Naphtali but not Zebulon; Matthew mentions the latter because they occur together in Isaiah 9:1, which he cites in 4:15. 4 Once again Matthew refers back to Isaiah, telling us that Jesus movement into Nazareth is a fulfillment of prophecy. Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned (Isaiah 9:1-2). Toussaint explains the reason for this quote as:. Isaiah pictures the darkness of oppression that existed under the hands of the Assyrians. According to the prophecy, the Messiah was to marvelously emancipate the people by the power of God. Though Galilee at the time of Christ was no longer under the rule of Assyria, it was still under a foreign yoke, that of Rome. Therefore, the reference to the darkness and shadow of death is very appropriate in its historical application. The references to Zebulun and Naphtali correspond with the land of Galilee so that the prophecy is also fitting in its geographical application. Because the population of Galilee is of a mixed Gentile and Jewish character, the prophecy is also proper in its ethnological application. Finally, the contextual application of Isaiah 9 is appropriate since it is definitely Messianic and eschatological in character. Of course, there is no doubt Matthew is also referring to their spiritual darkness and deadness, but that is only implicated by his quoting the prophecy here. 5 And so with John having departed the scene, Jesus picks up the same message, Repent, for the kingdom of God is near. And in a sense this is the same message we are called to bring. It is part of the advancement of the kingdom. 3. Jesus and Disciples: We already saw in John 1 the calling of Andrew and Simon Peter. So how does that passage tie to this one? Here the two are fishing, which is their livelihood. It may well have been that after the initial calling recorded in John, that the men returned to their calling, and this is a subsequent calling which led to their full commitment to follow Jesus. Consider that discipleship is a process. Remember that after the resurrection the disciples were found again back at their nets. One of the blessings of all of this is that God deals with us through process and even if sometimes we go back to our nets He comes again for us, reminds us of our purpose and sets us on the right track. Besides Andrew and Simon Peter, Jesus calls James and John the sons of Zebedee away from their fishing. They too follow Him. The NIV Bible Background Commentary notes: 4 Keener, Craig S., IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Downers Grove, IL, Toussaint, Stanley D., Behold the King, Multnomah Press, Portland, OR, 1981, p ) 72 (

5 Fishermen had more income than average people in Galilee, so James and John left behind a good job. More than that, however, they suddenly left behind their father and the family business; such abandonment could easily bring them dishonor in the community. (Both Jews and Greeks, however, had similar stories and would recognize this sudden departure as a sure sign of radical discipleship.) 6 Just as an aside here are the definitions of these men s names. First, Simon, that hears; that obeys ; Andrew, a strong man ; James is apparently a variation of Jacob, that supplants, undermines; the heel ; and finally, John, the grace or mercy of the Lord 4. Jesus and Galileans: Jesus ministry was holistic. He went throughout the area of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues, that is, giving out the message of the kingdom. And next week we ll start by talking about what is meant by the Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Heaven. Carson tells us a bit about Galilee at this time: Galilee had 204 cities and villages, each with no fewer than fifteen thousand persons. Even if this figure refers only to the walled cities and not to the villages (which is not what Josephus says), a most conservative estimate points to a large population, even if less than Josephus s three million. At the rate of two villages or towns per day, three months would be required to visit all of them, with no time off for the Sabbath. Jesus went around doing good (Acts 10:38; cf. Mark 1:39; 6:6). The sheer physical drain must have been enormous. Above all we must recognize that Jesus was an itinerant preacher and teacher who necessarily repeated approximately the same material again and again and faced the same problems, illnesses, and needs again and again. 7 He also was concerned for the physical needs of the people. He healed all manner of disease and sicknesses. Keep in mind all of the signs and wonders were more evidences of His being the long expected Messiah. He was showing His power over nature, and He also cast out demons freeing people from the effects of Satan s attacks, thus showing His authority over the spiritual world as well. And the result of all this was more people hearing of His ministry coming to see Him in person. God was moving through His Spirit-filled Son. Jesus was carrying out the Father s purpose for Him. Conclusion: And God has a purpose for us as well. What is important to realize is that no matter who you are or what you do, God has a purpose for you where you are. And this is sometimes hard to remember when we are in a place we don t want to be. Can you give any example of where you have felt this way in your life? But God doesn t leave us to wander around after giving us a purpose. He also gives us direction and leads us in His ways. Have you experienced this? So as we go out this week, let Him go before us. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come (John 16:13). He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way (Psalm 25:9). 6 Keener, Craig S., IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Downers Grove, IL, Carson ) 73 (

6 For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end (Psalm 48:14). You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory (Psalm 73:24). Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, This is the way; walk in it. (Isaiah 30:21). I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them. I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. (Isaiah 42:16). This is what the LORD says your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go (Isaiah 48:17). ) 74 (

7 Matthew Chapter 4:12-25 Getting to Work Introduction IV The Proclamation of the Kingdom 3:1-7:29 C. The Beginning of Jesus Galilean Ministry 4: Surrounding Events Various 2. Jesus and John Verses Jesus and Disciples Verses Jesus and Galileans Verses Conclusion Introduction: (Matthew 6:10, 26:39) 1. Surrounding Events: a. John and Jerusalem s Envoys (John 1:19-28): (Deuteronomy 18:15) b. John s Announcement (John 1:29-34): c. The First Disciples (John 1:35-51): d. Jesus First Miracle (John 2:1-11): e. Jesus in the Temple (John 2:12-22): f. Jesus in Judea (John 2:23-3:21): g. Jesus in Samaria (John 4:5-42): h. From Samaria to Nazareth (John 4:43-54; Luke 4:16-30): (see Isaiah 61:1-2)

8 2. Jesus and John: (Matthew 14:3-4; see Mark 6:16-29; Luke 3:19-20; 2 Corinthians 11:32; Luke 3:1; Leviticus 18:16; 20:21; Mark 6:19-21; Isaiah 9:1-2) 3. Jesus and Disciples: 4. Jesus and Galileans: (see Acts 10:38; cf. Mark 1:39; 6:6) Conclusion: Personal Application: God gives us direction and leads us in His ways. So as we go out this week, let Him go before us. Prayer for the Week: Lord, As You lead and touch my life, may I in turn be used to touch the lives of others. In Christ s name, amen.