The message, the men, and the masses – Matthew 4:12-25
The message, the men, and the masses – Matthew 4:12-25
By Pastor Lee Hemen
February 10, 2019
In the gospels we discover not only the mystical but the mundane as well. Life is made up of both and if you do not discover this fact you will miss out on some of the shear wonderment of life itself. This is why it is so distressing for me to see the ungodliness of socialism in our nation. When individuals do away with the sacred and try to replace it with feelings it leads to society based on emotionalism instead of the holy. Mankind is reduced to animal stature and God becomes nonexistent. This is one reason why Jesus came – to display for us the sacred. God became man and walked among us.
We know much about the everyday life of Jesus because the gospels are full of narratives concerning it. In Matthew’s gospel we discover some of the details of Jesus’ early ministry. He begins to relate the message he has for Israel and mankind, he begins to put together those who would continue the ministry after his death, burial, and resurrection, and he begins to actively reach out to people around him. Let see how Jesus began his message, picks his men, and goes to the masses…
READ: Matthew 4:12-25
Rather than moan about the spiritual erosion of America believers need to get involved in sharing their faith. Just as the Israelites failed to share Christians have as well. Here we discover…
I. Jesus and the message he shared! (Vv. 12-17)
When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali--to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
1. Interestingly we learn in John’s gospel that Jesus in fact began his ministry in the Jerusalem area but the other three gospels have Jesus beginning it in the northern part of the country. Yes Jesus did turn the water into wine in Cana but we see him beginning his ministry in John in cleansing the Temple in Jerusalem the first time in John 2 and his interaction with Nicodemus in John 3. We learn that the possible reason is that it probably did not last very long because shortly after Jesus’ own baptism John the Baptist is imprisoned. And so “When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee.” It was too soon to bring to much focus on his self and if Jesus had begun immediately in Jerusalem what he did in Capernaum it might cause undue attention, especially after chasing the money changers out of the temple with a whip! However, it also fulfilled what Isaiah had foretold. So, “Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali--to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: ‘Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.’” Though Isaiah was probably using these two tribal names to represent the Northern Kingdom, it is remarkable that Jesus’ upbringing and early ministry was mostly in that very area near the Sea of Galilee. The area was known as Galilee of the Gentiles and it is here Jesus begins to share the message of God. After John is arrested he leaves Jerusalem and goes to those who are open to hear what God has to share. This is a good example for believers to follow even in our day and age. If those who you begin to share Jesus with do not want to hear what you have to share you have to move on to those who are ready to listen! “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’” Here we discover Jesus and the message he shared!
EXAMPLE: The time was ripe. God had come as Jesus and folks needed to turn their lives around because his kingdom was “near” meaning right now! While we can lament over the condition of the world it should inspire believers to be even more about the ministry of sharing the gospel message of the good news of Jesus! Never before in the history of our nation do people need to turn away from their sin and turn to the Lord! And how good to know that Jesus paved the way for us and we learn in Jesus’ life about how he immediately began his ministry. It is here we discover Jesus and the message he shared!
When sharing your faith it is good to have fellow believers around you because they can pray with and encourage you. A band of friends can help keep you focused and here we discover…
II. Jesus and the men he chose! (Vv. 18-22)
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers; Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
1. We learn in John’s gospel that after John the Baptist had baptized Jesus he told his disciples, “Look, the Lamb of God!” when Jesus passed by. They followed Jesus and asked him where he was staying for the night and Jesus invites them to join him. The Apostle John and Andrew were these two men. John writes that later Andrew excitedly goes to get his brother Peter and tells him, “We have found the Messiah.” Yet here Matthew infers that evidently both had returned to their profession as fishermen and so now “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers; Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew.” So here we discover from Matthew they “were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen”. While they had gone back to their regular lives they were destined for greater things and Jesus knew it. He tells them “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus would take them from looking for the best places to capture fish to sell and make them into men who captured men for the kingdom of God! However their willingness to follow Jesus would come at a cost. They would have to decide if they were willing or not to follow him. Matthew tells us that “At once they left their nets and followed him.” However Jesus wasn’t done. “Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John.” We find the Apostle John had also gone back to being a fisherman with his brother James. Mark writes that Jesus “gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17 NIV) and the connotation is that their personalities were contentious or fiery. Some families are like that. “They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets.” These men also had a life decision to make. The calling carried with it a cost, for it involved leaving not only one’s profession but also one’s family responsibilities. I find it interesting that Jesus decided to ask hard working blue-collar types to be his disciples. Jesus did not call any Pharisees, Sadducees, or Teachers of the Law instead he called hardworking men who understood not only the common man but were willing to devote themselves to their calling. Matthew writes that “Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” Here we discover Jesus and the men he chose!
EXAMPLE: I have often wondered about how Jesus chose those who would follow him and become his disciples. Sure God knew but I believe that Jesus having set aside his divine nature to walk among us had willingly laid aside his divine capacity to fully know certain things. These men would become those who would spread his message, his teachings, and who he is. They would also in the process become his friends, confidants, and one who would betray him. They would display selfishness, spiritual ignorance, compassion, fear, courage, trustworthiness and devotion. Yet in each of these men Jesus called he evidently saw something I believe we would not have seen – a willingness to put their lives on hold and to seriously consider the message of and the man who was the Messiah. Matthew introduces us to Jesus and the men he chose!
It can be difficult to share the good news of Jesus because not everyone will want to hear it. But that should never deter us because it has hope, healing, and the answer for our lives. Here we discover…
III. Jesus going to the masses! (Vv. 23-25)
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
1. Often as the writers of the gospel narratives do Matthew condenses for his readers, weeks if not months. We learn that after calling his disciples to follow him “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” Early on Jesus is welcome among the people because he is meeting their basic needs. He is helping them to understand more about God by teaching them in their local places of worship, sharing with them the gospel, and meeting their physical needs. Jesus’ message was that God was moving to fulfill his covenant promise with Israel and to establish his kingdom on the earth. And that his words were backed up by the display of his ability to dramatically heal the people of their diseases. Jesus was who he proclaimed himself to be and because of this “News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.” The populace realized that something special was occurring. It could only be the hand of God. There have always been those who claimed to be able to heal the sick or to drive out demonic influences, but Jesus did not just claim to be able to do so; he actually did it! We discover in the gospel narrative that Jesus made himself available to the masses not for any form of selfish gain. He did not need the accolades of man nor the riches that he could have gained. In fact we find him often seeking to be secondary to giving God the glory for what was occurring. The people were in darkness physically and spiritually and they needed God more than anything. Jesus came to show them the way. He would tell them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. (John 14:1 NIV)” and “Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father. (John 10:37-38 NIV)” Matthew tells us that because of these miracles “Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.” Many did not yet believe in him as the Messiah but at least they were willing to come to him for answers and it is here we discover Jesus going to the masses!
EXAMPLE: Jesus going to the masses!
Conclusion:
Jesus and the message he shared! Jesus and the men he chose! Jesus going to the masses!
---
This article is copyrighted © 2019 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
February 10, 2019
In the gospels we discover not only the mystical but the mundane as well. Life is made up of both and if you do not discover this fact you will miss out on some of the shear wonderment of life itself. This is why it is so distressing for me to see the ungodliness of socialism in our nation. When individuals do away with the sacred and try to replace it with feelings it leads to society based on emotionalism instead of the holy. Mankind is reduced to animal stature and God becomes nonexistent. This is one reason why Jesus came – to display for us the sacred. God became man and walked among us.
We know much about the everyday life of Jesus because the gospels are full of narratives concerning it. In Matthew’s gospel we discover some of the details of Jesus’ early ministry. He begins to relate the message he has for Israel and mankind, he begins to put together those who would continue the ministry after his death, burial, and resurrection, and he begins to actively reach out to people around him. Let see how Jesus began his message, picks his men, and goes to the masses…
READ: Matthew 4:12-25
Rather than moan about the spiritual erosion of America believers need to get involved in sharing their faith. Just as the Israelites failed to share Christians have as well. Here we discover…
I. Jesus and the message he shared! (Vv. 12-17)
When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali--to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
1. Interestingly we learn in John’s gospel that Jesus in fact began his ministry in the Jerusalem area but the other three gospels have Jesus beginning it in the northern part of the country. Yes Jesus did turn the water into wine in Cana but we see him beginning his ministry in John in cleansing the Temple in Jerusalem the first time in John 2 and his interaction with Nicodemus in John 3. We learn that the possible reason is that it probably did not last very long because shortly after Jesus’ own baptism John the Baptist is imprisoned. And so “When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee.” It was too soon to bring to much focus on his self and if Jesus had begun immediately in Jerusalem what he did in Capernaum it might cause undue attention, especially after chasing the money changers out of the temple with a whip! However, it also fulfilled what Isaiah had foretold. So, “Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali--to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: ‘Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.’” Though Isaiah was probably using these two tribal names to represent the Northern Kingdom, it is remarkable that Jesus’ upbringing and early ministry was mostly in that very area near the Sea of Galilee. The area was known as Galilee of the Gentiles and it is here Jesus begins to share the message of God. After John is arrested he leaves Jerusalem and goes to those who are open to hear what God has to share. This is a good example for believers to follow even in our day and age. If those who you begin to share Jesus with do not want to hear what you have to share you have to move on to those who are ready to listen! “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’” Here we discover Jesus and the message he shared!
EXAMPLE: The time was ripe. God had come as Jesus and folks needed to turn their lives around because his kingdom was “near” meaning right now! While we can lament over the condition of the world it should inspire believers to be even more about the ministry of sharing the gospel message of the good news of Jesus! Never before in the history of our nation do people need to turn away from their sin and turn to the Lord! And how good to know that Jesus paved the way for us and we learn in Jesus’ life about how he immediately began his ministry. It is here we discover Jesus and the message he shared!
When sharing your faith it is good to have fellow believers around you because they can pray with and encourage you. A band of friends can help keep you focused and here we discover…
II. Jesus and the men he chose! (Vv. 18-22)
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers; Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
1. We learn in John’s gospel that after John the Baptist had baptized Jesus he told his disciples, “Look, the Lamb of God!” when Jesus passed by. They followed Jesus and asked him where he was staying for the night and Jesus invites them to join him. The Apostle John and Andrew were these two men. John writes that later Andrew excitedly goes to get his brother Peter and tells him, “We have found the Messiah.” Yet here Matthew infers that evidently both had returned to their profession as fishermen and so now “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers; Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew.” So here we discover from Matthew they “were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen”. While they had gone back to their regular lives they were destined for greater things and Jesus knew it. He tells them “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus would take them from looking for the best places to capture fish to sell and make them into men who captured men for the kingdom of God! However their willingness to follow Jesus would come at a cost. They would have to decide if they were willing or not to follow him. Matthew tells us that “At once they left their nets and followed him.” However Jesus wasn’t done. “Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John.” We find the Apostle John had also gone back to being a fisherman with his brother James. Mark writes that Jesus “gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17 NIV) and the connotation is that their personalities were contentious or fiery. Some families are like that. “They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets.” These men also had a life decision to make. The calling carried with it a cost, for it involved leaving not only one’s profession but also one’s family responsibilities. I find it interesting that Jesus decided to ask hard working blue-collar types to be his disciples. Jesus did not call any Pharisees, Sadducees, or Teachers of the Law instead he called hardworking men who understood not only the common man but were willing to devote themselves to their calling. Matthew writes that “Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” Here we discover Jesus and the men he chose!
EXAMPLE: I have often wondered about how Jesus chose those who would follow him and become his disciples. Sure God knew but I believe that Jesus having set aside his divine nature to walk among us had willingly laid aside his divine capacity to fully know certain things. These men would become those who would spread his message, his teachings, and who he is. They would also in the process become his friends, confidants, and one who would betray him. They would display selfishness, spiritual ignorance, compassion, fear, courage, trustworthiness and devotion. Yet in each of these men Jesus called he evidently saw something I believe we would not have seen – a willingness to put their lives on hold and to seriously consider the message of and the man who was the Messiah. Matthew introduces us to Jesus and the men he chose!
It can be difficult to share the good news of Jesus because not everyone will want to hear it. But that should never deter us because it has hope, healing, and the answer for our lives. Here we discover…
III. Jesus going to the masses! (Vv. 23-25)
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
1. Often as the writers of the gospel narratives do Matthew condenses for his readers, weeks if not months. We learn that after calling his disciples to follow him “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” Early on Jesus is welcome among the people because he is meeting their basic needs. He is helping them to understand more about God by teaching them in their local places of worship, sharing with them the gospel, and meeting their physical needs. Jesus’ message was that God was moving to fulfill his covenant promise with Israel and to establish his kingdom on the earth. And that his words were backed up by the display of his ability to dramatically heal the people of their diseases. Jesus was who he proclaimed himself to be and because of this “News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.” The populace realized that something special was occurring. It could only be the hand of God. There have always been those who claimed to be able to heal the sick or to drive out demonic influences, but Jesus did not just claim to be able to do so; he actually did it! We discover in the gospel narrative that Jesus made himself available to the masses not for any form of selfish gain. He did not need the accolades of man nor the riches that he could have gained. In fact we find him often seeking to be secondary to giving God the glory for what was occurring. The people were in darkness physically and spiritually and they needed God more than anything. Jesus came to show them the way. He would tell them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. (John 14:1 NIV)” and “Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father. (John 10:37-38 NIV)” Matthew tells us that because of these miracles “Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.” Many did not yet believe in him as the Messiah but at least they were willing to come to him for answers and it is here we discover Jesus going to the masses!
EXAMPLE: Jesus going to the masses!
Conclusion:
Jesus and the message he shared! Jesus and the men he chose! Jesus going to the masses!
---
This article is copyrighted © 2019 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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