This passage shows us what Jesus begins to dow after the events of His baptism and temptation. Jesus appears on the scene after years of anonymity. He begins His ministry at the age of 30. In His baptism, He identified with His people. In His temptation, He succeeded where Adam and Israel failed.
How would you summarise the career achievement of Jesus? What is the essence of His life and ministry? And, how would you describe the follower of Jesus?
(A) Kingdom Start-up (Matt 4:12-17)
Following the temptation of Jesus, He begins His ministry. But at the start of it, John was arrested (Matt 4:12a). Matthew 14:2-5 sheds some light about why he was arrested. He had been making public comments about Herod and living in a sinful relationship with his sister-in-law.
When Jesus heard it, Jesus withdrew into Galilee, left Nazareth and went to live in Capernum (Matt 4:12b-13). He doesn’t seem to join in this particular political moment and seems to withdraw for a strategic reason — to start His ministry.
How does Matthew interpret this event for us? Jesus is just moving, but Matthew interprets this for us in Matthew 4:14-16. Matthew quotes from Isaiah 9:1-2 and is telling us that this move is also consequential! This is a part of Israel that Gentiles have moved in, and light has dawn in this area. Jesus’ move is fulfilment of God’s promises in Isaiah! God wanted to bring light, hope and peace to people that did not know and have these.
How much does Scripture capture your imagination? How much of God’s word shapes the OS of your thinking? Do we realise that Jesus and His actions are informed by Old Testament promises? Matthew does, and he correlates what His Saviour is doing with what He has promised.
Perhaps we don’t see God at work is because we don’t really know what He is supposed to do. Perhaps we find church boring because don’t know what it’s about and for. Perhaps our walk is lukewarm because it is made up of matchstick content — flimsy and piecemeal.
Matthew is excited here and sees how the move is one that shows how light is dawning in a period of darkness.
Jesus comes to do something specific — He began to preach (Matt 4:17). Notice how Matthew did not say heal, rule, govern. Jesus came as a preacher with a specific message — “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. Jesus gives a call to action (“repent”) with a reason (“for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”). God’s reign is now here with us in a way that it has not been before. Everything has changed and this moment is now sacred.
This was a fulfilment of what has been spoken of in the Old Testament. In Daniel 2:44, God’s people are told about a kingdom that will never be destroyed. This is their hope! And Jesus came on the scene declaring that this kingdom is now here.
Jesus picks up on this theme in Luke 17:20-21. Here, Jesus is answering a question about the kingdom mentioned about in Dan 2:44. The religious leaders asked when the kingdom is coming. He tells them the kingdom of God is not observable and is in their midst. This is because the kingdom of God is wherever the King is and also wherever the citizens are. He is establishing a new reign and rule of God. It is there because He is there! As people repent, they join Him and His kingdom.
This is the startup model of Jesus’ kingdom establishment. He comes seemingly in weakness, marked by John’s arrest. But He comes as light dawning in a place of darkness.
What does this mean? Is this a familiar message? Yes, you know that you are a part of the kingdom, but many of us forget what kind of a kingdom this is! As we read on in Matthew’s gospel, this is the controlling question to ask — what is the kingdom of heaven like? Does my life look, smell and taste more like this kingdom? Do I live like I am loyal to this kingdom’s king? Or are we living in a sort of dual citizenship — using whichever is more convenient to us?
(B) Kingdom Entry (Matt 4:18-22)
In these verses, we will also what else Jesus is concerned with as He establishes His public ministry. Jesus also calls disciples. First, He calls Andrew and Simon (Matt 4:18). He also calls James and John (Matt 4:21). Both groups follow Him immediately. Jesus is not just concerned with preaching. He was also interested in calling people — men and women, and they obeyed.
This call seemed simple and ordinary. Yet it was one that changed their lives. As the lyrics of the song “For the sake of the call” by Steven Curtis Chapman go,
Nobody stood and applauded them
So they knew from the start
This road would not lead to fame
All they really knew for sure
Was Jesus had called to them
He said "come follow Me" and they came
With reckless abandon, they came
Empty nets lying there at the water's edge
Told a story that few could believe
And none could explain
How some crazy fisherman agreed to go where Jesus went
With no thought to what they would gain
For Jesus had called them by name
And they answered
A simple encounter with Jesus changed these men’s lives. They were fishermen one moment, and they encountered Jesus who called and they obeyed. This is what the Christian life is — Jesus calls and we follow; Jesus speaks and we obey. His words are simple and are imperative. There is no persuasion and there’s no preamble. He just says “Follow me”. This is the call of discipleship. We don’t know where, for how long, or what we have to do, and to what end. He doesn’t really care about our strengths or whether we’ll fit in the team. He calls us to follow Him and He promises to change us. We will not stay the same. Disciples cannot follow Him and stay in that boat, continuing to fish fish. Rather, follow Him and they will end up being fishers of men.
The message to follow Jesus is the same as being called to repent. We now follow a different edict and legislation. Jesus builds on this subsequently in Matthew 13:47-50. The kingdom of heaven is like a net that is thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. Fishers of men make disciples who follow Jesus, who lives will be changed. This is all they are concerned with.
Does this describe your Christian life? Church cannot just be a lecture with some karaoke. Church is when we go to hear our King and pledge our loyalty to this king. We are reminded that we are not slaves to our job, family, and sin. We are slaves to Christ. As we hear His word and say that Jesus is King, we pledge to follow Him and walk in obedience to HIs word, even if it costs us.
Later in Matthew 19:27-30, Jesus addresses His disciples. They had left everything to follow Jesus, and wondered what’s there for them. Jesus assures them that “everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Matt 19:29-30). There are those who follow Jesus and don’t know what it means to leave everything. They have not repented and entered into the kingdom of heaven. They have not followed Jesus and have not begun this work of being fishers of man. They have joined the Christian club but have retained dual citizenship. But this is not the way. The Kingdom of Heaven has come. We either belong to it, or we do not.
All who leave everything will not be shortchanged in the kingdom!
(C) Kingdom Work (Matt 4:23-25)
Matthew 4:23-25 reads more like a summary of a series of events. He describes it by geography. Jesus went throughout Galilee and spent His time in the synagogues. His fame spread throughout Syria and great crowds followed Him from Galilee, the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. Why does Matthew want us to know this? He is trying to tell us that light has dawned into the region and people are responding to the light. People are responding to the news of the kingdom even as He has called men and women to respond to Him.
Jesus is described to be teaching in the synagogues, proclaiming the gospel and healing. This is also seen in Matthew 9:35. This is important for us to understand because these are the work of the Kingdom. Firstly, Jesus is a teacher. He doesn’t give information from His mind, but from Scripture. This is why He teaches in the synagogue because that is where Scripture is taught. The message of Scripture is the good news of the Kingdom — that the Kingdom has come and the Saviour is here. This is also the message of the Old Testament. The Old Testament is not a collection of morals and the New Testament is the gospel. Both the old and the new are about the gospel.
Now, how do we make sense of the act of healing? Are we to do the same? These were signs that testified to Jesus’ authority and were to confirm His identity. Today, what do we do to point to Jesus? We tell them about Jesus. We don’t need to verify and authenticate ourselves. These signs were to point to the Kingdom. It was to show that with the arrival of the Kingdom, the curse is undone. Sickness and illness are foreign to the world God made and it came in with sin. Spiritual warfare is also present because this is a world under God’s curse. Thus, we should not see healing as healing for healing’s sake. The gift is a sign that points to the authority of the king.
We now proclaim the good news of a restored relationship with the King! We can now enjoy peace with God. This has been His heart since the Old Testament. Isaiah 49:1-5 shows us God’s purpose and heart, to bring people from afar and to restore their relationship with Him.
What does it mean for us?
Some of us have been Christians for years and we are well-acquainted with the business of being a Christian. We try our best to be a good person. The gospel of Matthew is telling us that Jesus calls disciples to be faithful and not idle, and to take it to the world. Jesus taught and preached, and we ought to do the same. This should be our call too. If we are in God’s kingdom, we are in the business of being fishers of men. Are you involved in that work? How are you involved? What will it look like? Where has God placed you and what is He calling you to do?
At the end of the study, what would you say is the essence of Jesus’ ministry, and what it means to be a disciple? Is your definition similar to what Jesus said?