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Matthew 4:12-22

When we began to study Matthew’s gospel, we learned that the framework he uses to present his testimony
of Jesus does not follow a strict chronology; events are not necessarily in the order that they occurred, in
time. Instead, Matthew’s framework can be viewed as geographical; it follows, not moment by moment,
but place to place.

After recording the genealogy of Jesus, Matthew began his account with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem of
Judea (2:1) - in fulfillment of the Scriptures. Matthew then relates how Jesus wound up being raised in
Nazareth of Galilee - so that people called Him a Nazarene, presuming that Jesus had been born there
(2:23).

The next movement of Jesus is seen when He had grown to manhood, and He came from Galilee to John at
the Jordan River to be baptized by him (3:13) - which is in the wilderness to the east of Jerusalem, near
Judea.

So apart from His first year or two, and then His baptism at about thirty years of age, Matthew does not
show Jesus as being in Judea, or specifically in Jerusalem, but in Galilee - initially, in Nazareth.

In doing so, Matthew is emphasizing that Jesus grew up as an outsider to the religious establishment, which
is entrenched in Judea - the region of Israel to the south.

Galilee, the region to the north, was considered more worldly (see map) - separated from Judea by Samaria;
possessing a mixed population; and in close proximity to the Gentile nations.

Matthew continues now in this vein to show that, as Jesus begins His ministry, He chooses to do this in
Galilee - far removed from the religious community to the south.

We recall that following the baptism of Jesus by John, the Spirit had led Jesus up into the higher, more
desolate areas of the Judean wilderness, where He was tempted by the devil. This temptation served God’s
purposes, to prove that Jesus would live as a man in perfect obedience to the will of His Father, and in this
way become the acceptable sacrifice for sin.

The offering - of Jesus Himself - presented by John at His baptism, was searched by God in His holiness,
and found to be perfect and without spot. Here was the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the
world (Jn 1:29) - to enable men to enter God’s kingdom, as His born-again sons.

This is what the ministry of Jesus would bring to light - revealing the Father, and the way into His presence.
That revelation would be made first to God’s nation, Israel - but it would begin in Galilee.

So having left Jesus in the Judean wilderness in his account, Matthew must first explain to his readers how
the return of Jesus to Galilee came about. We begin in verse 12.

[Matthew 4:12-17]

Looking back at verse 12 and 13, we learn from the Greek that Matthew uses a series of intensive verb
forms - translated “departed” (v. 12); “leaving” (v. 13); and “dwelt” (v. 13). Matthew uses these to
underline the relocation of Jesus from Judea to Galilee; first to Nazareth, but then finally to Capernaum.
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Other gospel writers, particularly John, make it clear that Jesus was actually in Judea for some time before
He went back to Galilee; and then, Jesus went back and forth between various locations in Judea and
Galilee before He settled in Capernaum.

Why doesn’t Matthew mention all of this? Because in this way, the departure of Jesus from Judea is seen
to correspond with the initiation of Jesus’ ministry - His message would be broadcast first from the
periphery of the Jewish religious world, before being brought to its center. The message - of the true way
to enter the kingdom of God - must have its opportunity to reach the people. People must be given time to
see that Jesus is that Way.

The wording that Matthew uses in verse 12 suggests that the imprisonment of John the Baptist was the
impetus for Jesus departing to Galilee.

Do you remember who imprisoned John? Herod - Herod Antipas, one of the sons of Herod the Great. He
had been given a fourth of his father’s kingdom, by Rome - including the region of Perea, which was where
John had been baptizing, in the Jordan.

So why did Herod Antipas have John arrested? Because John had rebuked Herod concerning his unlawful
marriage to his living brother’s wife, Herodias (Lk 3:19). No doubt Herod was quite unused to being
publicly condemned; and his new wife Herodias sought an opportune time and occasion to revenge herself,
on John.

When Jesus heard that John was arrested, He departed for Galilee. Why do you think Jesus did this? So
that He wasn’t arrested by Herod, as well.

We learn from John’s gospel that the disciples of Jesus were also baptizing those who repented, in the same
vicinity as John the Baptist and his disciples (Jn 3:22-24). So there was a period of overlap between their
ministries. If Herod surmised that Jesus was one such as John, he might well have preemptively arrested
Jesus, too.

Would you say that Jesus left, because He feared being arrested? Certainly not. If that had been the case, it
would have been more likely for Jesus to go to Judea, which was outside of Herod Antipas’ jurisdiction.
Instead, Jesus headed north toward Galilee - which was also ruled by this Herod.

There’s no question that Jesus was following His Father’s leading through the Spirit, trusting in God to
protect Him there. And God did; all that was needed was that Jesus be removed from the local public scene
for a time, which diverted Herod’s attention.

Besides, it was not yet time for Jesus to be taken; and not in this way. It was time for Jesus to increase;
while John decreased (Jn 3:30). John’s ministry - to prepare the hearts of the people for their Messiah - was
nearing its completion.

As Jesus left Perea, He deliberately passed through Samaria, because He had an appointment with a woman
at a well - a divine appointment. No sooner had she received the water of Life from Jesus than she began to
share it with her fellow Samaritans.

Jesus spent two days with them, among a field white for harvest, reaping many souls into the kingdom of
God (Jn 4:3-43). But this goes unmentioned by Matthew, who devotes his full attention to the arrival of
Jesus in Galilee - first, in Nazareth, where He was raised.
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But it seems that, no sooner than Jesus gets to Nazareth, that He leaves - why? For that, we’ll need to look
at Luke’s account. Turn to Luke chapter 4. Luke records this following the temptation of Jesus by the
devil.

[Luke 4:14-30]

v. 14-15 Luke gives a hint here in his record that Jesus did not return directly to Nazareth, at first - a point
well established in John’s gospel. Jesus did some miraculous works in Cana (Jn 2:1-11) and in Capernaum
(Jn 4:46-54), which caused people throughout the region of Galilee to begin talking about Him.

v. 16 The ruler of the synagogue would invite certain men to read or to expound the Scriptures. As a
resident of the town who had returned, we can easily see that Jesus would be invited to do this. But there
was more to it than that.

v. 17-20 So Jesus read a prophecy of Isaiah (Is 61:1, 2), and then returned the scroll to the attendant. Now,
why would Luke point out that all eyes were fixed on Jesus? Because the townspeople were intent upon
just what He had to say.

From this, we can tell that Nazareth had heard of the miraculous works that Jesus had done elsewhere in
Galilee. The townspeople wanted to know what Jesus had to say for Himself. And this is what He said.

v. 21 That’s all He said; but it was monumental. All the Jews would know that this prophecy of Isaiah
speaks definitively of the Messiah of Israel; anointed by the Holy Spirit as Israel’s King.

Jesus was alluding to the miraculous works that He had done elsewhere, of which the townspeople had
heard. And Jesus was indicating that these fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy, proving Him to be Israel’s Messiah.
This was how the townspeople reacted to that news.

v. 22 Jesus spoke gracious words to them; words that would minister grace to His listeners - if they would
really hear them. But instead, His listeners marveled at the words; turning them over and over, in their
minds. They did bear witness to what Jesus was saying about Himself - that is, they understood what He
meant - but then they thought about what they knew of Jesus, and in the end, they just couldn’t believe what
He was saying.

They had watched Him grow up, in Nazareth. His righteous ways, from His youth, would certainly have
impressed the town. But as they gazed on Him with their natural eyes, all they saw was a natural man. He
was just Joseph’s son - and no more.

How ironic; for in reality, Joseph’s son, He was not. The townspeople would not believe to see who He
really was; the son of God.

Jesus chided them for their unbelief.

v. 23 The idea is “heal yourself, to show that you are truly the healer; work your miracles here, and we’ll
believe you”. But Jesus assured them this would not cause them to believe.

v. 24-27 Jesus was saying that the Gentiles will believe, what the Jews would not; healing comes to those
who believe - beginning with healing from sin-sickness. This infuriated the people in the synagogue.
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v. 28-30 When the heart is filled with religion and not God, it becomes a conduit for anger and a catalyst to
rage and hate. It can morph anger into a fierce religious zeal - as we see here. Remember that Nazareth was
a hill town, and they took Jesus right to the edge of a cliff - intent upon a one-way and final escort out of
town.

How did Jesus manage to just pass through the midst of them; how was it possible for Him to do that?
Remember that Jesus was under His Father’s divine protection until His hour was come. This appears to
have been a supernatural deliverance of Jesus here; a moment of blindness upon the crowd, enabling Him
to make His escape.

Now, God foreknew that the town in which Jesus grew up would, as a whole, reject Him, as Messiah. So
why did God have Jesus go there? It was a gracious act of God, to give Nazareth the opportunity to receive
Jesus as their Messiah.

It also showed that even knowing Jesus - listening to His wisdom, witnessing His righteous actions - day
after day, for years, did not ensure that people would recognize Him as the anointed Messiah. Only faith
ensured that; something that the townspeople of Nazareth did not have.

[Return to Matthew 4]

So Matthew, using the emphatic form of the verb, indicates in verse 13 that Jesus left Nazareth; He
decisively left His hometown behind, because of their unbelief. He then made His new home in
Capernaum.

Now, why Capernaum? Well, for one thing, Capernaum was a much larger town than Nazareth; and it was
not in a remote location in the hills, but was instead right along the major trade route that ran through
Damascus, and eventually down along the Mediterranean coast (see map).

And Capernaum itself was situated right on the Sea of Galilee - called a sea, but what we would consider to
be a large lake. These features would give Jesus a more public platform from which to deliver His
message.

But there was an even more important reason why Capernaum became the center of Jesus’ ministry. It was
because Capernaum fulfilled another OT prophecy, concerning Messiah.

This prophecy, in verses 15 and 16, was pronounced by Isaiah concerning Messiah over 700 years before
Jesus came to the earth. We find it in Isaiah chapter 9; let’s turn there.

You may remember that we studied the previous two chapters in Isaiah in order to better understand the
verse that Matthew recognized as being fulfilled concerning the birth of Jesus to the virgin Mary - “Behold,
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated,
‘God with us’” (Mt 1:23).

The Son will only be “born” to the virgin Israel when she puts her trust in Him, as her Messiah - as a
nation. In Isaiah’s day, this never happened, and both the houses of Israel came into judgment. But Isaiah
then prophesied of a new day that will dawn - a new opportunity, for Israel to receive her Messiah.

We’ll begin in verse 1.

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[Isaiah 9:1-2] Invaders from the east generally came to the land of Israel following the trade route that
passes through northeastern Galilee - through the ancient territory of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali,
west of the Jordan River. This route then proceeds to the south, being known even in Isaiah’s day as the
Way of the Sea - the Mediterranean Sea.

Isaiah is speaking here of the distress that came on northern Israel, when the Assyrians first invaded. But
that affliction was light compared to when the Assyrians returned, and took the inhabitants into captivity -
that’s when they heavily oppressed Israel.

Isaiah was shining a ray of hope into this gloomy prophecy - that one day, a child will be born to Israel; a
Son will be given to her (Is 9:6) - Israel will receive her Messiah, who will then deliver her from her
oppressors.

This will happen in the Second Coming of Jesus to the earth; but Matthew recognized that with the arrival
of Jesus to Capernaum in His first coming, the light was already shining on God’s people - if they would
just walk in it.

In his quotation, Matthew drops the references in the prophecy concerning Assyria, which had already been
fulfilled, focusing instead on the geographical references that are fulfilled in Jesus coming to Capernaum.

The people there, who have been walking in spiritual darkness, now see a great light; what is the light? The
Son! And if they will walk in that Light, they will emerge from the shadow of death, that hangs over them.

What a great privilege Capernaum had! But later, Capernaum as a whole will be denounced by Jesus as
failing to respond to the light they were given (Mt 11:23).

Note that Isaiah used the phrase, “Galilee of the Gentiles”. This refers to the upper region of Galilee, in
closest proximity to the Gentiles.

In this region, where Capernaum lay, Matthew recognized the perfect place to launch the Good News to the
Gentile nations - which he will show at the end of his gospel (Mt 28:16-20). But for now, the message is to
be principally shared with God’s chosen nation, Israel.

[Return to Matthew 4]

Verse 17 sums up the message of Jesus, to the people. Let’s read that again.

v. 17 Does that sound familiar? Those were the same exact words that Matthew used to sum up John the
Baptist’s message (Mt 3:2). In this way, Matthew showed the ministry of Jesus to be continuing where
John left off - for Jews who recognized that they were sinners to now turn from their sin to receive Jesus as
their Messiah, as the one who could save them from their sin, and deliver them into His kingdom.

Matthew next shows that, at this beginning of His ministry, Jesus does not begin alone.

v. 18-22 So before Matthew records any of the ministry activities of Jesus, he indicates that Jesus gathered
His disciples to Himself - four of them, in this passage. They must be with Him from the beginning, as
eyewitnesses to His ministry.
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Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John were considered the “inner circle” among Jesus’ twelve disciples.
They were chosen to be with Jesus in moments of special significance (Mt 17:1-8; 26:37).

Luke indicates in his gospel that the two sets of brothers were part of a fishing cooperative, between their
families (Lk 5:7, 10); this was how they made their living - a very good living, on the Sea of Galilee.

Now, it may seem strange to us that these men would just drop everything and leave it all behind, when
Jesus called them - why would they follow a stranger? But Jesus was no stranger.

In his gospel, John shows that all four of the men first met Jesus in Judea (Jn 1:35-42). Two of them were
disciples of John the Baptist, and when that John identified Jesus as the Messiah, they began to follow
Jesus.

One of these was Andrew, who then brought his brother, Simon Peter, to Jesus. Presumably the other,
unidentified, was the self-effacing John, who then brought his brother James to Jesus, also. These four then
spent some time with Jesus, getting to know Him, learning from Him. At some point, they then returned to
their work in Capernaum as fishermen - until Jesus called to them.

Now, they had already followed Jesus for a short time, but Matthew is presenting this as a call to become
one of Jesus’ disciples; His learners. This is unique because in that culture it was usually the disciple who
chose the particular teacher, to learn from. But instead, we see that Jesus was doing the choosing. This
shows the divine initiative; this is a calling of God.

But Jesus doesn’t say He is calling them to become His disciples, although they do become His disciples,
learning from Him. What does He say instead, in verse 19? That He will make them fishers of men. This
is a call to ministry.

Jesus put it in the context of their current occupation. As fishermen, they would cast their nets, to bring in
the harvest from the sea. Their hard work would earn them a day-to-day living. But Jesus would train
these men to cast the gospel net into the sea of humanity, to bring in sons for God’s kingdom - work with
far greater reward - for eternity.

And it would seem that these men were ready. They left everything behind - their nets, their boat - that’s
their livelihood - and even their families - in order to follow Jesus. Matthew is emphasizing the complete
change of life, leaving both work and kindred, to become a disciple of Jesus.

Matthew will describe his own call by Jesus to follow Him, and his response to Him, in similar terms (Mt
9:9); he left all to follow Jesus (Lk 5:27-28).

Because that’s what it takes, to be a true disciple of Jesus. The person progresses beyond the essential
believing into Jesus, to actively following Him, in and through his life - following Him into the work, of
reconciling men to God. Luke brings this out with illustrations of three men who proposed to follow Jesus.
Turn to Luke chapter 9.

[Luke 9:57-62]

v. 57-58 This man thought he would follow Jesus, without considering just where that “wherever” might
take him. Would he genuinely be willing to be homeless - to not know from one day to the next whose
home he would sleep in - if any? If he truly wanted to follow Jesus, he had to be willing to give up a home
- one that was secure in this world.
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v. 59-60 Now it would seem that this man just wanted to give his father the customary burial of the day.
But this is actually an idiomatic expression, which means the man desires to wait until he first receives his
father’s inheritance. So the real issue is that this man wants to have a secure source of income, in order to
follow Jesus. Jesus challenges him to let go of his inheritance in this world, for the sake of the kingdom.

v. 61-62 The idea here is on the natural affections that this man has with his family. There is nothing
wrong with him loving his family; the problem is with that little word “first”; this man is putting his family
before Jesus. As a pattern, this would generate a divided loyalty, in the man.

A plowman who looks back always cuts a crooked furrow, leading to a less productive harvest. Such a
laborer is not worthy to work for the furtherance of the kingdom of God. There can be no divided loyalties
with this world, to one who is intent on following Jesus.

Now, Luke did not intend his examples to be exhaustive, here. There are other things, that can impede a
person from actively following Jesus, in this life.

They may very well not be sinful, in themselves; things like a career; an education; leisure activities;
hobbies; social gatherings; acquiring possessions. But all of them are still sourced in this world - this
world, that is fading away (1 Jn 2:17).

And meanwhile, they’re hindrances that would deprive the believer of the highest experience of Christ’s
life that he can have, while still on earth - to escort men into the kingdom, through the gospel - the ministry
God has, for each and every believer (2 Cor 5:18-20).

The four men we saw in Matthew’s gospel left all to follow Jesus - in the end, do you think they had any
regrets?

So whatever our “all” might be, remember - it’s not too late to leave it - all behind. The benefit to you will
be out of this world.

Reading: Matthew 4:23-7:29