The Collect

O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Readings:

Psalm 105:1–22

Exodus 24

Gospel: Matthew 4:12–17

12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;

13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Commentary:

Matthew tends to put more emphasis on Jesus’ teaching ministry, and perhaps this emphasis was what led Matthew to place the Sermon on the Mount near the beginning of his Gospel; indeed, the verses selected for our study today form a sort of introduction to this teaching ministry. Chapter 4 prepares us to hear the Sermon on the Mount by emphasizing that Christ has brought us into the light (4:16), by calling us to repentance (4:17), by telling us about the call of the first disciples (4:18-22), and by giving Jesus’ teaching ministry precedence over his preaching and healing ministries (4:23).

“Several passages in the other gospels, especially in that of St. John, are supposed, in the order of the story of Christ’s life, to intervene between his temptation and his preaching in Galilee. His first appearance after his temptation, was when John Baptist pointed to him, saying, Behold the Lamb of God, Joh_1:29. After that, he went up to Jerusalem, to the passover (Jn. 2), discoursed with Nicodemus (Jn. 3), with the woman of Samaria (Jn. 4), and then returned into Galilee, and preached there. But Matthew, having had his residence in Galilee, begins his story of Christ’s public ministry with his preaching there, which here we have an account of.” (Henry)

“Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;” (v. 12) Matthew has chosen to connect the beginning of Jesus’ ministry with the arrest of John the Baptist; and a careless reading of verse 12 robs the reader of important nuance.

“Now when Jesus had heard” serves to distance Jesus from John. He has been made aware of John’s situation from afar, Jesus not being a disciple or close associate or follower of John. In like manner John was not a disciple of Jesus either; John’s mission was to “Make ready the way of the Lord” and to “Make his paths straight” (3:3) and to baptize Jesus (3:13-17). John is a pivotal figure, the last of the old and the one chosen to introduce the new.

As you will recall, John the Baptist was seized and imprisoned by Herod Antipas—the puppet king installed by the Romans after his father’s death—because John had publicly called Herod to repentance for his many, many dalliances; particularly the one in which he divorced his wife, broke up the marriage of his own brother, so that he could marry his sister-in-law.

“he departed into Galilee” Again a careless reading of this verse might leave one with the idea that Jesus fled into Galilee so as to avoid Herod Antipas, but that would be an incorrect assumption as Herod also ruled over Galilee at the time, therefore Jesus would not have avoided arrest there. Matthew makes it clear that Jesus goes to Galilee as a fulfillment of prophecy (v. 14).

Galilee is small (approximately 25 x 50 miles or 40 x 80 km) but has a large population (204 towns with populations of 15,000 or more people according to Josephus), so it provides opportunity for many people to hear Jesus’ message.

“Most of Jesus’ ministry will take place in Galilee. He returned from his baptism in the Judean wilderness at 4:12, and will remain in Galilee until he sets out for Judea at 19:1. He will work his first miracle at Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-11). Almost all of his teaching and healing ministries will take place in Galilee. Peter will acknowledge him as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” in Galilee (Matthew 16:16). Jesus will go to Judea to die, but will return to Galilee after his resurrection (Matthew 26:32), and will deliver his Great Commission in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20).” (Donovan)

“And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.” (vs. 13-16)

Capernaum is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Nazareth, and is located on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. We are not told why Jesus moves to Capernaum. Perhaps it is because Peter’s home is there (8:14). Perhaps it is because Capernaum is larger than Nazareth and is located on a major trade route. Perhaps it is because Capernaum is located just across the Jordan River from the Decapolis, a Gentile region, and therefore has a large Gentile population. Jesus will do a good deal of ministry in Capernaum (8:5-15; 9:9; 13:2; Mark 1:21; 2:1-12; John 4:46-54), and Capernaum will be known as “his own city” (9:1). Nevertheless, he will pronounce judgment on it (11:23-24).

Yet “leaving Nazareth”, Jesus did not go to live and make His home in Jerusalem or Judea. Going to Jerusalem would seem to be smarter career planning for the Messiah, but Jesus dwelt in Capernaum. “This migration to Capernaum is not formally noted in the other Gospels, but Capernaum appears in all the synoptists as the main centre of Christ’s Galilean ministry.” (Bruce)

Matthew is concerned to show that Jesus fulfills prophecy. “This is the fifth of ten fulfillment quotations used by Matthew” (Hagner).

“ The prophecy that was fulfilled is this, v. 14-16. It is quoted from Isa. 9:1, 2, but with some variation. The prophet in that place is foretelling a greater darkness of affliction to befal the contemners of Immanuel, than befel the countries there mentioned, either in their first captivity under Benhadad, which was but light (1 Ki. 15:20), or in their second captivity under the Assyrian, which was much heavier, 2 Ki. 15:29. The punishment of the Jewish nation for rejecting the gospel should be sorer than either (see Isa. 8:21, 22); for those captivated places had some reviving in their bondage, and saw a great light again, ch. 9:2. This is Isaiah’s sense; but the Scripture has many fulfillings; and the evangelist here takes only the latter clause, which speaks of the return of the light of liberty and prosperity to those countries that had been in the darkness of captivity, and applies it to the appearing of the gospel among them.” (Henry)

Zebulun and Naphtali are northern provinces (Capernaum is in Naphtali and Nazareth is in Zebulun), which fell to Tiglath-pileser III in 732 B.C., a full decade before the fall of the other provinces.

“Isaiah had prophesied, “There shall be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations” (Isaiah 9:1; see also verses 2-7). Now that prophecy is fulfilled.” (Donovan)

“ by the way of the sea (Greek: hodon thalasses—literally “road to the sea”), beyond Jordan” (v. 15b). This “road to the sea” is a Roman road connecting Damascus (northeast of Capernaum) with Caesarea (southwest of Capernaum on the Mediterranean Sea), and is therefore a major trade route (Hagner).

“Galilee of the Gentiles” (v. 15c). “When the Israelites first settled in Canaan, God said, “When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their figured stones, destroy all their cast images, and demolish all their high places” (Numbers 33:51-52). However, Naphtali, Asher, and Zebulun (three of the five tribes that settled Galilee) failed to drive out the Gentiles, but instead dwelled in their midst (Judges 1:30-33). In addition, Galilee was surrounded on three sides by Gentiles—Phoenicians on the west along the Mediterranean coast, Aram/Syria to the north and northeast, and Bashan to the southeast. Major trade routes passed through Galilee, and it was often invaded. Galileans, therefore, had more dealings with Gentiles and were more open to new ideas than Judeans (Barclay, 66-67). This resulted in a certain amount of assimilation, which caused the scrupulous people of Judea to hold Galileans in disdain.  ” (Donovan)

“Galilee of the Gentiles” Was now an even more appropriate description than in Isaiah’s day, as successive movements of population had given it a predominately Gentile population until a deliberate Judaizing policy was adopted by the Hasmonaean rulers, resulting in a thoroughly mixed population.” (France)

“The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.” (v. 16). This is a quotation from Isaiah 9:2. The people to whom Jesus brings his ministry have been sitting in darkness, but Jesus’ coming brings them great light.

“Matthew is saying that God has chosen “Galilee of the Gentiles” (v. 15c) to be the place where light will shine–rather than Judea, the home of the temple and the place where darkness will prevail at Jesus’ crucifixion (Matthew 27:45).” (Donovan)

“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (v. 17) Jesus uses exactly the same words as John the Baptist (3:2). The core of Jesus’ preaching is congruent with the core of John’s preaching. It focuses on the Kingdom of Heaven.

“Repent” (v. 17b). “Repentance means a change of mind—turning and facing in a new direction—preparation for kingdom life. Scholars disagree with regard to the emotion behind it. Boring says that it does not involve sorrow or remorse (Boring, 167), but Johnson notes that “in the LXX (the Greek version of the Hebrew scriptures) it often stands for a Hebrew word meaning ‘to grieve for one’s sins’” (Johnson, 7). Perhaps the two ideas are not so far apart. We do not easily change the direction of our lives unless we are dissatisfied with life as it is and hopeful about life as it might be. Sorrow for sin provides the dissatisfaction that sparks change.” (Donovan)

“The kingdom of heaven is at hand; for it was not reckoned to be fully come, till that pouring out of the Spirit after Christ’s ascension. John had preached the kingdom of heaven at hand above a year before this; but now it was so much the stronger; now is the salvation nearer, Rom. 13:11. We should be so much the more quickened to our duty, as we see the day approaching, Heb. 10:25.” (Henry)

Jesus tells us that this kingdom has come near. We catch glimpses of it in the lives of saintly people for whom the kingdom has truly come. We see their quiet strength and feel their gentle touch. In telling us that the kingdom has come near, Jesus is telling us that we can dwell in this kingdom. We have only to repent—to turn away from the idols that crowd our lives—to let God reign.

Benediction

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Thought for the Day:

The skills gap is a reflection of what we value. To close the gap, we need to change the way the country feels about work.

Mike Rowe

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