The King Who Brings the Kingdom

Matthew 4:12-25

Immanuel – 12/3/23

This is our seventh week in the gospel of Matthew and nearly everything we have seen so far has been preparatory in nature. Chapter 1 and 2 prepared us to understand the significance of Jesus. In Chapter 3, John the Baptist was preparing Israel, and us by proxy, to receive Jesus. Then, Jesus’ baptism and subsequent temptations were preparing Him to begin His public ministry.

Now all the preparations have been made. The stage has been set. Finally in the Gospel of Matthew, the King of heaven and earth begins to reveal Himself. Jesus absolutely explodes onto the scene as He begins His public ministry. Though, as we will quickly see, Jesus’ kingdom subverts the Jewish expectation of the day.

Purpose

1. The kingdom of heaven arrived in Galilee.

2. The disciples of the King are called and have a calling.

Read vs 12-13

In chapter 14 we will learn why John was arrested. Suffice it to say, John had kicked a hornet’s nest and infuriated Herod. This arrest signaled the end of John’s ministry. He would remain behind bars until Herod had him executed.

As Matthew has structured things, the end of John’s ministry is the clear beginning of the Messiah’s ministry. The things proclaimed by John are now to be realized in Jesus; and Jesus knows that the light of His glories are appointed to dawn upon Galilee.

Galilee was the region on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. Compared to Judea and Jerusalem, Galilee was wealthy and bustling. Judea mostly held significance for the Jews. Its terrain was rough, dry, and relatively isolated. Galilee’s was a gentler landscape; fertile, green, and located at the crossroads of three continents.

As such, by Jesus’ day Galilee had become an incredibly diverse and populated region, open to trade and new ideas. It was the perfect place for the spark of a new idea to set the world on fire. So, when Jesus withdraws to Galilee he doesn’t return to His small hometown of Nazareth. He goes to the largely Jewish city of Capernaum, populated by as many as 10,000 people.

(Parenthesis)

We know from the gospel of John that Jesus spent some amount of time with John the Baptist in the wilderness of Judea. There, alongside His cousin, Jesus began to teach and make disciples. But Matthew makes no mention of these details.

Remember, Matthew is not attempting to arrange his narrative chronologically. Instead, he has arranged this book theologically and thematically. As I said in the first sermon of this series, one of the main governing structures is that this book is arranged as a travel narrative: Jesus’ ministry begins in Galilee, then there is the journey to Judea, and events finally culminate in Jerusalem.

Now that all the preparations have been made and Matthew is ready to tell us about Jesus’ public ministry, he places Jesus in Galilee. Matthew’s account is true, these things really did happen, but he skips over some events to better suit the larger theological point of his book.

(Close Parenthesis)

When Matthew quotes from Isaiah, we are again thrust into the theological themes that govern his gospel.

Read vs 14-16

First century Galilee occupied portions of the ancient territories of Zebulun and Naphtali. The locations of Jesus’ hometown and his new town are significant: Nazareth was in the historical territory of Zebulun, and Capernaum in the territory of Naphtali. Again, Matthew shows us that Jesus is the fulfillment of prophesy.

Galilee of the Gentiles

Galilee may have been the crossroads of the nations, but Jerusalem was the center of the Jewish world. The Jewish expectation, therefore, was that the Messiah would do the majority of His work in Jerusalem. But Matthew’s quote paints a different picture. Isaiah 9:1-2 makes it crystal clear where the kingdom of the Messiah would dawn upon the earth: Galilee of the Gentiles.

As we have seen, Galilee was indeed a place of Gentiles. People from countless nations had settled there and the region had adopted a very Hellenistic, or Grecco-Roman, culture. Galilee was a mixture of Judaism and paganism, and the more conservative Jews of Judea looked down their nose at their Galilean brothers. As I stated a few weeks ago, the discrimination was severe.

When the pious Jews of Jerusalem looked north, they saw a great spiritual darkness over the Galilean lands.

But Isaiah prophesied that it is precisely in these dark, gentile mixed lands, that the light of the Messiah would dawn. For even in the deepest darkness, Jesus is the radiant light of the world. He has come to unite Jew and Gentile; to bring people from every tribe, tongue, and nation to worship God the Father.

Galilee would indeed be the beachhead. The invasion of the earth had begun, the kingdom of heaven was at hand.

Read vs 17

These are the exact same words John the Baptist was proclaiming. The difference is that John was preparing; Jesus was delivering.

The call to repentance assumes that every listener is unfit for the kingdom of God. Jesus presupposes that everyone who hears His message is a sinner barred from heaven’s joys. Though Christ has come to break apart those bars and open wide heaven’s doors, everyone who desires the light must first repent of their sinful darkness.

And when they do, when anyone repents and turn to Jesus, the kingdom of Heaven has moved from being near, to arriving in the heart. You see, we are prone to think of the kingdom of God in terms of places or products: borders, lands, civic governments. Christians use the phrase “kingdom works” in a similar way our culture may use the phrase “civic works.”

But the Jewish conception of the kingdom of God is far more related to the reign and rule of Christ. Those who have found a home in heaven’s kingdom are those who have submitted to Christ as king, they have repented of their old way of living and have given their lives to Him. Everything that comes under the influence of Jesus’ rule, even through the disciples of Christ, has then become a part of the kingdom of heaven.

Thus, after proclaiming the nearness of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus’ first activity is to seek out disciples.

Read vs 18-19

Disciples of the King

Though Matthew refers to it as the Sea of Galilee, it is really a large lake; and it supplied the region with an abundance of fish. It’s no surprise that Jesus comes across some fishermen. Matthew almost makes it sound like Jesus was out on a casual stroll and just stumbled across these men. But I image that He walked that shore with purpose: Jesus was fishing for these four men in particular.

When He comes to the first pair, He utters words that change the course of history: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

There are sermons in these ten words, but I’m going to stick to two points.

First, there is salvation and judgment in these words. We must consider what in the world it means to fish for men. Has there ever been a fish that was happy when it was caught? Getting caught could sound a little more like receiving a terrible judgment. And yet Jesus’ call to Peter and Andrew seems to be a positive one, like getting caught is synonymous with salvation.

Well, even though Jesus’ summons reflects His shoreside surroundings, He is intentionally echoing an Old Testament image. Here’s just one example from the prophet Jeremiah:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.” -Jeremiah 16:14-15

“Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the LORD, and they shall catch them…For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes. But first I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations.”

-Jeremiah 16:16,17-18

Can you see the twofold meaning to catching up men in this passage? God will send out fishers of men to gather those who have been scattered and bring them into the Promised Land. Also, when they are caught up, the wicked will be brought to judgment.

When Jesus says, “I will make you fishers of men,” it carries this same weight. As Jesus’ followers fish for men, the purpose is to bring people before the gospel. We proclaim the gospel to all people and the moment the gospel is heard, it brings people to a point of decision, where they must choose between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth.

Jesus even tells a parable that highlights this reality.

Read Matthew 13:47-50

Jesus’ disciples do not have the right, nor the power, to judge and to save. That is for God. But we have the power to cast the net of the gospel, to proclaim. And everyone who hears, as we once heard, bears the responsibility of making a decision – to choose to follow Jesus, or to not.

Brothers and sisters, you cannot escape this two-fold identity in Christ. If you are a new creation in Christ, you are also sent as His ambassador. If you are His follower, you must also be a fisher. The concept of a Christian who does not proclaim the gospel is entirely foreign to Scripture.

So let everyone here who calls Jesus King; unashamedly, boldly, joyfully proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ! Let us be ambassadors faithfully fishing for men! We must cast the net of the gospel!

(Parenthesis)

I just need to take a moment to plug the Ambassador Training here at Immanuel. There is currently an Ambassador Training that is nearly in its sixth week. Over the past few weeks, it’s been incredible to hear the stories pouring in of our people faithfully and creatively proclaiming the gospel. Already, there are numerous reports of people responding positively to the gospel in some way.

And I’m hearing these stories from teens to folks in their 70’s: 35 people are taking the course. God is so clearly moving in our midst. The Ambassador Trainings have become an absolute highlight of my week!

If you missed this training, then fear not, there will be another opportunity to take the 7-week Ambassador Training in the Spring.

Additionally, the 4-Fields intensive coming up on January 19th and 20th, led by our missionary Garrett Simerson, will only further refine our fishing skills. I encourage everyone of you, take these opportunities to grow in your calling: for if you are a follower of Jesus, you have also been called to fish for men.

(Close Parenthesis)

I said I wanted to make two points regarding Jesus’ words, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” The first was that as people hear the gospel of the kingdom, judgment and salvation will be wrought. The second point is that Jesus’ call is not a question or an invitation, it is a command.

When Jesus calls, when He summons, when He commands, there is only obedience. Just as the winds and waves obey the command of Jesus, so do Peter, Andrew, James, and John.

Read vs 20-22

Notice how there is no hesitation at all. These men drop everything to follow Jesus. Jesus calls and obedience is the only possible result.

Here we are confronted with the doctrine of effectual calling. Paraphrased from the London Baptist Confession of Faith the doctrine of effectual calling is as follows: God has predestined to effectually call His elect out of their state of sin and death and unto grace and salvation in Jesus Christ; and God does this so that the elect respond freely and willingly.

See the two types of calling. As fishers of men, we are commanded to call people to respond to the gospel, and people can choose to accept or deny. When we call a person with the gospel it is simply heard by the ears. But when the Son of God calls a person, His call is powerful and effective. He uses the gospel – that we proclaim – and He speaks into the heart of His elect. And when a human heart hears the voice of its Creator, that heart springs to life and beats with affection towards Christ.

I grant that these are difficult things to understand. But we are not a people who shy away from things simply because they are difficult. We must seek to understand these truths, for they are repeated throughout Scripture. And that effectual calling is evidenced right here on the shore of Galilee.

For when Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John they immediately respond to Jesus’ effectual calling. Their lives will never be the same. They will traverse the Roman world proclaiming the gospel, facing great difficulties and persecutions. Three of them will give up their lives for the sake of Jesus: Something they could never have imagined when they went out to catch fish that morning.

And no one would ever have imagined that the Messiah would have chosen such men to establish His kingdom with. The idea scandalized the religious elites. But these lowly fishermen are exactly whom Jesus had elected to join Him in His glorious work. And we can all be glad that Jesus chooses the lowly, the broken, the rejected, the invisible, to become a royal priesthood in the kingdom of heaven!

From this point forward in Matthew, we will no longer read of stories where Jesus is alone. Everything will now be done within the context of community. Jesus inextricably unites Himself to these chosen disciples.

And yet, Jesus will leave Gethsemane alone, completely alone, where no man dare go. He goes to drink the dreadful cup of God’s wrath awaiting sinners. And there at the end, as His body begins to fail and He prays for our forgiveness, you realize He hangs there for love. For if you repent and believe in Him, then He drank that cup for you. He drank agony and shame and wrath so His disciples would not have to. Everything Jesus did, everything He does now, is all for His people and to the glory of His Father.

But some 3 1/2 years before the cross, Jesus begins to travel throughout Galilee and authenticating His kingdom message.

Read vs 23-25

See how verse 23 says that Jesus was teaching in their synagogues? Synagogues were places exclusive to Jews, and every Sabbath Jesus would go to these synagogues and teach the Jews. Though Jesus did sometimes minister to Gentiles, He came to reveal Himself to the Jews.

As He will say in chapter 15:

“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” -Matthew 15:24

Even still people came from the entire region to see Jesus. They came from the Jewish lands of Galilee and Judea. More came from Gentile lands in the north, from Syria. They streamed in from the Gentile lands in the south and east, from the Decapolis and beyond the Jordan. These crowds were predominantly Jewish, but undoubtedly Gentiles pressed in too.

They came because Jesus was able to heal like no one has healed: diseases, pains, possessions, paralysis, epilepsy. Whatever it was, Jesus could heal it. However many ailments there were, Jesus was not rationing.

It’s no wonder the crowds streamed in. Matthew casts the crowds in a grey light. Sometimes they support Jesus, sometimes they defy Him, most of the time they are just gawking. They are there because they are curious, because they like the spectacle, because they want to get something – like a healing. Though the crowds follow Jesus, they are not followers of Jesus.

There are many people following Jesus today that are not followers. They come to church looking for entertainment, for something that suits their preferences, something that will amaze them, something that will scratch their itching ears. It might look like they are following Jesus, but when they are not getting what they want, when the cost gets too high, they are gone.

When Jesus eventually leaves Galilee for Judea, only 12 men and a handful of women will follow Him.

Jesus’ miracles were not meant simply to amaze the crowds and make them feel better. His miracles were authenticating the arrival of the kingdom of God, that He was the one bringing to an end this fallen world.

It is as Isaiah has prophesied:

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. -Isaiah 35:5-6

Jesus is the water in the desert. He is light for the blind. He is the Word that the deaf can hear. His miracles and His healings were to prove that what He can do for the body, He can do so much more for the soul. If your body is lame, He can make your heart leap for joy. If your tongue is mute, He can cause your whole soul to overflow with rejoicing.

If you are not a follower of Jesus, and you have heard the gospel I have proclaimed, then repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! Turn to Jesus and enter His kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy. Before I stood up here this morning I have been praying for you, that Christ would speak to your heart, and that your heart would spring to life and beat with affection for Jesus.

If you are hearing my voice and you do have a heart that beats for Jesus, I pray for you also; that you would be faithful fishers of men, that you would not neglect this calling because it is uncomfortable or scary.

We have read His word and the King has spoken. May we believe, and respond today with hearts fully committed. May we be ready to lay everything aside to follow Jesus.

To conclude I want to return to the passage that Mattew quoted in verses 15 and 16. Not only is this passage extremely appropriate for our Christmas season, but for hearts that doubt, that fear, that worry, that weep in the dark, then let these words of God kindle a flame and set your world on fire.

Read Isaiah 9:1-7