Experiencing God's Kingdom - Matthew 4:12-25
Pastor Dennis Bone
1/20/13
EXPERIENCING GOD’S KINGDOM 1-20-13
I read that in the early gold rush days in Australia back in the 1850s, the discovery of gold had a profound effect on the country. It transformed it. People got excited. And in two years the population of Victoria exploded from 77,000 to 540,000. The treasure generated enthusiasm and excitement. This is the kind of enthusiasm and excitement that Jesus generated when He came preaching the good news of God’s kingdom. When you experience God’s kingdom the effect is much greater than monetary gain, for it brings spiritual transformation and growth that never fades away.
This is what the people of Galilee discovered when Jesus comes as king and begins His ministry on earth. It generated an excitement that the people had never before seen. Our passage for this morning from Matthew chapter 4 occurs about a year after Jesus’ temptation in the desert. Matthew sees this as the official beginning of Jesus’ ministry, as he makes this transition between John the Baptist and Jesus. In this section – verses 12 – 25 – Matthew points us to the message of the kingdom; the call of the kingdom and the power of the kingdom. The apostle John, in the first four chapters of his gospel deals with some of the events during the first year of Jesus’ ministry, as each gospel writer had different reasons for their approach and content of their book.
In verse 12 Matthew speaks about this transition; and the reason for it. So follow along as I read Matthew 4:12 – 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.”
The message of the kingdom is: “Be converted.” The king has come and the kingdom is near, thus there must now be a radical change of mind and heart in order to receive it. Jesus has come to bring the light of the kingdom. Jesus has come to proclaim and to shine the light of God’s truth in the darkness of sin; and to bring life. As John proclaims at the beginning of his gospel: “Jesus is the light shining in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” And as Jesus Himself says later in John 3: “Light has come into the world but men loved darkness rather than light . . . but whoever believes in Christ will not perish but have everlasting life.”
And so the point that Matthew is emphasizing is that if you want to experience the kingdom you have to change; you have to repent; you have to be converted; and as we will see going forward you have to respond to the call of Christ to follow Him. The first point we see is the timing of Jesus’ Galilean ministry. It’s interesting to note that it’s the imprisonment of John the Baptist that triggers the beginning of Jesus’ work. One thing that we notice in all of the gospels is that Jesus had a keen sense of God’s timing; nothing happened by accident. This should remind us and teach us to be patient and aware that God is not a victim of circumstances, thus neither should we be. Verse 13 refers to Jesus leaving Nazareth; and we know from Luke 4 that He was rejected there as He declared Himself to be the Messiah in fulfillment of Isaiah 61. Once again we see God’s timing, first in the imprisonment of John and now in the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth, leading to the fulfillment of God’s plan.
So the second point we see is the significance of Jesus’ prophetic fulfillment. Jesus was driven out of Nazareth and to Capernaum, in order to fulfill what Isaiah says in chapter 9 of his prophecy. The significance is that Jesus goes to the place of greatest darkness to shine the light of truth. The title “Galilee of the Gentiles” – the end of verse 15 – is derogatory and one that mocks the region for its non Jewish influences. The idea that the Messiah would go there to start His ministry was offensive to the Jews. There were only farmers and fishermen there, no theologians, which is why we hear the Jews say in John 7: “How can the Christ come from Galilee?” “Look into it and you will find that the prophet does not come from Galilee.”
But out of Galilee did arise the greatest prophet and Messiah. They had forgotten about Isaiah 9 probably because they were living in darkness; and Jesus purposefully goes there to proclaim the light of God’s kingdom. And as He does we then see a third point in verse 17: the purpose of Jesus’ preaching ministry. “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’” Jesus has the same message as John the Baptist; it’s a message of repentance; and the meaning or purpose of the message is for people to change their way of life. The kingdom is about change; and the good news of the kingdom is that Jesus Christ brings this spiritual light of change to you and to your life.
Repentance is good news because it leads us into the light of God’s grace through Christ. The message of the kingdom is to be converted, thus our purpose for ministry as Christians and as Christ’s church must be the same as Jesus, so that people will truly experience God’s kingdom. In the next section of Scripture, Matthew documents this change when he writes about the call of the kingdom. He specifically gives the account of two sets of brothers being called by Jesus to be fishers of men. So follow along as I read verses 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.
What we see here is Jesus partnering with His disciples to spread the kingdom. This is the beginning of what Jesus has been doing with His disciples for now over 2,000 years, as the kingdom is growing throughout this world through the making of disciples in all nations. This is the call of the kingdom: to be fishers of men. This is illustrated by Jesus calling fishermen to be the first partners in this work of the kingdom. As we know from John chapter 1, this is not the first call of these men to follow Jesus. John records their call to salvation; and Matthew records their call to be fishers of men. I think the purpose for this is to show us first of all the growth of discipleship. John’s account tells us that these men believed that Jesus was the Messiah; Matthew’s account tells us what this means.
Jesus now explains to them what they are going to do as believers; and what the call of the kingdom is all about. The same is true of us when it comes to our faith and belief in Christ. We need to grow and learn what it means to be a disciple, so that we too can make disciples. In our passage Jesus tells Peter, Andrew, James and John that it is now time to take the next step in their calling and to abandon their old vocation and be fully engaged in a new one. It points us to the obedience of discipleship. Our calling as Christians is to follow Jesus and to obey Him when He calls us to be fishers of men.
We realize that He doesn’t call all of us to leave our vocation, as He did the first disciples, but He does call all of us to be fishers of men. The call or commission to the entire church is to make disciples of all nations, thus all Christians are to be a part of this call. Our passage indicates a complete willingness on the part of these men to follow Jesus and accept His invitation to be fishers of men – verse 19 – “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” I will teach you and equip you in the call of the kingdom. And so the obedience of discipleship is your willingness to recognize your role in the call of the kingdom and seek to be fishers of men.
And so moving forward we see the activity of discipleship. Jesus teaches and trains the disciples so that after His resurrection and ascension they can effectively execute this call of the kingdom. What did these first disciples do? They followed Jesus around, listening and watching Him teach and preach the good news of the kingdom – verse 23 – in order to grow into their role of being fishers of men. This is what the activity of discipleship is. We don’t literally follow Jesus around but we listen to His Word and we read about His works; and we grow in our love for Him and in the love and compassion He had for sinners. The first disciple were nothing special; Jesus didn’t call them because they had some special gifts or talents; but He said follow me and I will change you; I will teach you; I will make you fishers of men.
Jesus has the power and ability to do this. Jesus offers poor sinners the opportunity to experience God’s kingdom. The power of the kingdom is reflected in the message of repentance and conversion; and in the call to discipleship and to be fishers of men; and it’s also demonstrated in healing ministry of Jesus recounted for us in the next section of Matthew 4, beginning in verse 23:
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.
Jesus performs the signs confirming the kingdom. His actions confirm and verify that He is the Messiah of Isaiah 61, as He said earlier in the synagogue. The kingdom has arrived and Jesus is the King. The authoritative instruction of the soul – Jesus’ teaching and preaching – is illustrated and authenticated by His authoritative healing of the body. Crowds of people came from all over the region to experience the kingdom. Jesus now bears witness to His Messianic credentials in word and deed. These outward signs were an essential part of Jesus fulfilling His role as the Messiah, yet without repentance or an inward conversion of one’s heart and mind the physical healing of a person is not enough.
It’s significant to note how many people experienced the outward power and manifestations of the kingdom yet rejected the King. When Jesus was performing miracles people followed Him, but when He was preaching repentance and teaching about the cost of discipleship many of those same people rejected Him. It’s the same today; people are so often looking for outward or physical blessings from God as the reason to believe, when the true message of the kingdom is conversion and discipleship. What we learn is that you can experience God’s kingdom without experiencing the King. People can experience the benefits and blessings of God’s power and common grace through their involvement in the church or other activities yet not be in the kingdom.
These physical and outward signs of Jesus’ kingship were never intended to save anyone or to continue in the same form, but they were intended to confirm His power to spiritually heal all who trust in Him and enter His kingdom. The good news of the kingdom is that Jesus has forgiven our sins and healed our broken relationship with God the Father; and as result of our repentance we have not only experienced the kingdom, but we forever experience the King.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
Pastor Dennis Bone
1/20/13
EXPERIENCING GOD’S KINGDOM 1-20-13
I read that in the early gold rush days in Australia back in the 1850s, the discovery of gold had a profound effect on the country. It transformed it. People got excited. And in two years the population of Victoria exploded from 77,000 to 540,000. The treasure generated enthusiasm and excitement. This is the kind of enthusiasm and excitement that Jesus generated when He came preaching the good news of God’s kingdom. When you experience God’s kingdom the effect is much greater than monetary gain, for it brings spiritual transformation and growth that never fades away.
This is what the people of Galilee discovered when Jesus comes as king and begins His ministry on earth. It generated an excitement that the people had never before seen. Our passage for this morning from Matthew chapter 4 occurs about a year after Jesus’ temptation in the desert. Matthew sees this as the official beginning of Jesus’ ministry, as he makes this transition between John the Baptist and Jesus. In this section – verses 12 – 25 – Matthew points us to the message of the kingdom; the call of the kingdom and the power of the kingdom. The apostle John, in the first four chapters of his gospel deals with some of the events during the first year of Jesus’ ministry, as each gospel writer had different reasons for their approach and content of their book.
In verse 12 Matthew speaks about this transition; and the reason for it. So follow along as I read Matthew 4:12 – 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.”
The message of the kingdom is: “Be converted.” The king has come and the kingdom is near, thus there must now be a radical change of mind and heart in order to receive it. Jesus has come to bring the light of the kingdom. Jesus has come to proclaim and to shine the light of God’s truth in the darkness of sin; and to bring life. As John proclaims at the beginning of his gospel: “Jesus is the light shining in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” And as Jesus Himself says later in John 3: “Light has come into the world but men loved darkness rather than light . . . but whoever believes in Christ will not perish but have everlasting life.”
And so the point that Matthew is emphasizing is that if you want to experience the kingdom you have to change; you have to repent; you have to be converted; and as we will see going forward you have to respond to the call of Christ to follow Him. The first point we see is the timing of Jesus’ Galilean ministry. It’s interesting to note that it’s the imprisonment of John the Baptist that triggers the beginning of Jesus’ work. One thing that we notice in all of the gospels is that Jesus had a keen sense of God’s timing; nothing happened by accident. This should remind us and teach us to be patient and aware that God is not a victim of circumstances, thus neither should we be. Verse 13 refers to Jesus leaving Nazareth; and we know from Luke 4 that He was rejected there as He declared Himself to be the Messiah in fulfillment of Isaiah 61. Once again we see God’s timing, first in the imprisonment of John and now in the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth, leading to the fulfillment of God’s plan.
So the second point we see is the significance of Jesus’ prophetic fulfillment. Jesus was driven out of Nazareth and to Capernaum, in order to fulfill what Isaiah says in chapter 9 of his prophecy. The significance is that Jesus goes to the place of greatest darkness to shine the light of truth. The title “Galilee of the Gentiles” – the end of verse 15 – is derogatory and one that mocks the region for its non Jewish influences. The idea that the Messiah would go there to start His ministry was offensive to the Jews. There were only farmers and fishermen there, no theologians, which is why we hear the Jews say in John 7: “How can the Christ come from Galilee?” “Look into it and you will find that the prophet does not come from Galilee.”
But out of Galilee did arise the greatest prophet and Messiah. They had forgotten about Isaiah 9 probably because they were living in darkness; and Jesus purposefully goes there to proclaim the light of God’s kingdom. And as He does we then see a third point in verse 17: the purpose of Jesus’ preaching ministry. “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’” Jesus has the same message as John the Baptist; it’s a message of repentance; and the meaning or purpose of the message is for people to change their way of life. The kingdom is about change; and the good news of the kingdom is that Jesus Christ brings this spiritual light of change to you and to your life.
Repentance is good news because it leads us into the light of God’s grace through Christ. The message of the kingdom is to be converted, thus our purpose for ministry as Christians and as Christ’s church must be the same as Jesus, so that people will truly experience God’s kingdom. In the next section of Scripture, Matthew documents this change when he writes about the call of the kingdom. He specifically gives the account of two sets of brothers being called by Jesus to be fishers of men. So follow along as I read verses 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.
What we see here is Jesus partnering with His disciples to spread the kingdom. This is the beginning of what Jesus has been doing with His disciples for now over 2,000 years, as the kingdom is growing throughout this world through the making of disciples in all nations. This is the call of the kingdom: to be fishers of men. This is illustrated by Jesus calling fishermen to be the first partners in this work of the kingdom. As we know from John chapter 1, this is not the first call of these men to follow Jesus. John records their call to salvation; and Matthew records their call to be fishers of men. I think the purpose for this is to show us first of all the growth of discipleship. John’s account tells us that these men believed that Jesus was the Messiah; Matthew’s account tells us what this means.
Jesus now explains to them what they are going to do as believers; and what the call of the kingdom is all about. The same is true of us when it comes to our faith and belief in Christ. We need to grow and learn what it means to be a disciple, so that we too can make disciples. In our passage Jesus tells Peter, Andrew, James and John that it is now time to take the next step in their calling and to abandon their old vocation and be fully engaged in a new one. It points us to the obedience of discipleship. Our calling as Christians is to follow Jesus and to obey Him when He calls us to be fishers of men.
We realize that He doesn’t call all of us to leave our vocation, as He did the first disciples, but He does call all of us to be fishers of men. The call or commission to the entire church is to make disciples of all nations, thus all Christians are to be a part of this call. Our passage indicates a complete willingness on the part of these men to follow Jesus and accept His invitation to be fishers of men – verse 19 – “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” I will teach you and equip you in the call of the kingdom. And so the obedience of discipleship is your willingness to recognize your role in the call of the kingdom and seek to be fishers of men.
And so moving forward we see the activity of discipleship. Jesus teaches and trains the disciples so that after His resurrection and ascension they can effectively execute this call of the kingdom. What did these first disciples do? They followed Jesus around, listening and watching Him teach and preach the good news of the kingdom – verse 23 – in order to grow into their role of being fishers of men. This is what the activity of discipleship is. We don’t literally follow Jesus around but we listen to His Word and we read about His works; and we grow in our love for Him and in the love and compassion He had for sinners. The first disciple were nothing special; Jesus didn’t call them because they had some special gifts or talents; but He said follow me and I will change you; I will teach you; I will make you fishers of men.
Jesus has the power and ability to do this. Jesus offers poor sinners the opportunity to experience God’s kingdom. The power of the kingdom is reflected in the message of repentance and conversion; and in the call to discipleship and to be fishers of men; and it’s also demonstrated in healing ministry of Jesus recounted for us in the next section of Matthew 4, beginning in verse 23:
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.
Jesus performs the signs confirming the kingdom. His actions confirm and verify that He is the Messiah of Isaiah 61, as He said earlier in the synagogue. The kingdom has arrived and Jesus is the King. The authoritative instruction of the soul – Jesus’ teaching and preaching – is illustrated and authenticated by His authoritative healing of the body. Crowds of people came from all over the region to experience the kingdom. Jesus now bears witness to His Messianic credentials in word and deed. These outward signs were an essential part of Jesus fulfilling His role as the Messiah, yet without repentance or an inward conversion of one’s heart and mind the physical healing of a person is not enough.
It’s significant to note how many people experienced the outward power and manifestations of the kingdom yet rejected the King. When Jesus was performing miracles people followed Him, but when He was preaching repentance and teaching about the cost of discipleship many of those same people rejected Him. It’s the same today; people are so often looking for outward or physical blessings from God as the reason to believe, when the true message of the kingdom is conversion and discipleship. What we learn is that you can experience God’s kingdom without experiencing the King. People can experience the benefits and blessings of God’s power and common grace through their involvement in the church or other activities yet not be in the kingdom.
These physical and outward signs of Jesus’ kingship were never intended to save anyone or to continue in the same form, but they were intended to confirm His power to spiritually heal all who trust in Him and enter His kingdom. The good news of the kingdom is that Jesus has forgiven our sins and healed our broken relationship with God the Father; and as result of our repentance we have not only experienced the kingdom, but we forever experience the King.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
