Messiah Sampler or Jesus goes for a Test Drive

Matthew 4:12-25

July 19, 2009

At least a year has passed since Satan tempted Jesus and Matthew again picks up the Messiah’s trail.  During those months here are some things Jesus did that Matthew didn’t report:

· Met future disciples and started friendships

· Turned water to wine at wedding

· Cleansed the temple in Jerusalem

· Told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.”

· Chatted with Samaritan woman at the well

· Healed a nobleman’s son.

 Compared with what followed, that was Messiah light. The baptism and the temptations were behind him, so why the slow start. Again we have to point to Jesus’ humility and to that we can add patience. He was waiting for John the Baptist to clear the way (Malachi 3:1). According to Isaiah 40:3 John the Baptist was: A voice crying out, “In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord; construct in the desert a road for our God.” It’s hard to know exactly what that means but Jesus knew and he was giving John a chance to do it. And John kept at it until Herod threw him in prison.  In the meantime Jesus’ patience and humility had slowed him down for a whole year. The wait considerably shortened the time he had to fulfill his mission. You can’t say the Messiah didn’t have guts.

 Matthew 4:12-25. 

  12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went away to Galilee. 13 He did not stay in Nazareth, but went to live in Capernaum, a town by Lake Galilee, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was done to make come true what the prophet Isaiah had said, 15 "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, on the road to the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee, land of the Gentiles!   16 The people who live in darkness will see a great light. On those who live in the dark land of death the light will shine."

17 From that time Jesus began to preach his message: "Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near!"  

18 As Jesus walked along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers who were fishermen, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew, catching fish in the lake with a net. 19 Jesus said to them, "Come with me, and I will teach you to catch men." 20 At once they left their nets and went with him. 21 He went on and saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat with their father Zebedee, getting their nets ready. Jesus called them, 22 and at once they left the boat and their father, and went with him.

23 Jesus went all over Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the Good News about the Kingdom, and healing people who had all kinds of disease and sickness.   24 The news about him spread through the whole country of Syria, so that people brought to him all those who were sick, suffering from all kinds of diseases and disorders: people with demons, and epileptics, and paralytics--and Jesus healed them all.   25 Large crowds followed him from Galilee and the Ten Towns, from Jerusalem, Judea, and the land on the other side of the Jordan.

  According to Matthew Jesus didn’t get in the fast lane until Galilee.  So what’s the buzz?

 Galilee was known by a slur, Galilee of the Gentiles. It was Israel’s armpit. For example: when Solomon wanted lumber and gold to build the temple he offered a neighboring king 20 cities in Galilee. But when the king went to inspect the cities, he wasn’t pleased with them (1Kings 9:12). That tells you what a wretched place it was.

 Godless, Gentile invaders had frequently settled, intermingled and polluted the Jewish population’s morals and religious beliefs. So the rest of the country looked with suspicion on anyone from Galilee. The prophecy that Jesus would be called a Nazarene (1:23) was slang for saying he was a nobody. But Galilee is where Jesus headed – straight into the darkness.

 As soon as he arrived in Capernaum the people living in darkness saw a great light. On the people living in the land of the shadow of death a light dawned (16). That’s what the prophet Isaiah had predicted and that brought Jesus to Galilee of the Gentiles.

 He wasn’t a Messiah for the rich and famous or for the religious; he was a Messiah for people who were nobodies just like he was. And Matthew gives us three snippets of what he did in Galilee. And I think he lists them in order of importance.

 First, Jesus began to preach, “Repent the kingdom of heaven is near (17.” The kingdom of heaven and the Kingdom of God are the same. It’s in The Lord’s Prayer: your kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (6:10). Preaching people into God was his highest priority. 

 Why was he preaching that the kingdom was near? Because that’s what will steer us repent. If you’re in the dessert and you’re thirsty, you head toward water even if it’s a mirage. You press on until someone convinces you water’s in the other direction. Then you’ll turn around. You repent.

 Life is the same. Everyone pursues what they believe is best for them: material comfort, peace and quiet, whatever pleasures are available and security. Everyone wants the good life. But Jesus says the kingdom of darkness offer a mirage. Genuine well-being and peace are only found in the kingdom and it’s not far away. It’s just around the corner. Everything we want and long for will be found in the kingdom of heaven. It’s coming. So turn away from the mirage of sin and turn to Jesus.

Jesus called people to repent – to turn from darkness to the light. He wants people to worship and obey him at home and at work and on the ball field. It wasn’t a fancy message but it was the right one and a timeless one. Of all the needs in Galilee that was the greatest. It always is.

 Second, Jesus called people to follow him. Making disciples was also a high priority for Jesus. It ranked above healing and miracles. It makes sense. If you’re going to preach people to God, you have to give yourself to them.

 Jesus had already spent time with these disciples. After his baptism two of them went to see where Jesus was staying and spent the day with him (John 1:39).  Peter, John, Andrew, Philip and Nathaniel had gone with Jesus to the wedding in Cana, and traveled with him back to Capernaum, then to Jerusalem and back to Galilee via Samaria. All that time Jesus was busy - building relationships with them and strengthening their faith.

 By the time he called them to follow him, he had already laid a foundation. They wouldn’t have left their occupations and their father, if they didn’t have some inkling of what they were getting into and that Jesus was worth following.

 Traveling with a bunch of blue-collar guys and explaining everything to them slowed the Messiah down. Jesus could have been much more efficient without them. He could have doubled or tripled the miracles, covered a lot more topics in his sermons in a lot more detail and . . . but to demonstrate love as fully as he did, he needed disciples. To reach future generations he needed disciples.

  Third, people brought Jesus all those who were sick, suffering from all kinds of diseases and disorders: people with demons, and epileptics, and paralytics - and Jesus healed them all (24). Last but not least the Messiah healed and cast out demons. This was the context in which he preached and discipled.

 This summary of Jesus work as the Messiah brings part one of Matthew’s gospel to a conclusion. We might call this first section Introducing Jesus Christ the Messiah. It has two chapters: 1. The Arrival of the Messiah (his birth and the mixed response to him); and 2. Unveiling the Messiah (First Witnesses, First Tests and finally the First Steps) that we have this morning.

 After several months, what does the Messiah have to show for himself? He had gathered a handful of disciples, preached, performed miracles and a large crowed was following him around. So far so good! 

 But where is it all going. You can imagine that people would begin to hope for a happy ending with all their dreams come true. Jesus could have easily gone for being king, but he didn’t because he understood that the kingdom of heaven was near. And nothing was going to make him veer off course - not even the cross. He wanted the same for his disciples and he wants the same for us.

  As we look at this passage, we see that Jesus isn’t doing what we’d expect him to be doing under the circumstances. His mission is to save his people from their sins, but the clock is running. He rejects all the shortcuts Satan offers. He bides his time while John the Baptist prepares the way. Then when he’s ready look what happens. He’s suddenly a great light dawning on Galilee of the Gentile darkness. He preaches the message of the ages. He has disciples who have left everything to follow him. He heals everyone and throughout the whole nation people are checking him out.

 Great for them! Jesus was fulfilling every thing from the Old Testament that the Messiah was supposed to fulfill and they were the beneficiaries. What about us? What happened back then doesn’t do us much good now. But it does tell us something important about the character of the Messiah. If he did all that he can do this: Psalm 138:8 - The LORD willful fill his purpose for me;
 your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
  Do not forsake the work of your hands (ESV).

 That’s the kind of Messiah Jesus is. Whether he’s fulfilling prophecy or his purpose for each of us, he will get the job done. It should be simple by comparison. The Kingdom is near! Jesus is a great light and he will shine on us!