Matthew 4:12-25
Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry
12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned."
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Four Fishermen Called as Disciples
18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Jesus Heals a Great Multitude
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
The light of God in Jesus Christ (John 8:12) came into this world covered in the darkness of sin’s corruption and dearth of the word of God to open blind eyes to see the eternal kingdom of God. This again was a realization of the revealed word of God as it was written down by the prophet Isaiah long ago (Isaiah 9:1-2) so that those who read and studied the scriptures might have hope (Romans 15:4) in the fulfillment of God’s promises. From living under death’s shadow, the curse of Adam described and made clear by the law (Galatians 3:13-14, 23-24). Yes, the light of true and lasting hope had finally come and the striving to earn God’s favor for salvation from His wrath was the dawning of that hope in the person and work of Jesus the Christ as the Son of God and man. This Jesus reached the physical age to begin His work of the good news of this deliverance and of living for the kingdom of God by first calling a chosen group of men to work alongside Him to learn and take part in the delivery of that message, with Him and after He returned to heaven where He came from. The first two ephemeral fishermen and set the tone for the calling of them all; He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." That is the work of all the followers of Jesus Christ which we are tasked with (Matthew 28:19-20). This Messiah then took them along as He healed the bodies and would of sinful men by setting them free from affliction and giving them the light of hope in the darkness of this corrupted world. He taught them more than He healed their bodies because their souls needed wholeness much more than their outward selves. What He taught them was that good news, the gospel, of His coming into the world and pointing us to Him to reach the Father in heaven by repentance through faith in His word as hidden in the scriptures of the Old Testament but now being revealed by and through Him. The result was that many followed Him to hear more, though some only wanted outward healing for partial wholeness, just as the emphasis today is often skewed by some. The main point to realize from these events recorded here is to see how the light of the world came down into this present darkness (Ephesians 6:12) of our sin stained world to be followed as His disciples and preached so others might hear and repent from evil thoughts and deeds so they may turn to Him in His righteousness and live according to His truth as it is written for us. This is the gospel hope that cannot ever disappoint!
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