Called to Serve

This week’s passage: Matthew 4:12-25

Jesus Begins His Ministry

In the first part of chapter 4 we saw Jesus’s complete reliance upon God’s provision, protection and promise to fend off the temptations of Satan and hopefully we learned by that account that the power of God’s Word is in submitting to it, not simply quoting from it as Satan does. Now Matthew closes out chapter 4 with a summary of Jesus’s ministry, giving us a quick rundown of where He was and who He was preaching to.

After hearing that John the Baptist had been arrested, Jesus leaves Nazareth (His hometown in Galilee) and goes to Capernaum which is along the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, to continue spreading the message that John was, to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” In true Matthew style, it is pointed out that this move by Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promise to this region (as written in Isaiah 9:1-2) that He would send a light for their darkness.

“that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 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.”” (Matthew 4:14-16 NKJV)

Why were the people here sitting in darkness? Those in Jerusalem looked down upon the people of Galilee because of the Gentile influence within two Israeli tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali. Over 700 years earlier these tribes were conquered by the Assyrians and over time it had become a community of mixed marriages and traditions. The Jews in Jerusalem looked unapprovingly at this practice and felt superior to the Galileans. Jesus sets up His ministry in Capernaum, which is not only close to where He grew up but in the center of a region of misfits and outcasts. He brings the light of salvation to people who have been written off as unworthy of God’s love by the earthly priests who had elevated themselves above, and ignored the will of, God

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

There were many throughout Galilee that were not blinded to the deity of Christ and readily accepted Him. Matthew tells of the first four disciples that dropped everything to be with their Savior. As Jesus is walking along the Sea of Galilee, He comes across Simon (Peter) and Andrew, two brothers who were fishing close to the shore. “Follow Me”, He says to them, and just as Matthew himself will do later, they did! A bit further down the shoreline they come upon another group of men who were in their boat mending nets. Jesus calls to them and two more brothers, James, and John (sons of Zebedee who was also in the boat) drop what they are doing to join Jesus.

“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. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 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, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.” (Matthew 4:18-22 NKJV)

The disciples simply dropped what they were doing to follow Jesus when He called them. As new believers, it is a bit scary when we hear “Take up your cross and follow Me” quoted from scripture, but we need to remember that while the day-to-day lives and livelihood changed instantly for the disciples, their hearts did not. As we continue through the gospels, we see they were flawed just like us, they struggled and doubted and questioned…Christ worked to strengthen and teach them anyway! He didn’t shun them or leave them because of their faults, instead they were encouraged and emboldened as they learned to have compassion and grace for others so they could continue the ministry of Christ. The Holy Spirit does this for us today and the more time we spend listening for guidance, studying the Word, and encouraging one another, the more we see that our past doesn’t have to define or condemn us or those that we love, because although we cannot change it, Christ can and has removed it! We can’t help but respond to that kind of freedom.

Jesus traveled throughout all of Galilee, teaching, preaching, and healing. He taught in the synagogues and on the streets, He healed those who He came across or who were brought to Him from every direction with ailments and disease as well as those who were demon possessed. Matthew tells us He became very popular and great crowds followed Him. (He had a huge fan club!)

“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. 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. Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.” (Matthew 4:23-25 NKJV)

Jesus didn’t care if these were Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, sick or demon processed, He came to provide a path to God for anyone who would believe that His blood was shed to cleanse their sin and present them as blameless before God.

Please look within yourself and be honest about the way you see others. Pray that God will give you a heart for others and allow the Holy Spirit to convict you in this area. To be salt and light in this world, we must see people as Christ sees them. It is not our place to condemn anyone, but to encourage them and pray that Christ will convict their hearts. Not one of us can claim to be sin free, if you are a child of God today then you were given grace for your past, current and future sins, the Holy Spirit working a perfection in you that will not be complete until you go to be with Christ. Share the light of God’s glory with others, the Spirit will provide what you need to help them through the healing salt of His truth, calling out people for their sin is certainly one of our responsibilities, but it must be done in love, not haughtiness lest they become more callused to the saving grace of Christ.