Strathalbyn Church of Christ

Sermon Mt 4:12-25. The King comes. Pastor David Williams.

Strathalbyn Church of Christ. 6 Nov 2022.

Charles has just begun his reign. What sort of king will he be? Will he turn the Palace grounds into an organic market? In today’s passage, Jesus is just starting out as the new king. What sort of King will Jesus be? We get some inkling from the passage.

In old times, a king had absolute power – the power over life and death. When a new king came to the throne, the only thing on everyone’s minds was this: what sort of king would he be? Your life could be prosperous or miserable depending on whether you were in tune with your king.

Why is this important to us? As subjects of our King, the most important thing on our minds should be our King – Who is he? What is his mission? Is your heart, is your life in tune with King Jesus?

1. The King of Light 12-16

2. Following the King 17-22

3. The Master Fisherman 23-25

1. The King of light, v12-16

Our king brings light. Twice light and darkness are mentioned.

16 the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”

Darkness and death are often connected. To those in the shadow of death, our King brings both light and life.

Have you ever tried walking in total darkness – on an unfamiliar track. You inch your way along, stumbling over stones, falling into thorns. With 3 or 4 turns, you’re lost – there is not a star in the sky to guide you. Injury, even death may be ahead. Unknown cliffs, snakes active in the dark. Then a light appears. A torch coming towards you. Fear turns to delight. The relief pours over you. You can see the way clear at last.

Our Lord came to us when we were in total darkness. When we were utterly helpless his bright light shone. He brings hope to those without hope

The King who comes to us

Satan had just tempted Jesus – suggesting he launch his mission as Messiah by performing a miracle from the top of the temple in the capital, Jerusalem. Instead, Jesus goes to the backwaters, to Galilee.

Jesus lived … in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali …Galilee of the Gentiles

Galileans were not just despised as country yokels but seen as tainted. Napthali and Zebulun were part of the Northern Tribes that had separated from Judah and the Southern Kingdom and been at war with them. Also, over half of the population in Galilee were Gentiles – non-Jewish idol worshippers. That is why Isaiah calls this area of Israel, Galilee of the Gentiles.

And this is where Jesus chose to live, with those living in darkness. Five times to emphasise the point Galilee is mentioned in this short passage.

12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea …

Although born in the South in Bethlehem, near Jerusalem, Jesus grew up in Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, both Galilean towns. He endured the slur of being a Nazarean and a Galilean. Can anything good come from Nazareth? was how Nathanael reacted (John 1:46).

So why did Jesus go there? Jesus typically sought out the last, the lost and the least. He didn’t pop in for a quick celebrity tour. No, he lived with them. He worked there as a carpenter’s son for 30 years.

Mission organisations are struggling to follow Jesus’ example. In the west, many are too attached to our comforts. If people go at all, it is usually for a quick trip – six months, two years. Not enough time to even get to know the language, let alone the heart of the locals. And usually people opt for the easier locations.

This can be seen dramatically with some statistics. 4 people in ten are unreached with the gospel. That means they live in places where there are no Bible believing Christians or churches. 41% of the world’s population are in unreached people groups.

How many missionaries do you think are serving in these unreached areas? These areas of great need and opportunity.

Just under 3%. 3% for 40% of the world’s population. That is less than one in 30 missionaries work with the unreached.

These groups are unreached because they are the last place you would want to go. Think of Afghanistan or North Korea, or in Jesus’ day, Galilee. Poverty, corruption, hostility, we could go on. Mission is hard work. Any mission, both at home and abroad, is hard work.

23 And he went throughout all Galilee,

At that time Galilee had over 200 towns and cities. Going throughout all Galilee meant unremitting foot slogging toil. It is messy, distressing and uncomfortable when you get involved with others. Many of you know just how hard it is.

Jesus did not sit in a grand palace waiting for people to come and pay him homage. No, he is a King who comes to us. He went out to the caves where the demon possessed raged, he reached out to touch lepers, he ate and drank with publicans, prostitutes and tax collectors. Our Master chose to live with the last, the lost and the least. Can we do anything less?

2. Following the King, v17-22

a. Giving up all

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Repenting is turning from serving self to following the King. It is devoting your life to following the master.

Here we have the first of the Galileans – those living in darkness – seeing the light.

18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him…

The fishermen immediately left their work and followed him. From the other gospels, it seems that they had already met Jesus, but no doubt their understanding of him was very limited. Nonetheless, without hesitation, they gave up all and followed him. Their trade, homes, family – all the security and comforts they had - they gave up and followed Jesus. Peter later confirmed this when he said,

We have left everything to follow you, Mt 19:27.

In the Middle East, the worst thing you can do is dishonour your parents. The shame of this is seen in the prodigal’s scandalous demand for his share before his father had died. As Christians we can make an idol of our families. Our prayer is, Lord, I will do anything for you as long as it won’t affect my family. Peter left a wife and mother-in-law to follow Jesus. James and John left father and mother. If these Middle-eastern men could do such a culturally shameful thing, cannot we also make sacrifices? Missionaries often serve where the schooling is inadequate, in locations that are not safe and where the medical care is dodgy.

b. Follow me

Jesus said, Follow me. Notice what Jesus did not say. He did not say, sign up for a six-week course. Or come along for an hour on Sundays. Or give up one thing for Lent. Or join me in a year or two when you are ready. No, his call was immediate; it was unconditional and it was total. It was turn … now – in the middle of whatever you are doing, turn while you are mending your nets – turn around and follow me. Follow and keep following. Spend the rest of your life following your King.

Are you following your King today? Are you following him wholeheartedly, keeping nothing back? Or are you doing your own thing – just turning up for a spiritual hit on Sundays, but ignoring him the rest of the week? Hear Jesus’ words – follow me!

c. Qualification?

What is the qualification for being a fisher of men? Following Jesus. If you follow Jesus, he will make you a fisher of men. These men were not theology professors. They were not persuasive preachers. They were not skilled counsellors. They were tradies. God used sheep herders – about the lowliest of all jobs – sheep herders like Moses and David became shepherds of Israel. Fishermen like Peter became fishers of men. He can use farmers, mechanics, housewives; he can use the unemployed. He can use people with a mental illness or those who are house bound. He uses children in primary school and residents of aged care homes. The only qualification needed is to follow him.

3. The Master Fisherman v23-25

How do you fish for men? Let us see how our Master did it. Jesus did this by teaching and proclaiming the gospel, by healing and overturning evil and by going. We get into problems when we ignore one or other of these elements.

a. He taught and proclaimed the gospel

23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom

What happens when the church stops teaching and preaching the gospel. Very simply, people will not be saved. There is a direct connection.

God revealed himself in words. The Bible is his Spirit written word – his love letter to his creation. His own beloved son is called “the Word”. Yet words are out of favour. Teaching and preaching is out of favour. What do we do?

For starters, we do not give up on teaching and preaching. In the Great Commission, Jesus commanded his followers:

make disciples of all nations … teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, Mt 28:19-20

And this command has no expiry date, for Jesus promised,

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

To understand who Jesus is, what he has done and what his mission is for us, we must use words. There are Muslims and Buddhists who say they believe in Jesus. But they clearly know nothing at all about Jesus. Because if they did, they would not be able to keep a foot in both camps. But how will they believe unless they first hear – hear the word of God?

And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? … So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ, Ro 10:14-17.

So we are saved by words. However, Jesus did not just teach and preach.

b. He healed

… healing every disease and every affliction among the people… and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains … those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.

He healed every disease and every affliction, all the sick …

There is no illness that lays beyond his power or his compassion to heal. There is no human problem that the king cannot solve, now or in eternity.

He overturned evil

those oppressed by demons … he healed them

**
Why did he heal?**

Jesus backed up his words with actions. In OT, God spoke and things happened. God spoke and creation came into existence. God spoke and the Red Sea parted. Jesus typically healed or cast out demons with a word. He demonstrated the same power and authority that God himself had. He spoke and things happened.

Jesus’ kingdom began on this earth but looks beyond it to his eternal kingdom. Jesus came to defeat sin. In healing the sick and demon oppressed, Jesus was reversing the curse on Creation and showing his victory over the old serpent. His kingdom looked back to the perfect Garden of Eden, and it looks forward to heavenly paradise. There,

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away, Rev 21:4.

What this means for us

- For prayers

Jesus has not retired. He has not given up on the work of healing. What does this mean for us? It can be revolutionary. For Jesus, the all-powerful and all compassionate is able and willing today to heal, to cast out demons and to overturn evil in whatever form it takes. Instead of praying feebly, and half-heartedly, we can pray with enormous confidence. As the leper prayed,

“Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean”, Mt 8:2

Lord, you can heal. There is nothing that you cannot do!

But - Jesus did not always and will not always heal (Mark 6:1-6; Jn 5:2-9). It is his decision, not ours, as to how and when he will answer prayer. Lord, if you are willing, you can heal.

- For caring & social action

We are not just called to preach but to care. Teaching God’s word does not exclude care and social action. Indeed, his word requires it. As I said, we get into problems when we ignore the balanced approach that our Master took.

Spiritual warfare takes many forms, for evil can take control of men’s lives and of whole societies. Think of our addiction to gambling, of the way the advertising industry sexualises young girls, of the damage done to the environment by powerful polluters.

Christians should share God’s concern to see wrongs put to right, to see people set free from the oppression that evil men and corporations have inflicted on them.

As Jesus healed and set people free – he demonstrated the Kingdom’s power in reversing the curse and defeating Satan. But Jesus did not heal so that people would to turn to him –some of those healed did not repent (the other nine lepers for instance, Lk 17). But sometimes Christian care is given just to win people for Jesus. Both the carers and those cared for can sense when there is a cynical agenda behind the so-called care. But Jesus healed because he cared for people, he loved them:

Cast your cares upon him for he cares for us, 1 Pt 5:7.

c. He went

Jesus taught, he healed, he also went

13 leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum…

23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching

Jesus set the pattern for his followers. To go to the Gentiles and to bring the kingdom to all the kingdoms of the world.

Jesus’ mission was a pointer to the one that his followers would carry on in his authority. While Jesus focussed on the Jews, teaching in their synagogues, his mission always had a broader focus. As we heard, his ministry started in Galilee of the Gentiles, and his fame had already gone well beyond Israel to Syria.

24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria

Also, while many followed from Jerusalem and Judea, others were from the non-Jewish cities of the Decapolis and from beyond the Jordan.

25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Jesus’ mission began as it ended. At the end of Matthew, Jesus commissioned his followers in Galilee to go to the nations:

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee … ”Go therefore and make disciples of all nations …”, Mt 28:16-20.

Friends, this is the most pressing task for us in following Jesus. There is no task more pressing for the church than to obey the last command Jesus gave to his followers, to us. For Jesus saw the vision that lay ahead. The great crowds from all areas - this was a snapshot of eternity, where John saw:

a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, Rev 7:9.

Of these tribes and languages, today there are over 7000 people groups where there are no churches and no effective witness. That means a member of one of those groups is unlikely to ever hear the name of Jesus.

We cannot all go, but every follower of Jesus can take part in sending others. Sending by mentoring others who can go. Sending by praying, by caring and by giving. Together, as we follow Jesus, we can reach the unreached. The light of the Kingdom will shine in even the darkest places on earth as his followers follow him. Let us resolve to do just that.

Sources:

- Green M. (2020). The message of Matthew : the kingdom of heaven (Revised). InterVarsity Press USA.

- Carson, D.A. (1984). “Matthew”. In Gaebelein, F.E. (ed.). Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Zondervan.

- Blomberg C. L. (1992). Matthew. Broadman Press.

Series: Matthew

Topics: #Matthew , #Mission , #Healing