A Light Has Dawned (Matthew 4:12-22)
In the introduction to his account of Jesus' life, Matthew reveals how Jesus' life fulfills the Old Testament. We have seen how God orchestrated the beginning of Jesus' life in fulfillment with the Old Testament prophets while also having his life follow the way of Israel. Jesus escaped to Egypt to avoided annihilation, and he entered the wilderness to be tested by Satan. John the Baptist has prepared the way for him and baptized him. Now, verse 12 tells us that John has been arrested.
Beginning Jesus' Ministry (Matt 4:12-16)
Matthew 4:12--16 (ESV) --- 12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--- 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."
John was arrested about one year after Jesus' baptism. So Matthew wants to skip over a year of Jesus' ministry. Why? He wants to bring Jesus into Galilee. Notice that Jesus has moved from Bethlehem to Egypt, to the small 500 person town of Nazareth to the wilderness, to the much larger city of Capernaum. Capernaum is a city on the North-West coast of the Sea of Galilee. Galilee has over 200 villages with a population estimated to be well over 300,000 people at the time of Jesus. Capernaum was the largest city by the sea.
We might be inclined to ask, "Why did Jesus go there instead of Jerusalem and Judea?" Jesus did not go to Nashville, TN, or Dallas, TX. This is a place much like a New York or San Francisco, full of liberal minds. Maybe it's because Jerusalem was considerably uphill and probably bypassed by most. But Capernaum would be a popular stopping point on the trade route to everywhere. Capernaum was a mixing pot of Jews and pagans. We can see a strategic advantage to going there, but wasn't Jesus supposed to be going to the Jews first?
Fulfilling Isaiah
Notice that Matthew points us to a critical writing in the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah. He quotes from Isaiah 9, to tell us that Jesus moved to this region to fulfill what Isaiah foretold, "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." What does that mean? Why does Matthew say Jesus fulfills this? We have to go back to Isaiah to find out. If you are tired of me doing this, don't worry. This is the last one for a while. Let's go back to Isaiah 8 and understand the context of Matthew's quote.
We just studied Isaiah 7-9 about a month ago from Matthew 1. The king of Judah was evil Ahaz, but the Northern Kingdom of Israel was even worse. They were under king Pekah, who has allied himself with Syria against Judah. Isaiah makes a promise to Ahaz, saying that the Assyrians will come and wipe out both the Syrians and the Northern Kingdom of Israel, but Judah will stand. In Chapter 8, he promises further judgment against the Northern Kingdom of Israel because they have not listened to him.
Isaiah 8:19--22 (ESV) --- 19 And when they say to you, "Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter," should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21 They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.
The people in the Northern Kingdom have entirely given up God. They hate God and are enraged against him, so they are going to be cast into thick darkness. This is a way of saying that they will be wiped out. They will cease to exist because God will remove his help from them. Then, Chapter 9 promises that God will not abandon them forever.
Isaiah 9:1--4 (ESV) --- 1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. 3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.
Notice that in speaking about the Northern Kingdom being brought back to life, he calls out specifically the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. The people in these places have lived in darkness (abandoned by God, spiritually dead, surrounded by evil influences and suffering) for a long time. They will see a light that will increase their joy because their oppressors will be overthrown.
Isaiah 9:6--7 (ESV) --- 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
The last part of this is about the Messiah coming. The great light that is coming in to bring the people out of darkness is the Messiah, who will counsel God's people and bring them peace, justice, and righteousness.
A Light in the Darkness
Throughout scriptures, darkness represents ignorance and rampant wickedness. Those who live in the dark have no idea about the truth of God's wisdom. They do not understand how to live a godly life, and they are suffering the consequences of the wicked who live around them. The teaching and the testimony of God are left behind to pursue conspiracies and random false teachings. The Messiah is coming to give these people a chance to escape the darkness and enter the light. In the New Testament, we see darkness as representing continual rebellion against God. Light represents an understanding of God and a submission to his righteousness. Listen to how John describes Jesus coming into the world.
John 3:16--21 (ESV) --- 16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."
Matthew's point is that Jesus moved into the region of Galilee to shine a light in the darkest place of Israel. His mission is to seek and save those who are lost so that they can repent and glorify God. The prominent Jews would struggle to understand this about him. Jesus spent most of his time hanging around the tax collectors and sinners, attempting to help them learn the truth. He came to help the lost, not use them to his advantage.
Who will see the light and come to it? Who will follow the way of salvation that Jesus has exposed for mankind? Most will love darkness, but some will come to the light and allow their hearts to be exposed so that they can do the work that God has given them to do.
Calling Four Disciples (17-22)
Jesus begins to preach in verse 17 by saying the exact same message as John the Baptist. John's message was that people needed to show a heart that bears fruit in keeping with repentance to avoid the judgment of fire that is coming. Was Jesus' message any different? Nope, Jesus said the same thing. The only difference between their messages is that John stayed in a physical wilderness while Jesus moved into a spiritual wilderness. He went to where the people are to encourage repentance at home, in their everyday lives. Galilee had hundreds of thousands of people, but it was a valley of dry bones. When John was preaching this, all of Jerusalem, Judea, and all about the Jordan were coming to him. What about Jesus? Who would respond to his call? Later we will see Jesus draw large crowds, but before we get there, notice who responds to Jesus' words.
Matthew 4:18--22 (ESV) --- 18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he 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. 21 And 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, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Matthew goes from revealing that Jesus is the light coming into the darkest place, to giving us his message, to telling us about those who responded to the call. Look at what Matthew wants us to see before telling us about the miracles, the Sermon on the Mount, or the opposition he faced. The first thing we read about in Jesus' ministry is the call of four fishermen. What are we supposed to see here in Matthew's account?
Fishermen
This is really a big letdown for the Jew. We have seen four chapters building up to Jesus' ministry, and now that he is preaching, we see him walk up to four fishermen and tell them to follow him. Why would he do that? Most Rabbis do not choose their disciples. Their disciples come to them, asking to follow. But here we notice something that will be true of all the disciples of Jesus; he chooses them. Why would he choose fishermen? Do they have some unusual ability? Is it because they can fish all day, catch nothing, and do it again tomorrow? Maybe it is because their trade resembles the work of evangelism, but no one would go to fishermen and expect them to make good leaders in the kingdom of heaven. These are common people. That's who Jesus came to work with. He did not come to the Jewish leaders hoping to find someone good enough to fulfill his purpose. He did not choose someone who meets several qualifications. He wanted run of the mill fishermen to carry out the most important work the world has ever seen.
Fishers of Men
He tells Andrew and Peter that if they follow him, he will make them fishers of men. I love that phrase. First, notice that Jesus will make them into this. They only know how to fish for fish. Jesus will make them into fishers of men. That is a description of his training program that they are about to go through. It gives them a picture of the evangelistic work that Jesus has come to the earth to accomplish. They will spend three years walking alongside Jesus for this purpose. Is this the way we view ourselves? Are we walking with Jesus to learn his ways and become fishers of men? Jesus will later say that he came to seek and save the lost. That is his purpose for walking on the earth. It makes sense for his disciples to be about the same business as their master.
Disciples
In both sets of brothers, we see a response that is hard to believe. These men were willing to leave behind what was comfortable to them and spend their lives following Jesus. Each of the groups left behind something. In verse 20, Andrew and Peter left their nets. They left behind the known. They would not be able to use their nets to catch men. The methods of Jesus would not require the same skill that they have developed for casting nets. Their abilities, as it turns out, wouldn't matter anyway. Jesus has selected them because he wants to work through them for his glory. He wants to take clay jars and put a treasure inside. The disciples of Christ do not put their trust in their tools or abilities. They put their trust in God's ability to draw men to himself. Evangelism is not about the greatness of our method. It is about the greatness of our God.
In verse 22, we see that James and John left behind there boat and their father. The boat represents the security of this business. Owning a boat and having the occupation of a fisherman was slightly better than the middle class. It didn't make you wealthy, but you were well off. Fish was a staple because it was the only meat that most people could afford. These men had good jobs when they decided to follow Jesus. They were trying to find a way to deceive people and get rich quick. They genuinely believed in Jesus and wanted to support his work. The father represents the comfort of family and home. These men were going to spend a lot of time away from home. As Jesus will later say, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head." (Matt 8:18-22) They weren't choosing to follow Jesus while holding on to the things that they loved most. They were putting Jesus ahead of all the earthly things that they had spent their lives pursuing. Jesus was more important than their wives, children, the approval of their father, their favorite chair, whatever hobby they were involved with, or their friends. They were willing to devote their lives to following Jesus and accomplishing his mission.
The Message
In the next section, we will see crowds come to Jesus, and we will see him catching a whole lot of men by his words of truth. The light of the world is revealed in Galilee for all to see and be amazed. But before we get to that point, as the sun comes into the darkness, Matthew tells us about four men who see the light and embrace it with their heart. Matthew wants us to see what true disciples look like. He wants us to see four men who have opened themselves up to the teaching of Jesus. They are willing to lay everything at his feet to follow him. They hold nothing back. Over the next three years, they will reveal that they are not ideal disciples. They will fail over and over again. They will be just like us. They will be proud, arrogant, afraid, lacking compassion, lacking trust, and weak. They will focus more on physical things than spiritual things. They will fail to be there for Jesus when he needs them most. But Jesus sees through all of that. He knows that the transformation from fishermen to fisher of men is a process. One day these men, along with eight others, will convert thousands and begin a revolution that will turn the world upside down.
What About Us?
Sometimes we don't feel like very good fishers of men. We have tried all of these different approaches and done everything we know to do to bring men to the Lord. Nothing works, so we think that we aren't able to catch men for the Lord. Notice that these men did not have any particular ability in themselves. Also, notice that it took them three years with the Lord to be ready for that task. They had to overcome several weaknesses and issues inside of their hearts before they were able to be used by the Lord. Maybe the Lord has been helping you overcome your weaknesses and preparing you for the work he will accomplish through you. Perhaps you are still in the process. But our mission is to be about the Lord's work. We are supposed to become lights to the lost world around us. I love this text from Daniel 12. Daniel has just been shown how future kingdoms will fight against one another and God's people, but in the end, listen to what is said about God's people amid all their suffering.
Daniel 12:3 (ESV) --- 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
As we walk with Jesus, his light shines in our hearts and helps us overcome the darkness. We become lights ourselves, leading others to him so they can share our hope of salvation.
Conclusion
Do we see the light that has dawned in the life of Jesus? If you aren't there yet, I want to encourage you to come back and hear more about what Jesus will teach and say about himself in the coming chapters. We are about to begin a journey through Jesus' incredible life. Matthew will lead us through his teachings, authority, compassion, dealings with disciples, dealings with enemies, sufferings, and triumph. All of this helps to form those who would follow him so that they can become fishers of men. Like in Galilee, Jesus will shine his light in the darkest parts of our hearts to expose things that we have believed and done, which are opposed to our God so that we can change to become lights ourselves.