Page 16 - Florida Sentinel 3-29-19

Religious
Called To Follow MATTHEW 4:12-22 (KJV)
The Scripture
Matthew 4:12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
14 That it might be ful- filled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
15 The land of Zabu- lon, and the land of Neph-
thalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net
into the sea: for they were fishers.
19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20 And they straight- way left their nets, and followed him.
21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
22 And they immedi- ately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
Lesson Background
As His earthy ministry and reputation gained prominence throughout the region — from Nazareth to Judea, Samaria, and Galilee — Jesus experi- enced rejection, opposition, and escalating hostility. Partic- ularly in His hometown of Nazareth, the reaction to His ministry ranged from amaze- ment to mistrust. However, no reaction was harsher than that of the Roman government under Herod.
Jesus Starts His Ministry (Matthew 4:12–16)
Jesus commences His min- istry in an unexpected place — Galilee. Galileans were consid- ered unclean, and the region had a disproportionate num- ber of those who were consid- ered heathens. Referred to as “Galilee of the Gentiles,” the province was populated by Phoenicians, Arabians, Syri- ans, and Greeks.
Jewish Galileans were gen- erally wealthy and extreme in their religious bigotry. It is in this highly diverse mosaic of people, economic statuses, oc- cupations, cultures, beliefs, bi- ases, and attitudes that Jesus chooses to start His ministry.
Jesus moves to Caper- naum, located on the Sea of Galilee. This puts Him in the heart of a region where the weight of Roman occupation and oppression overshadows the landscape. The people have been plunged into a per- vasive Roman darkness marked by taxes and death. Jesus preaches, using familiar prophecies in His message and offering a great light of deliv- erance to the people “living in darkness,” “living in the land of the shadow of death.” This was the same promise of God spoken by the prophet Isaiah. God said that the Messiah would be the light to the land of Zebulon and Naphtali and that God will make glorious “the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the na- tions” (Isaiah 9:1).
Kingdoms under human authority are in a constant state of darkness. Jesus is still calling the nations to come out of the darkness into the king- dom of light under God’s au- thority. If they want the Light, they have to repent, turn away from what they thought the path to God’s kingdom was and make a commitment to follow Jesus and His way to that Kingdom.
The Kingdom Of Heaven (v. 17)
From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus consistently
expressed His concern for sav- ing the people from sin and for establishing the presence of God in their lives. Using the same language spoken by John the Baptist, Jesus adds a sense of urgency to His mes- sage: The kingdom of heaven is near. Aiming directly at hearts that live in the darkness of sin, Jesus offers them the light of God and the keys to the kingdom by way of repen- tance. The kingdom of heaven is closer than the people real- ize.
Called as Disciples (vv. 18–22)
Jesus sees two men, Simon (called Peter), and Andrew, while He is walking by the Sea of Galilee. These brothers are fishermen engaged in their trade when Jesus challenges them to disrupt all societal norms and conventional ex- pectations. Both men are en- gaged in meeting their families’ living needs. Both men have as a priority meeting the fishing quotas they paid as in-kind taxes to tax collectors on behalf of Rome.
Jesus invites Simon Peter and Andrew to re-order their priorities. He offers them the opportunity to catch some- thing much more valuable than fish. In following Jesus, they will fish for people. Fish- ermen had a reputation for being rough and unpolished, and were largely despised. But when Jesus appears, their lives change. They immediately ac- cept Jesus’ transformational call, which gives them new purpose for their lives. They are experienced and well-pre- pared for their calling, but in- stead of catching food to feed the body for a short time, Simon Peter and Andrew will be casting their nets to catch people for eternal life.
Jesus’ goal in coming to us was to bring light into a world filled with spiritual darkness. He will not accomplish this mission alone. He calls on us to join Him – to be His light in the midst of darkness.
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