The Dawning of the Kingdom of Heaven
Matthew 4:12-22
If you have spent one hour watching TV or a movie in the last week, please take 15 minutes to read this! The question MOST people ask themselves when they are studying the BIBLE or “going to Church” is: What is this saying to me? How will it benefit my life? How is this going to make me happier, healthier or wealthier? Though God’s salvation in grace in Jesus Christ certainly brings TO US and does FOR US everything that we cannot do on our own, it DOES NOT bring us everything we WANT or THINK we deserve.
Perhaps a better question to ask as we begin this section of Matthew in the ministry of Jesus would be: What is God revealing to me concerning His Character and His HEAVENLY KINGDOM? In this section of Matthew, Jesus gives us some Characteristics of the BEGINNING of the Kingdom of Heaven.
God Changes Ministers
Listen to Matthew 4:12-17 with a deeper and expanded understanding of the words: “Now when Jesus (means, God is salvation, SAVIOR) heard that John (God is a gracious giver) had been taken into custody… He withdrew into Galilee.”
(Taken into custody is “Paradidomi” in the Greek: It means “TO GIVE INTO THE HANDS OF ANOTHER”. It’s used 117 times in the NT. 27 times it is translated, “betrayed”. John’s demise of being “put into the hands of another, would also be Jesus’ demise, but for a far superior purpose.
(The word Sounds like “paradise”; “Paradise” is Paradeisos (GR.) - among the Persians a grand enclosure or preserve, hunting ground, park, shady and well watered, in which wild animals, were kept for the hunt; it was enclosed by walls and furnished with towers for the hunters, a garden, pleasure ground grove, park, the part of Hades which was thought by the later Jews to be the abode of the souls of pious until the resurrection: but some understand this to be a heavenly paradise.)
I. Why does God tell us that John was “taken into custody”? In a sense, it is the end of one era and the beginning of another, but not different dispensations as some might call it. The fact is this: John’s ministry was completed, and Jesus’ ministry begins. John was called to prepare the way of the Lord and now the Lord himself is going to minister in the Flesh. The arm of the Lord is being revealed. It is something far greater: John announced the appearance of Jesus, but Jesus announces HIMSELF and His Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. God is taking the ministry of John and putting it into the hands of Jesus because Jesus is the fulfillment of all that John preached!
“Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew (returned) into Galilee; (Galilee means "circuit, district", a territory in Naphtali largely occupied by heathen; There was a circuit of towns around Kedesh-Naphtali which Solomon had given to Hiram, king of Tyre, as payment for his work in conveying timber from Lebanon to Jerusalem- Galilee is entioned 7 times in the OT and 60 times in the NT.)
II. What is the significance of Jesus “returning” to Galilee to minister? For one thing, it is yet another O.T. prophecy fulfilled in Jesus, but more important still is the fact that Jesus is ministering to the Gentiles and to the World, not merely to the Jews. We often think that Jesus ministered to the Jews but gave the ministry off to the apostles after Pentecost. Not so.
13 and leaving Nazareth,("the guarded one") He came and settled in Capernaum, (glorying or glorified one) which is by the sea, (the root word for sea is “salt”. In the Bible the sea is a picture of what? Wickedness and the World) in the region of Zebulun (habitation or exaltation) and Naphtali (meaning “wrestled” or twisted”, son of Jacob who wrestled with God).
14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah (YHWH, the eternal one, saves) the prophet : 15 "THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, (“to come down or be brought down, “descender”) GALILEE OF THE GENTILES .” (from Isa. 9:1- But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish ; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
16 "THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED."
(“Sitting” is “to take a seat, to seat yourself.” You CHOOSE to sit where you are sitting. “Darkness” means sin, metaph. used of ignorance of divine things, and its associated wickedness, and the resultant misery in hell.” “Dawned”- anatello: ana- in the midst or among…..telos---end: 'He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the END… I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the END. For the outcome( the END) of those things is death. (Rom. 6:21) Rom 10:4 says: “For Christ is the END of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
Just as the Sun peaks over the horizon at dawn and darkness disappears, THIS IS THE DAWNING of God’s Kingdom being revealed on earth. As the light of Christ dawns, the law and the prophets will be fulfilled in Christ.
Isa. 9:2: “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.”
17 From that time (immediately) Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Repent (met-an-o-e-’o) means to stop what you are doing and thinking and TURN! It means “heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins: a compound word which actually means “to leave one’s thought behind”.
“At Hand” means to join one thing to another. The Jewish Rabbis used the term "to make nigh" or “at hand” as equivalent to "to make a proselyte", to convert from Gentile to Jew. Jesus is saying that it is time for you to be converted, turned to ME.
Kingdom of Heaven: Kingdom-“basileia” GR. Root word (Basileus) is leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land, king. Heaven (ouranos) is where God lives. It is the opposite of earthly, worldly, or fleshly. YOU cannot touch HEAVEN because of your unholiness, but Heaven can come and touch your heart. The word HEAVEN has the idea of ELEVATION, it would mean to be pulled upward and away from earth.
There are some Characteristics of the Gospel and God’s Kingdom right here:
One is that the Gospel shines in the whole world. The other is that the Gospel shines a light into darkness. It exposes the darkness for what it is.
God Changes People
Look at the next 5 verses as Jesus’ First Disciples meet Him in Matt. 4:18-22:
18 Now as Jesus was WALKING by the Sea of Galilee, HE SAW two BROTHERS, Simon (which means “heard)” who was called Peter( rock or stone), and Andrew (manly) 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 Going on (stepping forward, progressing) from there He saw two other brothers, James ("supplanter" like Jacob) the son of Zebedee (my Gift), and John (God is gracious) his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, MENDING their nets ; and He called them.
22 Immediately (the root word is “straight or level”. JESUS IS THAT PATHWAY!) they left the boat and their father, and FOLLOWED HIM.
I want to examine some of the Words Jesus uses in making “Fishers of Men”. (Every Word of God is important and we’re going to look through most of these.)
1. Jesus was “walking” and “saw”: Jesus saw the fishermen before they saw Him; He sought them out FIRST. Jesus sees us and SEEKS US FIRST before we ever think about Him. God’s “eyes” are all over the earth knowing all and knowing everything about everyone. JESUS the Savior was “walking” and “saw”.
2. “Casting” nets
GR. Ballo: to throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls
a) to scatter, to throw, cast into b) to give over to one's care uncertain about the result c) of fluids 1) to pour, pour into of rivers 2) to pour out. 2 to put into, insert
YOUR LIFE IS SCATTERED WITH NO FOCUS on the SAVIOR, UNTIL Jesus sees you, walks TOWARD YOU, pours HIMSELF INTO YOU. When Jesus arrives in your life and you turn from your sin, Jesus pours His Eternal Spirit of Life into you. “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”(John 7:38)
3. “Nets”: (amphiblçstron): Nets are not restricted to the fishing industry. In the Greek, “Nets” means “ANYTHING thrown around one to impede your motions, chains, garment, net.” It can mean anything this is causing you to come to Jesus!
4. “Brothers”: (adelphos) These 4 brothers were related physically to each other by blood and background, but the same word is used for believers who are related by their Spiritual birth.
5. “sea and “fishermen”: In GR., thalassa and halieus: root word is hals or halas= salt.
Mark 9:49: “For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.” Next chapter: “Ye are the salt” of the earth.”(Matt. 5:13) God changes men and women of the sea (SIN) to be PURE salt for Him.
6. “mending nets”: (katartizô) to mend what has been broken, to repair and make complete. It speaks to the purpose of Jesus’ arrival, to His calling, to His power to release from the encumbrance of sin. The gospel of Jesus mends hearts, lives, and relationship with God and calls us to be instrumental in doing the same. (Heb. 12:21: (Jesus will) Make you perfect (MEND) in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight.” Jesus will make you perfect (MEND) in every good work.
7. ALL of these men who were CALLED by Jesus RESPONDED and none of them refused. Simon HEARD Jesus’ call and His testimony became foundational to the Kingdom of God (“You are the Christ the Son of the Living God On this Rock I will build my Church” (Matt 16:17-18). This is the way it is with the mighty calling of God for believers.
8. “Follow me!” is an imperative. It is a command by Jesus, the Word of God in the Flesh,not a suggestion. If a person does not FOLLOW God’s commands, what happens? The result is death.
9. They “followed Him” because God called them. The Greek means “to follow one who precedes.” I do not say this lightly: If you refuse to follow Jesus when He calls you, you will have HELL to pay.
10. All of the men He called, turned FROM the earthly TO the heavenly. These men were not “just” fishermen, they were SUCCESSFUL fishermen. Fishing was an extremely important and crucial occupation, AND it was dangerous (like those on World’s Deadliest Catch). These men were heroes in the community. Others relied on them in order to survive… but a person can have all the physical food in the world, but without the spiritual food of Christ, you will starve to eternal death.
THESE MEN WERE CALLED BY JESUS TO AN EVEN GREATER “JOB”: To feed others with the knowledge of the LORD JESUS Christ, to introduce others to the LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
These men would spend time with the man whom they would first recognize as “Teacher”, but who they would eventually know as THEIR JESUS, their SAVIOR.
Two heeded the call of their Heavenly Father and LEFT their earthly Father, Zebedee (my GIFT). They left their earthly father in order to follow Jesus, who was the GIFT from the HEAVENLY FATHER, who would become the gift or payment (ransom) for sin.
In Matthew 22:14, Jesus will say during His ministry: "For many are called (invited), but few are chosen." Many are invited, but NOT ONE that IS CHOSEN by God will refuse to follow Jesus. That is because…
THE BOTTOM LINE: Jesus is the MASTER -FISHER OF MEN. In order to be free from the sea of sin, Jesus catches men and women in HIS NET of the Gospel of His Grace. He does not throw His net out haphazardly with the HOPE of catching someone. He knows precisely where to catch His “fish”. He mends you and He pulls you out of the sea of wickedness in order that you no longer follow the undercurrents and waves of the sea, but that you follow Him. He takes your feet and places them on rock solid ground.
Why does JESUS pull YOU out of the world? To be part of the Church and His Kingdom forever, but also that you might become a fisher of men WHILE YOU LIVE IN this WORLD.
This first story of the Dawning of the Kingdom of Heaven really displays prophecy which is being fulfilled IN JESUS, but NEW prophecy is being unveiled by Jesus which will be fulfilled in HIM as part of His Kingdom project within the next few years of His Ministry. Is His Kingdom being built in YOU as well?
The Dawning of the Kingdom of Heaven
Matthew 4:12-22
What is God saying to me about His Character and His Kingdom?
In His Ministry, Jesus gives us Characteristics of the BEGINNING of the Kingdom of Heaven (God)!
I. God Changes Ministers
A. Why does God tell us that John was “taken into custody”?
1. The end of one era and the beginning of another.
2. John’s ministry was completed, Jesus’ ministry begins.
3. Something greater: John announced Jesus,
Jesus announces HIMSELF and His Kingdom, the Kingdom of God.
B. What is the significance of Jesus “returning” to Galilee?
1. Another prophecy fulfilled.
2. Jesus is ministering to the Gentiles and to the World.
C. What are some of the Characteristics of the Gospel and God’s Kingdom?
1. The Gospel shines in the whole world.
2. The Gospel is a light in darkness.
II. God Changes People
1. Jesus was “walking” and “saw”: Jesus sees us and SEEKS US FIRST.
2. “CASTING” nets: (Ballo) (“pouring”): Jesus pours His Eternal Spirit of Life into you.
3. “NETS”: (amphiblçstron) “anything thrown around one to impede your motions.”
4. “Brothers”: (adelphos)- related by physical blood and by spiritual birth.
5. “Sea and “Fishermen”: God changes people of the sea (SIN) to be PURE salt for Him.
6. “MENDING nets”: (katartizô) “Jesus will make you perfect (MEND) in every good work.”
7. ALL of these men who were CALLED responded.
8. “Follow me!” is a command by Jesus, not a suggestion.
9. They “followed Him” because God called them.
10. All the chosen turned FROM the earthly TO the heavenly.
JESUS is the MASTER FISHER OF MEN.
